Luminance 6901 Coloured Pencils - comparative prices for open stock

I've had a bit of a splurge on Luminance 6901 Coloured Pencils by Caran d'Ache!  Here's my haul from Monday's Private View of the Pastel Society Exhibition at the Mall Galleries 

Caran d'Ache Luminance Coloured Pencils
£2.49 each from open stock at the Pastel Society Annual Exhibition!

I've been building up my stock of Luminance Coloured Pencils slowly - because they are expensive.

I love their intense pigmentation, the way they go down and the degree of coverage I can get without effort.  However most of all I love the fact they are the only accredited lightfast coloured pencil range on the market - as in "meets the International 6901 Standard".

For me, if you're producing coloured pencil artwork for sale you must use lightfast pencils which will not fade - guaranteed!

If I have to choose, I prefer a pencil which meets an accredited technical quality standard on lightfastness rather than one where I have to rely on the quality assurance of the manufacturer. I see my preference reflected in the way other media has changed in recent years - and so it will come to pass it will happen to coloured pencils too - in time.

Caran d'Ache Display Stand
at Pastel Society Annual Exhibition
at the Mall Galleries

However there's no getting away from the fact that Luminance 6001 pencils are expensive.  I don't mind that so much - quality costs etc.  However it does mean I'm building a collection from open stock rather than laying out a huge sum to buy the whole range.  [ Note: I've listed the comparative prices from different suppliers at the end ]

So when I see pencils for sale at a much reduced cost (£2.49 per pencil ) I stand in front of the display stand and work out how many I can buy without making my eyes water.

Turns out on Monday night it was rather a lot - see the pic at the top.

These are very much "me" colours - i.e. the colour palette I like to work with so my new collection both provides back-up pencils and some new colours I've not worked with before.

This is the complete colour chart for Luminance Pencils

I may just have to go back and get some more - that's if you don't beat me and get there first!

For more about the different brands of Coloured Pencils see my website Coloured Pencils - Resources for Artists.

Note: Caran d'Ache are sponsoring the Pastel Society Annual Exhibition - hence the display stand of coloured pencils and pastel pencils etc in the Mall Galleries.  It also has other Caran d'Ache products and Luminance 6901 pencils in tins.

Comparative prices for Luminance 6901 Pencils in the UK

Comparative prices for Luminance pencils bought as individual pencils from open stock are listed below together with indications as to postage costs for pencils bought online.

Product	Luminance 6901 coloured pencils | OPEN STOCK
Recommended retail price:  £2.99 or £3.10 Depends on who is quoting it!
Name of Retailer	Face to face £ price	Online £ price	£ postage
Amazon		£2.70	Various options
Jackson Art	£2.70	£2.70	Free over £39
Artifolk		£2.69	Free over £10
Pencils4Artists		£2.55	£1.95
Mall Galleries	£2.49		n/a

Note:  The Mall Galleries price only applies for the duration of the Pastel Society Annual Exhibition which ends on 22 June.  Caran d'Ache are the 2013 Sponsors of the Pastel Society Exhibition.

The Favourite Coloured Pencil Awards! (2012 Brand Poll Results)

This is my Annual Report on the results of the Annual Poll which asks which is your current favourite brand of artist grade coloured pencil.

Artist grade in this connection means:

• used by fine artists (whether professional or amateur) - people who would like their artwork to last and/or to sell it.
• suitable for fine art rather than commercial art where longevity is of no relevance once the artwork has been photographed.

Below is the chart of the results from the Annual Poll on my resource website Coloured Pencils - Resources for Artists (VOTE on this 2013 Poll by clicking this link - 2013 POLL: Which is the best brand of artist grade coloured pencil?)

Chart of the Results of the 2012 Poll:
Which is the best brand of artist grade coloured pencil?

This year 347 people voted during 2011 to determine which is the best brand of artist grade coloured pencil.  This is fewere than in previous years but I didn't remind people about the poll at mid-year as I've done in the past.

