Today, I’m diving into something I’ve been excited about for a long time: Holbein colored pencils. Hi friends! 👋 It’s Audrey here—your resident teaching artist, watercolor + gouache enthusiast, calligrapher, and occasional colored pencil explorer. If you’ve hung out with me before, you know I love trying new supplies and sharing the process with you, imperfections and all.
Before we jump in, a tiny bit of context. As many of you know, I’m a brand ambassador for Holbein, Legion Paper, and General Pencil. That means I get to teach free, hands-on workshops showcasing their products—one of my favorite parts of the job. These products were sent to me to test and teach with, but this isn’t sponsored, and I’ll always share my honest impressions.
Just a disclaimer: I am not a colored pencil expert. But I’m learning right alongside you, and that’s also what makes this fun. Let’s dig in.
Unboxing Holbein Colored Pencils and Other Tools
Holbein sent over a delightful assortment of goodies: their colored pencils, the Meltz, a water-based pencil blender (which immediately piqued my curiosity), a pencil sharpener with adjustable tip settings, soft white pencils, and two types of blender pencils—one in pencil form and one in brush pen form. If you love art supplies that feel like gadgets, you’ll adore this sharpener. It literally lets you dial in the exact tip shape you want. Practical and nerdy? Yes, please.
The pencils themselves are gorgeous. They have a full-color barrel, they’re slightly thicker than average, and they feel substantial in the hand. My only tiny gripe is the round barrel—they’re prone to rolling away like mischievous marbles. But that’s okay if you keep them in a tray or upright in a container.
Learning About the Line: Colors, Lightfastness, and Special Effects
Holbein’s colored pencils come in 150 colors, and they’re oil-based with a medium-hard core, which is a nice sweet spot for layering without constant sharpening. I also spent a bit of time reading through the informational materials (nerd mode fully activated). The lightfastness chart is super easy to understand. Only a handful of the colored pencils are 1 star, and the rest are 2 and 3 stars.
The luminous colors are unrated and that’s because all luminous colors contain fugitive elements and would render it non-lightfast. While the lightfast setting doesn’t affect me as much as others, it’s still important to note that if you ever intend to sell original works or decide to display, you want to use lightfast colors only.
- ★★★ Permanent
- ★★ Take chances
- ★ Fugitive
- No star = unrated
Simple, straightforward, and helpful.
The pastel set is beautiful, but the thing that really grabbed me was the range of greens and earthy neutrals in the larger 50-color set. They also have two luminous colors—Opera and Lemon—and metallics. And listen… I was not expecting the metallic silver to have actual shine on paper. Gold is softer, but the silver? Wow.
Yes, I tested the Luminous Lemon and Luminous Opera under black light. Yes, it glowed. So cool!
Check out the Holbein Luminous Watercolors if you love the neon type colors!
Swatching, Blending, and the Great Soft White Revelation
Once I started swatching, these pencils revealed themselves to be creamy, smooth, and really easy to work with. And the soft white pencil? Oh my goodness. It’s so opaque it almost behaves like a tiny white gouache stick. Comparing it to the regular white was like watching a magic trick.
Then came the blending experiments.
I tested various methods:
- Blending stump: great for mushing pigments into a smooth surface
- Meltz brush pen: interesting, but a bit streaky for my taste
- Meltz liquid with a watercolor brush: chef’s kiss—the most control and the most even pigment dispersion
Note that the metallic colors and the soft white don’t blend with Meltz, but everything else dissolves beautifully.
Putting It All Together: A Little Saguaro Scene
To see how everything played together, I drew a small saguaro cactus scene. Layering, highlighting, shading—it all felt intuitive. Using Meltz helped soften harsh pencil texture and knock back the white of the paper just enough. It reminded me a little of watercolor layering: build slowly and gently, let the colors mingle, don’t force it.
Watch the full video of my review of the Holbein Colored Pencils
Final Thoughts
Have you ever tried Holbein colored pencils? I’d love to hear your thoughts!
If you’re curious about Holbein colored pencils, my biggest tip is to start with open stock. They’re an investment, and this lets you try a handful before committing. I also recommend using the liquid Meltz with a separate brush rather than the brush pen—it’s more predictable and more fun to control.
But above all, remember this: experimenting with new supplies should feel like play, not pressure. Pick an easy subject. Swatch for the joy of it. Let yourself learn without worrying about perfection.
And keep an eye out—I’ll be exploring Holbein watercolor pencils next, and I’m already so excited.
Happy creating, friends. 🌟