Faber-Castell Albrecht Dürer Watercolour Pencil Review & Demo
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- čas přidán 23. 07. 2024
- In this video I'll be having a thorough look at and giving my opinion on the Albrecht Dürer watercolour pencil 36 set. First we'll be taking a look at the packaging and pencils themselves, then swatching and testing the pencils' properties and finally demonstrating this set in an artwork timelapse. Find extra delicious bites of information by expanding this description box!
Apologies that this video is up a week later than usual- I ran into a lot of issues with the edit and voice-over but wanted to make sure that you guys were still getting a good quality video! Last week I uploaded a couple of livestreams instead as a way to at least offer something, but I don't plan on having livestreams as a regular video replacement in the future (they'll be a little bonus!).
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Frequently Asked Questions: claudiasketches.wixsite.com/h...
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Time stamps:
Intro: 0:00
Packaging: 0:31
Leaflet: 3:43
A look at the pencils: 4:17
Swatching: 6:13
Properties & Techniques: 8:45
Sharpening: 14:18
Demo:
Process explanation: 15:55
More properties, technical specs, opinions: 18:20
Summary: 24:35
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Mentioned videos:
Faber Castell Pitt Pen Review & Demo: • Faber-Castell Pitt Art...
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Materials:
*Faber-Castell Albrecht Dürer 36 set:
UK: amzn.to/2GkXZZg
US: amzn.to/2w5fMjW
*Pastelmat paper (buttercup):
UK: amzn.to/2v01zUa
US: amzn.to/2MroJyt
*Caran d'Ache waterbrushes
UK: amzn.to/2nYXsoi
US: amzn.to/2MnRSuh
-Derwent Superpoint Mini crank sharpener
*(Edit: The Helix Desktop Sharpener standard & jumbo fits these pencils well! UK: amzn.to/2MwrzBz )
-Faber Castell Trio sharpener
-Frisk Artist's Pink Masking fluid
-Prismacolor col-erase coloured pencils
-Derwent Battery powered eraser
(*By using the Amazon links above, I earn a small percentage commission- at no extra cost to you!*)
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Reference: pixabay.com/en/toucan-bird-na...
Scan of my swatch chart (note that colours won't be depicted perfectly accurately here or in the video) and experiment/techniques/properties: imgur.com/a/9ZDVa
Faber Castell info about LF ratings: www.fabercastell.com/en-US/ser...
I forgot to mention in the video that 64 of the 120 pencils in this range will last longer than 100 years. Also the Blue Wool scale ranges from 1 to 8- 1 is the lowest score and 8 is the highest.
Extra info about LF ratings: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lightfa...
Information about the larger size pencils, the "Magnus": www.faber-castell.com/products...
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No music or intro to this one! I wanted to try something different :) Let me know what you think!
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Find me on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and RedBubble! - Jak na to + styl
This is honestly the best review I have ever seen! I have been wanting these pencils for long, but your review was so thourough I don't think I can wait till my birthday! :D
Thank you so much! I'm glad you found the video helpful. :D
I agree , I hope she uploads more videos soon !
Your reviews and demos leave everyone else's in the dust. Very much appreciated. Thank you.
Great and thorough review and lovely piece of art to boot. Thanks for putting this video together.
Claudia what a fantastic review.. A huge thank you. I’ve been researching watercolor pencils this truly cemented me into purchasing a set.. thanx!
Your demonstration really helped me understand how these pencils work.
You are so organized and talented. 🥰
Am genuinely amazed at how detailed this review is. I'm not even looking to buy these pencils but I watched the whole thing lol. 🙃
Dear Claudia, it is always such a pleasure to watch your reviews. You have clearly a very structured and academic approach to your subject matter, so your viewers get a comprehensive account of the product. In addition, you are a highly skilled and experienced artist, so I always enjoy to see you paint. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and skills.
Thank you so much for your kind words! I try to leave no stone un-turned and I'm glad that comes across. I know from personal experience that it can be frustrating to watch a number of reviews and not have that crucial question answered!
It is nice to see a detailed review like this. I have been contemplating buying this set in the tin-case-form myself. Your review has definately helped narrow my choices down. Thank you.