The results are as follows

• The Favourite Artist Grade Coloured Pencil in 2012 - Faber Castell Polychromos (33.4%)
• 2nd - Sanford Prismacolor Premier (15%)
• 3rd - Derwent Coloursoft (8.4%)
• 4th - Caran d'Ache Luminance (6.6%)
• 5th - Caran d'Ache Pablo (5.5%)
• The Favourite Lightfast (6901) Artist Grade Coloured Pencil in 2012 - Caran d'Ache Luminance (this is a pencil which is accredited as being compliant with the standard ASTM D-6901 for testing Lightfastness in Coloured Pencils created by the American Society for Testing and Material).
• The Favourite brand of Artist Grade Coloured Pencil Media in 2012 - Faber Castell Polychromos - by a mile!

Which means Faber Castell is now the dominant brand and Polychromos is the dominant artist grade coloured pencil within the coloured pencil marketplace for fine artists.  

For a further explanation of how this comes about see below.

Analysis of changes in coloured pencil brand preference over time

It's worth remembering that the performance of different pencils in Opinion Polls is highly dependent on how easy they are to obtain and the patterns of buying behaviour in different countries.  

What I have found noticeable over time is that as more people buy online they are more likely to try new brands of pencils - and are no longer dependent on the pencil in open stock at their local art store - assuming that this store has survived the recession!

The recession has also inevitably had an impact.  One might expect the cheaper pencils to be doing better.  In fact the reverse seems to be occurring and those with more disposable income seem to be favouring the top quality pencils - even if they are more expensive.

Changes in coloured pencil brand preferences 2008 - 2012

I've been running the Poll since 2008 so it's developed a few trends in that time - and we'll look at these below.

CLICK THE CHART below to see a MUCH LARGER version of this chart which shows the percentage share each manufacturer earned in the annual polls.  The very minor brands have been eliminated from view in the chart for the purposes of this analysis.

• GAINERS: Faber Castell, Caran d'Ache
• LOSS OF SHARE: Prismacolor, Lyra Rembrandt
• NEUTRAL: Derwent, Blick and Talens Van Gogh

The Annual Poll was started partway through 2008.  The pattern over time, based on the poll results for the last five years, can be summarised as follows:

• There have been three dominant brands in the marketplace in the last five years - Sanford Prismacolor, Faber Castell Polychromos and Derwent (various)
• Two more brands Caran 'Ache and Lyra Rembrandt have been competing for attention - and one - Caran d'Ache - is beginning to have a serious impact in 2012.
• There are two minor brands - Talens van Gogh and Blick
• In 2012, there has been a significant shift
• Faber Castell is now dominant over the combined pencils of all other manufacturers. 
• One pencil - the Polychromos - now has a 1/3 share of the market.  It is more than  twice as popular as its nearest competitor.
• Prismacolor has lost 45% of its market share in the last year - and is no longer rated as the premier brand of coloured pencils.  For the last four years it has consistently had just less than a third of the market (28-32%).  This year its share has reduced to 18%.  (I'll comment on this further)
• Derwent and Prismacolour are now neck and neck in the popularity stakes
• The Caran d'Ache Luminance pencil - which is lightfast - has continued to build its share of the market DESPITE being the most expensive coloured pencil in the world!  This very clearly demonstrates that price is obviously NOT a barrier to building market share amongst fine artists if people want a quality pencil which is lightfast.  It comprehensively demonstrates that any failure of previous brands of lightfast pencils (which have been dropped) is very probably down to:
• the quality of the pencil in terms of application and use 
• the marketing of the product
• and/or both the above!

While there may be weaknesses in my poll results, so far as I am aware there is no other consistent polling of preferred brands of coloured pencils on a global basis.  If there is I'd be happy to study the results and any inconsistencies with the results of my poll.  (I used to crunch numbers and analyse them for a living!)

Conclusion

The following summary is a product of both the poll, consumer comments available on the Internet (and offline) and recent research.

