In this blog I’d like to give you a review of some great new colored pencils I’ve bought recently: Faber-Castell Black Edition!
Of course, the brand name will undoubtedly make you expect something good. But these pencils… boy, they are way beyond good! (If you’re not interested in coloring, pencils, reviews etc. you’ve got permission to skip the first part of this blog. In that case I’ll see you a few paragraphs below! 😉 )
About the pencils
On the back of the package it says: “Extra smooth SuperSoft-lead for rich, brilliant colours. Ideal for light, coloured and dark papers”. And I can copy that, the colors are very well pigmented, the leads are creamy and they do color on black paper as well.
Actually these pencils are meant for children. The Faber-Castell website states: “Its triangular shape gives better control and comfort for children’s little fingers”. But not only for children’s fingers, they are very comfortable for adult’s fingers too.
The pencils have no numbers or names, so I decided to give them my own numbers and names. Here’s a short video that I made when I received them, where I show you how I named and numbered every pencil and made the Black Edition pencils color chart (available in my webshop).
Unbreakable lead?
On the Faber-Castell website they say about the Black Edition pencils: “The smooth leads with less breakage and minimum lead flake provide better coverage and create brilliant effects on paper.” Well, there I have to disagree. The cores of two pencils were already broken when they arrived.
When I scanned the QR code on the back of the package, it sent me to another part of their website, where they boldly declare that “the super-soft lead, ( ) is unbreakable thanks to a special bonding process”. As I already mentioned, this is not really the case. I did have breakage, not only those two pencils that already had breakage on arrival, but also while coloring.
But I’ll give Faber-Castell the benefit of the doubt. The breakage I experienced could’ve been due to the terrible packaging of Amazon (only a cardboard envelope, nothing else, which is pretty horrible for sending pencils!).
Using the Black Edition pencils
What I had seen and read about these pencils was so promising, that I couldn’t wait to use them. So I took out one of my never used coloring books, The Ultimate Chalkboard Coloring Book, and looked for something to match the story of my husband and me, which I will continue shortly!
The first picture is a WIP (work in progress), so you’ll get an idea of what the original was in black and white. I took this one with my phone and a daylight lamp above my work, hence the somewhat white haze over the picture.
Coloring with the Black Edition pencils is really great. They are very smooth, they blend well, they allow coloring many thin layers, and gosh I do love the bright colors!
Here’s the end result of what I did with these pencils. (I added some accents and highlights with a white and a couple of colored Posca pens.)
The little stars and the drops that I drew, were all done with the pencils, which shows how great they work on dark paper!
Where can you get them?
Faber-Castell Black Edition pencils are available in sets of 12, 24 and 36 colors. I’ve bought the 36 set on the Spanish Amazon, but they are also available on most other Amazon websites. Prices vary, depending on where you are. I’ve paid little under 26 Euro, and I’ve seen them cheaper and more expensive on the other Amazons.
Maybe first check your local art supplies or stationery store, they might also have them. And it’s always best to support your local stores first, to keep them around!
Disclosure: I have no affiliation with Amazon nor Faber-Castell. These colored pencils I’ve bought myself. Also note my Disclosure Promos page!
