Battle of the Best: Faber-Castell Polychromos, Caran d'Ache Luminance & Derwent Lightfast coloured pencils

Today, I'm comparing three top of the line artist-grade coloured pencils - the Faber-Castell Polychromos from Germany, Caran d'Ache Luminance from Switzerland and Derwent Lightfast from UK.

 

These three are the top range coloured pencils from possibly the three most respected coloured pencil brands, and most, if not all, coloured pencil artists use at least one of them. So how do they match up? I've tried all three and I think I'm ready to give my review!

Texture

In terms of hardness, the three pencils are ranked as such (from hardest to softest): Polychromos, Lightfast, Luminance. The Polychromos and the Lightfast are both oil-based pencils, which is why you don't get that waxy look when you use them in drawings. The Luminance is an oil and wax blend.

Because the Faber-Castell Polychromos is so hard, it's great for detailed work. If you draw animals, drawing fur and whiskers is terrific with the Polychromos. You can get the finest lines that you can't get with other pencils. It also holds a sharp point for like forever. I'm amazed that I can draw and draw with it and it never seems to get blunt!

 

However, the Polychromos is also the most translucent. It's good for artists who like to use many layers. Some artists use as many as 25 layers in their drawings, which is why they love the Polychromos because you can achieve the complexity of colour and not saturate the paper too quickly. I simply don't have the patience for that. Six or seven layers is usually enough for me, and building up  colour from the Polychromos makes my hand ache because it's so hard.

For this reason, I prefer the Derwent Lightfast pencils. It holds the point of an oil-based pencil, but it's surprisingly soft to use, like a wax-based pencil. It goes on creamy and blends extemely well. The colour is more opaque than the Polychromos so it requires fewer layers to build up colour. Yet, it layers effortlessly as well. To me, the Lightfast range is the best of both worlds.

Finally, the Caran d'Ache Luminance is the smoothest pencil. With even the lightest strokes, the colours glide on beautifully on the paper in a soft and even blend. The colours are vibrant but not in a garish way. It's also a thicker pencil than the Polychromos so it feels more solid. I cannot describe how wonderful it is to use the Luminance pencils. I imagine all coloured pencils in heaven must be like these. However, the slight downside to the Luminance is that due to its creaminess, it's harder to draw fine details with these pencils. That's why many coloured pencil artists use the Luminance together with the Polychromos.

 

But all three coloured pencils don't break easily, which is wonderful. I get so frustrated with soft pencils that keep breaking (*ahemFaber-Castell Albrecht Durer*) - you feel like you don't get your money's worth when most of it was sharpened away, not actually used.

Colour range

The Faber-Castell Polychromos range is the most comprehensive, at a whopping 120 colours. If you want to have every shade at your disposal, this is it. That's probably because the Polychromos has been around for the longest - since 1908! The Polychromos is possibly the most popular coloured pencil among artists.

The Derwent Lightfast was only launched in 2018 but it has already put out 100 shades, which is very impressive. One reason I was drawn to the Lightfast was that it has a very good selection of earthy and neutral shades, which is good for artists who like to draw nature and wildlife. Considering it has such a wide range of colours, there are some odd gaps though. For example, there are only three light blue shades (one of which is almost white) and only two light green shades. This makes colouring sky and grass a big problem! But its range of browns and greys is unbeatable.

 

The Caran d'Ache Luminance previously only had 76 colours but they released a new 24-pencil portrait set this year, so that brings their total to 100. I find the Luminance colours the most interesting. There are a lot of complex shades not found in other brands, like the soft, pastelly shades.

Looks and Packaging

True to its luxe branding, the Luminance has the most ostentatious packaging. Within the sturdy cardboard box, each pampered little pencil is cushioned in its very own foam well, protecting it from breakage.

I also love the look of the pencil. It has a pale wood coating, a colour strip at the end and words in white. Very, very classy and you feel like you're holding something really expensive. What I don't like though, is that the name of the shade is printed horizontally wrapped around the end the pencil. It's ridiculously hard to read. Incidentally, I find the Luminance naming of their pencils extremely pretentious. Take for example Quinacridone Purple, Dark Phtalocyanine Green and Chrysocolla Blue. Seriously lah. Insert eyeroll here.

