5.0 out of 5 stars Impressive quality for the price

e. · 9 July 2020

This is my second purchase of these pencils, as I bought the 120 set after trying one of the themed tins.The pencils are well packaged, arranged over three plastic trays inside the tin. The trays are sturdier than other budget pencils I own. The colours are listed inside the lid; they weren't in quite the same order in the trays so I rearranged them whilst swatching to make them easier to find. There is a great range of colours, with a name and number on each pencil which is very helpful. Initially the brown/earth colours seemed a bit lacking, but there are colours within the orange and yellow ranges which will work as earth colours.The pencils are soft but hold a point and sharpen well, meaning that they work well for both layering and detailed work. They're thicker pencils, the same size as the Polychromos (which I'll get to in a minute). This makes them comfortable to use, as well. Out of the 120 I found that one pencil had some impurities when I was swatching, showing traces of a different colour. Some of the colours - the cadmiums for example - are softer than others and easily comparable to Polychromos. But they're all soft and layer well. I did a comparison with the Polychromos, layering primaries over each other to produce secondaries, and there's very little between them. The Castle Arts pencils don't blend particularly well with solvent.Lots of reviews have compared these to Polychromos. I would love to own a full set of Polychromos, but that would be five times the price of these pencils. So I bought the Castle Arts pencils because they are an excellent stand-in and I plan to replace individual pencils with Polychromos - although if the Castle Arts were available open stock I would probably replace some of them like-for-like.This is an excellent set, impressive quality for the price, and I would recommend them for anyone who wants good quality coloured pencils. The customer service is also first class.

5.0 out of 5 stars Really love these pencils

L.B. · 26 April 2019

These pencils have been a complete revelation and I love using them. They layer and blend really well, putting down loads of colour on the paper with very little effort. The colours are vibrant and there is a great selection in the 120 tin.While using them I have found that they do not drop flakes of pigment onto the picture, even when you use a lot of pressure. They hardly wear down and those I have used a lot have sharpened back to a fine point with a good manual sharpener. They have held their points without breaking or chipping. None of them have broken during use or while sharpening and all arrived in perfect condition. Penny at Castle Art sent an email to check they had arrived and I really appreciate this.My only slight issues would be the plastic trays that hold them in the tin, as one has split slightly. The tin itself is sturdy and the pencils feel great in the hand and look much more expensive than they are. I have done a colour chart which sits in the lid, as a few of the colours are slighly different to the colour on the ends. This is not a problem for me as I always do this with new pencils.I wanted to use them on several pictures before I wrote a review and I can really say that I find them as good as Faber Polychromos and far better than Prismacolour, both if which are far more expensive. For the money they are really wonderful and I would definitely recommend them and buy them again. It would be fantastic if they were available in open stock but as they are not expensive this is less of an issue.

5.0 out of 5 stars Blown away.

S.M. · 21 October 2024

I've tried a few sets of pencils now a d these are by for the best on a budget.Minimal breakage, smooth blending and creamy.The colour selection is perfect.The carry case is well appointed.I have been using these for nearly year and I have only needed to replace some browns along the way.The colour chart that comes with the set is a lifesaver. It saved me from the tedium of making a custom one by hand (again).

4.0 out of 5 stars Great value selection

S. · 15 October 2024

I Decided to try drawing as a hobby after enjoying art as a teenager over 20 years ago and wanting to relearn in my spare time to relax. I am finding these pencils overall to be really great as I am just getting back into the hobby and didn't want to spend too much but didn't want cheap ones that may put me off either. There is a good selection of colours although some are so close they almost seem like doubles which seems a shame where there could have been a slightly better selection overall. Also the colour order seems to be very confusing to me with the numbers not following the colours but you can re order them as you want in the tin. These 2 points are the only reason this tin doesnt get 5 stars from me. I am happy with how the the colours look on the paper and how they blend , they hold a sharp point well but are not crumbly, I think they offer great value especially for begginers or students who may wish to have a large selection before upgrading further along. Some people have mentioned that the tin comes with an insert to teach you how to draw the castle on the front I didn't get this but I did get a book with art tips on using the pencils and lessons on other things the first being an apple as in the picture above.

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent pencil set

A.C. · 23 July 2025

Good quality pencils, every colour you could want.

