UPDATED: November 11, 2020
What are the colours that are in the Prismacolor Premier set of 12 pencils? After reading this post you will have a greater understanding of the colours in the 12 pencil set.
We have had closer looks at the Prismacolor Premier coloured pencil range. We looked at the Prismacolor Premier 150 set, the pencils rated I and II (lightfast), the pencils rated III, IV and V (non-lightfast), and the Prismacolor Art Stix range of woodless coloured pencils (that have the same lead as the Prismacolor Premier pencils).
We also posted on how you could substitute coloured pencils, and create many colours from a basic set of 12 pencils. Another post shows the colours you can create by layering a basic set of 12 Prismacolor Premier pencils. It also provides these colour recipes in searchable table format.
This post has images that includes the names, numbers, lightfast ratings and colour swatches of each pencil in the 12 set. Please read this disclaimer that explains how the colour analysis was undertaken.
The Prismacolor Premier pencils do not have their lightfast ratings marked.
Prismacolor Premier set of 12 coloured pencils
When looking at the set as a whole, all colours (including the colour wheel family colours and neutrals) are shown clockwise in the chart below.
The chart represents a total of 12 pencils, of which 3 are neutral and 9 belong to colour wheel colour families.
Now to get a closer look. Let’s separate these colours into two groups – the colour wheel colours, and the neutral colours.
The colour wheel colours
The colour wheel has 12 colours, and the colours move clockwise around the wheel. This is outlined in the image below.
The colour wheel colour family colours available in the set are outlined in the image below.
Of the colour wheel colours, the make-up of each colour family is outlined below. While the colours are of varying shades and tones, the predominant base colour belongs to the colour wheel colour family in which it has been placed.
Red – 12 o’clock
Starting with red at the 12.00 o’clock position, you can see that the Prismacolor Premier set of 12 does not have a pencil that belongs to the red colour wheel colour family.
Red-Orange – 1.00 o’clock
The next colour family group is red-orange at 1.00 o’clock. The image below shows that the coloured pencil set of 12 has 1 red-orange colour wheel colour family pencil.
Orange – 2.00 o’clock
The next colour is orange at 2.00 o’clock. The coloured pencil set of 12 has 1 orange pencil.
Orange-Yellow – 3.00 o’clock
Orange-Yellow sits at the 3.00 o’clock position. The set of 12 Prismacolor Premier pencils do not have any pencils that belong to the orange-yellow colour wheel colour family.
Yellow – 4.00 o’clock
At 4.00 o’clock sits yellow. The coloured pencil set of 12 includes 1 pencil that belongs to the yellow colour wheel colour family.
Yellow-Green – 5.00 o’clock
Yellow-green sits at 5.00 o’clock. The image below shows that the coloured pencil set of 12 includes 1 yellow-green pencil.
Green – 6.00 o’clock
The colour family of green sits at 6.00 o’clock. The coloured pencil set of 12 includes 1 green colour family pencil.
Green-blue – 7.00 o’clock
Green-blue sits at 7.00 o’clock. The coloured pencil set of 12 does not have any green-blue colour family pencils.
Blue – 8.00 o’clock
Blue is at the 8.00 o’clock position. The coloured pencil set of 12 includes one blue pencil.
Blue-violet – 9.00 o’clock
Blue-violet sits at the 9.00 o’clock position. The image below shows that the coloured pencil set of 12 includes 1 blue-violet colour wheel colour family pencil.
Violet – 10.00 o’clock
Violet sits at the 10.00 o’clock position. The image below shows that 1 pencil in the 12 pencil set of Prismacolor Premier pencils belongs to the violet colour wheel colour family.
Violet-Red – 11.00 o’clock
Violet-red sits at the 11.00 o’clock position. The coloured pencil set of 12 includes 1 violet-red pencil.
Colour wheel colour family – Summary of Prismacolor Premier set of 12
As you can see from the above images, the Prismacolor Premier set of 12 coloured pencils have pencils in 9 of the colour wheel families. It does not have pencils that represent the red, orange-yellow or green-blue colour wheel colour families. See the chart below.
Now let’s look at the neutral colours included in this basic set of 12 coloured pencils.
Neutral colours
Of the set of 12 coloured pencils – 3 are neutral. There are no metallic pencils in the set. These are shown clockwise in the pie chart below.
The breakdown of these pencils are as follows.
First there is the neutral-black pencil.
Next is the neutral-white pencil.
Finally, there is a neutral-cool beige.
The bar chart below shows the breakdown of the set’s neutral pencils.
As you can see, the Prismacolor Premier set of 12 coloured pencils is made up of a variety of colours and neutrals.
As noted above, the selection of colour is subjective and the reviewer has chosen colour by looking at the actual colour swatches. Nevertheless, you may find that a particular colour belongs to a different colour group or family.
Lightfastness
This set of 12 pencils is half lightfast (rating of I and II), and half non-lightfast (rating of III, IV and V).
As you can see from above, 4 pencils have the highest lightfast rating of I, 2 have the next highest lightfast rating of II, 3 have a lightfast rating of III, no pencils have a lightfast rating of IV, and 3 have a lightfast rating of V.
Make your own colour chart
For your knowledge, it’s advisable to make your own colour chart so that you can get to know your coloured pencils.
What are the colours you can make from this set?
We have layered the 12 pencils in the set, and from this we have found 144 new colours. These are shown in the bar chart below.
You can search and sort the colour recipes for these 144 colours in these charts here.
Now you should have a better understanding of the colours available in the 12 set of Prismacolor Premier pencils. You should also now be aware that you can make many colours from a basic set of pencils. Don’t be limited as you can make even more colours by layering pencils.
Try layering these pencils and then find harmonious colours to use in your next art project.
You can see also the coloured pencil set of 12 here at art is fun.com.
Use these handy interactive colour charts if you want to see what’s available in the Prismacolor Premier range of 150.
If you’d like to see how they compare, we have also had a closer look at the Caran d’Ache Luminance set of 12 coloured pencils.