Marco Chroma Colored Pencil Review
Marco Chroma Colored Pencil Review
In this review we are going to take a look at the Marco Chroma and Marco Manga Colored Pencils. I know that I have reviewed quite a lot of Marco brands recently and although this has most certainly not been a conscious decision on my part, I do apologise if any of you are a little bit fed up of the Marco reviews.
That being said, there is no doubt that Marco have been working hard to bring good quality, inexpensive, colored pencils to colored pencil artists and colourists alike. I know that we are always looking for the best pencils we can use, meaning the highest lightfast, the softest cored, the highest pigmented core etc, but this type of pencil comes at a huge price, which is the reason I feel reviews such as this one are essential as not everyone is able to afford the highest quality fine art colored pencil.
For the first year or so that I started reviewing colored pencils, which is about six years ago now, the only pencils available from the Marco brand, at least to us in the West, was the Renior and Raffine. Both decent pencils, with my own personal favourite of the pair being the Marco Renior.
Marco Chroma Colored Pencil Characteristics
the first thing that I want to address is the Marco Chroma Colored Pencils and the 24 set referred to as the Marco Chroma Manga set. I know a lot of you will want to know what, if any difference there is between both of the sets and why they are labeled Manga.
If you cast your mind back to the Marco Square Colored Pencils that I reviewed, they came in a 48 set of traditional colors and then they also came in a 24 set of Pastel Colors, essentially the exact same pencil, just one set delivering pastel tones, which is becoming a very popular move with colored pencil companies, watercolor manufactures and also Marker manufactures, well this is a similar thing going on here. The Marco Chroma 24 Manga set is simply 24 Pastel tones from the Chroma range, but there is on small difference which I will explain in a second.
I am not altogether sure why they have been labeled Manga, because whilst Pastel tones are important in Manga art, so art bright vibrant blocky colors, Pastel tones in Manga art are more accent tones and not really the main ingredient of palette for Manga art in my opinion.
The Marco Chroma Colored Pencils are really split into two different pencils as I have explained, although the core ingredients appear to be identical in my opinion, the Marco Chroma and then the Marco Chroma Manga. For the purpose of this review I will simply refer to the Chroma Manga as the Manga set.
The Marco Chroma Colored Pencils sport a highly pigmented 3.6mm core all held within a 7.1mm hexagonal barrel. The Manga set however, and this is the only difference I can find, sport a 3.8mm core, held within a 7.6mm hexagonal barrel. when I first tested the pencils, the Manga pencils definitely felt and appeared to the eye a slightly larger pencil, but for the life of me I am unsure why both pencils have different dimension cores and barrels.
The Marco Chroma Colored Pencils are lacquered a Navy Blue and on the end of each barrel is a 3/4 inch pigment identifier, whereas the Marco Chroma Manga set barrels are lacquered in white with a 3/4 inch pigment identifier on the end of the capped barrel. This is not a huge issue, but it is one I have to mention but am unable to explain. The Marco Chroma Colored Pencils with the Blue barrels, when sharpened, the lacquer chips off quite vigorously and is something to be aware of as a small bit of lacquer hit my face when I first started sharpening. The Manga Chroma pencils however do not have this same issue.
Along the barrel of both the Marco Chroma Manga and Marco Chroma Colored Pencils is identical, starting with the “Chroma” printed in silver metallic print. This is followed by “Super Premium” being printed and then finally the “Marco” name and logo printed
Both pencils at this point sport a decretive ring band separating the barrel from the 3/4 inch pigment identifier on the very end of each barrel. Only on the Marco Chroma Colored Pencils is there a number printed on the pigment identifier and that number corresponds to the actual pigment, the Marco Chroma Manga pencils do not have this number printed and none of the pencils have the pigment name printed on the barrel.
I was fortunate to have been sent the full 100 set of Marco Chroma Colored Pencils to review and as you can see from the images below, this is the full palette of colors, I have to add that the palette over all is very complete and would in my opinion would cover a wide range of genres to draw, that complete with the 24 Pastel tones in the Manga set, provide an exceptional palette.
As you can see from the top layer of the Marco Chroma Colored Pencils set, Marco have provided two sharpeners in the set so that artists can get started right out of the box. The pencils do of course come pre-sharpened and whilst the pencil sharpeners provided are not of the highest quality, they do work.
