Lyra Rembrandt Polycolor Review

Finally! It's here! Our FIRST REAL REVIEW! Today was happy mail day. Around noon, my lovely UPS man, who must be sick and tired of stopping in front of my house, delivered some packages. Inside those packages, I received some odorless mineral spirits (yay!), a replacement set of Marco Raffine colored pencils (double yay!), and a 36-set of Lyra Rembrandt Polycolor colored pencils. (ALL THE YAY!) Check out the Lyra Rembrandt Polycolor review video at the end of this post, or keep reading to learn more about these pencils! Lyra Rembrandt Polycolor Review: My First Impressions

These pencils smelled SO GOOD when I opened them. They smelled like actual wood instead of alcohol or chemicals, and that's always nice. All 36 colors were present, and two of the pencil tips had broken during transit, but they had only fractured. None were broken to the point they needed sharpening. The pencils have a wood barrel and a capped end that's been dipped in paint to indicate the color of the 4mm core. YES! These pencils have a 4mm core! That's a lot of pigment! What I Liked

In my review, I tested four different colors for pigment vibrancy. I applied a few light layers of color in circles, then burnished half the circle. I was impressed with the four colors I'd chosen. The pigment is bright, and getting vibrant tones didn't require much pressure. I also applied a light layer of pigment with a blue pencil and attempted to erase using my Ohuhu battery-powered eraser. Most of the pigment lifted quite easily, but a faint hint of blue was left behind. This is acceptable to me; colored pencil rarely lifts completely from a heavy paper with medium tooth.

I then blended a yellow, light orange, and dark orange into a gradient for three unique tests. In the first, I attempted a seamless gradient with just the pencils. This was a success, and I can say these pencils do blend very well. Then, I roughly added the same three colors to another area and attempted to blend them with the included Lyra Splender Blender. The blender wasn't able to move the pigment around on the paper, but it did move it deeper into the paper, covering up the white spots deep down in the tooth. Finally, I added the same three colors to another area and attempted a blend using odorless mineral spirits. This seemed to provide the best results, and I will likely use this technique in any work I do with Lyra Rembrandt Polycolor colored pencils. Lyra Rembrandt Polycolor colored pencils are reportedly lightfast. On the cardboard sleeve covering the plain silver tin, there's a chart depicting the lightfastness rating for all 36 pencils. At a glance, three pencils received two stars (good lightfastness) while the rest received three stars (excellent lightfastness). Per the sleeve, Lyra Rembrandt Polycolor is certified by the ACMI, or Arts & Creative Materials Institute, so I'm wondering if this is the group who tested the lightfastness, or if these ratings were created by Lyra themselves. Finally, these pencils are PEFC certified, which means they're made from sustainable, managed forests and controlled resources. You can feel good about this purchase if you're concerned for the environment and forest sustainability.

What I Didn't Like

There were a few things I didn't like in my Lyra Rembrandt Polycolor review. My light blue pencil (that's the color name) felt quite scratchy compared to the rest of the pencils in the set. I've sent a message to Fila, the Italian company that now owns Lyra, though the pencils themselves are still manufactured in Germany. I'm eager for a reply; perhaps this was a manufacturing flaw and the company will send a replacement. I'm not getting my hopes up on this.

I also attempted to layer yellow and blue to create green. Unfortunately, while I did get green, it was rather muddy in color and not at all what I had hoped. This may be due to my choice of colors, or it may just be that the pigments do not mix as well as pigments in Prismacolor and other brands do. I will keep trying as I use the Lyra Rembrandt Polycolor pencils, and I'll definitely edit this post if anything changes.

Finally, my set of 32 pencils came with four shades of orange, several shades of green, lots of ochres, and many reds - but no pinks or purples. This was saddening since I color so many flowers, and I'm only now getting back into drawing. Pinks are very important for skin and lips, so I'll need to add to my set. I've ordered seven or eight pencils from Blick, so when those arrive, I'll put them to the test with drawing as well as with coloring. Final Thoughts

I got my Lyra Rembrandt Polycolor colored pencils on sale for less than $20, and they were a bargain. Thirty-five of the 36 colors lay down beautifully and blend like a dream, but the one light blue gives me trouble. Overall, I would recommend these pencils to anyone who prefers a medium hardness for the core, who likes a thick core, and who wants a lightfast product that will not fade easily with exposure to light. A shopping list for the products I used in this particular review: Dritz Rainbow Color Wheel

http://amzn.to/2t3ekLM

Neenah 67lb Vellum Bristol

http://amzn.to/2tnFGM0

Lyra Rembrandt Polycolor 36-Set

http://amzn.to/2tnz6W3

Lyra Rembrandt Splender Blender

http://amzn.to/2rsTB70

Prismacolor Colorless Blending Pen (Alcohol Marker)

http://amzn.to/2stD56M Please check out the video below to see the demonstrations in action!

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