Derwent Sketching Folio

Value and Convenience make this bundled gift set a prize!

Derwent, aka Rexel-Cumberland Derwent is a British pencil company known for innovative products available nowhere else. The Derwent Sketching Folio incorporates several of these in one handy carryall case.

Only a few years ago, Derwent improved on the basic concept of Sketch and Wash graphite pencils by introducing a 24 color range of Derwent Graphitints, which are softness 8B watersoluble graphite pencils with a hint of color. Used dry, the effect is soft and subtle, giving all the value range of graphite pencils with a slight tone toward brown, blue, gray, reddish or violet, the middle to deeper value colors all in muted form. With a wash, the colors become much more brilliant but still remain muted compared to other watercolor pencils -- and they apply like soft graphite pencils rather than the way other watercolor pencils don't often have 8B softness. They usually seem to range between 2B and 4B, so if you like very soft sketch pencils, Graphitints will really suit your hand. Sets of 6, 12 and 24 are available as well as open stock. Of course I bought the 24 color tin, I had to have the full range.

Once I had them, I used them constantly. They're wonderful dry for subtle color toning, the effect in a fully detailed finished-art graphite study is about as much color as you'd have with a faded old-time tinted photo or if done in any of several nice browns, a sepia photo print -- and the texture of a classic graphite drawing. Washed, they have an eerie look and handle easily when wet. Light tonal layers are easy to achieve and give very light values in washes. I used my Graphitints so often they've become one of my most used sets because they're so versatile. The muted color range makes them great for nature subjects wet or dry, and often creates an eerie, otherworldly look to the finished art that may make them good for fantasy subjects too.

As they wore down I considered supplementing them with an extra 12 color set, then found the Derwent Sketching Folio on sale for not much more than the 12 color tin of Graphitints alone would cost me. So I looked at the other supplies included and considered paying about $4 more for the bundle instead of just an extra set of 12 Graphitints.

Derwent Sketching Folio includes 12 graphitints, Light, Medium and Dark sketch and wash pencils without color, plus Light and Dark charcoal pencils. It also has a hardbound A6 sketchbook with 80 sturdy white pages in an attractive blue-abstract cover. There's also a plastic palette, a pencil sharpener designed to handle soft points like Graphitints and Charcoal without breaking them, a white rubber eraser, and a Water Handle brush. The entire set of supplies is packaged in a zippered black case with elastic and leather look loops for each of the supplies to be held in place firmly while it's tossed around.

Once my set arrived, that's when I found out the quality of the set was far better than I expected, even for artist grade supplies from Derwent. Everything in it is Artist Grade.

The brush has top quality for Water Handle brushes. Some of those I've tried in sets lose hairs or have flow difficulties, while I never have trouble with either the ones in Sakura Koi's pocket watercolor sets or this one. The hairs are medium fine, the point is well shaped and springy, the flow is neither too slow nor too fast and it's easily squeezed for additional liquid. The handle is designed with a graceful bulge to hold a bit more water in the reservoir. Water handle brushes are a serious convenience in themselves, and I can always use an extra, but this brush has become my favorite when using any other watersoluble pencils.

The A6 sketchbook has strong bright white paper. Its binding is sturdy and has no irregularities. The stickers peel off easily revealing a very attractive blue-on-blue abstract design. Its back cover slides into a pocket that could easily accommodate an American sized 4" x 6" replacement sketchbook either wire or hardbound with a stiff back cover.

The case is much nicer than it looked in the photo. It feels like real patent leather. It might be imitation leather, that wasn't in the description. But if it is, it's the best quality of imitation leather I've handled. It's sturdy, as solid as the Global Classic leather colored pencil cases I recommend for keeping Prismacolors and other very soft colored pencils. When all these supplies are used up, I will be refilling and using this case for years with its brush, palette, secure elastic pencil loops and good construction.

I might swap out one of the Sketch and Wash pencils for a bright yellow watercolor pencil of equal softness. Derwent Graphitints does not have a color that washes to bright mixable yellow, it has a yellow-green that comes close but doesn't make a good mixed orange or yellow highlights. It does have Yellow Ochre but occasionally a bright yellow is needed.

A tip for using the Derwent Sketching Folio especially for plein air (outdoor) sketching. The included plastic palette is a lightweight standard one with six round wells and six slants. If you already have tube watercolors, you could leave the set open and put your choice of watercolor dots from the tube in the round wells, particularly a strong mixing yellow or both a Lemon Yellow and a warm yellow like Winsor Yellow or Cadmium Yellow Medium (or hue). I might also add a strong bright green like Sap Green or Pthalo Green Yellow Shade or Hookers Green as a basis for mixing very bright green accents, maybe a brilliant violet like Dioxazine Violet, a rose like Permanent Rose or Opera Rose -- the brights that could either be mixed on their own to create a brighter palette for watercolor sketching, or be used as accents within a primarily Graphitints piece.

In my personal kit I also added a kneaded eraser (kneaded putty rubber if you're British), as I use those as often as the hard white plastic eraser provided. The latter is excellent for cleaning paper to white and using corners to clean details, the kneaded putty eraser is better for gently lifting and lightening an area without removing it or leaving streaks in its texture. There's plenty of room in how the supplies fit together to tuck one in on either side even if it's loose. I may even customize mine by adding an additional loop glued or stapled to the surface right between the hard eraser and sharpener to hold the kneaded eraser, or put it in a small ziplock bag taped there to keep it clean inside the set.

The Derwent Sketching Folio is perfect for exactly what it is -- a self contained case that you can take anywhere outdoors for nature studies or city streets or people-watching at a cafe or restaurant. It's compact and sturdy. Its padding and structure is superior, protecting the delicate valuable pencils from internal breakage. All of its supplies are easily replenished from open stock including from Derwent if you want replacements of the original pencils.

You won't regret it if you splurge on this, and if you need a gift for an artist friend, it would be useful and appreciated even if they already have one. I know that if someone gave me a second one, I'd just pull all the Graphitints and put them in the "spares" jar and refill it with the other 12 colors in the range.

It's an excellent gift for a total beginner who wants to learn to sketch, because the soft pencils give easy fast dramatic results for beginners, so does the charcoal. If you're thinking of starting drawing, this is a great starter -- it's got everything you need for both painting and drawing. Any watersoluble pencil can be used to create liquid color just by scraping the point into a palette well, add a couple of drops of water and stir. With the water handle brush all you need to do is touch the point if you want to paint directly.

I give this item top marks for usefulness, combined value, permanent value and overall superior quality. Suggested retail price is $49.95 in USA dollars, and is reasonable for everything that's included especially for a British import. Watch for it at auction though, and look for good BIN deals on this elegant set, because suggested retail is a guideline for brick and mortar stores with high location-based rent and employee salaries to support!