Thank you very much for watching and commenting! I'm glad you found my video helpful. Whatever you choose to buy, I hope you enjoy them :)
What an amazing review... you did tests I wouldn't even think of. THANK YOU!
Thanks for the review. I already had my eye on the 36 set and I will be getting one for sure.
You do the most wonderful reviews and videos. I'm sure it was a lot of work so thank you much.
Thank you for an excellent review. You gave me some new ideas on using my pencils. I have used mine both dry and wet, and they are lovely either way.
I purchased these and am so very glad you have made this video. Love your instructions on All Your videos. Bless you!!!
Thank you very much for watching and commenting- glad you find my videos useful :)
I love your tutorials. You are so thorough with your info as well as being a fab artist.
Thank you so much! Thoroughness is what I strive for in my review videos, so I'm glad you think so. 😊
Great review. I have the set of 60 pencils and am thankful every day for the advice given me, to buy the best I could afford at the time and that I would never regret it. Best advice ever.
I love how you used spray to develop a blurred background! Your review/demo was very helpful. I have this set but have never been pleased with outcomes. I will now try application the way you have shown. Thank you!
I took out my 36 set and looking at the colors made me happy. Thank you for your video.
Hi Claudia, excellent, informed unbiased, review. My hubby had these for his birthday present but said he would have got them on the strength of your hard work and results, thank you so much for confirming that we made the right choice. Brilliant. Thank you .. subbed!
Love your videos. You're a wonderful teacher , Clear and concise.
Thank you
Have had and used these pencils for over 30 yrs & as I own quite a few different brands, including Derwent & prismacolor I still think these are the best in both wet & dry mediums. Thanks for your review.
My boyfriend gave me the 48 set as a christmas present *.* they are amaing and I´m really looking forward for using them a lot :D
Lucky :( that ur bf supports u
Your reviews are the most thorough on youtube! I have the 12 set of these, and I love using them for sketches and for plein air painting, I've been wanting a larger set since I get a lot of use out of them... I love them, the colour is so vibrant and they dissolve so beautifully... the only problem is the pencil sharpener issue 😉 beautiful painting as always, and thanks for the video!
K. L. Onassis Thank you very much! They really are great for art out-and-about :)
A very concise description of the quality of the pencils from the box to the ability of the pencils. Needless to say the minutely described drawing and colouring presentation A master class! Congratulations! Your various demonstrations and comments have helped me a lot in choosing which watercolour pencils to buy. I am going to take a botanical illustration course and your videos have been extremely educational. Please continue to enlighten us all with your talent as an artist and as a teacher. Many, many thanks.
Thank you so much for commenting, Yolanda! Hearing that you've found my videos so helpful makes me incredibly happy. :)
I knew you would love them! They are just amazing~ and you did a wonderful job on using them!
Thanks Shiroichi :D
Jim Brennan - Excellent commentary by the artist, very thorough and covered all issues. BRAVO
Thank you very much for watching and commenting! Glad you think my video was thorough :)
You did an amazing job on this. I love it. Hopefully, I will get better at it. Thanks so much.
Thank you very much! Glad you like it :D
Also, your artwork on the toucan is beautiful!
I have been given a smallish set of these as a gift and have not really used them (once and unsuccessfully), so I found this film most informative.
Best review ever... not just of pencils, as a review in general... no BS, just facts, I didn't even notice it took 26 minutes.
Being a lazy old so-and-so it's very much appreciated that you take the time to test all these products to such great depth. Going to have to get myself a set!
Thank you very much for watching and commenting, Stan! Glad to be of help. :)
Great review! :D These seem like a great set, and the artwork is gorgeous :)
Thank you very much :D
I have this same set of pencils and I do love them! I use them both wet and dry and don't pick up my polychromos as much since I got these. I think this is a great value for the money and if budget is a huge concern one might buy these instead of the polychromos and use them for dry coloring and water coloring. You produced a very nice video and I enjoyed it very much...it is very informative and I found your opinions in line with mine even though I am not a professional artist.
