LYRA Color Giants Chunky Wooden Coloured Pencils, Hexagonal, 6.3mm Lead, 12 Assorted Colours, Ideal for Children and Schools

These enormous pencils have the fattest core (6.25mm) of any coloured pencil I own, exceeding the even the Albrecht Durer Magnus at 5.3 mm. The big leads of this collection of skin tones lay down smoothly and cover every shade from a dark blackish brown through to a pale flesh tone that should, with the addition of a white to blend them, provide enough options for most skin colours. They are presumably oil and/or wax based as they are waterproof and feel similar to my Lyra Polycolours but have a creamier texture. Don't expect to create very fine detail with this thick a core but they do hold a point better than I expected. The fat unlacquered hexagonal barrel sits very comfortably in the hand and the vast core lays down colour easily and quickly. The only downsides are that there are no shade names on the pencils and no information on light fastness. I can forgive this as they are aimed at kids and it was easy enough to number them 1 - 12 with a Sharpie and will keep them for sketching. (I have written to Lyra asking for light fastness details and will update this if I get any information. ) I am prepared to forgive them a lot since I find them delightful. The ability to quickly apply large areas of dense colour almost as easily as with pastel pencils but with less mess or need for fixing is intoxicating and I am rapidly convincing myself that I need the rest of the colours. (UPDATE : I did buy the tin of 18 and have posted a photo of a piece along with a 5 star review of them. ) These are tremendous value for money and far better quality than I expected. They also have the advantage of being more robust than pastel pencils to transport which is a distinct plus for a klutz like me. These are definitely not just for little kids and I recommend them.

Great pencils

I bought these pencils for a child but ended up being unable to give them away as they are just SO LOVELY to use! The soft lead is so rich in pigment that they are nicer than felt tips, the colours are vibrantly intense, totally unlike standard colouring pencils. They are truly satisfying and addictively moreish to colour with. I have illustrated a story I wrote with them, and they can do everything from subtle blending of soft shades to bright bold strokes and blocks of solid colour. I just love them and will not be sharing them with anyone! If you buy them you will be unable to use any other pencil afterwards and will throw away all your cheap colouring pencils. TEN STARS!!!

So very nice :) But the packaging was horrible. It is a wonder that the pencils survived the transport

Love these pencils, for children every age! I use them in art therapy and my own drawing, sketches. Very good pigments.

Very good pencils and highly pigmented. I was surprised to see how beautiful the gold and silver colours were it really showed gold and silver on the paper. The price is reasonable too the packing was also good and the parcel arrived on time.

Bought as a mummy alternative to the already plentiful stash of easter eggs! These are brilliant, the leads are so soft and therefore easy to regulate the concentration of colour -and to shade and blend with. They are very long but my children (4 and 6) have found them easy to work with. I love them too! I looked at lots of similar sets as I was a bit put off by the price but having used Lyra a lot in the past I bit the bullet and went for these and am pleased I did.

Personally, I don't write product reviews very often, but I had to say something about these pencils. I bought them when I realised the earth/skin tones from my Marco Raffine set weren't quite cutting it, and I needed a substitute. For me, colour pencil is a quick medium that I use for sketchbook pieces, I am an illustrator, and my main medium is watercolour. My colour pencil work is for when I don't want to get the paints out, and just need a quick idea of how I want a piece to look. I just finished swatching them, and I'm so impressed. For my needs, these are fabulous. They lay down nicely, and there is a superb range of skin tones. These probably wouldn't be ideal for realism and portraiture, but for cartoons and illustrations I think they're perfect. I'm probably going to order another pack or two, just so that I've got spares!

Son lápices de colores gruesos, perfectos para las manos de los peques. Pinturas de buena calidad.

Crayons larges avec lesquels il est agréable de dessiner. Solides et bien pigmentés, la mine ne casse pas. Parfait pour un enfant qui s’initie au coloriage, il n’a pas à appuyer fortement sur la mine pour que la couleur se voit.

Man hat eine gute Auswahl an Hautfarben. Ebenso malen sie sehr gut und kräftig, weshalb starkes Aufdrücken gut verhindert werden kann und auch nicht zu oft drüber gemalt werden muss, wenn man sie intensiver haben möchte. Werden wir immer wieder kaufen.

J'ai pris ces crayons pour remplacer le stylo surligneur, dans un soucis de limiter ma consommation de plastique et de produits dérivés du pétrole. Je suis pleinement satisfaite, les couleurs sont agréable, la tenue du crayon facile y compris pour les enfants. Je pense que des la prochaine rentrée ce seront les "surligneurs" de mes enfants !

nice