I want to start by tell you that I have been very fortunate and spoiled with my watercolor pencils. I was about to get about 2 dozen Inktense when Joann fabrics went out of business and my husband bought me a nice size set of Caran D’ache ones. Obviously they are amazing but I was actually really suprised with how well these compared to those very expensive brands. Here are my comparisons:
Vibrancy I would give the Arrtx pencils a 3/5 compared to 5/5 for the other brands. This doesnt mean that these aren’t vibrant or that you cannot get good color out of these because you can. It’s just that those other 2 are known for very vibrant colors that almost make them too thick once wet. It takes a bit of getting used to.
For softness I would give them a 5/5 on the same level as the other 2. That is really impressive considering those pencils are $2 each and up and these are about 33 cents. The softness is nice because I suffer from arthritis and Fibromyalgia and pressing hard hurts my hands and reduces my color time.
For blending I would also give them a 5/5. The softness really helps but the colors blend together very well. Once you add water it is even better. This means you can create new colors by blending 2 colors and adding water. This really helps you customize colors for every drawing. I was very happy with this.
Overall this would give the arrtx pencils a 4.33/5. When you consider the competition I am comparing them with I would say they stand up remarkably well.
If you are looking for a budget friendly watercolor pencil with amazing quality, I would definitely recommend these. My only regret is that I got the 48 pack and not the 72!
