Castle Art Supplies Harmonious Colored Pencil Set | 72 Muted, Wax-Based Soft Core Coloring Pencils for Adult Artists' Relaxation | Presented in Tin Case

I went back and forth on whether or not I needed this set of pencils, decided I didn't, but ordered it anyway. Now I'm really glad I did. The colors are just beautiful--and so are the pencils. Most of Castle Art colored pencils have black casing with a colored end tip. The Harmonious Color collection pencils are coated in matte colors that surprisingly match the leads quite well. But it's the incredibly soothing FEEL of the varnish, incredibly satiny but not slick, that deserves a shout out. The pencils come named and numbered with plain white printing that is easy to read font that also avoids the annoying glare of the metallic labelling a lot of pencil manufacturers seem love more than the customers do. I suspect however, that some of the white may rub off after a time, because there are a few spots where the writing already seems to be doing this, and I haven't even used them all that much since I've ordered them. Nevertheless, I wish Castle Arts would do ALL their pencils this way. (I think their Pasteltint collection may have a similar coating, but I don't own these so I'm just going by the pictures). Speaking of pictures, yes, the pencils do come in this really pretty and sturdy tin box. I really don't like working out of multi-layer tins (or any tins or boxes for that matter), so I transferred my pencils into a hard cover zip case. This allowed me to include the 24 Botanical set and the 24 Kandinsky set of Castle Arts "soft touch" pencils and my 50 set of Brutfuner Macaron Colored Pencils which a pastel set. I had these three sets of pencils for awhile, and these help "round out" the Harmonious Collection.Which brings us (finally!) to the actual usability of the Harmonious set. I personally didn't have any issues with sharpening any of the pencils either by an electric or hand sharpener. There was no breakage with my particular set, so apparently they survived the shipping. As anyone who ever owned really soft leaded pencils (especially Prismacolor Premier), if you drop them, the entire lead can shatter and will just keep breaking off whenever you try to sharpen them. The leads were also well centered overall--I definitely didn't get any where one side of the pencil sharpened, but the other didn't because the cores were off. As for being advertised as their "soft touch" pencils, I don't think they are any softer than Castle Art's "oil-based" Gold Collection colored pencils. I don't really consider these as "soft" pencils at all, but it really depends a lot on the paper you are using them on. They seem to really go down well on paper that has a very slight tooth to it, rather than being overly smooth or overly rough. It's a matter of preference and how you plan to work with these. I have other pencils that are definitely softer, but these are maybe a touch softer than Crayola. The colors lay down nicely, blend well, and you can get at least 4-5 layers down if you aren't heavy-handed, and perhaps more layers with a lighter touch. These are not the set of pencils I would choose for any detailed work. I bought them mainly for coloring. Also, at this price point, they do not come open stock, so if you use up a pencil, you either will have to do without it, or you have to buy another set. Finally--something that I probably should have gone into more from the start--despite having 72 different colors in the set--Castle Arts Harmonious Set is not most people would consider a "stand alone set". What Castle Arts labels as "harmonious" is known more commonly as "morandi" colors--soft, muted grays, beiges, blues, greens, pinks, and purples. There are some darker colors in there, especially in the blues and browns, but they are deliberately dulled down by a grayish cast. There were so many colors labelled as "gray", I was disappointed at first since despite years of working with colored pencils, I have no idea what to do with the gray ones. However, most of the grays are tinted toward a pastel-like shade. There are no yellows--the beiges are closest. If you love soft pastel colors, as I do, then a set of colored pencils in pastel shades would actually compliment, and not really duplicate this set. For the best results, you need to add a set of basic colors to give yourself a wider range of coloring or drawing possibilities. For people who like to experiment with unusual color palettes, color pencil collectors, and people who just like soft, pretty colors and find them more calming than boring, I definitely recommend these. There is a blank color chart included with the set so you can swatch out the colors yourself. I copied the blank chart on some paper that I usually use for pdf prints. Castle Arts also has, like with all their colored pencils collections, included a color pamphlet with suggestions and directions to use the pencils for a specific art project. The price of all brands of colored pencils seem to fluctuate a lot these days, so keep an eye out for sales. I personally would not pay full retail for these if there is no way to replace individual pencils, and I love them . I've included part of a coloring page I did, just using the colors from the set. I did not complete the page since I would like to add other colors that are not in the set. All colors are either directly from the pencils themselves, or I blended two or more colors together in order to achieve it. The colors looks sloppy here because I intended to add in some other colors before final burnishing, or blending it out with Zest-It or Gamsol. The illustration is from Adriana Picker's coloring book "Where The Wildflowers Grow" which was probably not the best paper to do this test on. It reminds me of a cross between CreateSpace paper and children's coloring book paper, but heavier. I did do some small bits in better quality coloring books like Johanna Basford's, Hanna Karlzon, and even the Dover Creative Haven Coloring books. The better the paper, the better the results. This review is overly long already, but I might add other coloring examples when I inevitably have to go back to edit this review for length.

