Koh-I-Noor Polycolor 144 Set Review
Koh-I-Noor Polycolor 144 Set Review
The Koh-I-Noor Polycolor was among the first pencils I reviewed when I started up what was then called “Coloured Pencil Reviews”, and then re-branded to “The Art Gear Guide”. Not long after my original Koh-I-Noor Polycolor review, I received a few more Koh-I-Noor products to review after which I could tell that this was a company that survived for artists, supplying incredible art products at achievable prices, placing what was once unachievable supplies into the hands of many colored pencil artists.
About a year and a half ago I received an email from my contact at Koh-I-Noor and the excitement of his tone was clear to read in the email. I was told that Koh-I-Noor would be releasing a 144 set and the company was thrilled about this huge announcement. After reading the email and knowing exactly what the Polycolor pencil is capable of, I was equally excited. However, due to the fact that I have already completed an in-depth review of the Koh-I-Noor Polycolor pencil, I am going to skim over the specifics of the pencil and focus more on the palette etc of the 144 set.
Koh-I-Noor Polycolor Sets Available
there is no doubt that over the period of time that I have been reviewing art products, when it came to the Koh-I-Noor Polycolor reviews, there was always a level of confusion as to what colors were in what set. Koh-I-Noor originally produced the traditional sets of 12, 24, 36, 48 and 72, but they then enhanced those sets by releasing a 24 Landscape set, 24 Portrait set, 12 Brown set and 12 Grey set.
the confusion always lay in people wanting to know that if they had purchased the 72 set of Koh-I-Noor Polycolor, how many colors of the peripheral sets, the portrait, landscape, Brown and Grey sets were also in the 72 set. This was obviously a natural question, trying to determine if they would be purchasing duplicate colors and if so, how many. However, as I have mentioned this was not always a simple process to complete.
Now that Koh-I-Noor have released this amazing new 144 set, according to an email I was sent, it would appear that they are also releasing a 96, 108 and 120 set. I have asked Koh-I-Noor as they will be releasing so many new sets, will this mean the end of the Portrait and Landscape sets or the 12 Brown and Grey sets, however I have not yet received a reply.
I have tried my very best to complete a spreadsheet with all the sets Koh-I-Noor produce in the Polycolor range and which colors are in those sets. It is a little bit boring however I hope that it will help you understand what colors are in what sets.
Above in the spreadsheet you can see I have added the pigment names, their corresponding numbers and their lightfast results. Along the top of the spreadsheet I have listed the various sets, which you will have to scroll to see, but an x will indicate if a particular color is present in a particular set. It is not ideal but this is the best I can do to help show you the sets and colors in them.
Pigments In The 144 Koh-I-Noor Polycolor Set
In this section I have added images of all the pencils within the 144 set and I have also provided color charts. The Koh-I-Noor Polycolor 144 set actually comes in two separate tins, I guess to place 144 pencils in one tin may have been a bit much, I am not altogether sure the real reasons behind this decision. Never the less I hope you enjoy the images I have provided below.
As I mentioned, the Koh-I-Noor Polycolor 144 set is split into two tins, below you can see an image of the first tin 144/1 as is labeled on the front cover and blow that image is clear images of both trays. The first tin is made up primarily of the yellows, portrait colors, pinks, reds, purples and blues. All the way through the images I have provided you will see just how amazing the total palette is for the entire 144 set of Koh-I-Noor Polycolor.
Finally below you can see the second tin of the 144 set, 144/2, the trays in this tin continue on with the blues, leading into the gorgeous selection of greens, earth tones, ochres, warm greys, cool greys and metallic colors.
Koh-I-Noor Polycolor 144 Set Color Charts
Koh-I-Noor Polycolor Pencil Characteristic
Despite having already completed a full review of the Koh-I-Noor Polycolor pencil, I thought I would add a brief review in this section rather than have viewers looking for the original review, however if you would like to watch the original review I will of course supply a link for you. I must advise you that this was one of the first reviews I conducted and so… lets just say a lot has changed since then.
the Koh-I-Noor Polycolor pencil is quite a slim pencil, with a 3.6mm core, laid centrally among the 7mm hexagonal barrel. Each barrel is lacquered the same color as the core pigment and so therefore pigment identification is visually fast and easy.
Along one side of the barrel is printed in Gold Leaf the company name “Koh-I-Noor Hardtmuth”, this is followed by the actual name of the pencil which in this case is of course the “Polycolor”. After this there is a printed number 3800 / and then another number, the 3800 number represents the fact that the pencil is the Polycolor, the Mondeluz pencil has a number similar but it helps to distinguish between the pencils when reordering open stock. The other number represents the actual pigment and again this is more for the company and stores when you are ordering new pencils. The end of the pencil is capped with a gold color and white band separating the barrel color to the uniform gold end cap.
