Royal & Langnickel Essentials Sketching Pencil Set, 21-Piece

When I first started out doing art, I didn't care so much about quality. I just wanted pencils that did the trick.

Now that I am more experienced in the field, I have noticed that quality matters a lot.

The pencils in this package are very cheaply made. You may ask why this matters so much to a budding artist, or even an intermediate one. Well, you'll be sharpening pencils a lot in art and so you'll want a good sharpener and pencils that sharpen well. These pencils, however, do not sharpen well. You'll use a lot of your energy constantly trying to sharpen these things, when that energy should go towards honing your skills.

The white eraser is a bit too gummy like, a few uses and I already feel the structure beginning to weaken...

The sharpener is OK. But there are better ones (See my list below after review)

The only thing I liked about this kit were the charcoal sticks. I like to sharpen mine with sandpaper and these do produce nice dark tones.

The reason why I gave this product two stars is because, even though the greenhorn is apt to mow through tons of material just to get it right, I feel that higher quality art supplies will ease a lot of frustration the beginner will feel when they're first starting out in art. As the community knows, the hardest challenge in first learning art is learning how to see. The rest is just pencil mileage by application of knowledge from a teacher or textbook. And I feel that quality goes a long way in helping the beginner advance his or her skills.

If you want to REALLY get a good start at art (or good quality for continuing art), then I'd suggest the following:

For pencils, you can't go wrong with either Faber-castell or Staedlter. I myself use the Staedtler Mars Lumograph. You can find these in kits, containing various degrees (A good range for the beginner would generally be 2H, HB, 2B, 4B, 6B, 7B and 8B. Pencils ending in H are harder and thus produce lighter tones while pencils ending in B are softer and produce darker tones.)

For erasers, I recommend the Staedlter White eraser (which is fairly cheap. Mine cost me about 2$ for a fairly good-sized stick). As for kneaded erasers, these are usually used to eraser thicker, heavier material like charcoal, but I recommend either Sanford or Prismacolor. Do not use any pink erasers for art, They leave a nasty pinkish residue on your paper and don't erase as good as the white (Infact, the only thing I ever use pink erasers for now is erasing stuff off of walls and desks.)

As for Sharpeners, you'll want one similar to the one included in this package, but bought from an art/ office supply store. The one included in the package was not as good as the metal one I picked up from Michael's for about two dollars. But if you REALLY want to get serious with it, I'd spend a bit more and get the KUM long-point sharpener. I use it almost exclusively and it is the best sharpener I've ever used. You can buy them here on Amazon or at any other art supply website (I've yet to see them sold in a store, unfortunately.) But it's a bit more expensive than your average sharpener (Mine was $10, shipping included). But it's well worth it, considering the fact that you save more wood and get to the point easier and faster.

Overall, don't get this kit; infact, don't get a "Kit," at all. Do a bit of research and get supplies separately. It's a bit more painstaking but in the end you're getting better quality products. You may save time and cash going for this product, but you'll be doing yourself, or that aspiring artist you know, a great disservice by giving them a poorly-made product.

I bought this Late october the 25th or 26th and it showed up as expected. Acually, the first day of the "3-5days" which was a great plus. So, about this product.. I bought this because i'm not a huge professional artist that spends hours drawing and making a living off of it. I like to sketch, draw and cartoon. and this set allows me to do that with multiple tools and pencils. I love the variety and quality of these pencils. Including charcoal not just in pencil but block also, along with graphite bars. really lets me control where things go. I really love the woodless pencil, even though it doesnt keep a good point, (for long) But, i know that in about a year or more i will come back and buy another one when this set gets all used up. Thanks for a great product. I am truely happy with this set.

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This is a great kit, and it is perfect for all levels of skills, I highly recommend it for anyone thinking of buying it. I am glad that I did. I am enjoying using mine.

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All the items in the set are quality and I actually kept the packaging as is, so it's organized and easily stored. I recommend this item.

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My daughter is taking her third semester of a drawing class. Her original pencils were used to nubs, and I bought this larger set as a replacement. She was thrilled to get everything she needed -lots of different lead weights as well as erasers and graphite. A perfect set for her classes.

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