Caran d'Ache Classic Neocolor II Aquarelle, 15 Colors

I was a little hesitant to purchase these because of their price point, but I'm really glad I did. I'm still somewhat new to pastels, but the other ones I've tried are waxy and sticky, and these just literally go on like butter. I didn't think I would use the watercolor feature, but I found that they are really, really great. The pigment is perfect and the colors are bold and bright. What I have been doing is using them like standard oil pastels and then adding water to part of it so it's solid in some parts and a little rough in others. I really love this effect.

Five stars for the product! They are so much fun to use. They are very creamy and versatile and I look forward to having more of a play. I felt that this colour selection of 40 was rather lacking in the brown department, but I was able to go to my local art store and top up with some individual colours. The tin is nice and sturdy, and doesn’t take up too much room, so more portable than some of the other sizes. However Amazon gets 1 star for delivery. The package arrived in a brown paper bag, no padding at all. The crayons had all been thrown around within the box, forcing the tin to be distorted, and I was concerned about damage. The inside of the tin was a mess, but I was able to clean it up with a little elbow grease. The crayons all look ok, but I have concerns that there is hidden damage beneath the labels. I gave them a little wiggle and I don’t see any obvious problems so fingers crossed they are all fine. But if Amazon ever reads these reviews you need to do better. When someone spends this kind of money on a product a little padding would be a start!

This is a good size set of 84 different colors. I swatched them as soon as I received my set. The colors are bright and vibrant. I made thick swatches to see how deep the vibrancy goes. I used a nylon water brush with water and a wet towelette to wipe the color. The colors cleaned up easily and left nothing on my fingers. Some colors really pop on the the paper. I used 140 lb cold press watercolor paper which has a distinct tooth I see as I lay down color. Trying to pick my favorite colors was difficult since I like just about all of them. I was impressed by the three metallic crayons. They really do look metallic. Bronze is particularly pretty. I believe that the colors we receive depends on when and where these are ordered. There are some sets that have a different color set, but the ones coming from Blick contain the following colors listed after my review. Blick also has loose stock for reordering. If they weren't so bulky to transport, these might easily have taken the place of my pencils. The tin is nice and sturdy, but heavy. I like the metal tray that holds the first plastic tray. The flimsy plastic tray is no good by itself. Overall, I am impressed by the quality and creaminess of the crayons. I do wish I could get all 126 colors. 001 White 002 Silver Gray 003 Light Gray 005 Gray 007 Dark Gray 008 Grayish Black 009 Black 010 Yellow 011 Pale Yellow 020 Golden Yellow 028 Toledo Brown 030 Orange 031 Orangish Yellow 033 Golden Ochre 035 Ochre 036 Raw Sienna 039 Olive Brown 041 Apricot 042 Flesh 045 Vandycke Brown 049 Raw Umber 050 Flame Red 051 Salmon 052 Saffron 055 Cinnamon 059 Brown 060 Vermilion 063 English Red 065 Russet 069 Burnt Sienna 070 Scarlet 071 Salmon Pink 080 Carmine 081 Pink 090 Purple 099 Aubergine 100 Purple Violet 110 Lilac 111 Mauve 120 Violet 130 Royal Blue 131 Periwinkle Blue 139 Indigo Blue 140 Ultramarine 141 Sky Blue 149 Night Blue 150 Sapphire Blue 159 Prussian Blue 160 Cobalt Blue 161 Light Blue 171 Turquoise Blue 180 Malachite Green 190 Greenish Blue 191 Turquoise Green 201 Veronese Green 210 Emerald Green 211 Jade Green 212 Chromium Oxide Green 220 Grass Green 225 Moss Green 229 Dark Green 230 Yellow Green 231 Lime Green 240 Lemon Yellow 245 Light Olive 249 Olive 250 Canary Yellow 260 Blue 280 Ruby Red 300 Fast Orange 403 Beige 407 Sepia 409 Charcoal Gray 497 Bronze 498 Metallic Silver 499 Gold 508 Payne’s Grey 521 Sahara Yellow 560 Light Cadmium Red 589 Crimson Alizarin 661 Light Cobalt Blue 710 Phthalocyanine Green 720 Bright Green 730 Chinese Green

Wow! These pastels are incredible! If you’re looking for a versatile and high-quality pastel/watercolor, then look no further. I love being able to use them as both a watercolor and a pastel, making for a dynamic piece with just one medium. I use the watercolor for an even base, then use them as dry pastels to create texture over the top for impressionistic and simple landscape pieces. I also appreciate that the paper casing has notches for ripping a clean line with continued use. Additionally, I haven’t experienced any breakage at all, and they’re relatively clean to use without creating accidental smudging. So far, I’ve used them on mixed-media paper and they don’t seem to pill or damage the paper in any way. I’ve practiced combining these pastels in both watercolor and dry form with color pencils, ink pen, acrylic paint markers, and alcohol markers and it works wonderfully! Overall, I’m incredibly happy with this product and can’t wait to add this medium to more pieces!

