A question from a reader from
India prompted me to conduct these quick tests of the
Derwent Water Soluble Sketching pencils on a
Piccadilly sketchbook (which might not have been the best choice for wet media given its lack of sizing, so I guess I will have to make another post using watercolor or wet media paper sometime)
Comparison between
Derwent Sketching HB,
4B, and
8B wash pencils and the
Caran D'Ache Technalo 3.8 mm watersoluble graphite lead. The
Technalo marks blended more easily and smoothly upon contact with the wet brush. The
Derwent HB and
4B did not seem to dissolve as readily and much of the original pencil marks remained after scrubbing them with the wet brush.
Dry comparison between
Derwent Sketching 8B dark wash pencil and the
Faber Castell Albrecht Durer 199 Black watercolor pencil. The
Derwent Sketching 8B retained its sharp point longer than the softer watercolor lead, felt very smooth on the paper, and it was also easier to erase. The
Albrecht Durer watercolor pencil point got blunt quickly, so it might not be as efficient a choice for rendering fine details
.
After blending with a wet brush. Both sketched marks dissolved quite easily into tonal washes. The watercolor pencil lines turned a darker black when wet while the
Derwent Sketching 8B marks yielded a tad lighter
gray wash.
While you could use the watercolor pencil for sketching in a pinch, the Derwent Water Soluble Sketching pencils would be the more versatile choice for smooth sketching of detail-rich illustrations with the option of dissolving some the marks at will with a wet brush.
Comparison between Derwent Sketching HB, 4B, and 8B wash pencils and the Caran D'Ache Technalo 3.8 mm watersoluble graphite lead. The Technalo marks blended more easily and smoothly upon contact with the wet brush. The Derwent HB and 4B did not seem to dissolve as readily and much of the original pencil marks remained after scrubbing them with the wet brush.
Dry comparison between Derwent Sketching 8B dark wash pencil and the Faber Castell Albrecht Durer 199 Black watercolor pencil. The Derwent Sketching 8B retained its sharp point longer than the softer watercolor lead, felt very smooth on the paper, and it was also easier to erase. The Albrecht Durer watercolor pencil point got blunt quickly, so it might not be as efficient a choice for rendering fine details. 
After blending with a wet brush. Both sketched marks dissolved quite easily into tonal washes. The watercolor pencil lines turned a darker black when wet while the Derwent Sketching 8B marks yielded a tad lighter gray wash. While you could use the watercolor pencil for sketching in a pinch, the Derwent Water Soluble Sketching pencils would be the more versatile choice for smooth sketching of detail-rich illustrations with the option of dissolving some the marks at will with a wet brush.
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2 comments:
I notice you have some of the old non soluble Derwent Graphitone sticks there. The gold wrapper on mine went green just like that - weird.
I like soluble graphite pencils and sticks. I also use shavings to make washes like your next post.
You can also get some interesting textures by painting clean water on the paper then shaving soluble graphite or water colour pencil into the water - either leave the grains or wash them out with a brush.
Thanks for the tip. Will have to try that approach sometime. The Graphitone sticks in this sketching set were green from the beginning, so I was not aware that their labels started being gold colored. It might have been pretty old stock to begin with since they were a freebie online order gift that I have had for ages.
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