Derwent Watersoluble Sketching Pencils – Love Them or Leave Them?

Tried out the Derwent Watersoluble Sketching Pencils, and… I kind of like them? And kind of don’t!

This is another helical sharpener that came highly recommended to me -but my take on it is that it doesn't replace my standby old favorite by Xacto!

My First Paid Review! Honest Thoughts on This Eraser

After 6 years of working on my YouTube channel, this is my first paid review! But don’t worry—you’ll still get my honest opinion.

I actually prefer this polymer eraser over the Faber-Castell versions I’ve tried because:
Less dust – way easier to clean up!
Great for fine detail erasing
Good price for a 4-pack

Happy National Pencil Day! Let’s Talk Blackwing

This week, in honor of National (US) Pencil Day, here’s the scoop on the infamous Blackwing pencil.

You can check them out here Blackwing602.com (Nope, not sponsored! Just sharing!)

They’re beautiful pencils, but be warned—the sheer number of editions can turn into a serious collecting obsession!

Back to School & At-Home Art Fun!

Looking for a fun, interactive book that teaches kids to reuse their artwork instead of tossing it after a small mistake? This book is a classroom favorite and a perfect at-home art project resource—especially during quarantine and remote learning!

Hi everyone! Yet another pencil review. I think I'm starting to run out of pencils that are popular in the US, but leave me the brand names of other pencils you would like me to review in the comments! This one is a mixed review- some good things, some bad things about them. To purchase the General Pencil Co. Kimberly Pencils click the link below https://amzn.to/35GjjGw

I liked this line of Faber Castell pencils better than the Faber Castell 9000 pencils, which run much harder and the price on these can't be beat! These pencils are a great price so they are good for beginners or kids who want artist-grade pencils. Check out the full review!

These pencils are not the best quality, but still might be an acceptable quality for an elementary or middle school classroom. They, at least, are inexpensive.

I was super surprised with the results of this pencil trial! I used to use these back in art school but it had been some years since I'd purchased them. A lot of my students arrive to class with the Prismacolor Turquoise Graphite Pencils, so here is my review from 2018.

Here's another Carbon Pencil review! You might want to compare this review to my review of the Staedtler Mars Lumograph Black carbon pencils, because they are similar and yet so different. I'm still more of a fan of graphite over carbon, but I'm certainly happy to have carbon pencils in place of the way too crumbly charcoal pencils!

This is a really nice long point sharpener that is good for drawing away from your home/studio or in class! It's portable, and gets a really sharp point- unlike most travel or handheld sharpeners. Also, it has replacement blades that you can buy, for when the blades get dull! Thanks so much, Tony, for sharing this tool recommendation with me!

Here is my first review of carbon pencils (different than graphite pencils and also different than charcoal pencils!). I demonstrate the different look/qualities of them and link to purchase is below!

Here is my (totally surprising to me) review of the Staedtler Mars Lumograph Pencils, thanks to one of my viewers, ECurry for the suggestion! I learned from this experiment- awesome! Make sure you check in next week when I review the Staedtler Mars Lumograph BLACK pencils so you can see the differences.

I thought this eraser would be a miracle solution, but it basically is like my other erasers: crumb-producing and mess-making. Although it is a little less messy, overall.

SO you bought a graphite pencil brand that is a little thicker than your regular pencil sharpener? Here is the best adjustable size pencil sharpener I've found. I use this to sharpen my caran d'ache and mitsubishi hi-uni pencils. There are a few challenges with this sharpener though, it isn't perfect. Check it out to see what I like and don't like about this tool. Let me know if you find a better adjustable size manual pencil sharpener, too, please!

SO you bought a graphite pencil brand that is a little thicker than your regular pencil sharpener? Here is the best adjustable size pencil sharpener I've found. I use this to sharpen my caran d'ache and mitsubishi hi-uni pencils. There are a few challenges with this sharpener though, it isn't perfect. Check it out to see what I like and don't like about this tool. Let me know if you find a better adjustable size manual pencil sharpener, too, please!

The luxury brand of pencils: Caran D'Ache! These pencils ARE beautiful, and the gradation value of the paint is SO helpful in identifying what hardness of pencil you are grabbing. But are they worth THREE TIMES the amount of other pencils? Find out in this review!

Here is my review of the Mitsubishi Hi-Uni 22 Degrees Pencil Set. Who knew Mitsubishi made pencils in addition to cars! These pencils have proved to be quite nice, after use in the studio for the last month. They rarely break in my pencil sharpeners or just randomly. They have a great weight, a lovely lacquer feel to the paint, a fantastic labelling system on all facets of the pencil and a great case. My only two concerns: whatever am I going to do with the 3H-10H pencils that feel so scratchy and you can barely see??? And it is kind of a pain that they barely fit in my regular pencil sharpener and I have to use the sharpener that has an adjustable opening. Otherwise, totally worth the $!