Faber Castell Polychromes versus Albrecht Durer watercolor pencils

[Owl369]

Hi, today I ordered the Albrecht Durer Watercolor pencil set from Faber Castell. My initial plan was to purchase the Polychromes but after seeing some videos on the Albrecht Durer pencils I wanted to try these first.

I was wondering if anyone have used both and what their opinion is especially on the drawing part. Would I be able to get the same results with the AD set without activating the pigment with water? in other words if I would use it for sketching only would I get the same results as with the Polychromos?

Thanks

[katwalk]

The short answer is NO you are not going to get the “same” results, the media carrying the pigment is totally different, one is design to dissolve in water and the other is oil based and doesn’t.

I don’t have the Albrecht Durer pencils, but I do have some other mfg’s watercolor pencils and I know I don’t get the same color intensity with the watercolor pencils as I do with the Polychromos, water activation will brighten the colors with the watercolor pencils, but it is watercolor so the color can be moved about with water (mostly some colors may be staining)

You are not going to be able to build up layers of color with the Watercolor pencils the way you can with the Polychromos.

Have fun with your watercolor pencils, but they are not a replacement for a wax or oil based colored pencil.

Kathy
http://katwalkdesigns.blogspot.com/

[ManedWolf]

I would say mostly yes and somewhat no. The ADürers can be used dry as all soluble pencils, but very detailed drawings may be more difficult with the solubles. You can very well layer ADürers if you have a light hand and I’d say that of all solubles they may be closest to oil/wax-based brands.

One caveat though, as with all solubles: they are very sensitive to grease and on greasy paper the painting tends to become kind of spotty. And it doesn’t not take much – any touch with hand magically transforms normal paper to greasy paper.

Heikki

[HarvestMoon]

I have used both, and you can get very close to the same results when used dry. You don’t have to dilute them to the point of being like watercolor either and pushing around pigments. The best results I have gotten is when I use them dry, layering them much as you would do with dry pencils. Then I dampen a small, sharp pointed good watercolor brush, and brush it over the top. I mean damop, not soaking wet! The results are that you can get beautifully blended work, without solvents. It seems faster to me too. You can also dampen each layer.

Once they have been wet then dry, they don’t reactivate unless you didn’t fully dissolve the pigment. I often do an entire layer over the subject that has been wet, let it dry, then put more layers on top. But the first layer, once wet, gets rid of the white of the paper. I think WCP are one of the greatest under explored media out there. People have either tried to use them exactly the same as dry CP, or exactly like they would watercolor. IMHO they are a different, far surperior medium to either. Perfectly portable, increased speed, gorgeous, bright results.

To me it seems obvious that you can do amazing things using both wet and dry pencils, used together. Everyone seems to pick just one and stick to that, but why? Why not get your paper tooth covered quickly with WCP, then layer dry ones on top? I use watercolor paper with the watersolubles, I prefer cold press, but a fine grained cold press. I am still trying to find the perfect paper!

A lot of people have tried some of the worst brands, like Prismacolors WCP, but if you try an excellent brand, like what you ordered or Caran d’Ache, my favorite, you will be stunned at the brilliance of color you can achieve.

Harvest Moon 🐐

[HarvestMoon]

In the CP world, as in everywhere, things someone says becomes repeated, then written as gospel. So I keep hearing that dry CP are brighter than dry watersoluble CP, of the same brand. I have really never been able to tell the difference. Here is a quick experiment, using the same number of layers of the same colors, all Faber Castell. Can you tell which are the Polys and which are the AD’s? Because I can’t. Take a guess, tomorrow when my iPad will let me post another photo, I will show you these blended.

Harvest Moon 🐐

[Owl369]

Linda thank you so much for the comparison. I really can’t tell the difference I will try the method with the dampened brush. And you’re right I love to try different media and just see what happens I love the portability of them too and that’s one of the reasons why I ordered them over the Polys because I do travel quite a lot. Thank you!

[Owl369]

Thanks everyone! I really appreciate all the feedback

[Owl369]

Linda I can’t wait for the “blended” photo

[HarvestMoon]

Well if I post it now, it will over-write the original….it’s an iPad/ WC strange thing! I might be able to attach it to a PM to you though…..but if you travel a lot, Caran d’Ache makes really good water brushes. I have tried a lot of crappy ones that pour water out, but the Caran d’Ache ones, especially the fine point,mare great. They fill up like a syringe, so the water is inside the brush. Wash to carry, no need for water bottles and cups!

Harvest Moon 🐐

[Owl369]

Thanks I will check out the Caran brushes. I ordered I think the pentel ones from Amazon for now. I can’t wait to try the pencils:) Thanks and enjoy your evening

[HarvestMoon]

That’s strange, because I thought I posted this, not the blended!

Harvest Moon 🐐

[HarvestMoon]

Let’s see if I can now post the blended version without having the first one replaced! Apparently even if you send a photo in a PM you replace any other photo you posted that day.

So on the left are the Polychromos dry pencils, blended with a Lyra colorless blender. On the right, AD pencils, lightly blended with water. The goal was to see if they could be made to look the same, but you can always add more water to dissolve the pigment more completely.

I know artists who use the watersoluble pencils dry, and never blend them with water at all. But to me when you add a bit of water, it is pure magic. I hate seeing the white paper showing through, and one I think the watersoluble pencils take care of that quickly and easily!

Harvest Moon 🐐

[Author]

Posts