5.0 out of 5 stars Great colouring pencils

M. · 7 July 2025

I always buy these colouring pencils great quality lovely to colour with

5.0 out of 5 stars Really good quality

E. · 27 January 2025

I was looking at the prisma colour pencils which where way too expensive so I came across these and did some research! Still quite expensive but I wanted some good quality pencils and these where in my price range. They are really good and blend really well. They sharpen well too without snapping . I'm so pleased with them

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful

K. · 11 June 2025

Lovely colours. I had better pencils earlier but for the price it’s more than perfect!

Ótimo produto

H. · 9 August 2025

Produto ótimo e de alta qualidade. O custo benefício torna mais acessível e o envio internacional foi rápido.

Best Value for the Money

S.H. · 17 October 2023

I absolutely ADORE these colored pencils. They are artist-grade, and the price can't be beaten for the quality that you get. Several things make me feel this way.The pencils are sturdy and sharpen really well. With a nice sharp pencil sharpener, you can get a great point without removing too much excess pencil, which means I know they will last for a while. Plus, I have not had a lead break, and I don't feel like it will ever be an issue.The colors are really saturated, and the pigments are vibrant and go down easily on paper. They are buildable, so you can use the same pressure and add layers of color until you get the deepness you desire, and they layer and blend flawlessly. Honestly, the ability to layer and mix is on par with some pencils I have used that cost three and four times as much as these. The color also goes down super smoothly, meaning you get great coverage and end up blending less, which I find a welcome change.These pencils also have a nice variety of premium artist's colors like cadmium, cobalt, and pthalo versions of many different colors. They provide you with a color test sheet so you can fill in all the boxes and see what all the colors are without having to continuously test them whenever you want to use them. Additionally, the colors are all listed on the lid of the tin, so you can reference them when you need to.The case is beautiful and would make a lovely gift for a budding or an experienced artist, and it makes them feel kind of special, almost as if getting to use them is a treat or a reward. On top of this, in case you get a killer guide on how to use the pencils to obtain certain looks and techniques, you can use that any artist or novice should be grateful for. There was great info in it; they provided a way to contact them if anything is amiss with the pencils you receive.The most unexpected thing was the lovely message the company sent me about a week after receiving the set. It was so thoughtful and such a lovely part of the purchase. Taking the time to wish for my enjoyment and to let me know I was appreciated for the purchase I made was the icing on the cake of the whole thing. Such a personal touch is something that I think people miss, and for the company to go out of the way to say they appreciated the purchase and to wish me the best took this purchase to the next level, and I was already thrilled with my choice.So, overall, this was a fantastic purchase; I would recommend buying these to anyone. Whether you are a novice or a really talented artist or if you fall somewhere in between like I do, I feel like these pencils would make anyone extremely happy. I am thrilled with my purchase and hope anyone else is too. I can't think of any pencils that would perform better for a better price, and they are worth every penny and then some.I want to add that I am just a really happy, satisfied customer and am not getting anything in return for this review except the hope that someone will find what I have to say helpful. I hope that others can find the same joy with these as I have. I can't wait to check out other Castle art supplies!!

Torunuma aldım

z.s.g. · 30 December 2024

Götürdüğümde sevinçten taklalar attı. Sonra özellikle bir kaç tanesiyle birlikte boyama yaptık. Kalem kalitesi fiyatına bakarak çok çok çok iyi. Torunum henüz 10 yaşında. Evdeki küçük çocukları sevindirmek için rahatlıkla alabilirsiniz

盲点！

A. · 24 May 2021

敬愛するジョハンナが紹介していたので購入してみましたすごくいいです！芯径も太めでとてもクリーミー、色による部分はありますが…プリズマカラーよりは柔らかいのではないかと思います

Surprisingly good colour and reasonable quality for the price.

S. · 15 February 2021

Pros; I bought these pencils to use in my journals, rather than use my number one pencils (Prismacolor Premier) which I use for other art work. They don’t have quite the same quality but I have been surprised at how good they are. They have a similar soft core buttery application on the paper and I have been able to apply 5 or 6 layers with great results, I generally don’t apply more than that in my art work with pencils. Very pleased with the end results.Cons; I use a normal good quality pencil sharpener to sharpen them, however the quality of wood lets them down a bit, and also the core can be off centre, using the sharpener and a knife I manage to sharpen a point with care so as not to waste the pencil. I don’t think they are suitable for children and think a person who loves using soft core pencils would not find them a problem to use. Love these pencils and very happy with the purchase.