Watercolour Pencils by Stabilo: Aquacolor

Watercolour Pencils by Stabilo: Aquacolor

Like everyone else, I discovered the German brand Stabilo at school

Recently, I tested the range Aquacolor pencils. I share my review with you in this following post.

Stabilo, let’s go!

During my school life, I had a whole assortment of STABILO pens. You know, the very famous pens with a thin hexagonal handle punctuated with white lines. The Pen 68 is one of the great classics of the school world for colouring pages: geography maps or illustrating a poetry notebook is a real treat with these pens.

Over the years, I continued to follow Stabilo to enrich my personal creative process at my studio.

In 2022, the arty range of STABILO Aquacolor caught my attention.

Hey, a new range of Stabilo pencils that can be used both dry and with a brush soaked in water? Mhmmm interesting… I’m testing!

STABILOaquacolor: My User Review

• Good assortment of colours;
• Good compromise between school and professional use with a good price-quality ratio;
• Tip (2.8mm diam.) with a smooth line and debris free (be careful it wears out fast);
• Intense, and vibrant colours that layer easily for gradients;
• Good dry performance;
• Pencils pleasant to the touch;
• The white works like a dry blender to tone down the colours;
• These pencils don’t like falling on the floor.

STABILOaquacolor: Techniques

Here is a non-exhaustive list that gives you the range of possible uses with these pencils:

• Watercolour
• Lettering
• Bullet journal
• Creative diary
• Mark-making
• Hirameki Technique
• Drawing
• Comic Strip
• Manga drawings
• Fashion designs

GOOD TO KNOW : These products are currently available at GreatArt Online or in the art supply shop in London Shoreditch

STABILOaquacolor: Watercolour Artworks

STABILOaquacolor pencils are really pleasant to use and allow rather surprising effects on paper. The results even exceeded my expectations.

For people who are just starting out or artists who are looking for extra watercolours to supplement an existing stock in the workshop, or simply to give free rein to their creativity when travelling, these pencils are a good compromise.

You can wet the tip of the pencil or use a brush in addition.

Once wet, the colour stays pigmented and releases from the pencil point smoothly. Depending on the pressure exerted on the tip of the pencil, it is possible to obtain as much or as little saturated colour as you want after the application of water.

To fully enjoy the magic of watercolour, it is necessary to equip yourself with good paper (preferably cotton) and a brush (here, the fine point adapts better to watercolour pencils)

For your information, the Aquacolours are packaged in a rigid cardboard sleeve but personally I did not wish to keep it because I always prefer to store my pencils upside down in a jar but the choice is yours.

GOOD TO KNOW: When I miss certain colours, I then mix StabiloAquacolor with Derwent or Faber-Castell.

STABILOaquacolor: In my Studio

In this demonstration, I used Aquapad by Clairefontaine (300gsm, fine grain watercolour paper) and a reservoir brush to facilitate my creative process.

Content provided by Amylee Paris

The passion of Amylee, fine artist and author is to share her paintings between galleries, art collectors and her community. Amylee is also recognized as one of the most influential French artist-entrepreneurs. Since 2009 she has mentored thousands of visual artists guiding them to thriving their art career.

You can visit her colourful portfolio,follow her on Facebook and Instagram, or find all Amylee’s posts published in GreatArt online Magazineby clicking here!