To my mind the current situation can be characterised as follows.

• Faber Castell has been very focused around the quality of one pencil.  It delivers a high quality product of consistent reliability.  This has earned the Polychromos many admirers - who in turn recommend the pencil to others!  This focus on one pencil gives it a much bigger impact in the marketplace.
• Sanford has lost its way both in terms of  product range, its target market and the quality of the product produced.  I have observed lots of changes and no discernible direction in strategic terms plus lots of complaints about matters which the company has failed to address over the years. It no longer feels to me like a manufacturer which is serious about producing quality products for fine artists.  Its cheap unreliable pencil appears to be targeted at the younger / student market and children and adults who like colouring pages.
• Derwent has a huge range of pencils - none of which do particularly well - apart from the Coloursoft.  Effort and marketing appears to be spread thin.  They could have had the lead in the Lightfast Pencil market - and abandoned it.  Issues around lightfastness continue to be relevant to the artist grade range.
• Caran d'Ache is playing a blinder.  It took time to produce a well thought out pencil which has become very popular - the Luminance.  Despite its high price, this pencil is attractive, works well and is readily available - it looks likely to continue to be very popular and to grow its market share over time.  Not least because it is certified as ASTMS 6901 compliant - and is the only leading artist grade pencil which can claim this. Its growth has also not seriously dented the market for the Pablo Pencil.  The company persuade me (and others) that they recognise how long it takes a new product to establish itself in the market and have a focus on continuous improvement.

Thus we have my personal 'take' on four manufacturers who all demonstrate a very different approach to how to win share and make money from coloured pencils.  

While fine artists are only a small part of the coloured pencil market as a whole one is led to wonder why more artist grade pencils don't emulate the success of the Polychromos!

I'm going to follow up this Poll Report with in-depth analysis of the main brands.  I have eclectic tastes rather than being a dedicated fan of one brand - so this should prove interesting.

I've started by updating the analysis of brands in the Artist Grade Coloured Pencils: Brand Information section of Coloured Pencils - Resources for Artists.  Each of the sections on the manufacturers of artist grade pencils now has a section which covers:

• SUMMARY
• Favoured by
• No. of artist-quality coloured pencils 
• Meets 6901 Lightfastnes Standard
• Characteristics of coloured pencils
• Pencil equipment/aids available? 
• Characteristics of Manufacturer
• Country

This is my post about The Favourite Watercolour Pencils Awards! (2012 Brand Poll Results)

You can now vote on the 2013 POLL: Which is the best brand of artist grade coloured pencil?

Do SUBSCRIBE

if you'd like to be kept informed about the other Poll results for 2012 

and/or reviews of art products and art books in 2013. 

You can find a subscription link near the top of the side column.

Links:

• How to vote for the best coloured pencils in 2013
• The Favourite Coloured Pencil Awards! (2011 Brand Poll Results)
• The Favourite Coloured Pencil Awards! (2010 Brand Poll Results)

NEW PRODUCT: Caran d'Ache hard dry pastels and pencils

This is to let people know that the Swiss company Caran d'Ache will be releasing a new line of hard and dry pastel sticks and pastel pencils in April in 2012.

© Astrid Volquardsen

German pastel artist Astrid Volquardsen (Astrid Volquardsen pastellbilder 'Malerin des Lichts' ) has been in touch to tell me about them and to highlight the fact that she has two posts on her blog which relate to the new line

Last year I was asked to test some prototypes and from this a very nice working relationship has evolved and I was able to see the production site in Geneva and wrote a report about this on my blog A visit at Caran d’Ache / Pastel Pencils . The company was very much interested in the opinion of pastel artists all over the world and to create a line which meets the needs of pastel artists.

She has now written a review of the NEW Caran d'Ache Pastels which highlights why pastel artists might be interested in them - see Caran d’Ache Pastel Pencils and Pastel Cubes.  In it she demonstrates how they work on a variety of different papers as well as identifying the characteristics which she really likes.

