Bit of a story. I was reorganizing my massive stash of art supplies when I came across 3 very old school Koh-I-Noor Magic pencils. From back when they were hexagonal shaped! I sharpened them up & after prolly 10 yrs in a dark box, they worked beautifully.. so I needed more! I ordered the 13 pack, with the hopes that the company hadn't changed the pencil formula much. Sooo HAPPY to receive these & find they are still the same fantastic pencils!! I started doing watercolor art this past year & am fascinated with the watercolor 'affects' you can achieve with layering, glazing, washing, blending. I find these pencils can provide that same affect. Obviously u can't use them on something u want specifically one solid or pure color. But on pieces where I want multiple colors, blended colors or that WC paint affect, these were AMAZING (even the little goldfish I did are stunning IRL. Camera doesn't do it justice). Can use them tip straight down, side shade or as u are coloring, turn the triangle pencil with ur fingers every few strokes to switch & blend the colors. It is possible to get a single color out of the blend which is great too, just test/experiment on scrap paper to get what you're looking for. Very decent pigmentation, easy to lay down on higher end paper & adult coloring books. Very soft & buttery, I did not find them dry or scratchy at all. The colorless blender is quite handy, similar to other brands or burnishing with a white pencil crayon. The blender can turn down the color just a tad but worth it if you really want to blend those gorgeous pigments together.. different color combos every time? *swoon*. I'm so obsessed with these pencils.. and I own all the various pencil sets. Prismacolor, Faber Castell, Caran D'ache, Lyra etc etc. Those sets as well as their watercolor versions. And these Magic pencils are up there with those greats. Pics show a few books by Camilla d'Errico bought here on Amazon (love her art!). The mermaid lovers, the girl & the goldfish & the mermaid/ boat pics are all done ENTIRELY with Magic pencils! (except for one Prismacolor pencil to shade in the blue water, as I wanted a true clear blue). The shark tail was my first attempt & is a bit rough as I went in with a lot of pressure & this is hard to blend out. Pigment is good, I didn't need to grind it in, lesson learned. The girl in the crown I've just started, all Magic pencils- mostly the blues & the 'america' color so far. The last page of sweet treats? Used a mix of media including Polychromos, Gelly Roll pens, fine liners & this Magic set. They're so smooth!! As a moderately skilled home artist, I find these pencils to be a fantastic addition to my supply stash. I'm already on the hunt for the 24 count set! (Oh & they arrived super quick despite shipping in from the U.S :) Do keep in mind that they require a specific sharpener, anything that accomodates a 1.7cm barrel. Koh-I-Noor sells them but not here on Amazon or anywhere I can find online. I did however search Amazon & found a 4 pack of large sharpeners aimed at those thick square carpentry pencils, jumbo crayons, children's chubby pencils etc. Only 10$. One woman posted that she uses them on her Magic pencils with no problems. Mine arrived today and are a PERFECT match y'all! They are almost comically huge lol but they accomodate the pencils perfectly. Be careful, go slow. They are sharp & heavy duty, can take chunks out of the wooden barrel. They are called: 'WEKOIL Pencil Sharpener Metal Blade Carpenter Pencil Sharpener Jumbo Crayon Sharpener, Hand held Sharpener, Woodworker Sharpeners Sharpening Golf Pencils 4-Pack'. If u don't fancy these, my 2nd suggestion would be to take one pencil & wander around a store in art or make up supplies. Find a good size & quality. I found an old Maybelline jumbo sharpener in my makeup tools that worked ok as a backup. These are large pencils with a distinct triangle shape. If u can't find a sharpener, you may need to sharpen them with a blade. BE CAREFUL IF THIS IS UR OPTION. I'm a nurse. PLEASE don't cut urself!! Only use the knife downwards, shave slowly down the barrel, carefully and ALWAYS AWAY FROM YOUR BODY & ALL OTHERS. Don't cut off ur fingers & blame me! All in all, possibly a tad tricky to find ur preferred way to sharpen but these pencils are SO worth it! #OhOhItsMagic 5 stars!⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
