STABILO Chalk-Pastel Artist Colored Pencil CarbOthello ARTY Tin Set of 60, Eraser, Sharpener, Blender - Watercolor Effects

These are my first (and go-to) pastel pencils. I find them easily blendable, not too soft, and the variety of colors suitable for all of my pet & wildlife portraits. I'm a beginner, but I'm still learning, and I will highly recommend getting a Prismacolor handheld (2-slot) pencil sharpener, and possibly a sharpening block..because I learned that if you try these with an electric sharpener, they will eat half the pencil and turn it to dust, as well as me up the sharpener. Filing it with a craft knife didn't work for me either. You don't need a really really sharp point anyway, because with too much pressure they'll break every time. No matter what I do, I so still have maybe two colors out of the entire set that break frequently, but that is most likely due to the pigment used. In any case, drawing with these pencils still gives me nice, fine details I want. They work best on Pastelmat and velour paper, but I've also used them on Bristol and Fabriano Titziano paper which worked out fine. Any paper smoother than those will smear and not blend as well. Highly recommend these pastel pencils!

I did not know that chalk pencils existed until I read a review that mentioned them. I started searching and came up with this brand. I am so pleased that I found these on my first chalk pencil hunt. STABILLO CarbOthello Chalk Pastel Pencils s are super fun to work with. I am usually really pleased with the finished image, and I especially love using them for grayscale coloring. I initially purchased a 24 piece set, and I was so enthralled with that set that I wanted a larger selection of colors. They come in an easy to open hinged tin box. The pencils are cradled in two layers with thumb holds, in the top tray, for easy stacking/unstacking. They are numbered, but do not have color names. In this set you will find varying shades of the following: there is enough color variety to enable the colorist to do portraits, landscapes, animals, and most any kind of line drawings. 1 white 1 beige/sand (Good for skin tones) 10 browns (very light to very dark) 8 greens (bluish, lime to tree leaves, grass) 8 blues (baby, sky, dark, greenish etc.) 4 yellows (very pale to bright) 3 purplish, pinkish lavender (Sorry, but these three colors are a bit hard to define.) 3 oranges 3 grays 2 golds 1 black 1 red 2 reddish, pinkish, orangy 1 blush 1 paper blending stump 1 kneaded rubber eraser 1 pencil sharpener My descriptive color names may not be precise, but hopefully one can get a good idea of the colors included in the set. You can also see the colors in the pictures below. PROS: Easy to use Give nice potent colors Dry blend easily Sharpen easily Good coloring mileage...nice pastel hues Can be smudged with finger or paper tissue to get even coloring Erasable Smooth lay down CONS: Messy to use Create dust Not really good for precise/fine details Colors may not be as vivid as wax or oil based pencils Even after the colors are pretty well set, it is important to put a blank sheet of paper, tissue or whatever, under your coloring hand while finishing your picture. Otherwise, you may have slight color imprints on your skin. I always color a small section of my picture, blend the color(s) and remove the chalk dust before coloring another section. I have never had smudges on my finished colored image. My finished pictures have retained their color well; however, there is a preservative that can be applied for durability. My set arrived rather jumbled and with a few broken tips. The tin box was in a thin plastic envelope that allowed them to be tossed, thrown and mishandled throughout the delivery route. The tin box gives fairly good protection; however…….

Carbothellos are my absolute favorite chalk pastel pencils by far! So many vibrant colors and they are so smooth and buttery to apply to paper and to blend. They are a pain to sharpen and have to be sharpened quite often, however, it is definitely worth the hassle. My request to this company is to expand the range of colors!!! I know so many people like me who would immediately buy a 2nd set if additional colors were offered! Pretty please, Stabilo!!!!!!!

nice but they gave me 2 of one color and not burnt umber, which is an important color!!!

Great variety of colors easy to blend!

These are some of the best pastel pencils I've used. They're such a good value for how many you get. The color selection of the 36 set is great, though it is lacking some grays. If you buy the 36 set, I would recommend buying a few of their warm and cool gray colors individually as well to round out your set. These pastels are nice and smooth, I find they don't crumble as easily as some other brands do. I always use a craft knife to sharpen them, I find they tend to break less if you sharpen them that way versus a sharpener. They work wonderfully on Pastelmat paper. I think the 36 set with the edition of a few extra gray pencils would be perfect for any beginner artist looking to get started with pastels!

I bought the Stabilo set on the recommendation of the teacher of a pastel drawing class which I took recently at the local arts center, and I have been very pleased with my purchase. The pencils allow the artist to supply details to his/her pastel painting by using the soft pastel pencils instead of the less manageable pastel chalks. When uing the pencils in connection with the chalks, the pigmenrts are easily blendable so that chalks and pencils can be used together ona single painting. The pencils come packaged in 2 plastic trays in which each individual pencil has its own slot, so the pencils are less likely to be damaged in moving. The 2 trays come in a "tin" metal case which opens like a clamshell allowing 1 tray to pe placed in each half so that all of the pencils are readily available for use. New users who are not familiar with "soft" pastels may be surprised by how quickly the pigment is used which necessitates the frequent sharpening of the pencils; however, this usage is characteristic of soft patel pigments whether chalks or pencils. I have used my pencils extensively, and have no complaints about the product. It would be a super gift for any artist who uses or would like to learn how to use soft pastels. The carrying case is not only practical but is visually attractive as well. In my oinion, Stabilo has earned its 5 stars on this one.

Excellent, pretty good price at $60, also like Derwents and found excellent paper, read the review!!! If things change I will update this review. I have not tried Prismacolor but that is because I feel they are overpriced, and I have read that these are just as good and lightfast, true to colour as any $700 set. So, we will see. Also trying thte stick, but bought a small sampler set to see if I even like to draw that way. I am into watercolour and pencils of graphite, colour, carbon, pastel and watercolour pencils. Have a small charcoal set, but such a mess, I get the darks from carbon but hard to find and they are really expensive unless on sale. Also try this paper, you do not need to buy expensive sanded art paper, GO TO HOME CDEPOT!!!! Spend pennies on the dollar and this pack will give you a good range for the finest grit, I paid a rediculous amount for one sheet of 800 grit sand paper at an art store. I am sure you can get larger sheets. 9 x 11 Inch, 800 to 3000 Grit Sandpaper Assortment, Dry/ Wet, 14 Pieces, for Automotive Sanding, Wood Furniture Finishing, Wood Turning Finishing Also for $7 cannot beat this sample set bu very small, like 1" sticks and thin. Have not worked with pastel stick long enough to talk about quality, but a great small set to try out and see if you like the looseness of that type of art Mungyo Soft Pastel 64 Color Set Square Chalk