Viarco is a Portuguese family owned business that has been producing pencils since 1907.  The Soft Carbon Pencils are part of Viarco's Art Graf range. Viarco state that they are similar to traditional charcoal pencils but have a special composition that makes them very soft. The pencils come in beautiful retro packaging and are unsharpened. The pencils sharpen easily although I did get some core breakage. I was expecting a dry, powdery composition but the pencils feel waxy. They have a similar consistency to some metallic pencils I have used. I realised that I could not erase the carbon pencils with a putty rubber or a normal eraser, which I found frustrating. I also found that I could not blend the carbon pencil either. I tried using a blending stump, my finger and a brush and could not blend with any of them. At this point I thought I would try using some water as the carbon pencil is water soluble. I got a deep black akin to the black you get with ink rather than watercol...

I had an interesting journey with the Staedtler Noris 120 pencils. I decided that they are strange beasts, and nothing like the Staedtler Tradition 110 pencils I reviewed previously.  When I took them out of the packet they felt heavier than other pencils. This could be because, according to Staedtler, they are made from upcycled wood chips from   PEFC-certified, sustainably managed forests. They felt nice to hold so I was pretty hopeful that I would like them to draw with. I was even more hopeful when I realised that they literally glide across the paper. Initially, this felt uncontrollable, like gliding on ice. The first drawing I started on Langton Prestige hot pressed watercolour paper I gave up on. I just couldn't get it to work. I just didn't have any control over what I was drawing due to a lack of resistance from the pencils. The second drawing, in a sketchbook with smooth heavyweight paper, I initially gave up on too, but later went back and finished it.  I ...

Staedtler Tradition Drawing Pencils.   Staedtler's Mars Lumograph are their premium quality pencils aimed at artists, but I was curious to see what the Staedtler Tradition 110 pencils were like to draw with. I came across a pack of six pencils for drawing for £3.99 and thought I would give them a try.  The box was supposed to contain a 6B, 4B, 2B, B, HB and 2H, but the box I bought contained two 2H's and no 2B which was a bit odd. Ferreting around for my Faber-Castell 9000's to do a comparison with, I found another packet of these pencils and a 2B. How long I have had those I don't know. Staedtler Tradition Drawing Pencils. When I think of pencils I always think of this design with the red and black stripes or the Staedtler Noris pencils with the yellow and black stripes. I think they remind me of school, that may be why I have never tried them. I started off using the B grade pencil and was quite impressed. It was very smooth to draw with. I then tried one of the 2H pe...

I have to say that I love these pencils. For a start, they look good. I like the contrast between the dark green body and gold lettering. More importantly, they are really smooth to draw with. A lot of pencils are gritty, but since using these I have not had a single instance where I have come across a harder bit of graphite that scratches the paper. The graphite cores don't break either. Evidently the graphite core is bonded with the wood surround which makes them very break resistant.  They don't produce dust when you draw with them so the drawing remains clean. They also erase well with a putty rubber and are easy to sharpen. They are great for fine detail and also blend well which makes them my go to pencils. When I use other pencils, then use these, the difference is marked. I just love them. Compared to the Conte a Paris they run lighter. In the comparison above the Faber-Castell 9000 are on the left and the Conte a Paris are on the right. This is the only disadvantage of...