Comments on: Faber-Castell Pitt Oil Base pencil

By: penciladmin

penciladmin — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 01:21:44 +0000

Bekah, thanks for sharing your findings. It sounds like you enjoy ‘classical’ media.

By: Bekah

Bekah — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 00:15:40 +0000

This is my new favorite pencil. It’s firm enough to hold a point pretty nicely. It is dark black, instead of silvery like graphite. It will smudge. I like the flexibility to use a tortilion to even out a lightly applied area to a light grey (filling in the grain of the paper). I can also make very dark black with some pressure. It semi-erases. I got a 3-pack of the black medium, black extra-soft, and sanguine at a Utrecht store. The sanguine is a bit too light for my taste (not as dark as my conte stick) so I decided I’d get more of just the soft black. The singles are back ordered at the Utrecht site. For some reason, it’s hard to do a search on the Faber Castell site, so I’ll supply the entire link here for anyone else interested in a 12-pack: http://artgraphic.fabercastell.com/products/product_detail.aspx?id=EFE00390C6BF49DF9927991115C617F2

By: Regina

Regina — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 00:26:04 +0000

I have used these. They are still smudgy, just not dusty like regular charcoal. I like them a lot for their rich color. They are my number one “charcoal pencil” choice.

By: richard serra

richard serra — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 03:27:21 +0000

NYCentral Art carries them.

By: yetanothermike

yetanothermike — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 02:16:51 +0000

You’re welcome! I go to one of the Art Institutes main usage of these is 2d animation: Our school uses 2D to ingrain in us the principles of animation so that we ca be better 3d animators, as it’s technically a 3D program. What we’re recommended to use Prismacolor’s col-erase pencils, since they’re supposed to be as bold as a grease pencil, but they were too hard for me. So I kept trying anything the art stores had to offer until I found something softer and slightly erasable, yet didn’t smudge so easily (which is hard to tell because the paper that the store has to sample pencils smudges everything!). So far I’ve settled to using the PITT pencils, but I’ve also found a similar (competing?) product by generals called “Generals ‘Wet-Proof’ U.S.A. -881.” They’re almost indistinguishable in terms of their properties, but it only comes in a single grade. I also use the “PITT OIL BASE” for general drawing purposes. I didn’t see any color variations in any stores yet, now I’ll be on the hunt for them as well…

By: Geo. B

Geo. B — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 04:31:43 +0000

For number of years I have used the Faber-Castell PITT OIL BASE red pencil, marked ROTEL/SANGUINE to draw with. It’s a delight, doesn’t smear, marked with the 3 stars, glad to learn what they mean.

By: Mike

Mike — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 21:09:10 +0000

Oh wait, I have one more thing to say. I thought of this because of Jason’s question. Faber Castell also makes charcoal pencils which for some odd reason has PITT PASTEL written on them. This is very confusing because they are a charcoal pencil and they look very similar to the oil graphite pencil. They do have their differences though, so it’s possible to tell them apart.

The Pitt charcoal pencils have the ends of the pencil fully dipped in black paint, and have PITT PASTEL written on them as well, they also have asterisks on them to represent the hardness of the charcoal.

The oil based graphite pencils only have the very tip dipped in black paint, just like in the picture up above. The Pitts with the oil based graphite say PITT OIL BASED, as well as having three dots, and a description of the graphite, soft, medium, hard, etc. Both pencils have the same natural wood finish.

So I hope I helped clear up that confusion.

By: Mike

Mike — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 19:40:39 +0000

Hey, I’m one of the Mikes (obviously), I think there are at least two others that have posted here with me on another thread. I don’t remember if I was the one who suggested the Pitt Pastel to you. I do however have some of these in my collection. Not that I’m a collector, I’m just a hobbyist that’s trying to learn how to draw.

They’re great pencils, they’re made from an oil based graphite. I don’t draw with them that often however. Mine came in a blister pack with some other Faber Castell products. I only bought it because of the Pitt pastels. If I saw these being sold in open stock I’d definitely buy a box.

One last thing if you’d like to see how one great artist/art instructor uses these pencils then go read this discussion on cartooning. The blog is written by Pete Emslie an instructor teaching at Sheridan College. http://cartooncave.blogspot.com/2007/11/cartoon-caveman-at-work.html

By: Jason

Jason — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 16:03:37 +0000

A couple of local stores (in Central Florida) carry these in open stock, but I haven’t really tried them yet. From the couple of strokes I took on scrap in the store, I seem to remember it having a consistency similar to that of General’s Primo Euro charcoal pencils. Smoother than normal charcoal pencils, very black, and relatively smudge-resistant. Does anyone have any idea what the core is made of in these pencils? It says Oil-Base on the barrel, but doesn’t indicate whether it’s charcoal, graphite, or what.

By: Edd Bagenal

Edd Bagenal — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 08:17:01 +0000

As a painter, using oil paints, this pencil
is a great alternative to graphite or charcoal
for drawing up onto canvas. It sits very well
under the turpentine/oil mix tonal underpainting
that is usually applied before thicker painting
in the final stages of making works in oils.

It’s a great pencil.

An old faithful favourite.

By: Alberto

Alberto — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 03:30:41 +0000

I have not tried these particular Faber Castell pencils, but I suspect that their properties are probably similar to the oil-based Cretacolor Nero 5.6 mm drawing leads. Thus, they might also be a good choice for sketching waterproof outlines that resist smudging and lay down rich dark marks fairly smoothly. They do not seem to be a common regular item offered by vendors in the US. Utrecht seems to be the only retailer to have them listed online by the box of 12 pencils.