STABILO CarbOthello - Chalk-Pastel Pencil - ARTY+ - Tin of 24 - Assorted Colours

I bought this set as a treat for myself, and it completely exceeded my expectations. The pencils feel high quality right out of the tin - smooth to hold, with rich, vibrant pigments that layer beautifully on paper. They’re soft enough to blend easily (dry or with a damp brush) but not so crumbly that they break constantly like some pastels I’ve tried. The included sharpener works perfectly without wasting too much of the pencil, and the kneaded eraser and blending stump are such thoughtful extras. Even the tin feels sturdy and well organized, making it a pleasure to open up and choose colours. As someone who mainly works in watercolor, I didn’t expect to enjoy pastel pencils this much, but these have me completely hooked. I’ve already used them for adding fine details and soft backgrounds, and they play nicely with other mediums too. I would absolutely recommend this set to any artist, beginner or experienced.

These pencils are just what I was looking for. Got the advice to buy these from videos by wildlife artist Jason Morgan from YouTube - he’s always the best resource to go to for pastel art advice. They’re not without a couple teething issues - like sharpening is tricky if you like longer points you need to use a razor or sanding block since the sharpener supplied sharpens stubby points and the crank sharpeners I have break them easily. All workaround-able though. Colours are vibrant and the pastel is very easy to smudge and blend - I’d say these are the best I’ve tried and I’ve tried most popular brands. Plenty of browns and greys - fantastic as usually most sets give you very few leaving you struggling. Lots of warm and cool browns and greys - and black is very black. Comes with a stump and sharpener. Also has a kneaded eraser which feels a lot more like a conventional eraser to me - very hard, but does lift the pastel amazingly well. The tin is nice but I’m not a fan of the flimsy plastic layers as lifting them can cause them to bend and make the pencils fly all over the place (happened already to me lol). The set feels very weighty and well made, and the pencils are lovely to hold - being able to see the colour due to the lacquer on the outer of the pencil is a nice touch. One thing I SO wish there’d been is colour names on the pencils as I find colour names easier to remember than the seven digit numbers. Still worth every penny and so versatile. Love this set! I highly recommend!

Very good range of colours. Nice to use. I sharpen them with a craft knife as they seem to break easily with a pencil sharpener

These pastel pencils are lovely to use, they blend well but also sharpen nicely for more detailed work. There is a good range of colours too. I find it easy to move the top layer across into the lid for setting up, and it's helpful to have the extras without having to buy them separately. On the downside, Stabilo could greatly improve the packaging by adding 2 sheets of protective foam, one above each layer. This would ensure no movement of the product during postage. It may be fine if you buy from an art shop, but mine arrived having moved around inside the tin. I don't think any of them are broken inside, but I haven't had to sharpen them enough to really judge. I had some spare thin foam which I cut to size, so that I could safely transport the pastel pencils for outdoor projects. It is an effective and inexpensive measure to protect this quality product, which really should be included.

Excellent and great value compared with other brands. Medium soft and easy to use

I use these in conjunction with the pitt pastel pencils by faber castell. Really good colour range and easy to blend. They can be sharpened to a fine point and come with a pencil sharpener and putty eraser. Definitely worth the money and I'm 100 percent happy with them.

These have been amazing for me. I had been using conventional coloured pencils which I loved, but these CarbOthello pencils have at least halved my production time - the colour can be blocked in so quickly. Layers are built up in no time at all. The greatest timesaver is the ability to draw light over dark - no more slow, tedious negative drawing! I no longer need to use an eraser. Care needs to be taken in sharpening these pastel pencils, and personally, I’ve found the accompanying pencil sharpener effective, though pastel pencils do wear down the blade quite quickly. Pastel pencils can be sharpened to a fine point if done carefully, but the point can be very fragile and soon wears down - this is just the nature of pastel pencils! I’ve been using an emery board to achieve a finer point. In this large set of pencils, there is a good range of colour, though now, I do regret not having purchased a set of 72 pencils. However, I note that individual pencils can be bought. In comparison to other brands, these are very good value for money. I can definitely recommend them and expect to be purchasing more. I like that the pencil is not too thick, so comfortable for my small hands to hold. They are just a joy to use!

I'm fairly new to pastel pencils but have a few different brands and these are by far my favourite! The pigment is strong and pencils deposit colour with minimal effort. They blend well too. I have a more expensive brand that doesn't perform as well as these. So glad I bought them.