Staedtler Mars Lumograph Colour Aquarell
Staedtler Mars Lumograph Colour Aquarell
For those of you new to The Art Gear Guide website, YouTube channel or social media platforms, every single review I complete is done via testing and demonstrating, with only honesty and transparency as my priority. To misinform viewers about a product is only to damage my own reputation and the work I have done over the past eleven years. Reviews of art supplies will always be verified by the viewers of said review when they purchase the product and so to try and pull the wool over anyones eyes is just ridiculous.
With every single company that reaches out to me, to review their product, my first correspondence to them is always to inform them of my paramount priority to honesty and my views. Not a single company has retracted their offer after this conversation which in my opinion speaks volumes about their desire to manufacture and ship first class products to artists. Staedtler has been one such company, they have supported my channel tremendously, always trusting my ability to review their products, to which I would like to take this opportunity in thanking the team at Staedtler.
Staedtler has always been a hugely popular name in the world of stationary, back to school products etc; however as far back as 1930 was when Staedtler released the globally loved, blue barrel, Mars Lumograph graphite range. Whilst Staedtler provided high quality sets of colored pencils, watercolour pencils, water soluble crayons etc, sets I have reviewed on The Art Gear Guide; not very many of them were are of artist grading. That was until now. Staedtler have recently embarked on a fantastic rebranding campaign, which has really made their artist quality range stand out.
In this review we take a look at perhaps the most amazing product in their artist quality range so far, the Staedtler Mars Lumograph Colour Aquarell. A 120 set of water soluble coloured pencils, far exceeding their fantastic Karat water soluble range.
Staedtler Mars Lumograph Colour Aquarell Characteristics
As I mentioned at the beginning of this article, I have been so incredibly fortunate to have received the 120-set of the Staedtler Mars Lumograph Colour Aquarell, thanks to Staedtler. As with all of the new artist-quality products from Staedtler, the packaging is incredibly striking. Sporting a blue background, similar to the blue of the Mars Lumograph graphite barrel, the centre image is a splash of bright vivid colour, depicting various pieces of artwork on a background of colour. Incidentally the artwork on the packaging has been created by the wonderful artist, Polina Bright. This is the same branding for all of the artist quality Staedtler products, including the new packaging for the Mars Lumograph Graphite pencils.
The 120 set of the Mars Lumograph Colour Aquarell, comes in a tin, however the shape and appearance of the tin looks very similar to many cardboard sets that other pencil sets ship in. On the front of the tin there is a depiction of the full 120 colours inside the tin, but always remember that this is just providing a rough idea of the colours, as applying the pencils to paper will produce very different value ranges.
On opening the tin, you are immediately presented with a visual feast of bright, vivid colour, with the first layer tray holding, yellows, oranges and some reds. The second layer sports a continuation of the reds, followed by lavenders, lilacs, transitioning into dark and pale blues. The third layer displays a continuation of the blues, leading into some aqua blues, aqua greens and a myriad of beautiful botanical greens. The fourth and final layer showcases the traditional earth tones such as yellow ochre, brown ochre, Sienna, etc, flowing into darker earth tones and finalising with a beautiful selection of greys. The palette overall is gorgeous, but we will discuss this further into the review, along with the swatch.
The Staedtler Mars Lumograph Colour Aquarell sports a well balanced 7.4mm hexagonal barrel, house within is an ample 3.7mm core. The barrel is a wealth of information, everything you need to know about the pencil you hold in your hand. The barrel is lacquered a dark Paynes Grey color, which helps to contrast beautifully the 3/4 inch pigment identifier on the end of each barrel and each beautifully sharpened core protruding.
Along one side of the barrel we have printed in metallic print, “Made in Germany” followed by the print of the company’s name and logo “Staedtler”. Further along the barrel we have the pencil range “Mars Lumograph Colour Aquarell” finally depicting a brush icon, indicating a water soluble product. The very end of the barrel sports the pigment identifier and a white decorative band separating it from the Paynes Grey barrel.
On the opposite side of the barrel, we have the pigment name displayed in two languages, German and English, obviously German being the language of Staedtler’s home nation. Beside the pigment names, printed in the same metallic font, is the lightfast rating, depicted in a star iconography with five stars the most lightfast and one star the least lightfast. There is a third side of the barrel which sports the barcode, EAN No. and Art. Nr. number.
Staedtler Mars Lumograph Colour Aquarell Performance
The first thing I completed with the Mars Lumograph Colour Aquarell was to complete a swatch. I used a sheet of St Cuthbert’s Mill, Saunders Waterford, 140ld cold pressed paper and added a black marker line through each section, helping to showcase the opaqueness or translucency.
I completed the top section of each column in the dry format first of all and then activated the section using a watercolour brush and water. As you can see from the swatch, once each pigment was activated with water, they covered the black marker line helping to showcase opaqueness.
