Derwent Graphitint Tinted Graphite Drawing Pencils, Set Of 24, Watersoluble, Professional Quality, 0700803

Product Information

My review today focuses on the popular Derwent Graphitint range, the range is relatively small in numbers, however the colours are to die for and unsurpassed by many other watersoluable pencils on the market; but are they worth the investment? To soften these lines I used a thinner bristled paintbrush to carefully wipe over the lines but avoided over-saturation so as not to lighten the colours to much. Storm, Russet, Warm Grey, Slate Green, Chestnut, Cocoa, Port, Juniper, Meadow, Green Gray, Steel Blue, Sage, Cool Brown, Cloud Grey, Cool Grey, Midnight Black, Ocean Blue, Shadow, Mountain Grey, Dark Indigo, Aubergine, Autumn Brown, Ivy and White. As far as I know, the Graphitint pans are made from the same material as the pencils, which, as I pointed out in my linked review at the start of this post, have significant lightfastness issues.

If the idea of graphite and colour in one pencil is surprising, just wait until you add water to Derwent Graphitint and it explodes into colour! As I have mentioned, the Derwent Graphitint range are a watersoluable pencil which can be used as a conventional dray pencil medium, but should not necessarily be used in this way due to the muted colours. Protecting your portrait upon completion can be achieved by using a fixative spray and I may do a window test with this painting to check the lightfastness of the colours. Next is the name of the company; Derwent, closely followed by the name of the pencil brand; Graphitint, after which is a small icon depicting a paintbrush, indicating to the user that they are using a watersoluable pencil.I attempted to erase some of the blue colour to see how well I could remove it but was never able to fully erase the tinge. Graphitint is an easy to hold 8ply round pencil with a 4mm strip, perfect for broader strokes but can also be used for specific detail when sharpened to a finer point.

Recently Derwent released a companion set of 12 more Inktense pan colours (with all new colours not included in the original set), a 24 colour Inktense pan set (which I believe contains all the same colours as the 24 block sets) and a 12 colour set of Graphitint pans. p>

Graphitint has the same properties as the Derwent 4B Watersoluble Sketching pencil so it will appeal to artists looking to add a colourful dimension to their graphite drawings but retain all the familiar qualities of their favourite graphite pencil. As everyone will mix different amounts of water when using these pencils, it would be impossible to give an exact lightfast rating. Derwent has been awarded PEFC Chain of Custody certification to demonstrate our commitment to a sustainable future for the world’s forests, providing assurances that Derwent procures pencil slats from sustainable, legal and traceable sources.The colours are not vibrant like the Inktense ones but each colour has a graphite undertone hence the 'Graphitint' title. Personally, I prefer this method for detail as the pencil "leads" are a bit soft to take a very fine point but a fine brush can do it. With a wet brush, I was also able to pull out highlights in areas - the longer you leave the wet brush over an area, the more the colour can be lifted and the brighter the highlight. We still make our pencils in the place where graphite was discovered in England’s Lake District and we haven’t stopped pushing the boundaries of pencil making since.

If used dry they produce grey shadings with subdued hues but just add water and the colours become bolder and richer. The range consists of 24 fabulous colour tints, all with strips made exclusively from our superior quality graphite. I am not going to mince my words here, as with the Derwent Drawing range, I absolutely love this particular range of pencils. After the colours had fully dried, I began applying fine details with the Ocean Blue pencil to create the 'stipple' effect on the wings. Drawing using Graphitint is lovely, though I find not enough of the 'wet' colour is coming up on the dry version, so you need to be very careful of which pencil is what colour.Not quite as metallic as I would have liked, but gives a nice grainy texture when used with plenty of water.

Used dry, Graphitint offers the merest suggestion of colour; add water and the colour becomes more vibrant.The core is deceptively dancing with a 4mm shaft of pigment, the reasons for my vague description will become clear during the performance section of this review.