The Lightfast and Polychromos come in your standard tin sets with slots for each pencil. The Lightfast pencil is also very nice. Like the Luminance, it's encased in wood with a colour strip at the end. Also very classy. And the shade name is easy to read.

To me, the Polychromos looks the least luxe. The casing is fully coloured in the shade of the pencil and the lettering is in gold (which I don't like because it reflects light and is hard to read). It just feels cheaper, not like a high end coloured pencil.

By the way, I would never buy a set larger than 36 for a very unusual reason: All these coloured pencil sets pack at most 36 in one layer. More than that, the sets are double and triple stacked, eg. for a 72-set, you have to lift up the first tray of 36 to reveal the second tray. This doesn't work for me. For one, I have no table space to display so many trays when working. Second, I'm the biggest klutz on earth. That arrangement is just asking to be knocked over and before I know it, I'll have pencils scattered all over the floor.

Price

You would think that price is straightforward, but it's not, and I personally think that explains a few things. In Singapore, the Derwent Lightfast is very affordable, if you get it from Art Friend. A 36-pencil set costs S$77.77 (around USD 44) which is very reasonable for a top-of-the line range. However, for the rest of the world, even in UK where Derwent comes from, the Lightfast range (actually Derwent in generally) is inexplicably expensive. The cheapest I've seen from UK online shops is about £66 for the same set (about S$120) and that's without VAT. UK residents have to pay a whopping £79 (about S$143)! That's almost S$4 a pencil.

 

To me, that explains why the Derwent Lightfast is not as popular as it should be, given its quality (apart from the fact that this range is relatively new). In comparison, the Faber-Castell Polychromos is only £43 (about S$78) or £52 with VAT (about S$93) for the 36-pencil set from Cult Pens in UK. Whereas in Singapore, we have the opposite scenario. The Polychromos is expensive here vs buying it from the UK. Overjoyed sells the 36-pencil set for S$114.

In short, if you're in any part of the world except here, I guess it doesn't make financial sense to choose the Derwent Lightfast over the Polychromos. Whereas if you're in Singapore, I would say go for the Lightfast. My opinion is that it outperforms the Polychromos and it's cheaper here.

As for the Caran d'Ache Luminance, well, that's just expensive no matter where you buy it. The cheapest I've seen it is from Cult Pens, where a box of 40 pencils costs about £83 (about S$150) without VAT. The same box of 40 costs S$209.72 from Overjoyed.

Conclusion

If I were to liken the coloured pencils to desserts, the Caran d'Ache Luminance is like a very fancy unpronounceable tart made from 1,475 ingredients - the kind you see being made on Masterchef. It's a small sliver of something exquisitve surrounded by decorative elements and looks like it's been plated by elves. And you have to sell a kidney to buy it. That's the Luminance. You want to hate it because it's posh and pretentious, but omigosh, once you try it, you hate yourself for loving it.

The Faber-Castell Polychromos is a slice of German chocolate cake. It uses the finest ingredients and made with the same precision as it was 100 years ago. It's a little boring, but it's solid and dependable and you know it will taste the same each time you eat it. 

The Derwent Lightfast is kind of an in-between. It's a classic English apple pie with a twist. You expect it to be boring and stodgy but it surprises you with a little something extra hidden beneath the crust. You wonder how a simple apple pie can taste this good.

 

Ok, poetry over. Honestly, you can't go wrong with any of them, they're all top performers. They all have excellent lightfast ratings (won't fade over time), have an excellent range of colours and are available open stock (can buy individual pencils). I suggest that you buy a few individual pencils of each to try them out first, if you're thinking of getting a set. Do note that these are artist-grade coloured pencils. If you're just colouring as a hobby, you probably won't need these. You can read my post on the difference between $4 and $400 coloured pencils.

For me, I decided to buy the Derwent Lightfast 36-pencil set, and just supplement the missing colours with individual Polychromos and Luminance pencils. It's great to mix and match anyway as you often need different textures for each drawing. 

You can see the portrait drawing I did of the Beatles using a combination of the three coloured pencils (mostly Derwent Lightfast).

I might ask for a Luminance set for Christmas though. It's just so darn pretty.

Cult Pens in the UK delivers to Singapore free of charge for purchases above £70. If you use my referral link, you get 10% off your first purchase.

Or you can also buy them from Jackson's Art. If you use my referral link, I'll get a few points.