This is added to give the lead hardness and determines whether the pencil is smooth or rigid when marking on surfaces. The amount of pigment, extenders and binders ratios look to be different for each manufacturer which inevitably affects the quality and durability of the colors over time.

These high-quality pencils offer a fantastic range of colors and are known for their excellent lightfastness and vibrant and saturated colors. The leads are durable and encased in beautiful wooden barrels, making them a joy to use. Derwent Lightfast As an artist, I can’t assume to know what will work best for you with your colored pencil art but can only go with my own experience. As well, the level of detail in the drawing determines whether you will use a wax-based or oil-based pencil, or whether you will use another technique to illustrate the detail. Interactive colour chartsComparison of the coloured pencils above are based on visually looking at the colour wheels provided above. The colour wheels are limited in their scope as it is a selection of available colours used to filled the colour wheel. Only four of each colour family could be included in a colour wheel. I have found that oil-colored pencils can produce super-realistic effects and this is in part due to the ability to sharpen to a fine point which helps with finer detail.

The content in this article is designed to give you enough information for you to make an educated buying decision on the best oil-based pencils that fit your particular needs. Best Oil Based Colored Pencils Review However, after I did my own coloured pencil drawings without instruction, I found it difficult to identify which pencil to use, when – and why. As such, I had to get to know my pencils so I could use them in my drawings. Then this post will look at colour wheels and see if there are differences between the colours of wax-based and oil-based coloured pencils, and if there are differences between the lightfast and non-lightfast wax-based and oil-based colours. Examples of when to use different pencils are provided. Using solvents with oil-based pencils can help you to achieve an oil painting effect by giving you the ability to blend using brush strokes. Once dried you can add more layers on top to build depth and add detail.

As per artist Pablo Picasso’s request, the first oil pastels, C ray-pas, were made for professionals. The purpose was to have a ready paint set that artists could paint right away without preparing the canvas. They are ready to be used on location and great for travelling. Remember that most colored pencils have both oil and wax in the core. This is better explained in my Ultimate Guide to Oil-Based Colored Pencils.