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 most recent colors:
The new kid on the block…
Prismacolor started making pencils in 1936 and over the years, they’ve added to the collection, filling palette holes and useful colors.
In 2011, Prismacolor jumped from 132 colors to 150 colors by adding the 100-series of pencils. These modern colors focused on muted and natural tones with greater lightfastness.
Let’s look closer at Prismacolor’s lightfast magenta.
Prismacolor Premier: Learn about the pencil line, sets, and how Prismacolor colors compare.
The Color: Prismacolor Pomegranate 195
Name: If you’ve ever cracked open a pomegranate fruit or enjoyed a pomegranate cocktail, you’ve seen the color of Pomegranate 195 in action. It’s a perfect name for this pencil.
Temperature: Pomegranate is a deep, cool magenta with an organic feeling murkiness to it.
Resemblance: Pomegranate resembles Deep Madder Red watercolor, with the same hints of something dark and natural beneath the red.
Neutralization: Pomegranate is a gently desaturated magenta. Like a deep red wine, there’s something dark and mysterious to the color.
Value: Pomegrante 195 measures 90% gray in value.
Indicator Accuracy: The paint on Prismacolor Pomegranate 195 is close enough to be considered a reasonable match.
The paint indicator is slightly darker than the fully burnished color but it’s near enough that you can easily tell what you’ll get when you use this color.
Availability: Pomegranate is a relatively recent color so its only included in the full 150 set and the Botanical Garden 12-count set. It’s also available individually (open stock), although some retailers may not carry all 150 colors.
Test Results: Prismacolor Pomegrante 195
Core Firmness: Prismacolor Premier pencils are well known as one of the softest artist grade pencils on the market today. Pomegranate has a very slick and smooth glide across the paper.
Oil or Wax Base: Read more about why this is nonsense here.
50 strokes of a freshly sharpened colored pencil can show you how quickly we lose the ability to color fine details and corners.
Point Retention: Like all soft colored pencils, Pomegranate 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.
Pomegranate is a translucent, almost transparent pencil.
When colored over a black swatch, to the naked eye, this pencil is almost invisible. Even my scanner which has picked up colors I would have classified as fully transparent had a hard time finding Pomegranate. The color is there but wow, it’s very clear.
Glazing: The transparency of Pomegranate makes it perfect for glazing. In my classes at ColorWonk.com, we call these “magic pencils” because they’re chameleon colors, ideal for adding shade or glazing subtle color without loudly advertising which color you used.
Masking: Translucent pencils like Pomegranate cannot be used to mask or block previous layers of pencil. Even if you press hard, this pencil is incapable of blocking prior layers.
Pigmentation: While I can’t measure true pigment load without laboratory equipment, Pomegranate behaves like a finely pigmented pencil.
The color builds generously with changes in hand-pressure (shown above) or with repeated layers of light consistent pressure (below).
Glide: Like most Prismacolor Premier pencils and especially the newest 100-series, Pomegranate has a slick, almost oily feel— extreme glide with zero sand, grit, or drag. Often when I pick up a 100-series pencil, “greased pig” goes through my head. They’re slick!
Laydown Consistency: When applied with light to moderate pressure in even layers, Pomegranate’s laydown is consistent with no streaks of binder or blotchy pigment.
I don’t typically recommend burnishing with a heavy hand. I prefer to build to the burnishing stage gradually in light layers. But if you insist, Pomegranate is a excellent candidate for single-coat burnishing without pilling or shedding.
Paper Adhesion: Pomegranate is almost sticky. There were absolutely no issues getting it 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 Pomegranate to stick to itself. In the sample above, the area burnished with light layers (top left half) shows 14 moderate pressure layers and I saw no trenching in the process. Excellent adhesion 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, the best I was able to do was lift most of the color— but you can still see significant pigment embedded in the tooth and the paper is permanently stained.
Shedding: Pomegranate is almost a dust-free pencil which didn’t shed more than a couple grains of colred dust. To be clear, all colored pencils shed a bit so it was surprising when Pomegranate shed so little.
To avoid grinding the dust into your paper with the side of your hand, I recommend stopping periodically to lightly brush your project clean with a soft hake brush (Amazon) (Blick), a large makeup brush (Amazon), or a natural fiber drafting brush (Amazon) (Blick).
Point & Breakage: I sharpen all my colored pencils to a long point using the X-Acto School Pro (Amazon) (Blick).
Pomegranate 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.
Pomegranate is a sturdy color which can handle firm pressure but not abuse.
LET’S CELEBRATE!
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: Pomegranate 195 scores a I (excellent) rating using certified ASTM D6901-06 lightfast testing.
See Prismacolor’s full chart with test results here.
This makes Pomegranate the perfect pencil for use in portraits and botanicals, anything where you might want to sell your original framed artwork for display.
Level I pencils can last 100+ years before any fading might occur.
It should be noted that lightfastness is actually quite rare for magenta art supplies. Magenta pigments are naturally fugitive so it’s wonderful that Prismacolor developed the 100-series for safer professional use.
Pomegranate in Action:
Here’s a taste of how I use Prismacolor Pomegranate 195. Each lesson project teaches realistic coloring techniques using professional markers and colored pencils.
Not a Color Wonk project but I’ve always loved this local class project from 2015. The beet here is mostly Pomegranate.
