Inktense Pencils by Derwent

Has anyone used the Inktense Pencils by Derwent? A friend mentioned they were her favorite, so I looked them up yesterday and watched a video of someone using them. They look AMAZING. I mentioned to my husband that that the set of 36 is on my Amazon wish list and that he might get the kids to chip in for Mother's Day. He asked me if I had looked through what I had in a while. That was kind of funny as I spent weeks going through everything when we moved my "space" to the other side of the house in November/December. We had a long discussion about colored pencils vs. markers and why these look so great. Anyway, just wondered if any of you have used them and if so, what you think of them.

I had a set in my hand last Saturday. The sales girl couldn't tell me anything about them and they were rather on the pricey side, so I thought I would look up some YouTube videos on it. I have tried the Graphitint. They work the same way watercolor pencils do, but are more greyed. The Inktense I have seen so far look more intense than watercolor. I haven't finished my research yet. They certainly look intriguing.

Golda, do you live near your friend who has these pencils? If so maybe you can go visit her and try coloring an image with the pencils to see if you like them. I personally do like them but I am a pencil gal. I have always been partial to the pencils over the markers...although I do like both. The Intense pencils came out when my son was in high school (he is out of college now) so they have been around for awhile and are now also available in block form. You can use them wet or dry. Dry you have a more intense vibrant color and wet a more translucent color. My personal preference for the pencils are:
Color pencils: Prisma or Lyra
Derwent Inktense....I do not care for the regular color pencils by Derwent. I think their Intense is their best line of the pencils.

Watercolor pencils: I like the Prisma but I do also have the Derwent in those and I really don't mind them.

One of the issues I have with Derwent and Lyra brands is that it is very hard to find the pencils where you can buy just the colors that you need. For example, if you use up the blue pencil and only need a blue pencil....you are stuck buying a whole new set because you can't buy just the blue. The Prisma pencils, I have two different art supply stores near me and places online that will sell me individual pencils for just the colors I need. So once you make the initial investment of buying the entire set you only need replace individual pencils as you need them. I can't do that with the Derwent or Lyra. So I find that I watch how I use them and not waste them because I can't afford to buy a whole new set every time I need one pencil replaced.

Bottom line though...it really is a matter pf personal preference. If you like working with pencils....you will love the Intense pencils. If you really don't like working with pencils...you might want to consider asking for something else for Mother's Day. I wish you lived nearby....I would let you try mine.

Susan, thank you for all the info! I love working with pencils. I rarely use markers as I am more comfortable with pencils and like the looks I can get with them. I was thinking one of the online places I looked had the individual pencils. Of course, now I don't remember where that was. Maybe Dick Blick? I've never tried the Prisma pencils, either. For the past few years I've been using my Koh-i-Noor woodless pencils, which I like a whole lot better than the Rose Art and Crayola I had before that.

I'll see if I can't get together with my friend and try her pencils. She said she has a few different kinds.

Golda, I use Prismacolor pencils and I love them. Michael's periodically has the sets on sale for 40% off or you can use a coupon. You can also buy them individually at HL and online. I bought a set and individual pencils to add more colors and haven't begun to use any of them up yet. Starting out, a set is the way to go because it has colors next to each other for shading.

I did get to go on an outing last night. We were snowed in and will be again tomorrow, so this was a big event. I had done some homework before going and decided to go ahead and get the Inktense Pencils. I love them. They have the vibrancy of ink but work very much like the watercolor pencils. They will mix with water clear out to almost clear. Great!

Michael's has a coupon today through Saturday for 40% off on colored pencils. It's a perfect way to get a set. The code for ordering online is MARPAINT4015. A set of 24 is $79 before the coupon....yikes! Definitely use a coupon.

Yikes! Thanks for the coupon code, Ellie! Thanks for all the info, too.