STAEDTLERColored Pencils, Premium Art Set, 72 Assorted Colors, 146C C72

I got Staedtler Design Journey 146C 72 set, for some of the smaller pictures and tiny details in Johanna Basford's coloring books. I wanted an oil based (harder pencil) for the layering effect. The size of the core is not stated. The pictures of the yellow pencils are from left to right: Prismacolor Verithin core 3mm, Staedtler Design Journey (SDJ) unknown core size, Star-Joy (SJ 72 set, not gold) 3.5mm, and Prismacolor Premier 3.8mm. The SDJ are just a bit larger in core size than the Verithin and smaller than SJ, so I'm guessing maybe 3.3mm? The harder core helps them keep a sharp point, but when not extra sharp, they are good for coverage of larger areas.The small flower page is from Johanna Basford's Small Victory book 8" x 6", so these are tiny flowers. Other than my first attempt at using these pencils on the upper left flower, I'm very pleased with how they color! The fish picture is from the same coloring book and the circle flower one, is my drawing using Johanna Basford's How to Draw Inky Wonderlands using the Handmade Leather Journal by KomalC here on Amazon. The paper in the journal has a lot more texture. These pencils work wonderful on both types of paper and even in a cheaper book that I tried them in. The unique thing about these pencils is the print is in black on the lighter pencil barrels and white on the darker ones, making the numbers very easy to read. The numbers are not sequential, but are easy to find in the 72 set, since the first digit in the numbering system seems to be the color group, with a few exceptions and the pencil barrel matches the pencil color.These pencils are also very comfortable to hold. The selection of colors in this 72 set is not overly concentrated on one color, but well balanced and even has some nice grays for shading and deepening other colors. I've not had any breakage when using or sharpening and tried various sharpeners and they all worked. I didn't run into any crumbs or scratchy spots. I LOVE these pencils!

I like that these pencils are somewhat hard. I have Prismacolor Premiers and need something for fine details, and these will actually do the details and the larger spaces as well. They are not as hard as my Noris pencils, and the colors do go together. These do gradient well, and are almost as soft feeling in use as my Prismas, but perhaps not quite as soft as my Faber-Castell classics. For some reason these European brands are hard to get even on AMAZON where the market is flooded with cheaper imports. I wish Staedtler and Faber-Castell were more readily available. In any case, these Staedtler colored pencils are an excellent choice and they even feel good to hold. They are hexagonal, so roll less, and the finish is somewhat matte so not easy to loose grip on. I tried another cheaper brand and found them too easy to drop and much less pigmented. I recommend these pencils as being worth the search and the wait!

Make sure to buy a case for these as the box is not worth keeping. The pencils, however, are delightfully fun, have a rich pigment, hold their tips for quite a bit of coloring, and work well on most papers. I would call these soft, but not smooshy. These are not dupes for those famous soft pencils, but will give you a lot of fun.They blend and layer very well. There are times you might want to use a blender pencil to help, especially on toothy paper. I like the durability of these pencils, and their value is quite satisfying. They will make great gifts, especially if accompanied by a case.

Good as expected. Made in Germany.

Spent a lot of time watching videos/reading to distinguish various lines of colored pencils by Staedtler. Love the brand but hadn’t heard much about their colored pencils. I do coloring books for art therapy (multiple chronic illnesses/symptoms/pain), and have a tight budget. Knew I wouldn’t like their basic line for tactile reasons but was lost from there - also love to do full pastel pages - so bought the pastel set in this level/line and was impressed. They feel great in hand and laying down color, great color payout, sturdy, seem to have well centered cores. The pastel set colors all come in this set FYI (I didn’t realize but prefer to sample before investing more coin and being let down). This is the first big set I’ve bought, beginner colorist here, and I’m so pleased. Also wanted bright colors for Mexican folk art and this has me ready to color.

These are Design Journey pencils which are great. They sharpen to a nice point and are great for details work. The colors are bright with many blues and greens. I use them often.

These are great pencils, the Design Journey line is so much better than the school version.

They are harder than most, difficult to blend but awesome for small detail as they hold a sharp tip