Castle Arts Pasteltint Colored Pencil Review
Castle Arts Pasteltint Colored Pencil Review | Castle Arts Pasteltint Colored Pencils
In this review we take a look at another new addition to the Castle Arts collection, the Castle Arts Pasteltint Colored Pencils. Castle Arts really have kept their finger on the pulse with regards to listening to their customers, always adding new products to expand their range and always striving to maintain a high level of quality.
I have been reviewing art products now for approximately six years and in that time, one thing that I have noticed and spoke about at some length, was the lack of pastel tones within the alcohol marker and colored pencil market. For the longest time, the Holbein Colored Pencils cornered the colored pencil market with regards to beautiful pastel tones but at a very expensive price. For the alcohol markers it was COPIC and all the other marker companies trying to push through and compete, were lacking that one vital ingredient in my opinion, and that was pastel tones.
Over the past year or two, things have started to change and very much for the better; colored pencil companies and marker companies have all started to release their own pastel tone sets, very much allowing them to compete at the very top levels without the top level prices.
Castle Arts Pasteltint Characteristics
As I have mentioned above, Castle Arts really do listen to their customers and have taken into consideration that they are not just simply selling art supplies, but that they are selling an experience. One of the most impressive things I have seen in the new Castle Arts sets is the literature that is included.
For anyone new to the colored pencil medium, if they should buy a set of Castle Arts Colored Pencils, they are not alone on the journey of leaning this versatile medium, as I was when I purchased my first set of colored pencils seven or eight years ago. Inside each set is an incredibly comprehensive booklet, explaining everything from how to hold the pencil, layering techniques, color theory and so much more.
Of all the colored pencil sets that I have reviewed of the past six or so years, I have never reviewed a set that really helps the customer learn about the medium rather than simply assuming the customer already knows how to use the medium. Not only do Castle show you how to use the medium and get the very best results from your colored pencils, but they also supply some easy to follow along with tutorials.
On the inside lid of the Castle Arts Pasteltint Colored Pencils, there is a color swatch printed out along with the color names and color numbers. There is also thin piece of tracing paper type material with the Castle Arts logo printed in gold leaf. I think this is a very classy touch, the paper can be used to rest under your palm as you draw or just keep it in the tin, either way it is attention to detail.
The barrel of every pencil is lacquered the same color as the pencil core, this makes visual selection of the color you want very quick and easy. The barrels are round which suits me perfectly, I know some colored pencil artists prefer hexagonal barrels, but for me I much prefer round.
The round barrel of the Castle Arts Pasteltint is a comfortable 7.6mm, encased within which is a generous 3.2mm core, the Castle Pasteltint pencils sharpen really well, I didn’t experience any issues whatsoever with any of the pencils when sharpening.
Along one side of the barrel is printed “Castle Arts” along with the Castle logo, this is printed in white, making reading the information clear, unlike some of the metallic printed information on pencils which can be difficult to read under certain lighting conditions. Further along the barrel is a silver band and finally toward the very end of the barrel is printed “Pasteltint”
On the opposite side of the barrel is printed the pigment name, again followed by the silver band and finally the pigment number on the very end of the barrel. Each barrel is capped at the end which although a small issue, capping the end of the barrels is something I much prefer.
Castle Arts Pasteltint Sets And Pricing
As with so many of the Castle Arts products, they provide options when it comes to buying sets, with the Castle Arts Pasteltint Colored Pencils you can purchase either a tin or a wallet set. Castle appreciate that many colored pencil artists when they buy a new set of pencils, they will often store them in large wallet type storage devices; Castle allow their customers the option of simply buying the pencils already in the wallet if this is the storage method of your choice.
48 is the only set size that Castle Arts offer for this range of pencils, although having said that, if you purchase the wallet set, it is actually a set of 50. I am uncertain as to what the extra two pencils are, be they a black and a white pencil, two graphite pencils or simply two duplicates of the existing colors. I am waiting on a reply from the agent at Castle to clarify this for me as there is nothing on their website about this.
UK Pricing
To purchase a 48 Tin set of Castle Arts Pasteltint Colored Pencils here in the UK you can expect to pay approximately £32.99. If you would like to purchase the 50 Wallet set of Castle Arts Pasteltint Colored Pencils you can expect to pay approximately £42.99
US Pricing
For artists in the US, unfortunately I was unable to locate prices for the 48 Castle Arts Pasteltint Tin, however as soon as that becomes available I will update this section. I was able to locate the 50 Set Castle Arts Pasteltint Wallet and that will cost approximately $44.99
EU Pricing
For artist in the Europe, opposite to the US, I was unable to locate pricing for the 50 Castle Arts Pasteltint Wallet set, but for the 48 set of Castle Arts Pasteltint Colored Pencils you can expect to pay approximately €34.99
Castle Arts Pasteltint Colored Pencil Performance
As you can see from the images, I have included photos of the top and bottom layers that the 48 set of Castle Arts Pasteltint come in. As I mentioned on the video review of them, there are some colors in the set that may not perhaps be classified as pastel tone, nevertheless, I think the full count of 48 tones work well together.
