Watercolor pencils let you combine drawing with painting: they have water-soluble colored binders. The art medium is equally suitable for dry-on-dry sketching and wet-on-wet techniques.
Twenty years ago, such pencils were rare. Nowadays dozens of credible manufacturers produce them.
I want to say a few words about my favorite brand – Staedtler Karat.
The Advantages of Staedtler Karat Aquarell Pencils
The inscription on the pencils reads Made in Germany. They really are an example of the high-quality products Germany is known for.
Their strokes are very smooth. I’ve blended three colors and then added some water. Look at the photo below. The color laydown is so intense and transparent at the same time!
And here is an example of dry blending, the classic case ‘blue + yellow = green”. The results are impressive.
I like the natural, not overly bright, Staedtler colors – especially the shades of green, brown and blue, necessary for old good realistic painting.
Other excellent features of the pencils:
- thick break-resistant leads – 3 mm in diameter;
- hexagonal barrel – due to this shape, the pencils don’t roll off a table;
- FSC-certified wood;
- attractive storage tin.
Staedtler Karat is available in different sets – 12, 24, 36, 48, and 60 pcs. If you are going to use them as an auxiliary art supply, don’t buy a large box. My primary medium is watercolor paints, I usually take an aquarelle pencil in my hand to draw some details, and 12 or 24 single colors are definitely enough for me.
However, if you’d like to work with aquarelle pencils from start to finish you’d better buy the biggest box. Having bought a set of 12 to try out, you’ll have to repurchase the same 12 colors within the bigger tin.
Replacing frequently used colors without buying a set isn’t possible. That is the only significant downside of Staedtler Karat Aquarell, in my view.
I hope you’ll enjoy the inspiration art tool as much as I do!
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