Review of Aurora Art Supplies Colored Pencils
...And why I am writing a review of my own colored pencils. |
| Aurora-ArtSupplies.com |
Ever since I published my first coloring book last year I have been getting lots of letters from fans and questions about which colored pencils I recommend. I also color myself, and my artist husband colors his sketches before he paints, so we have a lot of colored pencils at our house. I wanted to find out which ones are best for which types of coloring so I bought a bunch of them. There is quite a variety of coloring pencils, so it can be an adventure to choose the right ones.
Then in the midst of this experiment, I read that due to the worldwide coloring craze going on, stores are having trouble keeping them in stock! Some people in my coloring groups were telling me that they had to wait for over 3 months to get the ones they want.
A light bulb went off in my head. What if I could create some really high quality coloring pencils that are not so costly as the ones available right now?
So I asked around in my groups for a list of what people are looking for in a coloring pencil. Not everyone wants the same thing of course, but there are some common themes. Colorists want creamy coloring pencils with colors that blend easily. They want a variety of colors. They mostly like hexagonal shaped pencils so they won't roll off the table. They want longer ones. Many coloring pencils come in 5 inch lengths, and people feel ripped off. By the time you sharpen them a few times you are dealing with a stubby pencil. And they want them to be strong enough that they won't break easily. A big request was that the pencils be usable as water color pencils by adding water. And they want them to be affordable. Whew! That's a long wish list!
But I took my list and started talking to suppliers in China. (I really wanted to find an American supplier, but had no luck, so I went to China. Even some of the most expensive coloring pencils are made there, and the factories are already set up so all you have to do is give them your specifications.) One of the first things on my list of specifications was a larger lead inside the pencil so that the lead would be stronger, and the pencils would last longer. (Of course it's not real lead, and it's non toxic!) Then I made sure mine are 7 inches long. All of those factors mean you are already getting more for your money than you would with a lot of coloring pencils. Then I had the supplier give me lots of different formulas to choose from. I selected a formula that is wax based, but with less wax than a lot of them, and more pigment. This makes it possible to add a little water to your pencil and blend so the result is somewhat like the effect of water colors on the finished art.
For my first product, I chose a set of 48 colored pencils, which gives a variety of colors and since they blend easily you can make other colors by blending 2 or more of them. In the future I will add a set of 72, and a smaller set of 36. I will also add different types of coloring pencils, for example, very soft chalk type oil based pencils. (like Prismacolors) I also plan to add colored markers and high quality artist brushes to my line of products. Aurora Art Supplies™ is just getting started as a company, but it's here to stay. Stay tuned for many more products! You can see the company website here: Aurora Art Supplies™
Here is my first set of colored pencils, available now at Amazon. I already have happy customers. You can see for yourself they are vibrant! I included a mini coloring book of flowers hand drawn by me for the first 1000 customers. I hope everyone will love them!
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Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN) and/or Esty (Awin) Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”
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