Derwent has released Chromaflow Colored Pencils in 12 and 24 piece tin sets. This is a new range of affordable wax-based colored pencils with break-resistant 3.5 mm cores. They blend and layer really well.
“Create your best art with Derwent Chromaflow Color Pencils, formulated with rich pigments to deliver bold, vibrant laydown. Chromaflow Color Pencils have a smooth texture that allows for easy blending and layering, plus premium core strength that can handle pressure when sharpening and in use, minimizing interruptions to your creative flow. As each color pencil is made, glue is applied to the entire length of the pencil slat, keeping the core in place and leading to less breakage. Crafted by Derwent in its UK manufacturing plant, Chromaflow pencils reflect a rich heritage of quality dating back to 1832”
Derwent Chromaflow 12 Piece Colored Pencil Set
The 12 Piece Color Chart
Derwent Chromaflows are really velvety and smooth. The rich, creamy laydown is reminiscent of Prismacolor Premier Colored Pencils. They’re highly pigmented and feature vibrant color saturation so they’re excellent for layering and creating color gradations. Because the core is glued down there is minimal breakage and the core won’t fall out of the pencil.
“Beginner and improving artists are often frustrated in the quality of their work which may be down to the materials they are using more than their ability or technique. Artists complain of pencil breakage, an inability to apply layers in their artwork without building up wax and difficulty blending different colors together. In response, Derwent Chromaflow provides artists with an affordable professional quality product which is easy to layer and blend thanks to the richly pigmented smooth texture.”
Derwent Chromaflow 24 Piece Colored Pencil Set
The 24 Piece Color Chart
Chromaflow Lightfastness
“Specific lightfast ratings for these pencils are not published but they have been tested to perform comparably to other branded lightfast products in a similar price range. The lightfast performance is also similar to other highly-pigmented products within the Derwent range of professional quality pencils. However if fade-resistance is one of the most important factors when choosing your pencils we would recommend the Derwent Lightfast range as every pencil in this collection is guaranteed not to fade for 100 years.”
Procolor: Chromaflow are softer than Procolor and will layer and blend differently. Procolor are more suited to detailed work, have greater point strength, wider core and large color range.
Colorsoft: Both are soft and smooth however Colorsoft have a softer texture and lay down is different. Colorsoft is a larger diameter pencil and therefore builds up color more quickly. Colorsoft is a great coloring pencil and has a much larger range of colors. Chromaflow mixes well to integrate colors.
Lightfast: Lightfast have a larger and stronger pencil core. They are 100% lightfast with a soft and creamy texture. Lightfast is our only oil-based pencil which can achieve paint like affects and has 100 colors in the range.
Because there is no guaranteed lightfastness I would recommend Derwent Chromaflows for students and those just getting started with colored pencils. They are also appropriate for professional artists who are experimenting, working on studies, or in sketchbooks where lightfastness isn’t a top concern.
Currently Derwent offers these 2 sets only. There is no open stock available: colors are not sold individually. There are no immediate plans to extend the Chromaflow color range beyond the current 24 colors.
12 tin color palette: Sun Yellow, Flame, Scarlet, Blush Pink, Lilac, Denim, Blue, Basil, Grass Green, Natural Brown, Black, and White.
24 tin color palette: Sun Yellow, Amber Gold, Golden Sun, Flame, Scarlet, Strawberry, Salmon, Blush Pink, Magenta, Lilac, Violet, Denim, Blue, Light Blue, Turquoise Green, Basil, Foliage, Grass Green, Burnt Sienna, Raisin, Natural Brown, Platinum, Black, and White.
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