New Faber Castell Polychromos 20 Set

I think after this review, a lot of people will be upset with me and the wonderful people at Faber Castell will not be too enamoured with me either. But I would like to say before I get started, when I complete my reviews, I am always thinking of the artists who watch or read them first and foremost; the financial struggles they may be facing and yet all they want to do is perform art and how much buying expensive art products effects their creative process. However, at the same time I am also incredibly respectful and try to be as understanding as I can toward the companies creating the art supplies. I am aware of the pitfalls companies have to navigate and so I am always as respectful as I can be.

When I first heard about the 20 new colours from Faber Castell, I have to say I was really excited, I can’t specifically say what I was hoping for in terms of the new colours, but I was hoping for a few darker tones in the reds, greens and blues. As always, whenever a new set of pencils hit the market, regardless of the brand, the first place I go to is Emma of the “Colour Pencil Shop”. For anyone who may not know, Emma sells mostly open stock colored pencils and pretty much stocks every major brand. The speed at which Emma ships out to customers and ensures the product is well protected is second to none, please make sure you check out the Colour Pencil Shop for all your open stock needs as well as new release sets.

I wanted to review and analyse this new 20 set from Faber Castell from a slightly different perspective. I am sure most of the artists online are showcasing the palette in the most beautiful ways, but I wanted to see if the set was worth the hype and most importantly if the palette was unique enough for you guys to buy. There are a few other things I want to discuss in this article about the Faber Castell Polychromos in general such as lightfast ratings, but we will get there.

On opening the new 20 set of Faber Castell Polychromos I was a little disappointed if I am honest. The first ten colors in the set looked incredibly saturated, some even neon; however the remaining ten colors, much paler in tone looked beautiful. So the first thing I did was complete a swatch on Strathmore 300 Series Bristol Velum and as I said, the top ten colors where bright and saturated with the bottom ten very pale, yet beautiful colors.

For anyone who has followed my art journey over the last 10 or 11 years, you will all know I am not the brightest bulb in the room, I suffer with mild dyslexia and pronouncing words is a huge struggle for, so thanks Faber Castell for the funky new color names in the 20 set, that I will never be able to pronounce in a million years lol.

New 20 Colors

Arylide Yellow 202 *** , Lazardite Green 204 ** , Golden Ochre 285 *** , Perinone Orange 210 ** , Red Jasper 286 *** , Pyrrole Red 211 **, Quinacridone Magenta 325 * , Tyrian Purple 339 *** , Dark Ultramarine Violet 350 ** , Far Angelico Blue 150 *** , Aquamarine Blue 348 *** , Green Jasper 261 ** , Bohemian Green Earth 372 *** , Slate Green 238 *** , Light Zircon Red 216 *** , Thulite Reddish 213 *** , Thulite Yellowish 215 *** , Thulite Brownish 214 *** , Amethyst Grey 337 *** and finally Serpentine Grey 237 *** .

After completing the swatch for the new 20 set of Faber Castell Polychromos, I wanted to see how many colors in the current 120 count were similar or identical to any of the new colors. For any artist out there that has never bought a set of Faber Castell Polychromos, going straight out and buying the new 140 set is perfect idea if you can afford it. However, if you already own the 120 set, this review is to show you whether or not you need to buy the new 20 set or if purchasing a few open stock pencils will be enough.

As you can see from the swatch I have included colors that I thought looked similar or identical to the new 20 Faber Castell Colors. The only colours that I could not find replicas for was the Bohemian Green Earth, Light Zircon Red, Thulite Reddish and Serpentine Grey. There are one or two colors that may not look identical, for example I added the Warm Grey III to replicate the Slate Green, but I think that might be a stretch. It is important to note, that this is all only my opinion and you are welcome to accept it or reject it.

Wild Pricing

If you are in looking to purchase just the 20 new Faber Castell Polychromos Colors in the UK you can expect to pay £48 which in my opinion is a good price for the set, in a while the price I am sure will reduce as is always the case when new sets are released. As of yet, I have not been able to find the 20 new colors on Amazon US but as soon as I do I will amend this article.

At the time of writing this article, which is Thursday the 13th of August 2026, Faber Castell have not advertised their 140 set of Polychromos Colored Pencils on their own website, so as of yet, the only place I can reference for pricing is Amazon.

Currently on Amazon, to purchase the full 140 set of Faber Castell Polychromos it would cost £385, however to purchase the 120 set it would cost £178, that is a difference of £207 for an additional 20 colored pencils. I know this is not Faber Castell dictating the pricing, it is whoever selling them on Amazon, but the difference is wild.

Faber Castell Lightfast Questions.

I know this is slightly off topic, however I do want to talk a little bit about the Faber Castell lightfast testing and rating system. On the Faber Castell website they say they have used the Blue Wool system to rate their pencils. However, the rating system Faber Castell have used is 7 and 8 in the Blue Wool scale equal 3 stars. 5 and 6 are equal to 2 stars and finally 3 and 4 equating to 1 star.

The issue with this is, if you look at the blue wool scale, it is fine for 7 and 8 to equal 3 stars, but 6 is a lightfast rating in its own right, so 5 and 6 which equate to 2 stars, actually mean two completely lightfast ratings, with 6 equating “Very Good Lightfastness” and 5 equating “Fair Lightfastness”, that simply can’t be the case. It is the same issue for the 1 star equating 3 and 4 on the Blue Wool scale and I know there are not many 1 star pencils in the full 140 count, but that isn’t the point. 3 in the Blue Wool scale is “Poor Lightfastness” and 4 is “Fair Lightfastness” , it can only be one or the other, not both.

Faber Castell Polychromos 20 New Colors Conclusion

As I mentioned at the beginning, I wasn’t blown away with the new palette, there are definitely a few colors in the set that are gorgeous, but nothing that really sticks out. I can remember when Caran d’Ache released their extra colours taking the luminance range to 100, everyone was talking about the Indigo Blue. There were other beautiful colors, but the Indigo blue really blew everyone away.

I am not very pleased about the difference in pricing from the 140 set to the 120 set, but again, this is not really on Faber Castell, this is more to do with the pricing on Amazon. Having said that, on Amazon the 120 set is £178 but on the Faber Castell website, the same set is £330, so whenever Faber Castell list the 140 set on their website, I will be able to amend this and analyse the pricing structure again.

The last thing in the world I want is to put a negative spin on any art supplies, I love them all and I do love this set in its own way, I guess perhaps because it was Faber Castell, I was expecting something more. Let me know your thoughts on the set in the comments section and if you can any questions about my article, please ask in the comments section and I will get back to you as soon as possible. I have also included a YouTube video on The Art Gear Guide YouTube channel which I would love for you to watch and comment on, simply click the link.