Marco Chroma Sets Available
When Marco first reached out to me about the Marco Chroma Colored Pencils, they were not that easy to purchase here in the UK, US and Western Europe, that has changed which you can see from the price list section were I have added relevant links. That being said, what with everything going on around the world related to COVID-19 and or Brexit, there are many delays, stock shortage etc.
For the Marco Chroma range, Marco have provided a really good selection of sets, but with the prices per set being so reasonable considering quality of the pencils, make sure you select the set that is best going to fulfil your colored pencil artist endeavours.
Starting with the smallest set available, Marco have provided a 12 set, 24 set, 36 set, 48 set, 72 set and then the largest 100 set. The Marco Chroma Colored Pencils are not sold open stock which can of course be an issue, however, given the inexpensive cost of even the largest set, for brands such as the Chroma it would not be financially viable to ship and sell individual pencils. Then of course there is the 24 Pastel Set which Marco refer to as the Manga set.
Marco Chroma Colored Pencils Price Range
As I mentioned, the Marco Chroma have become much more widely available, with a few exceptions here and there.
Marco Chroma UK Prices
For the 12 set of Marco Chroma you will pay approximately £10.76, for the 24 Set of Marco Chroma you will pay £17.22, for the 36 Set you will pay £19.37, unfortunately the 48 was unavailable in Amazon UK but when it restocks I will of course amend this site, for the 72 set of Marco Chroma you will pay approximately £33.01 and for the largest 100 set of Marco Chroma Colored Pencils you will pay £35.88. The final set is the 24 Marco Chroma Pastel set, otherwise known as the Chroma Manga Set, this set will cost approximately £21.99
Marco Chroma US Prices
For the 12 set of Marco Chroma you will pay approximately $14.99, for the 24 Set of Marco Chroma you will pay $23.99, for the 36 Set you will pay $26.99, for the 48 Set you will pay $25.99 for the 72 set of Marco Chroma you will pay approximately $45.99 and for the largest 100 set of Marco Chroma Colored Pencils you will pay $49.99 The final set is the 24 Marco Chroma Pastel set, otherwise known as the Chroma Manga Set, this set will cost approximately $22.99
Marco Chroma EU Prices
For the 12 set of Marco Chroma you will pay approximately €12.64, for the 24 Set of Marco Chroma you will pay €15.99, for the 36 Set you will pay €22.75 unfortunately the 48, 72 and 100 Sets have been unavailable in Amazon EU but when it restocks I will of course amend this site. The final set is the 24 Marco Chroma Pastel set, otherwise known as the Chroma Manga Set, this set will cost approximately €21.99
Marco Chroma Colored Pencil Performance
I think one of the things that I am learning as the years go on and with all the questions I receive from you guys, is where should or could a particular set of pencils fit into your artistic endeavours. In fact most of what I learn comes from you guys and the directions I am sent in, in order to find answers.
With the Marco Chroma Colored Pencils, after a lot of testing and swatching etc, in my own mind I knew immediately what genre of colored pencil art that the Marco Chroma would be perfect for, however I wanted to try and create the opposite genre of art. I wanted to try and create something that most people would not expect from the pencil like the Marco Chroma, hence the Bumble Bee.
I always try to make sure that I test the pencils on as many different papers as possible, the images below showing the swatches of both the 100 Marco Chroma and 24 Marco Chroma Manga set were applied to Clairefontaine Mixed Media Paint On Paper. Given the softness of the Chroma core, I found a slightly more textured paper allowed for lighter application which in turn allowed for multiple layers.
It is also worth mentioning that after completing the swatch of the Marco Chroma Manga 24 Set, which are essentially 24 pastel tones, I noticed that the swatch resembled the tones from the Marco Square Pastel Set. As you can see from the images below, both sets offer the same colors, so if you already own the Marco Square Pastel Tones, there is no need to purchase the 24 Manga set from Marco Chroma.
Next up is the layering and blending test which has been completed on Strathmore 300 Series Bristol Velum paper, again a paper with a little bit of tooth, not quite the level of the Clairefontaine Mixed Media Paint On Paper but still an excellent surface for the Marco Chroma range.
With the layer test, I always apply 5 light layers as this is generally considered to be the number of layers applied before adding Odourless Mineral Spirits. The final column is a single heavy application and this helps to detail the level of pigment within a single heavy application.
