Product Review: Staedtler Watercolor Crayons

I have been really interested in picking up some watercolor crayons since I have looked at other art journals, and saw the amazing work done with watercolor crayons.

I was thrilled when my local craft store, Artco, had the Staedtler Karat Aquarell Premium Watercolor Crayons. I grabbed the pack and happily made my way home to play with my new treasure. I am a huge fan of Staedtler products, so I figured this was a sure bet.

The Staedtler Crayons are very firm, and do not melt in water, so they are quite durable for wet applications. They may be used plain, or colored and then washed with water, or on a wet surface.

I was hoping for buildable, bright, vibrant colors. The Staedtler did not deliver. The dry application was difficult due to the firmness of the crayon. Blending with a water brush took a lot of water, and put more fragile applications at risk of warping, such as coloring in stamps. At best, the application seemed scratchy, and the water dilution was mediocre.
The red and the white on this swatch are the Staedtler crayons. It took a lot of pressure and some reworking to get the color as it is.

The red on the picture to the right shows the diluted application, and a watercolor pan or acrylics would have given a more vibrant outcome.

Overall, buy something else. I'm sorry. I will play with them some more, and if I figure out the right technique, I will re-share. For now, save your money.

Rating 1/5

~Venetia