What are your favorite colored pencils and why?

Question: What are your favorite colored pencils and why!?

I have been using my prismacolors but I have found that Derwent and Faber Castells are also popular any advice as my birdthday is coming up and I'm asking for new art supplies!. Other brand suggestions are good too!Www@QuestionHome@Com

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:

The three brands you mentioned are good!. Cheaper brands are more likely to fade, and they have more filler, making the pigments weaker or lighter!.

In the field I like my Ko-I-Noor Progresso woodless set of 24 !. !. !.

Have you checked out CPSA!.org !? Their website has the winners of their annual international exhibitions !. !. !.some amazing art! (I got accepted once but was not one of the "big" winners!.) They have links and sponsors, some of whom are colored pencil manufacturers!. I am a member of both the national and the local chapters of CPSA!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

I like Faber Castell Polychromos colored pencils!.
http://www!.dickblick!.com/zz205/61/
I have owned Primacolors, and they are good!. But I feel Polychromos are the best:
They are soft!.
Yet they do not break easily, like when being sharpened, as much as other do!.
They are richly pigmented, blend well,
And there is a wide assortment of pigments available!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

I am also collecting cheeper brands of colored pencils in order to supplement the prismacolors!. If I need a very grey or faded red to match an atmosphere effect, I can use a cheeper brand!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

I really like Prismacolors because they are soft-so they blend really well!. And they have a huge variety of colors!.Www@QuestionHome@Com