Quality Colored/Watercolor Pencils….

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  • July 30, 2012 at 4:51 pm
    Corie
    Participant

    I’ve seen some discussion on this in other threads, usually when nature journals are being discussed.  Everyone seems to really love the Prismacolor pencils.  Even with 40 percent off coupons at Hobby Lobby and other similar stores, I know a lot of us have a hard time swallowing the price.  Are these pencils *really* that much better than the rest?  Are there any other good quality brands out there you might recommend?

    July 30, 2012 at 5:12 pm
    sheraz
    Participant

    I have the Crayola ones and they are okay. =)  I have another medium range price set (but the name is totally escaping me right now) that work pretty well – we got them at the local scrapbook store on sale.  I also have used the Stampin’ Up set – and they are quite nice.  

    You do kind of get what you pay for, but if you are just getting started, why pay a fortune for something you may not decide that you really like?  If you find that it is a fabulous art medium for your children and they are intently creating masterpiece after masterpiece and are frustrated or limited by the cheaper ones, you will know that you want to save up money for more expensive ones.  =)

     

    July 30, 2012 at 5:17 pm
    missceegee
    Participant

    Prismacolor are great, but the lead does break if they’re dropped a lot. Ask me how I know. However, cheap ones do not compare! My favorites for young kids are the think Lyra ones. My older kids like Core-lock by ticoNderoga best.

    July 30, 2012 at 5:19 pm
    pslively
    Participant

    If you are near an Ikea, there is a set in the children’s department. http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/67212600/

     They are thick and they color beautifully.  We have had our set for about 5 years and we are still using them.  We mainly reserve them for coloring big, open spaces on a page.  

    We also like the Faber-Castell.  

    http://www.amazon.com/Faber-Castell-Colored-Pencils-Pack-Colors/dp/B0042SUUWO

    But honestly, yes, the Prismacolor are so much better.  But I think we mainly see this when we are mixing colors.  If it was a younger kid, I would not pay the price for the Prismacolor.  There is a Prismacolor set called “Scholar” that is a little cheaper.  I have seen them at WalMart in the school supplies for about $9 a set.  

    July 30, 2012 at 5:34 pm
    Tristan
    Participant

    Here are my thoughts on this –

    If you just have little ones go with Crayola. If you have an artistic child who loves to draw and color with colored pencils and has reached at least age 6 invest in a set of PrismaColor for them, to be cared for well or they lose access.

    We are about to invest in a nice Prismacolor colored pencil set for our kids. We already own a Prismacolor watercolor pencils set – love them!

    July 30, 2012 at 6:38 pm
    missceegee
    Participant

    The above post should say thick Lyra – They’re actually called Giant Lyra. Here is a link – http://www.dickblick.com/products/lyra-color-giant-sets/

    Here’s a link to the others I mentioned – http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000SBFKTC

    July 30, 2012 at 6:45 pm
    suzukimom
    Participant

    We use Staedtler here… they are quite nice, but not super-expensive.  Never had the opportunity to try Prisma Coulor…

     

    Possible that Staedtler isn’t in the States I guess…

    July 30, 2012 at 8:12 pm
    Corie
    Participant

    Thanks so much ladies!  I knew I would get help here!  I stood in the art aisle forever this weekend pondering what to do and thought, “I am going to wait and ask the moms on SCM.”  So grateful for you all!  My oldest two (10 and 7) are “artsy”, which they apparently got from their father!  They spend hours drawing, writing stories and illustrating them, so I want to give them the chance to go further with their art and give them some good quality tools.  I am going to check into all of your suggestions and am thinking I will start off with something mid-range.  If they really seem to enjoy them, maybe the Prisma can be a special Christmas gift!  Thanks again!

    July 30, 2012 at 8:25 pm
    teachme2learn
    Participant

    I purchased our Prismacolors on Ebay quite reasonable and my children love them.  I have a 48 set for the older children, multiple 24 sets for the mid ones and Crayola for the five and under.

    July 30, 2012 at 8:35 pm
    Evergreen
    Member

    We do like prismacolor, but our favorite colored pencils are these “woodless” pencils – such gorgeous, rich colors.

    http://www.dickblick.com/products/koh-i-noor-woodless-colored-pencil-sets/

    They will break if dropped, so are best for bigger kids and adults.

    July 30, 2012 at 8:37 pm
    Tristan
    Participant

    I picked mine up on Amazon and they’re cheaper than buying through Hobby Lobby even with the 40% off coupon. Especially if you get free shipping…

    July 30, 2012 at 8:52 pm
    LDIMom
    Participant

    I do believe the Prismacolor are worth it, however I have the crayola ones for our youner children (7 DS, 6 DD, and 2 DD). I will let DD6 use the prismacolors in her nature journal, depending on time and location, but not 7DS or 2DD (b/c they are just not ready).

    I justified the cost by buying them as part of our Christmas gift one year. We do not spend much at all on Christmas, but this was our big family gift (I paid $50 for a 36-pencil set at JoAnns with coupons). I then purchased sketch books for our children to receive as individual gifts.

    As I said in the other thread, the pencils are literaly going away (we have used them down to nebs for some; we have not had breakage issues but just sharpen them over and over and use them all the time). But we’ve had them since Christmas 2010, so I feel they have been worth it.

    And no, Crayola is not even a comparison. You can see a big difference in quality, but we have those for the younger children and we take those when we travel with colored pencils in hand.

    July 30, 2012 at 10:20 pm
    Monica
    Participant

    I ended up getting some Prang Colored Pencils on Amazon.  We used Prismacolor last year and loved them but the Prang pencils are cheaper and got better reviews.

    http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002GYFFP8/ref=oh_details_o02_s00_i00

    July 31, 2012 at 1:06 am
    eawerner
    Participant

    I have a set of Staedtler watercolor pencils from when I was an artsy major in college, they work great though I don’t know how the price compares to prismacolor or other brands.  I do have prismacolor regular colored pencils and they are awesome! The other day I noticed one of my unsharpened ones has a price tag of $.99! For one pencil! Apparently I didn’t mind dropping cash in college.  😛  I would have a really hard time with it now though, especially if I didn’t know for sure that they were that much better. 

    July 31, 2012 at 3:15 am
    Corie
    Participant

    Thanks again, Ladies.  Your replies are all very helpful.  I will be checking into all of your suggestions.  I am definitely not going to ditch the crayola yet for my youngers, but I think my older two will be pretty excited to get something a little more “grown up”.  🙂

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