Beautiful colors and soft pencils - easy to get the intensity of the color you want. Castle Arts truly named this collection correctly when they called it “Harmonious”. These are meant to work between other colors in collections you already have, but I believe the collection will stand on its own, should you wish to color an English Woodland, or a Southern Garden between Summer and Autumn or in the Early Spring, or anytime you want to show a soft scene. Not one that shouts at you. So, a soft, calm sea side. I opened them and, as I always do, completed the color swatch. Whilst completing it, I could easily feel the quality. They function well whilst I color in adult coloring books, and in the end, because they last so well, they really are a good value!

I have the portrait colored pencils set from Castle Arts and I love the colors in that set. When I saw this set online, I was excited to try it out. This set is presented beautifully in the metal case with an easy to follow instruction booklet filled with handy tips and a thick high quality test card to test all the colors. It is great having a tester sheet with all the colors in front of you while using the pencils. There are three trays of colored pencils in the set and there are ingenious little handles on the tray edges to take the trays in and out of the metal case so the pencils stay flat and in order. Each pencil is numbered clearly so it matches the tester sheet. Definately take a little time to create the provided sampler of all the colors because it provides an excellent reference guide for any future drawings. I was skeptical about using these on wood but they are beautiful on soft sanded grain light wood. I'm totally in love with drawing with these on wood. I saw the wood suggestion in the booklet inside the set. I decided to do a set of coasters for a friend and I started with an avacado (photo added in review). I'm so in love with these pencils on wood. I did not use a blender or any additional materials to soften the pencil either. It's just the pencil drawing...it just turned out beautifully buttery. I'm going to seal it with a varnish and make some more.I also did some drawings with this set on heavy drawing paper and cold press watercolor paper and they are gorgeous. The set comes with examples to follow and you can even print things from their website and follow their instructions. One of my favorite castles is highlighted in the booklet too...Magical!These pastels in pinks, purples, blues and greens make a nice starting point for anyone to get aquainted with cool colors in their drawings to express mood and personal voice.One thing I noticed right away was the quality of the wood in the pencils is far superior to most colored pencils I have seen on the market. These feel more professional than other brands and I'm loving them. When I hand sharpened them they held together exceptionally well and had zero flakey bits of wood shavings like other brands with low quality wood components in the pencil.The set is excellent value for the money also and considering the prices of quality art materials now days, I highly recommend these for color quality, price, and ease of color application on a variety of papers and smooth wood surfaces. I'm looking forward to using these on canvas next!

Beautiful colors. I need more colors & Open stock. Pencils are high quality & lay down beautifully. Get this set. You will not be disappointed, other than wanting more colors, obviously no duplicated colors & open stock. And a Castel Art pencil sharpener. I have 6 different pencil sharpeners, 2 work good enough for these pencils but not like a sharpener designed for the exact pencil would. - which is why I have six - crazy as it sounds - pencils sharpen best when the sharpener is the same brand as the pencil.

It was so surprised to see how the 10 that holds. The colored pencils has a good size damage and scratch on it, even though the outer box was in perfect condition. I’m wondering if Castle arts sends damage stuff to Amazon? The Amazon delivery envelope was in perfectly good condition as well. Just a little bummed to see that the tin, which is the only permanent part has a good size dent and scratch. So far the pencils look to be OK.