As you can see from the swatch image, the top line is full of the yellows and oranges, if I had any criticism of this particular set, it would be that I feel the palette is a little heavy on the yellow and oranges. On the second row we see a few oranges, pinks, reds and then into the purples, lilacs and lavenders. The third row continues on with the most gorgeous dark violet, blue violet and dark blue violet, leading into lighter blues, turquoise, green blue and the most gorgeous French Green.
The fourth row sports mainly greens and as you can see, there is a wonderful selection of light, mid and dark tones. Starting with the Dark Phthalo Green, a beautiful Fir Green, Grass Green and Jungle Green, finishing with burnt ochre and brown ochre. The Fifth and final row of the swatch showcases the earth tones, tones such as Raw Sienna, Sepia, Dark Brown, Van Dyke Brown and Iron Oxide Red, finishing of with a generous selection of Greys.
I then completed a simple piece of artwork and for this I used St Cuthbert’s Mill, Millford, Hot Pressed Paper, 100% cotton. I selected a leaf from the garden and as we are at the beginning of Autumn or Fall, I thought I would take advantage of the gorgeous autumn colors within the set.
I completed various different methods of application when completing the artwork, from applying layers in their dry format, then activating them on the paper using the Staedtler water brushes. I then also used the Caran d’Ache Palette where I applied two or three colours on the palette and then mixed them together using the water brushes. This allows you to use the pencils in a very similar fashion to using watercolour pans, the plastic palette offers an extra dimension to the water-soluble pencil medium in general. I also used the water brushes to dab along the core of a pencil, lifting pigment and applying it to the area, allowing me to create intense colour.
The richness and vibrancy of the Staedtler Mars Lumograph Colour Aquarell on all tests and demonstrations was remarkable, so much so I will be doing a comparison review of them and the Caran d’Ache Museum Aquarelle. The Mars Lumograph Colour Aquarell both in their dry and activated states are truly remarkable.
Staedlter Mars Lumograph Colour Aquarell Lightfastness.
Of the 120 colours, Staedtler have used a five star system to represent how lightfast the pencils are, with five stars equating to outstanding lightfastness and one star equating essential lightfastness. I have to be honest, I am not altogether sure about the wording of the one star pigment, essential, indicates that it is the necessary standard, but this is obviously not the case given it is the lowest lightfast rating on the scale.
Of the 120 colours in the set, 16 pencils are rated five stars * * * * * , 25 pencils are rated four stars * * * * , 8 pencils are rated three stars * * * , 52 pencils are rated two stars * * , and 19 pencils are rated one star * ,
All in all the lightfast ratings are not the highest, and for those artists who like to sell their original art work, this set may not be for you. However, it is incredibly difficult to overlook the amazing quality of the pencils on the back of their lightfast ratings.
Staedtler Mars Lumograph Colour Aquarell Set Sizes and Prices.
In the full range of Staedtler Mars Lumograph Colour Aquarell, you can purchase a set of 12, set of 24, set of 36, set of 60 and the 120 set. You can also purchase open stock pencils from selected art stores.
For artists in the UK, you can expect to pay the following for each set. For the set of 12 Lumograph Colour Aquarell you can expect to pay £9.95, for the 24 set you can expect to pay £31, for the 60 set you can expect to pay £73 and for the 120 set you can expect to pay £137. There were no links for the 36 set but as and when it becomes available I will amend the site.
For artists in the US, you can expect to pay the following, for the 12 set of Mars Lumograph Colour Aquarell $23, for the 24 set you can expect to pay $46, for the 60 set you can expect to pay $99 and for the 120 set you can expect to pay $198. As with the UK pricing, the 36 set is not available.
Staedtler Mars Lumograph Colour Aquarell Conclusion
Obviously with water soluble pencils, you really don’t need a huge set because you are able to mix and create additional colours a lot easier than you can traditional colored pencils, especially if you use some of the methods highlighted in this review.
That being said, the 120 set is a beautiful palette, the yellows and oranges are perhaps slightly top heavy, but the other colors in the range are gorgeous, especially the greens, purples, turquoises and blue. The only other criticism I have for the range and this less concerns me than it does other artists who sell their original art, the lightfast ratings are not the best. As I said, for me this is not an issue, but I completely understand the need for highly lightfast pencils for other artists.
The richness and vibrancy of the pigments are gorgeous both dry and activated, using the Staedtler Mars Lumograph Colour Aquarell has been so satisfying. As I mentioned at the beginning of this article, Staedtler have been creating some amazing products lately and I always said in my previous reviews of the Staedlter products, the only issue I had was the sets being too small. I wanted to see 120 sets and so the Mars Lumograph Colour Aquarell certainly has hit the spot.