I've heard that some people prefer them over polychromos- they have different properties in their laydown and a few say that they consider them to be more pigmented. I've yet to do a side-by-side comparison so I can't provide my personal input here. But I do agree with you- they are a very versatile pencil.
I'm glad you found my video useful :) I wouldn't consider myself a professional either as I don't earn a living from what I do- maybe in the future though!
Wow! That was thorough. Nicely done
Thank you very much! I like to leave no stone unturned- I understand the frustration of watching a review and the crucial question not being answered.
Wonderful painting! Good tutorial. Thanks. I also love these pencils.
I have the boxed set of Magnus pencils. A Christmas gift to myself. I love them and I can see I’ll need to supplement them with some pencils sourced open stock.
I encountered the same problem with sharpening the AD watercolour pencils. I used a small piece of sandpaper to sand away the ridges and make the pencils round for about 3cm from the tip, and they sharpen up wonderfully. It looks dodgy, but I can live with that. Many thanks for the video--I think I must look into a wiro watercolour journal (I haven't seen them) and a waterbrush.
These are great watercolor pencils, I love them! great video
Thank you for watching and commenting! :)
Your video convinced me to order mine ASAP! Thank you
I keep watching your video cause I can't wait untill my set of 36 comes in in 2days but your video is way informative
Always learn a lot from you. Your artwork is always fantastic. Thank you for the review. Have a great weekend.
Thank you very much Kimbearly :) You too! Happy Easter!
Thank you for your very detailed review ! I want these !
Nicole Martin Thanks Nicole! I can recommend them, they're great fun :D
Wow! You did an excellent job I'm really impressed thank you very much. I just got my set of 24 Faber-Castells. Thanks for the pointers. Take care
Thank you very much for watching and commenting- I'm glad you think so! I hope you enjoy your new supplies :)
Love that spray background technique too
Brilliant review, Claudia! I have ordered the 120 set, and I can't wait :o)
Thank you very much! How exciting- hope you enjoy your pencils :)
Claudia Sketches Thank you, so do I 😁
Absolutely stunning, I have these pencils and love them thanks for the video interesting and informative
Lovely and informative, as usual! I am so interested to know how/why you choose a particular pencil set for a particular project or drawing. So many of the pencils seem to have overlapping qualities, I can’t imagine how you decide which to use. I also wonder how much of the choice is based on the pencil features versus preferred experience in the moment. Would love to see a video where you showed completed works and discussed what materials you used and why you chose them 😊
Maureen Nevers Brilliant question! The truth is that I very rarely limit myself to one set of anything apart from with these review videos. Much of my work is with coloured pencil and I use a mix of Polychromos, Pablos, Derwent Artists, Derwent Drawing and a couple of Caran d'Ache Luminance. Some of the the breadth of the collection helps with choosing the closest colour match, otherwise the different laydown and hardness of the pencils has a factor with which I choose.
Other than that I usually choose supplies that are lightfast unless it's a personal piece that doesn't matter so much. If something is highly detailed and requires a lot of control I'll use coloured pencil, if it's bright, vibrant and loose I'd choose inks, watercolours or pen.
Ive got to have these pencils!! I love your painting!
Thank you very much, Pamela! :D I hope you enjoy them, they're great pencils.
Excellent review! Thank you!
Great review and the toucan is beautifully painted.
Thank you Angela :)
Love at 18:50 that you said that watercolor pencils need to ‘hit additional specs’ over colored pencils, but that some folks still prefer them used dry vs regular colored pencils. I have had those thoughts too - “aren’t the ‘specialized’ materials better because the manufacturers can focus on a particular outcome?”, but I could not articulate it like you did! It also relates to my other question below about ‘which materials when’ ... Thanks!
I'm glad you found it helpful and that I made sense :D
Thank you! This was a fantastic review. I love these pencils from what I have seen and will definitely add to my wish list.
Thank you very much for watching and commenting! I'd love to hear if you receive or purchase them- and what you think of the pencils :)
I have the 120 set. I love them. So vibrant.
