Black Widow Coloring Pencils Review

Table of Contents

Black Widow Coloring Pencils Review

You can skip ahead in the video to the following chapters –

Sharpening Black Widow coloured pencils | Testing Black Widow coloured pencils on KDP/Create Space/Amazon paper | Testing Black Widow coloured pencils on Japanese coloring book by Eriy | Testing Black Widow coloured pencils on Secret Garden colouring book by Johanna Basford | Erasing black Widow coloured pencils in various colouring books for adults | Swatching Black Widow coloured pencils | Swatching Black Widow Scorpion coloured pencils | Swatching Black Widow Cobra coloured pencils | Swatching Black Widow Monarch coloured pencils | Swatching Black Widow Skin Light coloured pencils | Swatching Black Widow Skin Dark coloured pencils

Black Widow coloring pencils were created by Medihealth specifically for use by adult colorists using coloring to improve their mental health. Perhaps, because of this philosophy, Black Widow coloring pencils do things a little different from other well-known pencil brands.

Black Widow coloring pencils originally created Black Widow pencils a set of 24 pencils. Over the years, Black Widow has become both the brand name and the name of the first set of pencils.

Fast Summary of the Black Widow Colouring Pencils

At the time of writing the Black Widow coloring pencils are available as Black Widow (24), Scorpion (24), Cobra (24), Monarch (48), Skin Tone Light (12), Skin Tone Dark (12) totaling 144 colored pencils
All of the pencils in the sets are packaged in a tin with plastic trays. The plastic trays are quite sturdy but I feel they are a bit tight for the pencils to be easily removed. The Monarch set of pencils has tin and a cardboard outer covering
The total of 144 colored pencils contains 2 white pencils (Casper and Snow) and a number of black pencils. There are no metallic pencils in the current sets
Black Widow has had some fun naming the pencils with names that bring a smile to your face, helping with mental health. Expect fun names like banana and carrot (almost seems healthy!)
The Black Widow, Scorpion, and Cobra pencils have an ebony Spider Black lacquer finish including the end cap. The name and number of the pencil have been printed in foil on the barrel. Each set has a different color foil red, silver, and gold to make it easy to find the pencil you want from a set
The Monarch and Skin Tone colored pencils have the same ebony barrel color but a colored end cap. The end cap is similar to the pigment of the pencil but not exactly the same
Black Widow has designed their pencils with a hexagonal shape to make it easy to grip and color
All of the pencils in the black widow sets are pre-sharpened. The pencils, in my experience, take a lot of use before requiring sharpening. They hold their point for far longer than my other pencils
Black Widow colored pencils are wax-based and blend easily. They are smooth and creamy like Prismacolors but not as soft.
The pencils are not water-soluble but you can use water to soften the pencil strokes. They do not blend though like true watercolor pencils
Each pencil has a core of 3.3mm which suits a wide range of pencil sharpeners
Individual pencils are not sold as open-stock on any online platform. However, you can email or message on Facebook Black Widow to purchase replacement pencils
Black Widow has color charts available for their sets of pencils. On the Skin Ton Color charts, you will find the lightfast ratings for the pencils and the method of calculating lightfastness.

Color Swatches for Black Widow Coloring Pencils

Black Widow |Scorpion |Cobra Colour Swatch

Monarch Coloured pencils color swatch

Pros

beautiful range of colors that perform well in mos coloring books.
can build on the sets to suit your finances
color blend and lay down well
sharpens easily and maintains a point for a long period of time
shape and thickness of barrel makes it easy to hold for long periods of time

Cons

it may work out cheaper (depending on sales and specials) to buy a complete set of another brand rather than by set by set
open stock pencils are not available for sale on online platforms. Individual pencils have to be ordered via email to the company. This could result in delays in obtaining replacement pencils. I have not ordered replacement pencils and am unable to state what the process and shipping time is.
depending on what you like to color, you may find that the pencils do not offer the variety of colors in the tones that you prefer when compared to artist brands

Summary

I am very happy with my purchase of the complete set of Black Widow Colored Pencils. I have had my Black Widow and Scorpion sets for a long time and even though I have used them a lot they have not worn down. The Monarch and Skin Tone sets I acquired this year. I love the Monarch set and the colors in the skin tones set. However, I am not used to working with the colors in the Skin Tone Light set as the colors are outside my comfort zone. I have heard artists that specialize in portraiture say that the colors that make up a skin tone include colors like blues, purples, yellows, and oranges ….but I have not yet extended myself to try those techniques. Having the Skin Tone sets may help me be a bit more adventurous with my portrait colors and even if it does not they make a nice compliment to the other sets.

One of the things that I like the most about the Black Widow pencils is that they are smooth, creamy, and soft like my beloved Prismacolors. However, unlike my Prismacolors, they don’t seem to build up a slickness of wax or a wax bloom. The slight firmness of the pencil seems like Goldilocks …just right. The firmness for me is between a Prismacolor and a Polychromo …not too soft and not too hard.