Review on 🖍️ Cretacolor Megacolor Tin Set, 36-Piece, Multi-Colored by Karla Richter

I bought a set of 36 to use on large surfaces and backgrounds. After testing them, I found that they are ALL worth using. I was quite surprised by the consistently good reviews. I found that they have their pros and cons. Let's get the negatives out of the way first. First off, these are the softest crayons I've ever used. And I mean VERY soft. It's just that the process of creating a color chart for her exhausted me very quickly. Given their high price, this raises some concerns. Second, they are very dusty/crumbly. Even with the slightest touch, they form crumbs. Since they are so soft, I had to use a brush to shake off the crumbs; My hand would only smear the crumbs. Third, because of their softness, they don't wash very well at all. The eraser just kind of smudges them. So be very careful when using them as they are not very forgiving. OK. Those were surprises. Now for the benefits and logistics of using them. Although there are only 36 colors, they are bright. Although they are thick pens, they are light and comfortable to hold. Because of their softness, the colors blend very well with each other, but despite that softness, they're not effective for covering a pencil tooth. However, they do polish up very well with the Caran D'Ache Blender or the white pencil from the set, both of which can be used to give a smooth and even finish. So the best approach I see to using them to cover large areas is to use a lighter shade to avoid too much crumbing and to keep them from wearing off too quickly. After covering the area, buff it to give a smooth finish. They can indeed cover large areas quickly and easily when used as above. However I'm not sure if you can use a smaller master pen for fine detail over it as buffing is required to get a smooth finish. So pencils will work for, say, sky and clouds or some other simple background, but I'm not sure if they'll work for a field or trees where you want to add subtle blades of grass, leaves, or subtle shadows. and glare. Sharpening these thick pencils is not that easy. My standard two-hole Faber-Castel sharpener didn't work with them. The "huge" hole was actually too big to work with. However, my little two-hole Xacto sharpener worked well with them. I haven't tried them with a crank sharpener like Carl or Dahle but I think they will work fine too. I would not recommend an electric sharpener as it would be difficult to control how quickly they would be absorbed during the sharpening process. When sharpening (which will be a common experience given how easily they wear out), I recommend not over-sharpening them. This would be a mistake because, firstly, they are better suited to large areas, so a blunter point is more effective. And secondly, with such a soft pencil, a very sharp tip just breaks off. So, these pencils can certainly be used as carriers in your colored pencil toolbox, but I see them as tools, not the primary colored pencil. . I wouldn't use them on very jagged paper that will devour them even faster. And of course, their limited color palette means it takes a lot of mixing to get all the shades you need. If you choose when and how to use these pens, you'll love them.