Astrid told me that she usually works with Sennelier; Unison, Terry Ludwig and was very surprised by the quality of these new hard pastels from Caran d'ache.  She's now convinced they're a worthwhile addition to our collection of pastel supplies.

You can also see a video of somebody working with the hatrd pastels and pencils on the Caran d'Ache website - click "Pastel - Preview"

The cubes and pencils are being released in April 2012 and can be obtained in

• France: www.magasinsennelier.com

• Germany: via the website www.boesner.com or at various branches of boesner

• Switzerland: www.gerstaecker.ch

I'm adding links into my resource site Pastels - Resources for Artists - and will be looking for them in the art supplies shops when they are introduced.  Now you know to look out for them too!

The Favourite Coloured Pencil Awards! (2011 Brand Poll Results)

577 people voted during 2011 in the 2011 POLL: Which is the best brand of artist grade coloured pencil? to determine which is the best brand of artist grade coloured pencil on Coloured Pencils - Resources for Artist.

The results are as follows

• The Favourite Coloured Pencil in 2011 - Faber Castell Polychromos
• The Favourite Lightfast (6901) Coloured Pencil in 2011 - Caran d'Ache Luminance (this is a pencil which is accredited as being compliant with the standard ASTM D-6901 for testing Lightfastness in Coloured Pencils created by the American Society for Testing and Material.
• The Favourite brand of Coloured Pencil Media in 2011 - Sanford Prismacolor

Which means "no change" from last year.  At the end I've got a table which show the changes between 2009 and 2011.

Below are the results of the poll.

Which is your current favourite brand of artist grade coloured pencil?
2011 Opinion Poll from Coloured Pencils - Resources for Artists

577 artists voted in 2011 (compared to 760 artists in 2010 compared to 792 in 2009)

The emphasis of the poll is at looking at your CURRENT FAVOURITE coloured pencils.  This is on the basis that each year brands are upgraded, new products are introduced and coloured pencil artists try new pencils - and they can change their mind about which pencils they like to use best.

Below you can see how market share has changed in the last two years - according to those who respond to this poll

(Note - this poll/chart/table in now way suggests this is totally accurate about real market share - but the sample size is such it's very likely to a good indicator)

Indications of Coloured Pencil Manufacturer's market share according to 2011 Poll

Coloured Pencil Manufacturers                    (all brands)	2009	2010	2011	Increase / (decrease) 2009 to 2011
	%	%	%
Sanford Prismacolor (all brands)	29.4	32.6	32.8	3.4
Faber Castell Polychromos	27.3	26.4	27.4	0.1
Derwent ( all brands)	22.5	21.3	17.7	-4.8
Caran d’Ache (all brands)	10.4	10.7	7.9	-2.5
Lyra Rembrandt	7.2	4.2	9.7	2.5
Royal Talens van Gogh	2.0	2.8	1.9	-0.1
Blick Studio Artists	0.0	2.0	2.4	2.4
Pantone			0.2	0.2
	98.8	100.0	100.0	1.2

• GAINERS: Sanford Prismacolor, Lyra Rembrandt and Blick
• LOSS OF SHARE:  Derwent, Caran d'Ache and Talens van Gogh (latter is no longer available in the USA)

Both Faber Castell and Sanford Prismacolor are maintaining their position from last year, while Sanford has now established that the recovery in 2010 was no 'flash in the pan'.

Dick Blick is doing reasonable business with their new pencils - which are thought to be made by Koh-i-Noor

Caran d'Ache Luminance appears to be maintaining its popularity with those who want accredited lightfast coloured pencils - despite the price.  However the popularity of their Pablo pencils has diminished.

With Derwent, the Coloursoft brand is holding up well with the Artists and Studio Pencils (which have both been around for a very long time) losing some ground.

The probable explanation for the drop in the Talens Van Gogh drop is almost entirely accounted for by the fact they are no longer exported to the USA and hence are only available there is you order them from Europe.  For some reason they keep being described as "discontinued" in the USA (even on the CPSA website!).  There's a lot of difference between "discontinued" and "no longer available in the USA"!  I just did a very quick search online and found them on the iartsupplies website.

