Advice on giving a Prismacolor pencil set as a gift
Ok, so I'm not an artist (well I'm a musician, but you know what I mean) so any advice would be helpful.
I would like to get my fiancee a "nice" set of colored pencils for drawing and have decided to go with a Prismacolor set. Here is some background info that will help with your response:
We're both adults so money isn't THAT big of an issue, but if I can save some money on this (ie. 72 color set), I might budget in a DS game for her too.
She is a user interface designer (has a masters degree in Comp. Sci. and HCI), dabbles in photography, and she likes to draw as a hobby.
She minored in art during college and took art classes in high school, so she has a bit of formal training, but nothing really hardcore.
She draws anything from anime to realistic plants/animals to bright and colorful flyers used for charity organizations she volunteers at.
So my main thing is this: I've decided to either get her a 72 color set + a gift card to an art store so she can buy any "specialty" colors or doubles she wants ... OR ... get her the full 132 or 150 color set.
I have heard a few people say that the 132 (or 150) is overwhelming and you only end up using 80ish colors anyway (especially with blending colors with a specialty clear color blending pencil). So that opinion is saying the 132 color set is overkill for most people and it is a better investment to get the 72 (half the price) plus grab a few colors as single pencils to add if you know you'll use them for the specific type of drawing you do.
If you have a 132 (or 150) set, do you use all of the colors?
If you have a 72: how many extra colors have you bought? Is 72 really enough? Did you regret not getting a 132+? Did you eventually upgrade to a 132+? etc...
How seriously do you use them (hobbyist, student, semi-pro, professional)?
Despite my research, should I go with an entirely different brand of pencil for her? She never specified the type she wanted, just a few times over the last couple years, she's remarked: "I wish I had a really nice set of colored pencils." That lead me to researching them and deciding on the Prismacolor Premiers but not to what size (other than loads of people on forums saying they wished they had more than a 24/36/48 color set.
So any advice would be helpful.
5 Comments • Newest first
-Is now thinking about getting some because she's been using ink and digital for many months-
i have a 72 set, theyre like 30 bucks on ebay? =u="
Thanks LadyVuitton and CoraKora ... so far, that pretty much confirmed what I'm thinking. Since I've heard a few people say that the huge sets are overkill unless you're a professional artist, I think I'm going to end up going with the 72 + a little gift card to a local art shop for whatever else she might want/need to go with the set. I have a bit of time before I'm making the purchase (late August) but yeah, thanks again.
More opinions are definitely welcome.
thats so cute
Well, for me I don't really use pencil crayons, but I really do like Prismacolor. Their leads are soft and easy to blend. I like to sketch with them ahahah. IMO, I think you should buy the smaller set and the gift card. And to make it a bit more special for her, you should buy couple colours that make you think of her and give them along with the set and gift card Lol.