New Budget Colored Pencil Review: Cezanne 120 Set

Hi friends, today we are going to take a look at the new set of Cezanne colored pencils available from Creative Mark. These pencils are sold at Jerry's Artarama and they provided me this set to review. Jerry's also sells these sets on Amazon. *Links to Amazon are affiliate links. This review is not sponsored.

Overview: These are touted as a lightfast brand of artist quality blendable wax-based set if pencils that can hold up to other more expensive brands. The intro price at Jerry's Artarama is $59.99 for the 120 set and $24.99 for the 72 set. Today we will put these pencils to the test on a variety of surfaces from watercolor paper, to sanded paper to a coloring book page and standard drawing paper.

Pros:
*Price (around 50 cents a pencil)
*Blendable
*Performs well on all surfaces tested but better on more textured surfaces as it allows for more pigment saturation.
*Sharpens well to a strong point. (I only had one issue with breakage with a handheld sharpener and it is in the video, that pencil sharpened well in an electric tho) It also sharpens well with a blade.
*Nice selection of colors although many pencils in the 120 set are "samey"
*Colors layer well
*The tin is nice and the trays are sturdier than most.
*Very little glare or wax bloom even when burnishing.

Cons:
*Not available open stock
*Several leads not centered making it wasteful when sharpening with a pencils sharpener so a knife was needed to sharpen those.
*The white is weak, better as a blender than a white

Other notes:
These pencils claim to have a "good lightfastness" but I do not know how they arrived at that statement or if there are any specific ratings. I probably would not count on these not to fade. Use your judgement.

Paper I tested these pencils on:

Bottom line, the more I used these the more I like them. I think they are a good value for your money but not as pigmented as Polychromos or Prismacolor. I recommend adding a prismacolor white to this set for maximum versatility. These pencils felt more like an oil-based pencil (more like polychromos than prismacolor) than wax and they worked very well on sanded paper with the powder blender technique. I plan to use that a lot with these pencils as they are much cheaper than polychromos for practice. I got much nicer results with rougher paper and had a bit of difficulty getting the color saturation I wanted on the smooth coloring book page but the smooth drawing paper with just a bit more tooth worked well. I recommend these for non-permanent work.

#thefrugalcrafter #watercolor #art
Want more inspiration? Here are some classes!



Credits:
Video production and Craft ideas: Lindsay Weirich
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0




Follow along and have fun!

*This post may contain affiliate links

[PursuingHeaven]

I bought these as my "practice color pencils" before I bought my large Prisma set, and I often use them now to extend my Prismas. I have not been disappointed. I enjoy how they perform and how they feel in my hand and on the paper. These feel and perform more like Faber Castell to me, although less pigmented, and less like Prisma, but their advertisement compares them to Prisma. They feel very different to me but in a good way. I get tired of the mushy texture of Prisma and often find myself just grabbing a handful of a compatible palette of Cezannes with coloring books and away I go. I do not have to sharpen them nearly as often as Prisma and that is a big plus for coloring books. They are nice and blend and layer well. Beautiful colors, and yes a few really close ones but that is good since there is no open stock. My only complaint as Lindsay said no open stock and no color names but I really really like them for a budget practice set.

[dalefuller]

Carolyn here. Thanks so much for reviewing products for us. Art supplies are pricey and having your input helps me make better choices.

[mkboyd]

Not sure why you've always said you're not a colored pencil artist. You're as good as the very best ones I've seen on YouTube! Wow, girl!! Beautiful drawings.

[lynncooper]

"In spite of everything I shall rise again: I will take up my pencil, which I have forsaken in my great discouragement, and I will go on with my drawing."


Vincent Van Gogh


Awesome lindsay, such beautiful drawing of birds etc....❤👌👍😊

[LeeDee]

Finally a review where the person has actually used the set before talking about it, thank you.
I don't understand why people consider an unboxing + first look a review. That's not a review that's a first impression and people don't even sharpen the pencils before either.
Btw your artwork is also phenomenal.

[dhowell]

The castle art supplies pencils are $47 on Amazon and are a very pigmented set (however VERY waxy) 120 pencils, larger barrel than prisma color, and the leads are very sturdy. Beautiful colors!

[HelenaMGale]

Thank you 😊 I have made purchases based on your reviews and gifted them, the recipients have been very happy . You are such a talented artist. G'day from Australia ❤️

[yellostarss]

I was looking into buying this set, and your video convinced me to get them! :) And I was able to buy these on sale for $39.99 win-win!

[paulaverger]

I need to start using my colored pencils that I have had for over a year

[carolbatchelor]

You are amazing! These are beautiful images.

[wordscrafter]

Wow, you should definitely do more colored pencil pieces, these are amazing! Especially the goldfinch, just

[tiasmom]

Wow Lindsay, your drawing of the bird with the green background is stunning!! It's so good, it looks like a real photograph out of a magazine. You did an awesome job with all the work you showed, but this bird is so true to life. I loved your review as well, thank you for the information and tips.❤️🌹

[kimyork]

You are so darn And I agree you should do more colored pencil, you do such nice work~

[mjpete]

I got this set for $29.95 when Jerry's first sold them! I figured for a budget pencil and Jerry's does a great job getting such good deals for their "house brands" I use them interchangeably with the Brutfuner square pencils! It is fun when others ask my opinion about art supplies and I get to send them your way! My sister just says tell me what to buy! So I hope she checks you out too!

[mommajones]

I absolutely love Your work. Thank You for the time, effort, and money You put into your talent. I’ve followed you for many years, never being disappointed.

[createdbless]

Your photos looked like still life ones, vivid and true to life. I may just give these a try, I do have the prisma tin with a whole lot of them, not sure of the count and just received my gamsol and paper stumps. I haven't messed with them yet....but I will! Thanks Lindsey!

[stephc]

Beautiful work! I’m amazed those art samples were done with colored pencils cuz they look like a painting. You’re so good. TFS 🎨 (I, too, would want the 120 piece set of pencils.)

[sunflower]

Very nice, when you held the paper close to the camera the colors popped. Just lovely thanks for the tips.

[deb.e.mixedmedia]

Thank you so much for another great review! Your drawings are awesome! 🎨🦋

[pokey]

wow love your drawings with these pencils they are so pretty! I have never known how to use the waxy pencils this is very helpful. Thank you so much