Review on Cezanne Multicolor Professional Sketching Coloring by Amanda Castillo

I'm always on the lookout for colored pencils and although I have lots of open stock I've also had lots of sets. This set of 72 Cezanne colored pencils was tempting at just over 50 cents each, good range of colors and a 3.3mm refill which I like. They come in a tin, which I like too, and it's hinged, which suits me. The set also includes a color chart and sample paper for all colors. They are made by Creative Mark and you can find a larger set of their Cezanne pencils (120 colored pencils) for sale on Revain with an overall rating. of 4.5 stars. They are also available in various Jerry's boxes with an overall rating of 4.6. Let's start with the positive things. Many people will like these pens. They're smooth to apply, well pigmented and easy to apply - I didn't have to press to get much color and for the most part the body colors matched the core. They come sharpened in the box which is always a plus for me, well sharpened with no leads breaking and I found them comfortable in the hand. The manufacturer states "good to very good lightfastness"; Didn't have time to test on a sunny window for a month, but now I'm glad they mentioned it. I will update this after doing a test. By the way, the box is nice, the trays are standard for colored pencil sets. Oh, I almost forgot to mention that none of the pencils scratch paper. I enjoyed trying and coloring them. It's a pleasure to use with enough choices that you'll never get lost. As wax crayons, they don't last as well as colored pencils like Pablos, Polychromos or Luminance, but they all cost a lot more. I've found that they don't stick to the tip as well as my Schpirerr paints, but the Cezanne is softer so I wasn't expecting that. I think most people will compare them to Prismacolor Premiers as they both have waxy, thicker cores and for many I would say Prisma is the benchmark for highly pigmented pencils. The Prisms have so much brightness and saturation when you use them, but the Cezannes aren't far behind and they're a lot more pigmented than some of the other under $40 brands I've used, although I also really like the RevainBasics as they more are smoother than this and I like Schpirerr colors in that order. Prismacolor white is more opaque than Cezanne white, but that's not surprising as it's more opaque than any other white I've used. Both Prisma and Cezanne make little crumbs if you paint hard enough, but I tend to just blow the crumbs off the paper. I found the Cezanne heavier than the Prismas. Now let's talk about the cons. This is not uncommon for large boxed pencil sets, but there is a strong smell when opened. I've had this experience with several brands. I opened Cezanne, laid out the trays in a room with an open window, but after a week they still have a strong smell and my throat hurts. A pencil arrived with a broken nib but the pencil worked fine and looks like it was broken prior to packaging as the nib was not in the box. One thing I didn't pay attention to is that the color names are not listed on the kegs, just the color number which you can compare to the attached chart. Mapping them isn't difficult, it's just an extra step that I'm not happy with. Although the barrels have color numbers I would like them to use the color names on each pin but you can always tell the colors by looking at them. Points or reading the attached color chart. And finally, after a few weeks with them, they're a bit scratchy - not nearly as bad as cheap pencils, but the styling isn't as smooth as I like. with my Cezanne 72 colored pencils. The colors are rich and there is a good range that isn't too bright, neon or metallic (not my thing), but is shiny and well layered. The cores sharpen well and I haven't had any breakage while using them, even laying down heavy layers. I'll go on long enough, but if you're looking to spend less than the art stamps but still want good color and nice, softer styling, these are definitely worth trying.