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85 lightfast Prismacolor Pencils – a closer look

7 October 2020 by Louise

Lightfast Prismacolor Premier pencils Pinterest 1 - Copy

The Prismacolor Premier coloured pencil range holds 150 pencils. 85 are lightfast with ratings of I or II, and 65 are non-lightfast with ratings of III, IV or V.

This post will have a closer look at the colours available of that lightfast group of 85 pencils with pencils rated I and II.

How this post can help you

You have limited time and energy, yet you want to thoroughly know your coloured pencils. You know it will take time to make colour charts and to sort your pencils according to lightfastness and type.

You can use this together with our post on colour harmony to choose the colour combinations for your next artwork.

This post will help you get to know your pencil colours a bit better without you having to sit and swatch out your colours – especially if you need them in a hurry.

The pencil names and numbers are highlighted on the pencil. However, the lightfast rating is not. This rating was listed separately on the Prismacolor Premier colour chart, and were transferred to match each pencil.

Read this disclaimer about the analysis.

Subscribe to our email list and access a pdf that compares 7 brands of pencils. Click the image below to find more information.

Link to coloured pencil comparison charts

Let’s Start…

This post has images of hand drawn colour swatches for each pencil in the range.

The 150 Prismacolor Premier has 85 pencils rated I or II. I and II are the highest lightfast ratings.

Let’s separate these pencils into two colour family groups – the colour wheel colours, and the neutral colours.

The lightfast Prismacolor Premier colour wheel colours

The Colour Wheel Clock

The colour wheel moves clock-wise around the wheel. The image below shows the colour family positions on the clock.

Colour Wheel showing the colour wheel family colours in clock positions Artnitso.com

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 family in which it has been placed.

Red – 12.00 o’clock

We will start with red at the 12.00 o’clock position.

Prismacolor Premier I and II -Red - Artnitso.com

Red-Orange – 1.00 o’clock

The next colour family group is red-orange at 1.00 o’clock.

Prismacolor Premier I and II -Red-Orange - Artnitso.com

Orange – 2.00 o’clock

Next colour wheel colour family is orange at 2.00 o’clock.

Prismacolor Premier I and II -Orange - Artnitso.com

Orange-Yellow – 3.00 o’clock

Orange-Yellow sits at the 3.00 o’clock position.

Prismacolor Premier I and II -Orange-Yellow - Artnitso.com

Yellow – 4.00 o’clock

At 4.00 o’clock sits Yellow.

Prismacolor Premier I and II -Yellow - Artnitso.com

Yellow-Green – 5.00 o’clock

Yellow-Green sits at 5.00 o’clock.

Prismacolor Premier I and II -Yellow-Green - Artnitso.com

Green – 6.00 o’clock

The colour family of green sits at 6.00 o’clock.

Prismacolor Premier I and II -Green - Artnitso.com

Green-Blue – 7.00 o’clock

Green-blue is at 7.00 o’clock.

Prismacolor Premier I and II -Green-Blue - Artnitso.com

Blue – 8.00 o’clock

The colour wheel colour family blue sits at the 8.00 o’clock position.

Prismacolor Premier I and II -Blue - Artnitso.com

Blue-Violet – 9.00 o’clock

Blue-violet sits at the 9.00 o’clock position.

Prismacolor Premier I and II -Blue-Violet - Artnitso.com

Violet – 10.00 o’clock

Violet sits at the 10.00 o’clock position.

Prismacolor Premier I and II -Violet - Artnitso.com

Violet-Red – 11.00 o’clock

Violet-red is the last colour that sits at the 11.00 o’clock position.

Prismacolor Premier I and II -Violet-Red - Artnitso.com

Lightfast Prismacolor Premier Colour wheel colour family – Summary

As you can see from the above images, the pencils in the Prismacolor Premier coloured pencil range rated I and II have pencils in all the colour family colours.

Now let’s look at the neutral and metallic colours included in the group of lightfast Prismacolor Premier coloured pencils.


Colour Harmony Products - Colour Harmony and Prismacolor Premier pencils
We have created products about colour harmony and Prismacolor Premier pencils. You can find information about them there.

Lightfast Prismacolor Premier – Neutral colours

First, there are the metallic colours. All of Prismacolor’s metallic pencils are rated I. One of the metallic pencils has a user warning on the box. This is the PC950 Gold. This pencil has a warning as it contains copper. See the warning notice below that appears on the 150 set of Prismacolor Premier pencils.

Warning notice from back of 150 Prismacolor Premier set
Warning notice from back of 150 Prismacolor Premier set. Gold coloured pencils contain: COPPER

Now let’s look at the metallic pencil’s colours.

Prismacolor Premier I and II -Metallics - Artnitso.com

Next is the neutral-black pencil.

Prismacolor Premier I and II -Neutral-Black - Artnitso.comy

Follows is neutral-warm beige.

Prismacolor Premier I and II -Neutral-Warm Beige - Artnitso.com

Next is neutral-cool grey.

Prismacolor Premier I and II -Neutral-Cool Grey - Artnitso.com

Neutral-warm beige follows.

Prismacolor Premier I and II -Neutral-Warm Beige - Artnitso.com

Neutral-warm grey is next.

Prismacolor Premier I and II -Neutral-Warm Grey - Artnitso.com

Neutral-white is the final neutral colour.

Prismacolor Premier I and II -Neutral-White - Artnitso.com

Colours summary

As you can see, the collective Prismacolor Premier pencil’s rated I and II 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 coloured pencil swatches. Nevertheless, you may find that particular colours belong in different groups or families.

Lightfastness

Of the 85 set of coloured pencils, 26 have a lightfast rating of II, and 59 have the highest lightfast rating of I.

Make your own colour chart

For your knowledge, it’s advisable to draw up your own colour chart so you can get to know the actual colours of your coloured pencils. You will then be able to see how your pencils perform on the papers you use for your drawings.

However, it takes a long time to make your own chart, and it usually is something that we don’t get around to doing.

If you’ve made your own charts – that’s great. But – is as practical, you might also have your charts in one physical place while you draw in another. You need to have access to the colours where you are – hopefully, you’ll be there with internet access to your mobile device.

Interactive lightfast Prismacolor Premier colour chart

To help you with this, we arranged all the Prismacolor Premier 150 pencils and created a slim interactive colour chart. You can search and sort this range of pencils by pencil name, pencil number, and lightfast rating. You can also see hand drawn colour swatches for these pencils.

This handy interactive online chart will help you choose your lightfast Prismacolor Premier coloured pencil (rated I or II) colours. Click the button below to access the interactive colour chart.

Link to an interactive colour chart for Prismacolor Premier coloured pencils

This was originally published in 2019, updated on 7 October 2020, and 17 August 2021. It was last updated on 4 January 2023.

Filed Under: Coloured Pencils, Drawing Tagged With: lightfast coloured pencils, Prismacolor Premier

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