I love this way to do water color so much and there is no waste. It’s so easy to use I recommend it for beginning water colorists especially. You won’t get frustrated 👍

I can't knock Neocolor, colors are vibrant, the crayon feel is familiar in your hand, they blend well - you can produce instant art out of the box. They come in two formats: Neocolor I (wax based, so water repellent, but can be blended with other liquids) and Neocolor II (water based, so you can brush or sponge over to aid blending). I utilize both. They're a little pricey, often a little delicate, 30 pack is I feel the best bang for the buck. I wouldn't mind a better case, perhaps something with a handle. But the results and ease of use makes them so neccessary.

I love my other Caran D'ache supplies but have never tried pastels. I do love watercolor pencils, so I wanted to try them. They are so much fun! They are like the smoothest crayon you can imagine. They are so silky smooth that it feels like they could draw on your skin (but they don't). My favorite way to use them is with this palette, also by Caran D'ache. One side is textured so you can color on it with the pastels and use a water brush to paint with them. (You can use it with your wc pencils also). They dissolve well in water. They are slightly more opaquethan wc pencils, but still mostly translucent. Using the palette allows you to get every single bit of use out of them since you don't have to sharpen. They blend well. The tactile experience is really good! A tiny bit goes a long way also. I'm only using them for coloring books at the moment, and they are brilliant! I was able to get a "used, like new" set from the warehouse. The box was a bit dented and a few colors had been tested but nothing beyond that (they met my expectations perfectly). The advantage of getting a warehouse set, besides price, was that they were already here in The States, so it was very fast shipping. I am extremely happy with my purchase. (I'm not sure why folks struggled to find the second tray of colors and thought they were cheated with the wrong package. But I guess that is a thing so be sure to pull up the top tray to find the one below it )

I should start this review off by saying that I am NOT an artist. I am a grandma that just loves to color and through the years I've added different pencils and pens to my coloring arsenal. I've tried a variety of water color pencils... Faber Castell, Castle, Artiza but was never attached to the results because no matter how many techniques I tried, all of them left residual pencil marks. I stumbled across several watercolor tutorials on Pinterest and the Caran D'ache Neocolor II was a consistent medium used in some of my favorite finished coloring pages from other enthusiasts. The price was definitely a sticker shock but I had already spent about the same amount on other watercolor pencils (that for all intents and purposes were now gathering dust) so I decided to treat myself to an early birthday present, bit the financial bullet and placed my order. I have to say it was the best coloring purchase I have made. The crayons melt like butter, are incredibly vibrant and when it dries the slightest amount of water can be used for additional blending. It leaves no residual marks and because of this you can literally scribble it on the page versus having to be precise with pencil strokes. The pics are my first attempts... The Kerby Rosanes Worlds within Worlds moon pic is a WIP that is 100% Caran D'ache Neocolor II.... the finished Hannah Karlzon potion page was my first attempt to complete a background, add a galaxy to one of the potion bottles and show a unique blend in the blue bottle. Other mediums were also used..... the newest Nelco Neco Story of Precious Cats shows a condensed early galaxy in the crystal ball. I absolutely love, love LOVE these crayons and am so glad I bit that financial bullet and ordered the largest set straight out of the gate. Best coloring purchase ever and I use them all the time!

Snelle levering en in goede staat. Het materiaal is uitstekend, de kleuren zijn levendig en ik vind het geweldig dat ik het als aquarel kan gebruiken.

These crayons are a delight. I love how vibrant the colours are and the versatility of their use. Well packaged.. love love love them ❤️

Bem embalados, ótima entrega pela Amazon. Produto sensacional, excelente pigmentação do giz, cores incriveis, vale muito a pena quem gosta do desenho com giz. Bom, 95% da Caran D'ache é incrivel. Material impecavel. Vale a pena a compra.

Muito bom! Amei e estou curtindo os efeitos em minhas pinturas! ❤️

Good quality