Polycolor Pencils

Happy birthday, Lori!

I'm not sure what you mean by Polycolor - is that a brand?

I do colored pencil work on Bristol paper (or board, as they call it), the kind with just a little tooth so you can burnish in the color if you want a "painterly" look. The smooth paper is a little difficult to get to look completely blended. It depends on how you work. I work in several layers and usually burnish with a white pencil. The reason you want paper with a little tooth is it will grab the waxy part of the pencil and you can lay down more color.

Hope you have a great birthday!

I should add - I've only used the Berol brand pencils - they are all different. I have the Berol prismacolor and the Berol verithin which are harder with less wax for delicate drawing on smoother paper.

Thank you for answering my post. They are Rembrandt Polycolor, I think an oil pencil. The company is Lyra.

I first thought it said..."Bipolar Pencils"...;)
Happy Birthday, Lori...enjoy!

I've never used an oil pencil, Lori. I would be curious how they work. I have some oil pastel sticks somewhere in the house, but have not used them for ages. I'm more of a graphite and conte crayons gal,

Hmm the only polycolors I have tried are Koh I Noor brand, and they are great! I hear Lyra is a great brand though and have been wanting to try them myself. I also like prismacolors (wax)and Faber Castell Polychromos (oil) I just love colored pencils in general lol. Let me know how you like them!!

Mary, oil pencils work very similarly to wax pencils and can be used with wax pencils. They are blended similarly and when used with wax you hardly know the difference. They aren't like oil pastels in that way. The good thing about them is no wax bloom!

Btw Happy Birthday Lori!!

Stonehenge is an awesome paper to work on with CP, I also like Canson drawing and Mi teintes (colored paper). Strathmore has just recently put out a new paper specifically for colored pencil but I haven't had the chance to try it yet so I'm not sure how it is.

Thanks for the explanation, Shana. I've found if I wipe off the bloom a couple of times it doesn't come back, but I admit I haven't looked closely at some of my drawings for a while.

I hope you enjoy your exploration of that medium, Lori!

Happy Birthday Lori. Synchronicity here because today is my Birthday also. Plus I have been playing around with the Koh I Noor brand as mentioned. I mainly like the Koh I Noor hardtmuth "Magic". I think it is called neon. Real cool effect. The outside of the pencil itself is black with glitter finish. The lead is blue, green, yellow, and a neon orange. I've been doing abstract portraits.
It looked like I was the only one buying them at the art supply store. They only had 3. I finally bought the last one.
I was thinking people thought of them as kids pencils.
When I went back to the store, they hadn't restocked any new ones so I asked. The sales person said that they are over here now and took me to a new kids display with them. Pretty funny. The trouble is they are in a variety pack with 4 different ones. Looks like I will have to buy them on-line since that is the main one I use. I use solid colored pencils combined with them.

Thanks Lawrence! That would be funny bi polar pencils!!

I haven't tried the multi colored Koh I Noors yet, they look interesting. I have only used the polycolor which I think is their artist grade pencil, and the woodless, those are great too.

I saw the woodless Koh I Noor pencils on-line when I was looking for the pencil I described. That sounds good since I like the woodless solid graphite pencils.

I love them Jim! You should try them!

Yes Shana I think I'll order some when I order that favorite "Magic" pencil.
I did see that new Strathmore colored pencil paper and bought one. Just checking it out. The medium is new to me.
So many mediums and so little time but I believe in stocking up on as many different supplies that I can afford.

I'm fairly new to the medium myself, started using them about a year ago. Totally fell in love!