Great video Thank you for explaining so well. You way manage those colours so well blending them. Very professional Beautiful colours
Thank you very much :)
You did a great job with a lot of info thank you. There was about 6 others doing a review on these pencils and I could watch them Maybe there to new to doing it videos. ... yours was the best watch threw the whole video
I love these pencils, I made my own set buying them open stock. For sharpenning I use at home Dahle 133 crank handle sharpenner and away from home I use Maped Igloo sharpenner. Thank you for very precise review.
Lovely demo! I just picked up a set of 60 and I think they are a very good value for money.
Thank you for watching and commenting!
I just got some of these. I really like them. I am a newbie. I was using the cheap ones. Boy there is a different. Also looking at different videos on how to use them. I really needed the help. I am now having fun
I have not tried them on pastelmat but now I will. Good video!
Such a comprehensive demo review of these pencils. Very helpful and much appreciation!
So glad you found the review useful! Thanks for watching and commenting.
Thank you for this review! I’ve just found you🤗 You are very talented... I adore your Toucan❤️
Thank you very much for watching and commenting :D Glad you like it!
Thank you for a thorough review and demonstration. I appreciate your effort time stamping the various features. I am receiving the 120 pencil set which I requested from my hubby after viewing your review along with several others. He also purchased a complete set of the polychromos which I wanted after using the 12 pencil introductory set. I will update my post on the AD watercolors after using them awhile.
Thank you very much for watching and commenting! I'm very excited for you and look forward to hearing back from you too :D
Awesome review! Love the tucan!!!!!
I think you do an awesome job at the product reviews// All your videos are good... but the review ones are just awesome// there are many different yet great ways to do product review s - but you nail the A-Z info thing
Great pic btw. You’re truly a brill artist, I’ve learnt a lot, thank you.
Pam Sanby Thank you very much! I'm glad you find my videos helpful :D
El Duncan quedó ❤😊 bien realizado!yo yo tengo dos de esos lápices hoy aprendí cómo sacarle más provecho gracias.
amazing! thanks for the video
i have the 72 set of these pencils and I love them, mostly because of the colors. They blend well and can be used with Polychromos color pencils as the colors match.
The 72 set is one of the ones that comes in the gorgeous wooden box, right? Such luscious presentation...
I'm only just dipping my toes in to using them with Polychromos though. But they are divine! I really need to buy some open to expand my collection!
This girl has turned this into a science. She is very informative. the bird looks good.
Very beautiful drawing. I tested the pencils on Pastelmat, too. Pastelmat is the only paper I am able to work with them. They seem highly pigmented and vibrant when wet, when dried they look very dull, I made a comparison and put the dry colour swatch next to it without using water. My watercolours from winsor & newton (same colour) are much more vibrant and rich, too
Magnificent as usual.
The video is so detailed and scrutinized. You have left nothing.
Very informative indeed.
I liked how the demo turned out to be. The colors seem so enjoyable and easy-to-use. Yet, surely they need a talented hand like yours. I have a smaller set of these, but they are still packed. Time to tear the nylon off!! Hahaha.
I promised you to try some stored items, and I did. I started with the set of 24 Derwent Pastel Pencils. The colors are so vibrant, but the range of colors is minimal. Mixing was difficult a bit as they overlay.. so if I am adding orange over red, the color will become orange. They were too chalky and it was like after each square, I had to sharpen the pencils. I do not know if these limitations should have been expected. I felt that working on Toned paper was not that a good idea. I preferred the white paper. Blending with fingers or with stump removed 3/4 of the color concentration. White was useless on all colors.. it was only useful on clean toned areas. Yet, I was able to add as many layers as I wanted. I tried a marker on one piece after finishing painting it, the result was amazing. Ink was stable and apparent on the colors. There was no problem with that. On another piece, I used pastet soft chalks for the background, the result was nicer than the result achieved by pencils for the foreground. I might open a new panpastel set to try for the third piece. It is still in process. I found that opening one item at a time is good.. and what is more, focsuing on one medium at a time is much helpful.
Any comments would be surely delightedly accepted..
Thank you!
Thank you so much Guru! I'm pleased you enjoyed the video.