You can now vote on the 2012 POLL: Which is the best brand of artist grade coloured pencil?

Do SUBSCRIBE

if you'd like to be kept informed about the other Poll results for 2010 

and/or reviews of art products and art books in 2011. 

You can find a subscription link near the top of the side column.

Product Review: Derwent Black Book

Derwent Black Book (A4 size)

Coloured pencils have a reputation for sinking into black paper over time - which is a bit of a nuisance to put it mildly as this can alter the value pattern of any artwork you produce!

Derwent sent me one of their Black Books to review a while ago.  I've been waiting a while to check out the impact of black paper on my coloured pencils. Below you can now read my review.

Product:  Derwent Black Book

Summary Review:  This is a black paper sketchbook.  The stiff 200gsm paper is suitable for dry rather than wet media.  I very much liked the surface and it's easy to take an eraser to it without abrading the surface. In terms of colour, woodless pencils such as my set of Caran d'Ache Neocolour worked better than colours from a range of brands.  Watersoluble pencils are useless on this paper as tints are totally invisible.  Some colours sink into the paper or are distorted due to its colour.  Others appear more muted. In my opinion, it's a sketchbook which is very suitable for use with colours which retain brightness and saturation on this paper - which not all do (see colour charts).  Having said that it's no worse than any other black paper.  Selective use of certain colours will create images with impact.

Technical Details: The Derwent Black Book is a black paper sketchbook.  Available in 3 popular sizes A3 landscape, A4 portrait and Square (12” or 30.5cms) each one contains 40 sheets of 200gsm black paper (which means it's stiffish) heavy weight paper which does not abrade easily and can take a lot of layers of coloured pencil Derwent states it can be used with water soluble pencils for light washes.  (Which means it's likely to buckle if you do any more than that)

Who should buy this? artists interested in drawing and sketching on black paper people interested in flexing their approach to creating a coloured drawing

Who should not buy this?  those who don't like coloured paper

Highlights: sturdy paper with a very smooth surface accepts coloured pencils and waxneocolour crayons well certain colours pop (while others are suddued) sturdy ring binding - gives the sense of lasting a long while and NOT getting annoying

Think Again? the black paper mutes the colours of ordinary artists' coloured pencils  some colours 'sink' over time (a common problem with black paper) some colours do not display 'true' eg yellow takes on a greenish tinge (true of very many black papers) it's useless for watercolour or dispersing watersoluble coloured pencils/crayons.  Tints disappear.

Manufacturer / Distributor:  Cumberland Pencil Company (product page)

Suppliers:  supplied to me as test item to review; available from Derwent retailers Online Retailers include: Heaton Cooper; Artifolk

Derwent have a small range of sketch books which contain stiffish black paper.  Each sketchbook has 40 sheets of 200gsm black paper, which means it's a weight which makes it similar to thin card.  There are a good range of sizes which offer an opportunity to do larger work.  

I tried it with a range of coloured pencils from different brands and with Caran d'Ache Neocolour.  I had a suspicion they might work better with wax crayons - and they do.

Of the charts below the first one is coloured pencils and the second one is neocolour.  After that there are a couple of sketches made using (1) coloured pencils and (2) neocolor crayons.

Coloured Pencils from various brands

In my view, some of the colours have "sunk" over time.  Others continue to appear muted.  The white (bottom right) is actually a white charcoal pencil.

The next chart is of neocolor crayons which to my mind work a lot better.

Chart of Neocolor II Aquarelle Artists' Crayons

Neocolor II Aquarelle Artists' Crayons have a high pigment concentration and seem to work much better on this paper.  I tried wetting the ends of the colour bars to see how a tint might look - and you can see the results.  You can't see anything!  Basically black paper is not suitable for washes or tints - they simply won't show up!

