There are 65 non-lightfast Prismacolor Premier pencils with a lightfast rating of III, IV and V in the Prismacolor Premier coloured pencil range of 150 pencils. 85 are lightfast with ratings of I or II.
This post will have a closer look at the colours available in that non-lightfast group of 65 pencils rated III, IV and V.
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.
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. This post will also help you to choose the colour combinations you need in your creations.
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.
Let’s Start…
This post has images of hand drawn colour swatches for each pencil in the range.
The 150 Prismacolor Premier has 65 pencils rated III, IV or V.
Let’s separate these pencils into two colour family groups – the colour wheel colours, and the neutral colours.
The non-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. There are no pencils rated III, IV or V that fit into the green colour wheel colour family.
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.

Non-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 III, IV and V have pencils in all the colour family groups – excluding green.
Now let’s look at the neutral and metallic colours included in the group of non-lightfast group of Prismacolor Premier coloured pencils.

Non-lightfast Primsacolor Premier pencils – Neutral colours
First, there are the metallic colours. No metallic colours are rated III, V or V.
There are two neutral family groups.
There is neutral-cool beige.

Follows is neutral-warm beige.

Colours summary of the non-lightfast Prismacolor Premier pencils
As you can see, the collective Prismacolor Premier pencil’s rated III, IV and V is made up of a variety of colours and neutrals.
It does not include any green colour wheel colour family coloured pencils. It has a limited neutral range of cool and warm beige pencils.
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 65 set of coloured pencils, 25 have a lightfast rating of III, 14 have a lightfast rating of IV, and 26 have a lightfast rating of V.
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 Prismacolor Premier colour chart
To help you with this, we arranged all the Prismacolor Premier 150 pencils and created an 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 non-lightfast Prismacolor Premier coloured pencil (rated III, IV or V) colours. Click the button below to access the interactive colour chart.
This post was first published in 2019, updated on 7 October 2020, and 17 August 2021. It was last updated on 4 January 2023.