Home › Forums › Explore Media › Colored Pencil › what are the differences between Pablo and Luminance?

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  • August 14, 2017 at 9:53 am #995249
    gingerblue
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        Besides lightfastness and the color range (Pablo is 120, Luminance is 72), what are the differences between Pablo and Luminance as far as opacity and “feel”? I know there’s a difference in oil/wax content and a little bit in handling, but is the difference in “feel” that discernible? How about the difference in opaqueness?

        Lightfastness is NOT a factor because I’m not selling/displaying my work.

        I work mainly on toned papers (tan, browns, grays) so opaqueness is a factor for me. I’d like to find a pencil that *really* makes a difference on darker papers and looks lit from within, if that makes any sense. Some of what I’ve seen Luminance do makes me think it might do that. But I can’t tell if the artists whose work I see use Luminance because they are more opaque and actually handle significantly better than the Pablos or because the Luminance range is more lightfast.

        If they handle/look pretty much the same and only really differ in lightfastness, I’d much rather get the full set of Pablos in one shot than mix my collection with half Luminance/half Pablo.

        Any insight? (I know to try out open stock… just want some advice from folks who have tried both…)

        August 14, 2017 at 11:40 am #1271841
        lindaterry
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            I have both sets. They do not handle the same. Luminance is opaque and is great for adding highlights after the fact. For this reason, if you decide on Pablo, I would get the white luminance at least. They feel softer to me and the point wears down much faster than Pablo. The Luminance is a fatter pencil and does not fit in all sharpeners. A thread was just started yesterday on sharpeners. I think the Luminance has better skin tones than Pablo if you do portraits. I like the way Luminance blends. I don’t work on toned paper so I can’t offer any help there, but I can surely brighten up a dark color with Luminance. I seem to struggle to get a fine point on the Luminance, but that is probably because I am still in search of the perfect sharpener for the Luminance. I have read where other people do not have that problem. However, Pablo gets sharp as a needle and is great for detail. I don’t want to say Pablo is only for detail, because it lays down a lot of color and I think it is softer than Polychromos. I think Pablo is easier to blend than Polychromos, but I have heard others say the opposite. I like to use Luminance or Polychromos for portraits because I like the skin tones better. I like the Pablo’s for just about everything else……I do not work on toned paper, so I was curious about how opaque the Pablo’s were, so I chose a few colors of each and marked on black paper…see pic…I was surprised to see that Pablo was very opaque as well.

            August 14, 2017 at 6:56 pm #1271842
            gingerblue
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                Linda, thank you *SO MUCH*!! You have no idea how much this helped! :clap: I can see how the Luminance are richer in color, but the Pablo pencils are similar in opacity.

                Thank you!!

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