Staedtler Noris Club Aquarell watercolour pencils

There is an sketching art teacher in Sydney who recommends these pencils for their vibrant colour, and she sells them to her students as part of the materials list.  

I was in an Officeworks once, and heard a little Thai girl deciding between Staedtler and Faber Castell.  She wanted Faber Castell while her mom wanted Staetdler.  I opened my big mouth and recommended the Staedtler based on the art teacher and also poor experience / reviews with Faber Castell products.  ("Remember when Faber Castell sold good quality student art supplies?... Me neither.").

The price in Australia was quite prohibitative and so I refused to buy any.  (Eckersley 12 pack $12.55, 24 pack $24.65, 36 pac $36.70. ebay 12 pack for $13).

Imagine my glee when I happened to be in a Singaporean bookstore and found a 12 pack for $5.95.  I bought the 24 pack for $9.90, just because it was cheaper.  It was made in Germany and included a free brush. 

I made a swatch about a week later and was impressed by the softness of the colour pencils.

I went to a sketchclub outing and a girl complained about the Derwent pencils she had bought.  So I let her try these and she liked how soft they were and the colour they imparted. 

Very happy with purchase, but don't buy it in Australia! 

Mont Marte Multicoloured Pencil Review

I do love colours.  Recently the blogosphere introduced me to some pretty amazing sketches done with multicoloured pencils.  

By Jennifer Lawson

So I really was itching to buy a multicoloured pencil to do some funky drawings.  They can be found easily - I saw them in plenty of museum shops and book stores.  

Koh-i-noor sells boxes of amazing pencils.  Some places sell them individually too.

Lyra also does some funky ones.

But they don't come cheap! I owned a multi-coloured pencil as a kid, so I'm sure they were more affordable that AUD$5 each. That pencil still is around somewhere at my brother's place.

Anyway, in comes 3 jumbo sized Mont Marte Multicoloured Pencils.  

The packaging was made of that plastic that's impossible to get things out of.  

The pencils are hexagonal with a glossy marbled finished.  They won't roll off the table.  The coloured leads are arranged in a checked-pattern.  Each pencil contains 3 colours.

Red-yellow-blue pencil: Fun.

Orange-yellow-pink pencil: Vibrant.

Red-white-blue pencil: I felt cheated and had a serious gripe about this one.  It looks just red and blue!  It didn't occur to me at the time to try it on toned or black paper, which might show up the white better. 

They can be erased a bit.

Some suggestions on use:
-Write with them. Short notes, lists, memos, letters
-Use a blender pencil to increase the subtleness of the line

Now I need to get a special jumbo pencil sharpener...

Mont Marte Ultrasoft Colour Pencils review

Mont Marte Ultrasoft Colour Pencils 

Sturdy pretty tin.
Cheap. 
Pencils are pretty and smooth and round (and will roll around table tops).  They are pre-sharpened. 
The pencils included have very similar colours to each other, despite having unique Australian-inspired names.  I find the names adorable.

The pencil is soft.  Some feel waxy, especially the light colours.  I have heard some rave reviews about Mont Marte pencils.  The reviewer was from USA.  He said they were hard to obtain outside Australia.  He also said they performed to artist quality, despite being student grade.  I am not sure if he was talking about these pencils in particular or another line of Mont Marte pencils.

Verdict: 
I'm not as inspired by these pencils as I was with the Watercolour ones.  But they are very pretty and I intend to keep my box.

Faber Castell Watercolour Pencil review

Faber Castell SV Watercolour pencils.

SV Bonding is a Faber-Castell trademark and all Faber-Castell pencils are SV Bonded. SV is short for the German word "Sekuralverfahren" meaning secural bonding or secure-all bonding. It is a process of gluing the lead to the wood on both sides and the full length of the pencil. This is meant to result in a strong lead that resists breakage and is able to be sharpened to a fine point.

I have to press harder to get same colour.  It felt/looks shiny and waxy and streakier.

"Remember the time Faber Castell made good art supplies? 
... 
Me neither."

Mont Marte Graphite Earth Tones Review

Mont Marte Graphite Earth Tones 

Mont Marte supports Australian artists.  They used the actual product to make packaging.
Environment- friendly paper box. 
Quality assurance seal. 

The pencils themselves are pretty, round and smooth, so they will roll around.
The pencils are identified by the colours at the ends, otherwise they are uniform in appearance.  There is no pencil name or number.  The lead is presharpened. On inspection, I think the lead is not central within the wooden casing.  But I'm not totally sure.  It's not far off and the lead is very thick.

They cannot be bought open stock. They are not lightfast. There is no yellow version.

They performed better than I expected.  They are coloured pencils in muted shades. The greyed colours make them a good addition to a regular line of watercolour pencils (like the Inktense) which often contain many bright colours and fewer of the near-neutrals. They apply soft but are harder than Derwent (Derwent is supposedly 4b). Their special effect occurs when they get wet. If you don't get them wet, they are not very exciting. Some colours are easier to dissolve (black was hard). Once dry could not dissolve again, I believe this is the same as Derwent. 

Suggestions for use include: 
-fantasy / morbid art (withering plants, skulls, creepy aliens, gothic rose patterns).  This takes advantage of the eerie sheen of dry graphite. 
-fur
-landscape studies (deserts)
-shading cartoons / webcomics
-scrapbook illustration 

-Apply them wet. 
-Use steam instead of directly wetting.  One artists reports that only the green changed into a more vibrant colour. 

Some related ideas from artists: 
-Mix watercolour with soluble graphite for an eerie sheen. 
-Lay down a graduated strip of watersoluble graphite pencil, then colour over with watercolour pencils. Then wash with a wet brush. In this manner, you can get a look like G-tints, except it also works with bright colours.

Mont Marte Watercolour Pencil review

Mont Marte Watercolour Pencils

Just wanted to try them since I was bowled over with previous Mont Marte products.
Cheap. $7.50 for 12.
Difficult to peel off quality assurance sticker.
Mont Marte supports Australian artists. The cover art is drawn by an Australian artist using the watercolour pencils. That is honest of them. It is proof of the quality of the product.

As with any watercolour pencil, it brightens with water.

Verdict:
I am afraid I an not SO impressed by these pencils. They are scratchy. The colours are not vibrant. Despite this, I am using them a lot. I wouldn't throw them out, but I am looking for some kid to give them to. 

Mont Marte Ultrasoft Watercolour Pencils Review

Mont Marte Ultrasoft Watercolour pencils 

Cheap 

Sturdy tin

Supports Australian artists

The artwork on the cover was made using the product

Fresh smell of wood and wood paint
Beautiful, round, smooth pencils
Australian names of colours

Soft and creamy and lays down good colour.
Once dry could not dissolve again

Cons:
Some artists complain when a colour pencil brand cannot be bought open stock.  Personally, that doesn't bother me.

Verdict: 
Very impressed. For this price, you should totally get a set or 3. Great gifts, especially for overseas artists because Mont Marte products are hard to get outside of Australia.  Because of this set's quality, I went out and bought loads of Mont Marte stuff.