Now for the sketches to see how the colours work together on the paper.  I would say that working on black paper means adapting to a new way of working where the darks are supplied largely by the paper.

First the sketch with coloured pencils.  As you can see the whites look grey - and I tried several!  hence why I ended up using the whitest white I know which is the White Pastel Pencil.

Hertford Union Canal
Coloured Pencils in Derwent Black Book
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

I wouldn't exhibit this as overall the colours are just too muted - as found with the colour chart.  However note how effective working back into the sketch with an eraser is for picking out the lowlights.

Next a sketch using the necolor crayons.  This I think demonstrates how well the paper works if you go with big shapes, bold colours, a calligraphic way of working - and again work back into it with an eraser to find the darkest darks

Schönbrunn Park (after Klimt)
Caran d'ache Neocolour in Derwent Black Book
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

Overall a book I've been interested to try and one which I will doubtless continue to try in terms of finding what works well with it.

The black paper is very nice - if you accept its limitations.  Expect to see more experiments in the future!

Links:  Watermarks - Schönbrunn Park - after Klimt

The Favourite Coloured Pencil Awards! (2010 Brand Poll Results)

760 people voted during 2010 in the 2010 POLL: Which is the best brand of artist grade coloured pencil? to determine which is the best brand of artist grade coloured pencil? on Coloured Pencils - Resources for Artist.

The poll is now closed and below you can find the results

Having studied the results I've split the favourites into three different categories

• The Favourite Coloured Pencil in 2010 - Faber Castell Polychromos
• The Favourite Lightfast (6901) Coloured Pencil  in 2010 - Caran d'Ache Luminance
• The Favourite brand of Coloured Pencil Media in 2010 - Sanford Prismacolor

Which is your current favourite brand of artist grade coloured pencil?
2010 Opinion Poll from Coloured Pencils - Resources for Artists

Key points:

• 760 artists voted during  2010 compared to 792 in 2009
• in 2010 the different brands of pencil were disaggregated under each manufacturer
• Prismacolor appears to be ahead of Faber Castell as a brand leader - however 10% of that lead is accounted for by the woodless coloured pencils Art Stix (which are also marketed to pastel artists)
• the favourite brand of coloured pencil is Faber Castell Polychromos
• the favourite brand of Lightfast coloured pencil is Caran d'Ache Luminance

You can see the 2009 results below and in Two new coloured pencil opinion polls for 2010 which has a chart for the previous poll

Coloured Pencil Manufacturers (all brands)	2009	2010	Increase / (decrease)
	%	%
Bruynzeel	1.1	0.0	-1.1
Blick Studio Artists	0.0	2.0	2
Caran d’Ache (all brands)	10.4	10.7	0.3
Derwent ( all brands)	22.5	21.3	-1.2
Faber Castell Polychromos	27.3	26.4	-0.9
Lyra Rembrandt	7.2	4.2	-3
Sanford Prismacolor (all brands)	29.4	32.6	3.2
Royal Talens van Gogh	2.0	2.8	0.8
	99.9	100.0	0.1

 
Note:  There's a rounding error in the 2009 total

Commentary

Most of the percentage changes are minor apart from those relating to the smaller brands.

I'm hoping nothing happens to Lyra Rembrandt which is one of my favourite brands of pencils.  They mix extremely well with Faber Castell Polychromos

Caran d'Ache Luminance (6901) appear to have succeeded in capturing significant market share where previous brands of lightfast pencils to the ASTM 6901 standard have not.  This is despite being the most expensive coloured pencil on the planet!

I'm guessing here - but I do wonder whether the significant presence of Art Stix in the 2010 Poll may be due to one or more of four factors and significant changes in the way coloured pencil media is laid down

• easier to use for those wanting to use solvents with their coloured pencil media
• easier to use for those wanting to use heat with their coloured pencil media
• easier to use for those working on larger pictures
• multiple marketing - they are also bought by pastel artist

Do let me know what you think by leaving a comment below.

