Crayola vs Prismacolor Watercolor Pencils Comparison

Last week we took a look at the Faber-Castell Goldfaber Aqua watercolor pencils and compared them to the professional Albrecht Durer. Today we're taking a look at Crayola watercolor pencils and pitting them against Prismacolor watercolor pencils!

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Faber-Castell Albrecht Durer Watercolor Pencils Review:    • Faber-Castell Albrecht Durer Watercol...  
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Prismacolor Watercolor Pencils Review:    • Prismacolor Watercolor Pencils Review  
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Sent to me by Taira! Please check out her amazing art on Instagram:

Taira's Insta:   / nuneztaira  

Going to compare these mostly to Prismacolor Premier Watercolor Pencils

12 Pack: $4.51 on Amazon: https://amzn.to/33cZTWp (you can get these cheaper at walmart)
Non-toxic
Watercolor5 Pencils
Aimed at kids
Sold just about everywhere
This is an older pack
Cardboard packaging
Made from Reforested wood
Also available in a 24 pack: https://shop.crayola.com/color-and-dr...
Available in class packs
Not available openstock
Approx. $0.38 per pencil


https://www.crayola.com/things-to-do/...

We've talked about Crayola a number of times on this channel and on the blog

12 count is $3.99 on Crayola Site: https://shop.crayola.com/color-and-dr...

The Packaging:
Cardboard packaging can fold into an easel and is recyclable
Colors have to be removed to use easel

This set was used a bit before Taira purchased it- which is fine! Just disclosing this fact.

The easel is a neat way to have colors accessible and easy to grab- I wish more companies had this type of transforming packaging.

Why am I comparing these to Prismacolor?

Both sold almost EVERYWHERE
Both for mass market consumption
The Prismacolors performed THAT POORLY

The Pencils:
Very basic- full body is color of lead, gold embossing, Crayola- Watercolor- a brush symbol (why does crayola get this but Prisma doesnt)- Color Name
Round Bodies

Swatching:

Swatching in an Arteza watercolor sketchbook

Dry swatching:
Colors are opaque, a little chalky, but a bit more buttery than the Prismacolor watercolor pencils
Not as dusty as some watercolor pencils
Color Palette is aimed more at appealing to young artists, so we're missing colors for good color mixing

We have a mid yellow, rather than a cool yellow and a warm yellow
We have a light sky blue, rather than a cool blue
We have two cool reds- the pink is cool influenced and the red is cool influenced
We have orange rather than a cool red
Our violet is more like a liilac

Wet Swatching:
Some colors are chalky- Brown, Purple, Sky Blue
Color activation wasn't bad, but isn't great- better than I expected

Dried swatches:
Some colors more vibrant than others- Yellow, greens, Blue, Pink, Red, Orange most saturated

Colorwheel:

Colors Used:
Yellow
Sky Blue
Blue
Magenta
Red


Some Dust
Color gets used up fast
So far no breaking or snapping

Wet Colorwheel

Brush Used:
Princeton Aqua Elite- Same as every other test

Water muddies up fast- lot of optical brighteners
Same layering issues (top layer activates, bottom layer doesnt) as Prismacolor
Not all color activates- you can see pencil marks
Some color mixes better than others

Colors are still fairly saturated when dry

Can be lifted

Layering test:

These do NOT layer or mix well, they barely activate at all, and a lot of the colors kinda turn to mud

Verdict:

I mean seriously, these aren't professional watercolor pencils, they aren't pretending to be professional watercolor pencils. If you're looking for some magically cheap art supply that handles like pro- this ain't it.

What they are: Decent, children's grade art supplies. Fun for doodling. Non toxic. Super accessible. Super affordable.

So vs Prismacolor- I'm hesistant to say this, but I really feel like they're just about on par, based on the two unbox and swatch videos I've recorded. I feel like I'd have to do individual field tests with them to really give you full feedback- and I don't like EITHER enough to want to do that. I will say that the Crayola pencils are MUCH cheaper, and I would not recommend either Prismacolor or Crayola to an older teen or adult hobbyist interested in experimenting with watercolor pencils- I recommend the Goldfaber Aqua over both brands.
Music:
Kevin MacLeod- Clean SOul
Silver Blue Light
Windswept
Dream Culture
Angevin 70

#Crayola #Crayolawatercolorpencils #Crayolawatercolor