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Lightfast FAQs

Lightfast FAQs

Interested in trying out our Lightfast pencil range but you have some questions? Visit our FAQs page to find out more information on this amazing range of pencils.

Read our Lightfast FAQs
Procolour FAQs

Procolour FAQs

Interested in trying out our Procolour range but you have some questions? Visit our FAQs page to find out more information on this amazing range of pencils.

Read our Procolour FAQs
Are Derwent products vegan friendly?

Are Derwent products vegan friendly?

See our list of ranges that contain no animal products.

Vegan Friendly Products List
Inktense FAQs

Inktense FAQs

Interested in trying out our Inktense collection but you have some questions? Visit our FAQs page to find out more information on these amazing product ranges.

Read our Inktense FAQs
Inktense and Lightfast Paper

Inktense and Lightfast Paper

Interested in trying out our Inktense and Lightfast Paper, but you have some questions? Visit our FAQs page to find out more information on these amazing products.

Read our Paper FAQs
Chromaflow FAQs

Chromaflow FAQs

Interested in trying out our Chromaflow range but you have some questions? Visit our FAQs page to find out more information on this amazing range of pencils.

Read our Chromaflow FAQs

What is the difference between the Derwent product categories?

For a full, detailed overview of our product ranges, click here to view our product matrix.

Professional

Drawing

Drawing

As the name suggests, our product ranges under the drawing category are designed for drawing and sketching. With graphic pencils, sketching pencils, graphite and charcoal products available, and with different variations of these mediums on offer, there is something suitable for every artist wanting to sketch and draw.

View our Drawing range
Colouring

Colouring

Again as the name suggests, Derwent’s colour pencil ranges are used for adding colour to your artwork. With 8 different pencil types available in many different textures, colours, core sizes, colour intensity and ability to blend and layer, there is certainly something on offer that you can use to add colour to your artwork.

View our Colouring range
Water-Soluble

Water-Soluble

Derwent’s water-soluble products can be used dry or with water to create brilliant effects. Watercolour pencils have a soft texture and once dry are not permanent. Inktense are vibrant colours that dry to a permanent ink finish that you can work over (available in blocks, pencils and paint formulas). Some of our sketching and drawing products are also water-soluble.

View our Water-Soluble range
Accessories

Accessories

Whether you need erasers, pencil sharpeners, storage solutions, sketch books and journals, waterbrushes and brushes or drawing aids, the accessories section is where you will find these.

View our Accessories range

Pens

We currently have 2 lines in our pens range but that doesn’t mean you are limited with what you can create. 

Paint Pens

Paint Pens

If you are looking for something more suited to creative drawing and painting, then try Derwent’s Paint Pens. Permanent, highly lightfast and opaque with 20 colours. Create fine lines, large layers of colour or even exciting splatters. Our paint pens are also water-soluble, so dilute with water to create transparent washes, that once dry are permanent and fixed.

View our Paint Pens range
Line Makers

Line Makers

Use our Line Makers to create sketches, drawings and writing from superfine, free-flowing permanent water-based pigment ink. Available in 9 colours and up to 6 nib sizes (black only) so you can get the precision you need whether in the studio or on location.

View our Line Makers range

Hobby (Derwent Academy™)

Our Derwent Academy™ range has been created for aspiring artists wishing to develop and improve their skills. With pencils, markers, paints and pastels, there is something for everyone to use to dive into the world of art and give it a go.

Our Derwent Academy™ range has been created for aspiring artists wishing to develop and improve their skills. With pencils, markers, paints and pastels, there is something for everyone to use to dive into the world of art and give it a go.

View our Derwent Academy range

Children (Derwent Lakeland)

Derwent Lakeland pencils combine high quality with excellent value for money, all with features, styles and grips that suit little hands best. With colouring pencils, painting pencils and drawing pencils, this range is great for children starting out in the art world. Lakeland is suitable for children aged 4 – 10 years old.

Derwent Lakeland pencils combine high quality with excellent value for money, all with features, styles and grips that suit little hands best. With colouring pencils, painting pencils and drawing pencils, this range is great for children starting out in the art world. Lakeland is suitable for children aged 4 – 10 years old.

View our Lakeland range

More questions

What is the best way to sharpen my Derwent products?

We have created a handy sharpening guide to give you some tips on how best to sharpen your pencils. View our Sharpening Guide here.
For our range of pencil sharpeners, click here.

What gives a pencil its texture?

All the ingredients play a part. High levels of pigment will tend to make a pencil hard. The amount and type of wax will define how it interacts with the paper.

What is lightfastness?
A measure of how quickly something will change when exposed to UV light (sunlight). Light can cause colour to whiten, darken, fade or completely disappear. Lightfastness refers to the chemical stability of a pigment under long exposure to light. Our colours are rated on a scale of 1 to 8, the higher the number the better lightfast rating it has, so a colour with a rating of 8 will react more slowly when exposed to light. Find out more about lightfastness testing here.

What's the difference between the graphite degrees?
B stands for BLACK and H stands for HARD. 9B is very soft & black and 9H is very hard & pale in shade. HB is half way between the two. F degree was made (stands for FINE) for doing shorthand in the days before computers!

How are degrees made and controlled?
By varying the proportions of clay and graphite. More graphite means a softer, blacker degree. More clay means a harder degree. HB has 50:50 clay and graphite.

I am having issues with my Derwent Paint Pen, what can I do?
We have put together this handy complete guide to give you some tips on how to use and clean your Paint Pens so they should work correctly. View the Paint Pen guide here.
Is the Inktense range permanent?

Yes, the Inktense pencils and blocks, once the pigment is dissolved fully in water, become permanent when dry. You can then work on top of this layer. The colour is vibrant and like an ink. Learn more about the range here.

My pastel pencil won’t sharpen, it keeps breaking. 

Pastels are more delicate than normal pencils so they need to be handled with care during sharpening. Also the materials used to make pastel pencils are more abrasive than the materials in other pencils so the blades in sharpeners and craft knives will blunt more quickly. We recommend using a craft knife or special pastel sharpener (buy here) and replacing them regularly to keep the blades sharp. For more tips, view our sharpening guide.

How can we identify when a particular batch of pencils was made?   
Each batch has a date code stamped on next to the imprint. This identifies the week that batch was made. From that we can trace the exact details of when the pencils were manufactured: the day, the operator, the machine etc.

Are Derwent pencils non-toxic?
Yes, all of our pencils are non-toxic. Please view our safety data sheets for more information

Can I buy loose pencils or are they only available in tins?
Loose pencils from all our Derwent ranges are available to buy individually. Visit our website to search the range you are interested in or alternatively, contact your local store to see if they have the colour you need in stock.