The blending test is there to hopefully create a third color with the mixing of two other colors, this does not always happen and some pencils just don’t blend that well. As you can see from the image provided, the Blue and Yellow have indeed created a good vibrant Green, the Red and Yellow have generated a nice Orange and finally the Red and Blue have created a decent Purple but I have seen better in other blending tests.
The next test is of course applying Odourless Mineral Spirits, this is a process many colored pencil artists use, I have to be honest it is not a process I personally use in my own art, but it is vital to help demonstrate pencils after the application of OMS for those who do use it. I have applied an image of this sphere before having applied OMS and after OMS is applied, to actually see this process in realtime check out the YouTube video I have uploaded, which for those of you who use OMS will get a better understanding of how the pigment and binding agents all breakdown under OMS.
The final test is a display of the Marco Chroma pigments on black paper, this test don’t show any negative or positive features of the product, just simply if some pigments are more translucent or opaque than others. As colored pencil artists, we all want different things from our pencils and this test just helps provide such information.
As I mentioned earlier in this section, I personally feel that the Marco Chroma Colored Pencils, given the palette and the soft core of the pencil, are perfect for fan art, adult colouring book art, bright vivid art, so it would have been predictable of me I think to complete some Manga or FanArt, but I wanted to show that despite what a set of pencils may looked aimed toward, you can create whatever art you like.
The Bee that I created I guess would be considered semi realistic and along the lines of wildlife art etc. I used the Hot Pressed Hahnemuhle Watercolor Paper, which reacted beautifully to the Marco Chroma pencils, the tooth and texture of the paper allowed for multiple layering and aiding in creating the texture of the Bee’s hair.
Marco Chroma Lightfast Information
There is no lightfast information for the Marco Chroma colored pencils, on the Marco website and literature, they do claim that the Chroma are lightfast, but as I mentioned in the recent livestream talking about Artist Graded Pencils v Artist Quality pencils, a company can perform their own lightfast in housing testing, but without very specific information it is difficult to ascertain just how lightfast the pencils are.
As far as Colored Pencil artists are concerned, there are two standards for rating Lightfastness in colored pencils and they are the ASTM or Blue Wool; anything outside of either standards and the Lightfast rating should be taken with a grain of salt, unless of course, specific and detailed information is provided.
Unfortunately, all too often this is not the case, detailed information regarding Lightfast ratings that are conducted in house are not published. This leaves it down to the Colored Pencil Artist to research and try to locate more information and this really should not be the case. It is equally important to understand that not all your art products need to be Lightfast tested, highly lightfast products come with a high price tag and with good reason. Many artists, including myself, live day to day on a very tight budget and simply can’t afford such products, but there are other ways to sell your work or UV protect your work.
Marco Chroma Colored Pencil Conclusion
The Marco Chroma Colored Pencils, in my opinion, taking into consideration the price point of all sets, the layering ability, the blending results, pigment strength etc are an excellent set of pencils to have in your pencil arsenal.
As I mentioned earlier in the review, given the bright and vibrant pigment strength of the Marco Chroma Colored Pencils, I said they would be perfect for FanArt Work, Anime & Manga and absolutely wonderful for adult colouring book artists. But I wanted to try and throw that recommendation to the side and try to create some wildlife and semi realistic art with the same pencils. Given the outcome of the Bee drawing I completed with respect to providing a realtime demonstration, I was pleasantly surprised to just how well the Marco Chroma Colored Pencils performed in this particular genre.
The small downsides of the Marco Chroma Colored Pencils are the fact they are not sold open stock, because the core is soft, you may get the odd pencil that shatters when sharpening, which is unfortunately part and parcel of using softer cored pencils. Having said that, of the 124 I used in swatching, testing and creating art, I only experienced such issues with two pencils.
As always I would invite you to check out my YouTube review of the Marco Chroma Colored Pencils as this review offers some additional information and real time demonstrations. I have also completed a speed drawing of the artwork and because I know speed drawing videos don’t offer a lot with respect to detailed information, I have provided a page here on The Art Gear Guide with still images taken from the artwork at various stages of completion from start to finish. This will allow you to click on the image and enlarge it, giving you the ability to inspect aspects of the pencils such as form over velum paper, pencil strokes, blending and so much more.