I am so glad that you're breaking into your shiny new supplies and experimenting with them. I think it's important to remember that every medium has its challenges. I also found that blending and layering with pastels was very different to many other things I had experienced. This is exactly what practice and experimentation is for though- finding out the obstacles and working out ways to overcome them... or even use them to your advantage! :) It sounds like you did awesomely though to play and have fun with your materials and work out intuitive ways to use them. I'm looking forward to hearing more of your journey. :D
Thanks for this video!
Very nice demo thanks. I have a Tihoo electric sharpener and my pencils fit perfectly. I hope that helps you. 👍
Great job 😃
Brilliant. Thanks 😊
Wonderful review!
Thank you very much :)
I like your own grid!
i just bought myself the whole set i'll keep u updated, i love derwent products ans only just started using faber castell and i fell in love with the albercht durer and polychromos bought 40 set of these and apparently the rest of the full set open stock but they hand picked them at the brick ans mortar store of duck blick and 3 not onw were missing now i'll havw to figure out which are missing it's extremely hard to read thw colors in the pencils so i can't really blame any one i wouldn't haves been able to hand pick that many
Beautiful ❤️
I own them and also the matching Polychromos set; both sets are the 120 pencils. I love them!
They work wonderfully together! It's great to hear from somebody who has both complete sets. I'm very tempted to start adding to my collection. :)
Do you often use the two pencils in conjunction with each other?
You did a wonderful job doing thus review.
Your art is so beautiful.
I wish I could paint/draw like you.
I am new to color so I treated myself to both the 120 sets of pencils and the watercolour pencils.
I hope I get as good as you.
I agree with you.
Why would they make a larger pencil ?
I guess there us extra pigment for us to use.
I am looking forward to see more of your art.
Oh wow love this thank you for sharing have a bless one creative colorful hugs you
Thank you for watching and commenting! :)
Beautiful!
Thank you very much!
I’m wondering if you could do a video using these pencils dry? They are rumoured to blend better than conventional artist- grade CP without water (or solvents in the case of traditional CP). :-)
Hi Claudia
Faber Castell make a small metal double barrelled sharpener, it has a barrel for normal pencils and a barrel for colour pencils. The colour pencil barrel fits the Albrecht Durer perfectly. It's what Faber Castell recommend for these pencils. You can get them at Jackson's very cheap.
My take on getting the pencils cheaper: i also started off with a set of 36 that i got in a sale and have been adding to them from open stock as and when Jackson's have sales that include these. I use the Jackson's 142 pencil case for them which, in my opinion, is a wonderful case for these pencils, especially if you wish to take your pencils out plein air or on holiday. The 142 (without the 8 x 1 star pencils) leaves plenty of room for a few colours from other manufacturers and also the Faber Castell water-soluble graphite pencils. There's also space for some waterbrushes and two of the above sharpeners.
i have the 24 and 36 set i just need the entire lot! i've found them open stock for 1.94 more than 12/ so i will go this route
Nice pencils bought some 30 years ago still using them.
love this video!!!!
Thank you for watching and commenting! I'm so glad to hear that you do :D
I own the Albrecht Dürer pencils, and they are extremely nice to work with. Just as you said, they are nice both dry and wet. I actually like the Albrecht Dürer pencils more than their Polychromos counterparts, because I find the Polychromos a bit hard for my taste.
Oooo you done a toucan!! :D
It came out so pretty! :D
Thank you :D
Hallo Claudia
Thanks a lot for all this interesting information. Do you think that they can be used together with colored pencils?
You're welcome, thanks for watching! Yes, watercolour pencils are frequently used with coloured pencils. The best approach is to use the watercolour pencils as a base layer, and then add details with regular coloured pencils.
Regular coloured pencils create a water-resistant barrier. As such, this makes it difficult to dissolve watercolour pencil applied underneath regular CP, and can also make it difficult for diluted watercolour pencil to adhere over the top of it.
