I have heard over the internet and through reviews that these pencils are very good and soft but they are not what I call soft. However, they are very pigmented! I keep feeling like these remind me of caran d'ache Pablo! So, I got out my Pablos and compared. So far there are several that are interchangeable in color! In conclusion, these pencils are so much like caran d'ache Pablo that I will use them together!

Very pleased. I was quite surprised by these pencils. Budget priced but could easily play in the big league with the big boys. There is no lightfast ratings but as a hobby colourist they are creamy with a good selection of colour and highly pigmented. A steal of a deal for the money. I hope they come out with more colours - I will be their first customer!

These Artisto 72 count pencils are NOT soft; they were not intended to be. They are on the hard side, so you will be able to color tiny areas with precision, and you won't have to sharpen them every 5 minutes. The bonus is that the color is so rich and vibrant (on the ones that should be rich and vibrant, because not all colors should be) that it a soft stroke leaves behind gorgeous pigment. There are also some pale colors not usually found in anything but a huge set, so you get more than you might think. Yes, there are a lot of gray and grayish pencils, from dark to pale. But this is good, because it practically doubles the colors you get in the set. They blend well, layer beautifully, and the colors you get and can make through blending are just gorgeous.These will work on toothy paper, though I don't like toothy paper because you have to layer so much more or press hard, which you can do with these pencils, although they are hard enough to leave an indentation, so don't press too hard. If you press hard when you color, you might want to learn not to, so you don't leave indentations.These Artisto pencils also burnish well. No wax bloom, which is surprising and pleasant. I didn't realize when I got these that I would be so pleased with them! I will order a backup set as soon as possible.Two cons: 1) the printing of the color number on the pencil is TINY and barely readable. 2) The swatch sheet provided has even tinier printing and the color name is only on that swatch sheet, not on the pencils. I am making visible labels for the very end of the pencils, taped on, so I can see what I've got, and will also make my own swatch sheet. Not enough reason to not love these pencils.

I had heard these were good pencils so I expected a lot. I was shocked! They are soft! And it’s very heavy pigment. I can burnish with one a light pressure, on heavy textured paper with1 time coloring.The colors also pleased me. With only 72 colors, I expected a very basic set, with no tones or shadings. There is a nice range of all colors except pink. I don’t use pinks s lot so I don’t care.A few colors here remind me of Polys.The grays are fantastic. There are 11 different grays. The reds are vibrant. Great peachy selection.Mblues are more limited than I would have expected but the grays make up for it. I have 100’s of different blues but usually stick with the same pencils anyway.My only change would to reduce the number of red-browns, there are 5. I hate red browns. They need to change at least 2 of these to cool browns.They do crumble a little but not a lot like a Prismas. I do recommend these as a substitute for Prismas.!The blending is easy. I put 2 weird colors together and it looks amazing. See pics.The only thing I ask of the manufacturer besides the cool browns, is to create a MUCH larger set and make them round!They’re 6 sided, I prefer round. Enjoy!

Definitely better than the average "less expensive" pencils. They have a nice feel, good color payout and provide a very well balanced color choice for a 72 set. They're very smooth but a bit harder than Prismacolor, not quite as creamy with a little more dust. They sharpened well and hold a nice point. I only wish they came in a larger set. I would recommend them.