Scorpion Colored Pencils & Giveaway
Scorpion Colored Pencils & Giveaway
Giveaway details will be explained at the end of this review.
Approximately six months ago I completed a review of a set of pencils called "Black Widow Colored Pencils". A gentleman called Albert from Australia had set up a company with a specific purpose in mind and colored pencils played a huge part of his plan. To find out more about Albert and the company or to just see my review of The Black Widow pencils click the link or the video review click here.
The Black Widow Colored Pencils were a big hit with people, back in that review Albert was kind enough to provide sets of the Black Widow pencils for giveaways and the feedback from the winners was excellent. However, not just the winners generated excellent feedback, others who purchased them on Amazon also really enjoyed using them.
As a result, Albert has delivered a second edition in the form of the Scorpion Colored Pencils. It is worth mentioning that the new Scorpion Colored Pencils are not replacing the Black Widow pencils, simply a second line to run along side them. So what changes, if any has been made to the Scorpion Colored Pencils over the Black Widow.
Scorpion Colored Pencil Features
The first thing to note is the incredibly beautiful black wood barrels that the pencils, in fact both the Black Widow and Scorpion pencils have been made from. Whilst the pencils themselves look very striking, as I noted in the previous review, the darker colored pencils such as Dark Greens, Dark Blues and Dark Browns are difficult to distinguish against the black wood barrels, which is why I always suggest no matter what pencil you use, make swatches. On the other side of the spectrum, the lighter colors illuminate like Christmas tree fairy lights.
The barrel itself on the Scorpion Colored Pencils is considerably thicker in diameter with a 7.8mm barrel and a generous 3.3mm core, allowing for a much better coverage than the slightly thiner Black Widow pencils. The Scorpion pencils are wax based, exactly the same as the Black Widow, this allows for really beautiful layering and blending techniques.
Along the barrel, starting from the core and working back toward the end, the first thing immediately noticeable is the color name printed in silver, something that was missing from the Black Widow. However there is something fun and quite unique about the color names, Albert ran a competition were users of the Black Widow pencils could put forward their names for the colors and some fantastic names were chosen. For example, there is a pink called Pigs Ear.
After the color name is a number which corresponds to the pigment, however the pencils as of yet are not available open stock. Next is the pencil name "Scorpion" and finally the Scorpion logo is placed toward the very end of the pencil.
Sets
As with the Black Widow colored pencils, the Scorpion only come in a set of 24, however, with both sets, the Black Widow and Scorpion and the pair being incredibly similar regarding their rich wax core and vibrant pigments with only the barrel sizes differing slightly, it's like you get 48 pencils. Also I have been let into a very special secret and all I can say is that a third set may be on the way soon, I can't say anymore than that.
Regarding the Black Widow set, there is a slight change coming for them but it is more cosmetic rather than the pencil ingredients. You may recall that the Black Widow pencils came in a small black cardboard box, that is changing and they will soon be shipping in a tin very similar to the Scorpion Tin.
Performance
As I have already touched on, the pencils consist of a soft wax, making them a real pleasure to work with. I have swatched the colors out as you can see in the image below, demonstrating their soft consistency lay down. Also, as with all my reviews I have tested the pencils on Black paper from Windsor and Newton along with some Grey Toned Paper from Strathmore. The darker papers help in showing the opaqueness of the pigments with one or two a little translucent.
With the images below, you can see that blending of the Scorpion pencils works a treat and this is obviously down to the softness of the wax core. Also I always try to demonstrate a pencils layering abilities by layering five times, the reason I do this is because most colored pencil artists will lay down approximately five layers before moving on to blending with mineral spirits. In the image below with the three read squares, the first square is a single light layer, the middle square is five light layers and the final square is a single heavy application.
Lightfast Ratings
I have been told by Albert that the company are in the process right now of having the pencils lightfast tested, however, this is a process that takes a considerable amount of time and as the company is new, they don't have this information just yet.
However, as soon as this information is available and the Scorpion pencils have gone through all the necessary testing for official lightfast ratings, I will update this written review and repost the article keeping you all informed.
Pricing
The Scorpion 24 set here in the UK will cost you a very modest £12, in the US the Scorpion pencils will cost a very similar price bracket to the UK $16 and finally in Europe they will cost you approximately €15.
Conclusion
I really loved the Black Widow colored pencils and I have to say that the Scorpion pencils are no different, I love them and I especially love the color selection chosen for this set. For me personally I would direct these pencils more toward the adult coloring book world, they work beautifully in adult coloring books.
If on the other hand the lightfast information comes back strong, then I would have no problem recommending these pencils for other projects. As we all know, for a colored pencil artists completing a commission, the lightfast information of the medium is of paramount importance, ensuring sustainability of the project. It is worth having a look at our video review of the Scorpion colored pencils on our YouTube channel so you can see real time demonstration.
Giveaway
We have another amazing giveaway here on The Art Gear Guide and I have to thank Albert for his incredibly generous offer. One lucky winner will win a brand new set of 24 Scorpion Colored Pencils and 6 runners up will win a set of 24 Black Widow Colored Pencils.
In order to enter this awesome giveaway all you have to do is simply click on the link which will take you to my YouTube review of the Scorpion Colored Pencil. The reason it is best to enter on the YouTube video is because the software I use to collect the names can only collect from one platform at a time. It doesn't matter where in the world you live, if you have a postal service I will post it out to you.
Once you get to the YouTube review all you have to do is the following
- Be a Subscriber of The Art Gear Guide YouTube Channel and like the video
- Leave a comment, any comment at all, this will allow the software to collect your name
- Share the video with the #theartgearguide on any social media platform. This part is not compulsory although it does help out the channel a lot and I very much appreciate your help.
That is all you have to do, winners will be announced at the end of November. Thank you all so much for taking part and good luck.
