Derwent Chromaflow Pencils, Set of 72 in Tin, 3.5mm Round Core, Premium Core Strength, Blendable with Smooth Texture, Ideal for Drawing, Colouring & Layering, Professional Quality, 2306014

Product Information

We use different woods in the manufacture of our pencils and sometimes the wood may change during the lifetime of a pencil range. Chromaflow is made using fine grade pine which is perfect for the slightly slimmer barrel of the Chromaflow pencils. With regards to the plan or vision that Derwent first expressed to me regarding the Derwent Chromaflow, now that the range has been extended to 72 everything makes perfect sense. The manufacturing of the core to appease colored pencil artists who enjoy Prismacolor has most certainly been accomplished as far as I can tell.

Derwent Chromaflow Pencils | Ken Bromley Art Supplies Derwent Chromaflow Pencils | Ken Bromley Art Supplies

Don’t confuse permanence with lightfastness, there are still a number of lower rated pigments here, though not too many. Next I completed a series of tests, layering, the use of odourless mineral spirits and blending. First, with the layering test. I complete this test all the time, holding the pencil at the very end of the barrel and allowing the weight of the pencil to layer, this test helps to shoe pigment strength and the pencils ability to layer. I would strongly recommend doing tests on different paper swatches before you try a full piece with any new pencil. The combination of the type of paper you use with any coloured pencil product can greatly affect your success with it. Often it takes a bit of time to find the right combination of paper and pencil with the techniques you like using to get successful results. The two issues I had with this style of marketing were as follows, if the Chromaflow were to be a replacement or at least near as dam it replacement to the Prismacolor for UK based colored pencil artists, why release them first in the US, when they are supposed to fill a gap in the UK market? My second issue was, if you are going to try and fill in for a product that sports a palette of 150, surely releasing only sets of 12 and 24 is way off the mark. But don't let this minor hitch deter you! This issue typically comes up only when you're heavily diluting the colours. Even then, it's not a common problem. When you're using these pencils in their dry form, and then adding water to your paper, you're more than likely to be just fine. One thing to keep in mind

The photo above shows an amalgamated set of Derwent pencils. All these colours are rated LF Blue Wool Scale 4 or above. Derwent Lightfast Pencils Lightfast coloured pencils have been a holy grail that artists in coloured pencil have wanted for a long time.

Derwent Chromaflow 24 Tin Derwent Chromaflow 24 Tin

They are a good option if you work with bright or strong colours. A number of professional artists like them for underpainting the paper before adding dry colour. It speeds up the painting process a great deal. There is quite a major step up in colour strength when wet, and you need to know what the effect of water is going to be before you set out on a picture. In January 2014, Peter sorted out the pencils he uses regularly into a new set of zipped cases and prepared a small card to remind him of the performance of the contents of each set. The card for Inktense is presented here to show the vibrancy of the colours. As you can see from the Chromaflow, right from the get go, the very first light layer, the pigment strength is tremendous. I always apply 5 layers as it is generally considered a good idea to apply at least 5 layers before using Odourless Mineral Spirits. The final column is a single heavy and the paper used for this test was the Hahnemühle Agave Watercolor paper, this paper has a nice texture to it, 70% Agave and 30% Cotton. Its important that you understand the prices I am listing here are prices put forward before Derwent have even officially announced the Derwent Chromaflow 36, 48 and 72. The reason I am highlighting this is because traditionally, when new products are released the prices shortly reduce. If you come across any with grey barrels, these are a very old range and you will find them poor compared to the latest version. You'll notice that one of mine in the photo above mentions Cumberland, which could be called ancient.

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An artist who took the watercolour pencils to Tunisia, with temperatures of 30 degrees, found that they were inclined to soften and break easily. This could be a problem with many of the softer brands. Therefore, you might like to consider keeping the pencils in a coolbag in hot weather to reduce this issue. Grab a bargain!