The Art Gear Guide is your one stop shop for the most recent, up to date, honest reviews on all your favourite art supply products.
A while back I completed a review of the Arrtx Oros and Alps markers, a relatively new marker for artists but a marker I personally really enjoyed using. Since concluding my last review of the Arrtx Oros Markers, which happen to be the Brush Nib markers, they finalised their palette compilation and so I decided to complete a new drawing using the Arrtx Oros Brush Nib markers.
It took me quite a while to select an image to draw with 520 but it is really difficult to select a piece of art that is going to help demonstrate 520 colored pencils. My review of the Brutfuner 520 Colored Pencils is available on my YouTube channel and the written review is also on the website. I eventually chose this botanical image as I really wanted to show of the greens, but even this image does not do the Brutfuner palette any justice.
The artwork in this post was created using the Brutfuner Colored Pencils. When I select a piece of artwork to try and draw as part of the demonstration process, I always look at the palette and of course said colors swatched first to help me select. With the 120 set of Brutfuner Colored Pencils, the palette was really quite complete, but it was the greens that jumped out to me hence this little Tree Frog guy.
The artwork completed in this post was created with the Nyoni Colored Pencils, a pencil some might consider cheap budget range, and they would be correct about the cost, but most certainly not the quality. I have of course completed a YouTube Video Review and a Written Review of the Nyoni which you can see by following the link.
I reviewed the Marco C820 a few weeks ago, but given the palette and the light tones, I was unable to complete artwork and so stated that I would combine both pencils when I reviewed the Marco Square C800. If you would like to see the review of the Marco C820 you can do so by following the link. The paper that I completed this artwork on was Strathmore 300 Series Bristol Velum, a gorgeous paper and really inexpensive.
To find out much more about the actual comparison of these amazing pencils you can watch my YouTube Video Review Comparison and my Written Review Comparison. I have also completed a speed drawing video showing both of the images above come to life, to watch this follow the link. As well as the comparison review I have just completed, I have also completed individual reviews of both the Koh-I-Noor Polycolor and Lyra Polycolor incase you would like to look at each pencil separately before taking a look at the comparison.
The artwork in this review was completed as part of my review for the Artify Brush Tip Markers, to see the actual review please follow the appropriate links to The Art Gear Guide YouTube Review or to my written review here on The Art Gear Guide Website.
The Images on this page are from the demonstration I provide during my review with the Marco Tribute Master Collection 80 Set of Colored Pencils. Hopefully you will be able to see the strong pigmentation from the pencils and the high quality in the images provided.
In this demonstration I used the Kalour 180 set of Colored Pencils to draw this absolutely beautiful American Kestrel, the drawing came out well and I was happy with the finished result, however, the drawing does not do this bird the due justice it commands.
This work was completed on Strathmore 500 Series Bristol Plate which is a smooth surface and 100% cotton, so it works really well with the markers and colored pencil combined. In this drawing I used Copic Markers and a few Arrtx Markers as well for the detail.
The artwork in this review was completed with a popular set of pencils here in the UK from a stationary store called WH Smith. WH Smith do have stores in North America, Canada, Australia and even in the Middle East and China in Airports; the stores in America and Canada are under different names which I discus in the main review
I have added this artwork completed with the Caran Dache Swisscolor Water Resistant Colored Pencils in order to help demonstrate them and run along side my review of the Swisscolor
I think of all the drawings I have completed thus far, this one has to be my most special and I don’t mean in terms of results but more sentimental value. My Mother and Father In Law Brian and Diane own both of these beautiful dogs.
In this demonstration I completed a simple apple drawing using the Marco Raffine Colored Pencils that I have just reviewed. I have to say that of all the reviews I have completed, I think this has been the most detailed due to using various different papers and trying to showcase the pencils in various rolls.
The Lyra Graduate Colored Pencils may only be a Student grade pencil, but they are far from the expectations one might endeavour to predict when using a student grade pencil. Many companies are producing high quality, lower priced colored pencils, long gone are the days of purchasing a set of colored pencils only to work so hard with them to produce color on the paper that the paper itself rip.
this is a very simple botanical drawing of an Apple using the Crayola Signature Colored Pencils which I have reviewed on The Art Gear Guide YouTube Channel and of course the written review published on the website. Despite the pencils very much leaning toward the lower end of the student range, I used Arches HotPressed Watercolor Paper.
I wanted to make sure that this was just a colored pencil piece and nothing else added such as Marker which would be my usual goto medium with colored pencils. I used Prismacolor Premier and Caran d’Ache Luminance. In theory, it doesn’t really make much sense to use both these pencils along side one an other and that is because one is highly lightfast and the other not so much so financially speaking it doesn’t make sense
This piece was completed on Strathmore Bristol Smooth 400 Series using Copic Markers, some Art-N-Fly markers and Prismacolor Premier pencils for the detail. Just a fun piece for Halloween and I hope you enjoy it.
This is an art piece created with the Staedtler Mars Lumograph Graphite Pencils and the Staedtler Mars Lumograph Black Carbon Pencils to help demonstrate both of these products together. Graphite is a very forgiving medium and one easy to work with on the right paper.
