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.
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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.
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.
Red-Orange – 1.00 o’clock
The next colour family group is red-orange at 1.00 o’clock.
Orange – 2.00 o’clock
Next colour wheel colour family is orange at 2.00 o’clock.
Orange-Yellow – 3.00 o’clock
Orange-Yellow sits at the 3.00 o’clock position.
Yellow – 4.00 o’clock
At 4.00 o’clock sits Yellow.
Yellow-Green – 5.00 o’clock
Yellow-Green sits at 5.00 o’clock.
Green – 6.00 o’clock
The colour family of green sits at 6.00 o’clock.
Green-Blue – 7.00 o’clock
Green-blue is at 7.00 o’clock.
Blue – 8.00 o’clock
The colour wheel colour family blue sits at the 8.00 o’clock position.
Blue-Violet – 9.00 o’clock
Blue-violet sits at the 9.00 o’clock position.
Violet – 10.00 o’clock
Violet sits at the 10.00 o’clock position.
Violet-Red – 11.00 o’clock
Violet-red is the last colour that sits at the 11.00 o’clock position.
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.
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.
Now let’s look at the metallic pencil’s colours.
Next is the neutral-black pencil.
Follows is neutral-warm beige.
Next is neutral-cool grey.
Neutral-warm beige follows.
Neutral-warm grey is next.
Neutral-white is the final neutral colour.
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.
This was originally published in 2019, updated on 7 October 2020, and 17 August 2021. It was last updated on 4 January 2023.