Colored pencils vary considerably even within the same brand. Pigment load, filler content, binder formula, opacity, value, and best handling practices can change from color to color.
Let’s test one of Prismacolor’s oldest colors:
You can tell by the number…
Prismacolor pencils in the low-900 series are from the original line of pencils manufactured by the Eagle Pencil Company in the 1930’s. “Chemi-Sealed Prismacolor” pencil numbers started at 901 and continued upward as more colors were added.
Today, Magenta 930 is included in all major sets from Prismacolor and is a favorite with botanical artists and portrait illustrators.
*In this article, we’ll be referring to magenta as a hue family and Magenta, the Prismacolor pencil. To help keep them separate, the pencil color will be capitalized and italicized.
The Color: Prismacolor Magenta 930
Name: Magenta can be a bit misleading. While this color is definitely part of the magenta hue family, the typical user likely hears “magenta” and expects something a little brighter. Perhaps more of a Barbie pink.
Magenta 930 is noticeably redder than a standard primary magenta.
Temperature: Because Magenta leans red, this makes it a slightly warm magenta.
Resemblance: Magenta 930 closely resembles Alizarin Crimson paint.
Neutralization: At first glance, Magenta is not a muddy color, but when compared to Process Red (a primary mixing magenta hue), Prismacolor Magenta shows subtle signs of neutralization. There’s a hint of something slightly earthy. It’s not pronounced, but next to very clean hues, Magenta appears less bright and saturated.
Value: Magenta 930 measures between 70-80% gray in value.
Indicator Accuracy: The paint on Prismacolor Magenta 930 is significantly darker than the pencil could ever get.
Users frequently expect this color to look darker on paper than it actually is.
Having said that, it’s simple enough to look at the color of the pencil core (lead) which is very accurate to the darkest value of this color.
Availability: Magenta PC930 is included in Prismacolor Premier sets of 48, 72, 132, and 150 pencils. It’s also available individually (open stock), although some retailers may not carry all 150 colors.
Test Results: Prismacolor Magenta 930
Core Firmness: Prismacolor Premier pencils are well known as one of the softest artist grade pencils on the market today. Magenta 930 has that traditional soft and waxy feel.
Oil or Wax Base: Read more about why this is nonsense here.
Point Retention: Like all soft colored pencils, Magenta does not hold a point well. Starting with a freshly sharpened pencil, I lost the fine point almost immediately. This pencil is not recommended for detail unless you sharpen frequently.
All tests are conducted on Strathmore Bristol 300 Smooth for consistency.
Opacity: Color opacity is one of the most important features of a colored pencil. Read why here.
Magenta 930 is a semi-translucent pencil which is a bit unusual for Prismacolor. Most of their darks are almost fully translucent.
When colored over a black swatch, note how the scanner still picked up the color. This is less noticeable in real life but my scanner usually can’t see Prismacolor’s other translucent colors. There’s something slightly opaque in this pencil which catches the light.
Glazing: Due to the semi-translucency mentioned above, Magenta 930 is not a true glazing pencil. You can probably get away with a very light layer of Magenta over another color to add warmth or darken the value— but if you add too much, you’ll be adding obvious magenta notes.
Masking: Semi-translucent pencils like Magenta aren't ideal for subtle glazing, but they're also not opaque enough to hide lower layers of color. Several layers of Magenta may be able to camouflage an area of very light color but there’s just not enough opacity to mask or block anything heavy or dark.
Pigmentation: While I can’t measure true pigment load without laboratory equipment, Magenta behaves like a highly pigmented pencil.
The color builds generously with changes in hand-pressure (shown above) or with repeated layers of light consistent pressure (below).
Laydown Consistency: When applied with light to moderate pressure in even layers, Magenta’s laydown looks consistent with no streaks of binder or blotchy pigment.
However, when used at a hard burnishing pressure, Magenta can start to push through and move previous layers, leaving slightly bald patches.
For this reason, I recommend burnishing Magenta gradually through light layers rather than pressing hard on the first pass.
Paper Adhesion: There were no issues getting Magenta 930 to stick to Smooth Bristol. In fact, I specifically recommend Prismacolor Premier pencils when working on ultra-smooth or polished marker papers where adhesion is usually a problem. Prismacolor often sticks when nothing else will.
Layering Adhesion: I had no issues getting Magenta to stick to itself. In the sample above, the area burnished with light layers (top left half) shows 13 moderate pressure layers and I saw no pilling, shedding, or trenching in the process. Excellent adhesion which is typical of Prismacolor Premier.
Erasure: Soft colored pencils are not generally not erasable.
With 10 firm swipes of a non-abrasive polymer eraser over a pressure-burnished swatch of Magenta, the best I was able to do was lift most of the color— but you can still see pigment embedded in the tooth and the paper is now stained.
Shedding: Magenta 930 did not create a noticeable amount of dust or shedding during the testing process. Colored pencils normally shed a small amount of dust but there was nothing excessive or notable about Magenta’s dust level.
Point & Breakage: I sharpen all my colored pencils to a long point using the X-Acto School Pro (Amazon) (Blick).
Magenta 930 was tested with this same long point. At no time did I break my lead or snap off the tip, not even when coloring with burnishing level pressures.
Magenta is a sturdy color which can handle firm pressure but not abuse.
IMPORTANT WARNING:
ASTM D6901-06 Rankings:
I - Excellent, 100+ years
II - Very Good, 50-100 years
III - Good, 15-50 years
IV - Poor, 1 year
V - Very Poor, weeks - months
Lightfast Rating: Magenta 930 scores an IV (poor, fugitive) rating using certified ASTM D6901-06 lightfast testing.
See Prismacolor’s full chart with test results here.
Artists should be careful not to sell originals using Magenta 930 but it’s fine for disposable practice exercises and covered projects which are not exposed to light like sketchbooks, journals, and coloring books.
It should be noted that lightfastness is actually rare for magenta art supplies. Most magenta pigments are naturally fugitive.
Need a lightfast substitute? Try Faber-Castell’s Polychromos Alizarin Crimson, #226 (Blick). This is not an exact color match and it behaves different than Magenta 930. Again, lightfast magenta colored pencils are rare. From what little is available, this is what I’d substitute.
Magenta 930 in Action:
Here’s a taste of how I use Prismacolor Magenta 930. Each lesson project teaches realistic coloring techniques using professional markers and colored pencils.
