Derwent's New Procolour Pencil

The British summer is officially here in all it’s eccentric glory. From ice cream in deckchairs, seafronts and sunburn to village fetes, festivals and burnt sausages from the barbecue some things are just quintessentially British. And this summer just got a bit sunnier with another of our nations beloved institutions, Derwent, launching a brand new range of colour pencils!

We Review Derwent's Brand New Colouring Pencil

The new Derwent Procolour are a fantastic range of colour pencils that add even more choice to the already brilliant and extensive Derwent range. The differing characteristics of Derwent’s other Coloursoft, Studio and Artists pencil ranges are clear to anyone who has tried them (if not, check out our blog post comparing a few here) and the companies innovative approach to developing new products has meant Procolour pencils have brought something else to the artist’s table.

Here at the The Art Shop Skipton we managed to get our hands on the Procolour pencil early to take them for test drive and find out what this new range is really about, we weren’t disappointed.  

The first thing that strikes you is the professional quality of the Procolour pencil which is instantly clear to see. The substantial circular shaft has a matte grey finish which are embossed with elegant silver type and coloured tip. The carefully selected range of 72 beautiful colours come in various tastefully designed metal tins with sizes to suit any budget; perfect for storage in the studio or transportation from place to place.

Upon picking up the Procolour pencil you notice it’s substantial design feels easy to grip and sturdy in the hand, but the real magic happens when you make your first marks on the page. The core feels strong and firm yet somehow manages to maintain a soft and smooth colour laydown. For example, the pencils are hard enough to be sharpened to a point for detailing without crumbling but soft enough to effortlessly shade with too. In this way the Procolour feels as if it sits somewhere between Derwent’s harder Studio pencils and super soft Coloursoft range.

 But don’t think they are just a halfway point between their hard and soft pencil cousins, the Procolour have their own unique attributes that we haven’t found elsewhere. The colours are rich and vibrant and even stand out on black paper. They feel silky, glide smoothly across the paper like an oil and although they don’t feel waxy, they seem to have that covering power, especially when pressure is applied. This makes drifting between solid block colouring and gentle shading a piece of cake. The pencils feel clean too, as dust seems to be non existent. Derwent have really hit the mark with the Procolour range and we can see it only being a matter of time before it becomes one of most popular colouring pencils out there.

 The pencils hit the shelves mid July and here at The Art Shop Skipton we will be stocking the full range of 72 vibrant colours. Available individually, in tins of 12, 24, 36 and 72 the Derwent Procolour is a fantastic product and comes highly recommended. Happy colouring!