You will see if you watch my original review of the Polycolor that Koh-I-Noor never used to print the pigment name on the barrels, that has changed and they have now started to do this. My only problem is, as you can see from the image below, this looks like it has been an after thought as it is not the gold print from the opposite side of the barrel, however, this is not the big issue I have. They have printed the pigment name toward the core of the pencil, this means that the pigment name is going to be sharpened off quite quickly. Ordinarily companies if they print the pigment do this toward the end of the barrel.
They have printed the where the company is located toward the end of the pencil and I think that it would have been much more beneficial to place the pigment name toward the end of the barrel. I know this is nit picking but it definitely think a lot of people will pick up on this and so my suggestion to you would be to make your color chart before it is too late and the pigment name has been sharpened off.
Koh-I-Noor Polycolor Performance
I have always highly rated the Koh-I-Noor Polycolor pencils, the Polycolor sports a good strong core with excellent pigment levels within that core. The layering ability of the Polycolor is also excellent and as you can see from the images I have provided, the coverage is excellent.
The Polycolor whilst sporting a medium hard core, actually blends incredibly well, sharpening is also pretty easy although I personally find that hexagonal barrels have a tendency to stick from time to time when sharpening with a traditional hand sharpener, but with a hand crank sharpener, this makes light work of the hexagonal barrel.
I completed some testing on Black paper as well, hopefully displaying the opaqueness of the pigments or the level of opacity with some pigments. I found with the Koh-I-Noor it was a mixed bag, some pigments were incredibly opaque, nice a think coverage getting rid of the black below and some displaying a lot more opacity showing the black below.
I tried to test the Polycolor on as many different paper types as possible to help you understand the effects you can achieve. the tests above were carried on on the Clairefontaine Pain-On A4 pad that I purchased which is like a mixed media paper. I also tested the Polycolor on Strathmore Bristol Smooth and Strathmore Bristol Velum, the Velum being of a slightly more textured surface. The Polycolor reacted incredibly well on all surfaces.
When I started the Live stream the other night, I was at the beginning of a bird drawing to help demonstrate the Polycolor, however this was going to take me at least a few more days to finish and I really wanted to get this review done and out. So I changed the art work and completed this simple botanical piece which you can watch the speed drawing of by following the link. I will of course be finishing the bird and once this is done I will post it up linking back to this review.
Koh-I-Noor Polycolor Pricing
The Koh-I-Noor Pricing system is pretty much accessible to so many people, there are of course certain pencils which many colored pencil artists want to get their hands on, but for various reasons they are incredibly expensive. With the Koh-i-Noor pencils, you get an excellent quality pencil at a very reasonable price and I think this new 144 set shows that.
Koh-I-Noor had originally planed on officially launching this new 144 set at the beginning of 2020, but for whatever reason they had to hold off a bit. The next date to officially launch was March April time but unfortunately due to the COVID-19 outbreak the date is on the back burner. So unfortunately I don’t as yet have an official launch date for you, but I can promise you I will update you all as soon as I am updated.
However, there is a place that you can purchase the 144 set if you would like to get your hands on it sooner rather than later. This is a store on eBay and it is located in Poland, now I can’t personally vouch for the place but I do know people that have bought from this store and received their pencils in excellent time and well packaged. For £108 you can purchase the 144 set of Koh-I-Noor Polycolor which I think is an amazing price.
As soon as Koh-I-Noor are able to officially release the 144 set and other new set on Amazon I will also let you guys know and keep you all up to date. I am sorry that I have been unable to do this right now, but we are all living in crazy times what with COVID-19.
Koh-I-Noor Polycolor Lightfast
In the past the Koh-I-Noor Polycolor Lightfast results have been quite difficult to locate, but you could get hold of them with a bit of searching. I have added all the lightfast information available in the Spreadsheet above, you will be able to find the lightfastness of each color.
Koh-I-Noor Polycolor Conclusion
I have never made it a secret on how much I love the Koh-I-Noor Polycolor pencils, they are fantastically priced and the pencils themselves are excellent quality. Now that they have released 144 beautiful colors it makes the Koh-I-Noor Polycolor range all the more attractive.
The Koh-I-Noor Polycolor and epically since this new 144 set has been released is such a wonderful all round colored pencil. There is another brand that I would place in this category but that is a matter of conversation for another time, although I am sure most of you who know me will already know the pencil I am referring to.
To watch my speed drawing of the art work I completed with the Polycolor 144 set, follow the link and to watch the YouTube video review follow the link. Throughout the course of this review I have added links back to my very early review of the Koh-I-Noor Polycolor pencil if you would like to see that I have placed a link here also. If you have any questions about this review please by all means ask away.
Finally guys, please all of you be careful, be safe and keep well, look out for each other and those around you as best you can and make sure you are all staying your safe distances. You all mean so much to me and I worry so much, so please take care guys.
