[Artchic528]

Not that it matters to me. I have my 120 set of Polychromos colored pencils, the 150 set of Prismacolors, more crayons that anyone needs (over 300), and of course my coloring books. I think I'm set.

No idea but I was coloring before it was cool anyways. Lol. I love my harry potter coloring book and it comes out whenever I need it.

[seesaw]

What is the difference between the polychromos and the prismacolors?

[Artchic528]

Originally Posted by seesaw

What is the difference between the polychromos and the prismacolors?

Polychromos have a harder lead core and don't break every time you sharpen them like Prismacolors. Prismacolors have the imfamous super soft buttery smooth lead that tends to break off and they are next to impossible to get to a really sharp point without breaking a half a dozen times.

Also, Polychromos are made with oil based lead cores where as Prismacolors are made from wax. Using Prismacolors you can only layer so much before the wax builds up to the point where you wind up scraping off layers when applying another layer, rather than adding to the layers. This is called a wax bloom, where the paper has taken all the wax it can handle within it's grain, or tooth. Polychromos, like I said before, are oil based, so they can be layered upon layered to your heart's content without that pesky wax bloom happening.

Polychromos are made in Germany by the Faber-Castell company which has been around since 1761. Every pencil is made with the utmost care, and each pencil has to pass an extensive quality control. Each lead core is perfectly centered and bonded to the wood casing to ensure minimal breakage, and like I said before, the cores are hard and break resistant on their own. The wood casings are made from sustainable California cedar and smell super nice when you first take off the plastic shrink wrap from the tin packaging.

Prismacolors are made now by Newell Brands, a mass market company that owns a lot of different various name brand goods. They are now mostly made in Mexico and sometimes their cores are off center and their quality control has gone significantly downhill. I've seen some pencils from sets that are missing gouges of wood casing, or the cores are horribly off center. Makes for near impossible sharpening without wasting a lot of the pencil.

Polychromos have a range of 120 different colors, where as Prismacolors have a much more extensive range at 150.

Here is what Polychromos look like. Note the gold band at the end, and the cap of paint. Such a professional touch!



Here we have Prismacolors.

My Aunt loves to color and adult coloring books. I think its still a thing if its your thing. I know some people really love it and it relaxes them.

[seesaw]

That's interesting. I have a huge collection of Prismacolors. I have some that are soft core and some that are hard core (they are from different sets). I have never had any issue layering with my prismacolors and done a lot of great work with them. I especially enjoy using them along with water color for added definition. You said the polychromos were lead based and the oil based. Is it lead or oil?

[Artchic528]

Polychromos are oil based.

[Artchic528]

Oh, I completely forgot to say that Prismacolors come in a variety of styles. There's the Verithins, which, like the name suggests, are thinner and have harder cores than say, the soft core Premiers. These are great for getting into all the nooks and crannies of your drawings, or page your coloring in. Then you have the Scholars, which are student grade colored pencils, and have a medium hard tip out of the three different kinds. Lastly, you have the soft core Premiers, which are the softest, creamiest pencils money can buy. These are the premium, artist grade color pencils.

So yeah, there are quite a few different brands within the Prismacolor family.

As an aside, I decided to buy some Gamsol, a colorless, odorless mineral spirits that is great for blending colored pencils. I've also ordered a set of stumps/tortillons to use the Gamsol to blend, and I've also ordered some sakura gelly rolls in white to add sparkles and highlights to the last purchase I made, which is this coloring book:

[seesaw]

Originally Posted by Artchic528

Oh, I completely forgot to say that Prismacolors come in a variety of styles. There's the Verithins, which, like the name suggests, are thinner and have harder cores than say, the soft core Premiers. These are great for getting into all the nooks and crannies of your drawings, or page your coloring in. Then you have the Scholars, which are student grade colored pencils, and have a medium hard tip out of the three different kinds. Lastly, you have the soft core Premiers, which are the softest, creamiest pencils money can buy. These are the premium, artist grade color pencils.

So yeah, there are quite a few different brands within the Prismacolor family.

Yes, I'm familiar with the Prismacolors. I own hundreds of them.

I am currently working on a colouring book of Rembrandt masterpieces that was brought back for me from the Netherlands. I am having fun even though I am only working with 48 colours. If you know Rembrandt you will understand my need to pick up a hell of a lot of black markers, haha.

[Medusax]

LOL!! I don't know or care if it is a thing, I only know I LOVE to color. It MUST be popular, because we have a bunch and there are a myriad of choices at the local bookstore.
Me thinking about coloring.....

[~Christina]

I have been doing the adult coloring for 5+ years , I don’t care if it’s a thing or not

[wordshaker]

I LOVE the books but my attention lasts on coloring for about 5 minutes! However this thread makes me want to color! How fun

[Quarter life]

I am always colouring my own stuff...I don't think it has ever been a craze...its always been around.

[eskielover]

I have heard that rubbing alcohol works similar to gamasol for blending the wax like pencil coloring. I havent tried it.

Ugh have done some of those phone app coloring. That is easy to get hooked on too..

I use ink pens (usually gel) & markers to do my coliring books too, besides the pencils. Some pictures seem to call for the different mediums.

I like the watercolor pencils too. They create an interesting watercolor paintings.

[Anxious Minds]

I dabble from time to time. Have a coloring book in my house, but mostly piddle with coloring apps on my phone. Love the Sandbox app.

[Medusax]

Originally Posted by Anxious Minds

I dabble from time to time. Have a coloring book in my house, but mostly piddle with coloring apps on my phone. Love the Sandbox app.

A friend of mine has a really neat pottery app that is fun. i have a "design a room thingy on my tablet. That is fun as well.

[MuseumGhost]

The colouring craze is still 'on" for me.

It fills-in otherwise anxious time spent waiting. It's really great for when I just get a case of the fidgets.

It's also helping me get some fine motor skills back (after years of not doing much drawing).

[HiddenRachel]

My mom just got me color books and markers to color for Christmas. And then after the 3rd time of using them, my dog decided she wanted to color too and chewed up my markers.. soo I will be once I get more markers