Do SUBSCRIBE if you'd like to be kept informed about the other Poll results for 2010 

and reviews of art products and art books in 2011.  

You can find a subscription link near the top of the side column.

Caran d'Ache NEOART Pastels

I came across Caran d'Ache NEOART Aquarelle Pastels for the first time at Patchings recently. Always a sucker for a big wooden box full of juicy colours I took a photo!

Caran d'Ache NEOART Aquarelle Pastels
The finest wax pastels

...and then started to try and find out a bit more about them to see if they're likely to be something I want to investigate further.  (I've got to that point where any new product needs to earn its place in my home).

I particularly wanted to know what was the difference between these bigger NEOART pastels and the smaller Neocolour II pastels.

This post provides links to:

• the Caran d'Ache product pages for Neoart Aquarelle Pastels
• explains the difference between NEOART and Neocolor II
• comments by bloggers and people participating in forums

Caran d'Ache NEOART Aquarelle Pastels


This is how Caran d'Ache describe them

NEOART™ Aquarelle
Pastel of large diametre recommended for works on big surfaces
Bright and semi-opaque colours
Very high pigment concentration

Now - these are:

• NOT dry media (ie soft or hard pastels as we normally think of them)
• NOT another name for Caran D'Ache Neocolor II wax-based water-soluble pastels used by a lot of artists for underpaintings

Both NEOART and Neocolor II are water-soluble wax pastels - but

• Do they work in the same way?
• What, if any, are the differences?

These tables summarise their characteristics.  They persuade me that those using Neocolour II for underpaintings would do well to check out their favourite colours in the NEOART pastels

NEOART AQUARELLE

Water-soluble wax pastel

Artist / Professional Grade

Very high pigment concentration - provides exceptional purity and intensity

Excellent Lightfastness

Strong, bright semi-opaque colours (60 in total) - available in sets and individually

dry or wet drawing on all supports

techniques: watercolouring, washes, scraping back (Scraffito)

Large diameter (width of large marker pen)

Brochure (PDF) Colour Chart - PDF

Neocolor II

Water-soluble wax pastel

Hobby Artist Grade

High pigment concentration for bright and opaque colours

excellent lightfastness

exceptional covering power

dry or wet drawing on all materials

widest range of colours for water-soluble pastels on the market

normal pencil stick breadth

Brochure - PDF

Colour Chart - PDF

Product Reviews by artists online

This is what I could find from artists commenting online

• Neoart Watersoluble Wax Pastels- Charts is a long post by an artist participating in the Water Media Forum of Wet Canvas.  She's done a good overview of the colours

A big difference to the artist between the two is the size and hardness. The Neoart pastels are harder and seem a bit waxier than the neocolors. Since they come in a large size, they are a bit more awkward to hold in the hand, and the ends are blunt, not sharpened, so control can be a bit more difficult to achieve with them.

• Kelly Kilmer is a mixed media artist/tutor and major fan of NEOART Pastels.  She describes them as "must have supplies" and she ships and repackages them for her students

Caran d'ache Neo Art Watersoluble Wax Pastels (NOT oil based at all, these are big chunky crayons) I Love these to add color "here and there" on a page. I mostly use them dry with a heavy hand and "rub" them into the page using an old rag. Yet, since they are watersoluble anything "wet" will move them around. I have two sets of the 60 colors (one for me, one for classes) and these puppies last a LONG time. I dumped them out of the box and put them in a bag and they're not so "precious" once you do that ;)

• Jolene in Orange County, California shows us what you can do with them in a 2007 post Caran d' Ache 

After everything was dry I started coloring with the wax pastels. I smooshed them around with my fingers and rubbed them with an old rag. Then I grabbed the first sharp object I found on my art table (a needle I use for bookbinding) and I began to scratch into the pastels. And oh how I loved the effect I was able to achieve! 

UK Supplies

In the UK it appears that you can order sets from Jacksons Art.  The stall that brought them to Patchings was Caran d'Ache working with Gadsbys of Leicester