Review on 🖍️ Caran d'Ache 80 Color Pablo Set (666.380) - Enhanced for SEO by Heather Shaw

I'm an artist - it's my favorite medium, but recently I've decided to expand my artistic repertoire with colored pencils and pastels. A few years ago I bought a full set of Prismacolors and hated them, then picked up a couple of Polychromos and got frustrated with them. When I got interested in colored pencils again, I quickly developed a deep appreciation for Polychromos. I love working with many, many layers of light and Polys is great at it. But I knew there was more. Better? I don't know, but I'm the kind of artist who should really try every medium variation I can get my hands on until I find one that fits just right. Enter Karan D'Ash. Considering I prefer a firmer core, I knew it was better to invest in a big Pablo set than a softer, more expensive Luminance, and I was expecting something very similar to Polychromos, but I wasn't ready for Pablo's creaminess. I really don't understand all the comments about Pablo being tough or clumsy. I find it somewhere between Polychromos and Prismacolor in texture - buttery smooth with a velvety finish that calls for multiple coats. And when I say multiple, I mean I can easily apply at least 20 coats. I don't buff - I hate buffing - but I've had a good dry run and it's easy to do with Pablo but they are so creamy and I don't mean waxy what I would call Prismas you don't really need buffing , if you have the patience to build and blend thinner layers. I also think it's great for detail work. Not as good as Polychromos, but close. I am absolutely in love with Pablos and very happy with my investment. I don't see them as just another Polychromos brand, but I think they complement each other very well and work well together. I couldn't imagine that I would stop at one or the other. The color choice with the 80's set is pretty good, but I find it lacks skin/portrait tones and that really interests me. portrait painting. I agree because I usually start with pastels and have a range of skin tones from Polychromos, but if you are buying your first set of art quality pencils and plan on working with people and skin, I would complete this set with a handful of shades from another line. Either polys or luminance. This is the ONLY reason I should give Pablo four stars instead of five and I understand that applies to the entire Pablo range. There's a very limited number of traditional skin tones, and that's very surprising, although I doubt it's an accident. And yet I would like Caran D'ache to change the palette. It's a shame to really make such a hefty purchase for quality materials and still splurge to graze from another line. However, they are beautifully opaque and blend easily with a careful layering/blending technique. The quality is excellent. Some people might not like the hexagonal shape, but I don't care. They are very light and feel very light which makes it easy for me to work with gossamer layers as usual. The pencils last quite a long time and to avoid wastage, after sharpening them as best as I can with an electric sharpener, I continue to sharpen them with sandpaper as I work, rather than sharpening again with a sharpener. I have to say, I think I've found my favorite pencils so far on my foray into the realm of colored pencils. I think it's an excellent option somewhere in the middle of the Polychromos and Luminance price ranges, with a few advantages over the Polychromos and a disadvantage or two. I will recommend them to every artist I know. One last thing, I have to say that if you are looking for adult coloring book crayons, these are not the crayons for you unless you have the money to throw them away. These are artist quality pens and I find them to be the most suitable and useful for people creating original artwork. There are less expensive color options that will suit your basic needs if that is your goal.