When I reviewed the Pasteltint Colored Pencils, I did so as a stand alone set of pencils, I do this with almost every product I review, however, it is worth mentioning that sets of pastel tone colored pencils are most effective when accompanied by a traditional set of colored pencils. In the case of the Castle Arts Pasteltint, I think they would work beautifully with the Castle Arts Gold Colored Pencils which I very recently reviewed.
The core of both the Pasteltint and Gold colored pencils from Castle are almost identical when it comes to hardness, ability to layer and blend. Their core is not soft, but it is not hard either, when layering the Pasteltint pencils, I was able to apply many layers on a Bristol Velum surface of Mixed Media surface, something with a slight tooth is best for the Pasteltint pencils in my opinion.
I was able to accomplish layering on the Strathmore Bristol Smooth paper when testing, but I did encounter a little bit of resistance by layer five or six, which is still pretty impressive given how smooth the surface was. I also wanted to display the Pasteltint range on a series of different colored papers and so I have included the swatches below.
Originally, I was going to complete some artwork using the Pasteltint on a Strathmore Toned Tane Paper, however, when I swatched the pencils out on the tan paper, quite a few colors were lost to the tan background, colors I really liked the look of. I decided to try a swatch the pencils on white paper, for this swatch I used Claire Fontaine Paint On Mixed Media Paper and I was really pleasantly surprised at just how vibrant the colors were.
Not wanting to scrimp, I decided to go the full way and swatch the Castle Arts Pasteltint Colored Pencils on Strathmore Toned Grey paper and finally on Winsor & Newton Black paper. I think you can all decide for yourself which swatch test looks the best. Some of the colors, as with most colored pencil sets, are a mixed bag of opaque colors and translucent colors, which is neither a good or bad thing, it is just how some colors perform.
I did also complete some artwork with the Castle Arts Pasteltint Colored Pencils, you can clearly see from the image that this was a very simple drawing, but there was a reason behind this. Ordinarily I do a layer and blending test as well as test some Odourless Mineral Spirits on the pencils, but with the pastel tones it was really difficult to do this, especially the blending test.
Ordinarily, when blending pencils, I will use a yellow and a blue to hopefully accomplish a green; a red and yellow to hopefully accomplish an orange and red and blue to get a purple, but with light pastel tones it was almost impossible to achieve this. The artwork is a simple selection of balloons, were I have added light and darker tones to hopefully create the illusion of a spherical object, in doing this I was able to get a good understanding of the layering abilities as well as how well the Pasteltint blend.
As I mentioned I used Strathmore Bristol Velum paper for the artwork and layering was a joy, I was able to layer until I achieved the required look. That being said, it is important to understand that a set of pastel tone pencils is much more effective as an accompaniment set of pencils for a tradition palette.
Its also important to note that the colors available in the 48 Pasteltint sets are not available in any of the other sets, in other words, if you already have the 120 Castle Arts Gold Colored Pencils and you purchase the 48 Pasteltint Colored Pencils, you will end up with 168 unique colors.
Castle Arts Pasteltint Lightfast Information
As with all of the Castle Arts colored pencils and of course taking into consideration the amazingly affordable prices of the Castle Arts products, it is safe to say that ASTM or Blue Wool Lightfast testing is not conducted. I do know however from talking with the owner of Castle Arts that lightfast testing is something they are seriously considering and looking into, however, you have to understand, when a company goes down the route of lightfast testing, inevitably the price goes up significantly.
The number of colored pencil artists requiring ASTM or Blue Wool lightfast tested pencils is significantly smaller than those wanting to do adult colouring, crafting or just some art for the sake of art and mental health. With that in mind, I know as colored pencil artists we would like our cake and eat it, in other words, highly lightfast pencils at a budget price, but that just simply is not going to happen. I am afraid it is one or the other, but not both.
Castle Arts Pasteltint Colored Pencil Conclusion
As with the Castle Art Gold Colored Pencils, I really enjoyed using the Pasteltint Colored Pencils and as I mentioned on my YouTube video review, I will at a later date do some artwork using both the Pasteltint and Gold colored pencils alongside each other.
As you can see I tested the pencils on a lot of different papers and if I had to recommend a paper for these pencils it would definitely be something along the lines of a Bristol Velum or Mixed Media paper, the tooth of such surfaces really allows the Castle Arts Gold and Pasteltint pencils to shine.
Don’t forget to check out my YouTube video review of the Castle Arts Pasteltint Colored Pencils, you can also check out my YouTube speed drawing video of the artwork I completed using the Pasteltint pencils, I know the artwork was very simple, but I hope it effectively displays the abilities of the pencil. Finally, if YouTube is not your thing you can check out the still images I have added here on The Art Gear Guide, as with the images above, you can click on them to enlarge them and inspect at your own leisure.