Hi Claudia, a great and very thorough review. I finally ordered mine yesterday as the tin of 60 was on offer at a reduced price so I took the plunge. I received them just over half an hour ago, the one thing that struck me and I did feel slightly disheartened by was the size of the barrel. I thought at first I'd purchased the "magnus" range by mistake but after watching your video I realised that wasn't the case. The thing is I'm so used to using my brilliant crank sharpener to get that brilliant sharp point that it came as a disappointment I wouldn't be able to get that with these. What confused me was that just a couple of years ago, I bought some open stock Albrecht pencils and the barrels were just the standard size and I could sharpen them in all of my pencil sharpeners without any problem, this slightly bigger barrel must be the new size they've brought out to replace the older slightly narrower pencils. Personally I preferred the older designs but as these are expensive pencils I shall have to mentally adjust my way of thinking and use the Faber Castell pencil sharpener instead. I realise it's not the end of the world and it won't spoil my enjoyment of these brilliant pencils, it just means I won't get that super fine point anymore. Faber Castell seem to change their pencil designs quite a lot, I remember they brought out a range of watercolours colours before these, the ones with the row of dots along the barrel and then they brought out the Goldfaber range aswell and their barrels are the standard 3:3 size. Anyway these are just minor things I need to get over, but I will definitely be making good use of these pencils. Thankyou again for a great review, take care.
These seem a lot better than my Derwent WCP - I've really given up on those, scratchy, weak and a bit chalky. I like Inktense a lot more, but there is a big colour discrepancy between dry and wet laydown - Albrecht Durer really seem to deliver here and what you see is what you get.
I agree! I think the Albrecht Dürer out-compete the Derwent Watercolour quite considerably- they're at around the same price point, but the lightfastness, solubility and intensity of the AD are certainly superior.
I admit that I like the subtlety and softness of the colour selection of the Derwent pencils though. :)
Great review and demo. Thanks.
Sharon Nolfi Thanks for watching and commenting! :)
Excelente Fabre castell
Hi Claudia. Informative demo and lovely drawing. I would love to see a review on the Derwent watercolour pencils in the future as a comparison. The FC A. Durer pencil 36 set in Oz is $82.25 and the 120 set $273.50 (cheapest I could find). Considerably more expensive in some art stores. Thanks Marion :)
Hi Marion! I've already completed a review video about the Derwent Watercolour pencils :) Unfortunately it seems like just about everything is more expensive in Australia. An alternative is to look on eBay for some sets second hand that have been barely used. That's how I bought my Pablos at a very low price :)
$82 AUD is actually not a bad price for the 36 set, it works out to be £46 GBP or $64 USD. :)
Beautiful. Thanks.
Thank you for watching and commenting :)
Love your tutorials. I use these pencils with polychromos for the top layer once the watercolour underpainting has dried. Occasionally I do a lot more building up of hair strokes with the polychromo pencils and I wonder whether I could use OMS on top of the polychromos to blend out a little but I'm worried it would affect the watercolour underpainting. I wonder whether you have ever tried this or if you know if it would work?
It's not something that I've personally tried, but according to things I've read online, solvents will activate watercolour pencils, just not quite as well as water does.
Apparently OMS will activate dry watercolour pencil somewhat, but does very little to watercolour pencil that's been wetted and allowed to dry previously You could also try using a workable fixative to isolate your watercolour layers from your future CP layers.
But like any new technique, I recommend experimenting in order to work out the effects you can achieve as well as any limitations. :)
Claudia Sketches thank you so much for your help Claudia. I've been having a look at tutorials today and I came across Sandrinesgallery where she has done a watercolour tutorial on a gobstopper sweet machine and she has used coloured pencils on top and has blended them with solvent. It's made the sweets look very smooth and shiny so I may use the technique on something sooner or later but thank you so much for all your help as always you are brilliant.
Can I ask you what you use to sharpen these pencils please as they don’t fit into my sharpener?
Big thanks. Beautiful. Blessings
What a gorgeous Toucan you have created there! Lovely pencils too although I can't use hexagonal shaped pencils for long periods of time as they did into my fingers, unfortunately.
Thank you very much, Jane! I also find that the edges push into my fingers a bit, I find myself using a different grip and adjusting a lot more frequently. I'm wondering if those rubber or foam pencil grips would come in handy.
Yeh, I still haven't bought any of those myself.
Me neither, I used to use them at school because hexagonal ballpoint pens would hurt my fingers after a while. I'm not sure if they'd fit on these pencils owing to their larger diameter but I have other products they'd be useful for too. :)
:(