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Marco Raffine Pencils

27/3/2016

31 Comments

 
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Raffine coloured pencils by Chinese brand Marco are part of their artists' range, and have been a popular choice around the colouring groups for budget pencils that perform well. I've had my set of Raffines for almost a month now and I can certainly attest to the fact that they are very decent pencils for their price bracket. They do have some not so favourable points, but for the majority of colourists these pencils will rival larger brands like Polychromos on performance and certainly on price. ​I've had so many people ask me if cheap pencils really can give good effects, so I've attempted to demonstrate the full capabilities of these pencils to show that it really can be done!

First Impressions

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The barrels are slim and hexagonal shaped for a comfortable grip, with a colour dipped end that is generally true to the core shade. They're uniform in their silver body, each one stamped in black with the Marco name and individual colour number. The full set of numbers range from 501-572 and are predominantly ordered by shade, though certain pencils seem darker in tone than the next. The pencils are very light in the hand and have a dense 3.3mm lead which seems strong and solid.

Performance
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Varying Pressures
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Quick Blends
The pencils are oil based, like Polychromos, but feel a little harder. You have to use quite a bit of pressure to eliminate all white spots, but a normal stroke gives a brilliant amount of pigment. They're definitely better than other pencils in this price bracket, which I think has everything to do with the oil core instead of the more standard wax. 
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Blending is reasonably good- but not as seamless as higher grade leads. You have to work a lot harder with Raffines to achieve a gradient, but it can be done. They're just not as soft as they need to be for a totally flawless blend, but again are still a superior choice if on a budget. Check out this quick illustration I coloured with them to test the blending capabilities. I was taken aback by how good they were for such a low price.
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from Coloring For Two by Sarah Janisse Brown
Erasing, Smudging & Sharpening
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Raffines erase as well as, if not better, than Polychromos, another benefit to the oil lead. I use Derwent Electric Eraser which lifts more pigment than manual rubbers, so it might be worth investing a few quid if you nudge out of the lines a lot like me.

The pencils will only smudge slightly if a heavy hand is swept over them straight away, but if you blow off the pencil dust before handling your picture the colour sets well into the page.

Sharpening wasn't as good an experience in my trial unfortunately. Although the leads are fairly hard, it's extremely difficult to maintain to a needle-sharp point without them crumbling at the tip. Most of the pencils have sharpened without breakages but a couple have not 
fared well like my Yellow-Orange in the picture. This could be due to damage in transport, so I can't say this is true for every pack of Raffines- I just couldn't get mine to keep that fine point. The thickness of the leads does give them strength when they leads are at normal length though.

Value

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Incredible value. That's all I can say really! The 72 count, which is a huge number of colours for budget pencils, are around £16-20 in the box and £30 in a tin. Prices vary everywhere, but I got mine from DanielsBigMarket on Etsy. They are also available in sets of 24, 36, 48 & 60, and are usually shipped from China so there will be a wait.

Conclusion
When anyone asks for a cheap pencil recommendation, I'm going to point them towards Marco Raffine every time. The vibrant laydown of pigment on and variety of shades blows all the other budget pencils out of the water! You've seen one of the pictures I coloured with them earlier, but how about a step-by-step of me colouring an intricate picture with blends and shading galore? I worked on this for days with the smallest & cheapest set - 24 - to show you that Raffines CAN give amazing results, proving that you don't need to spend a lot of money to create great effects!

Click here to see the Flipagram of each step. The book is Imagimorphia by Kerby Rosanes which I will be reviewing closer to its release in May.
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31 Comments
Michelle Wadeson
27/3/2016 01:03:47 pm

Don't know of anyone not liking MR - the great thing is more colour choices are now accessible for most. BUT it is largely due to the person's artistic ability - an artist can use anything and make it look good. Thanks for another great review and WOW on your awesome Imagimorphia pic - you absolutely nailed it! 😀

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Claire
27/3/2016 02:54:39 pm

I agree, but I am not a talented artist or someone who has knowledge of blending & shading. A year ago I couldn't have coloured this as well as I have now; it's techniques I've picked up watching other people, so anyone can do it :)

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Eve Toong
27/3/2016 02:07:09 pm

Thank you for your feedback n info. Lovely colouring!

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Diniah link
27/3/2016 03:45:28 pm

I absolutely love these pencils. I've used them in most of the images I've done since I got them (all over my Instagram lol), and have little bad to say about them. I've only had a few problems sharpening them, mostly user error. Breakage has only happened on one or two, so most likely the shipping (I bought from Ebay for under 20 USD, and they shipped from China). Very much a thumbs up on this one :)

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Tracy
27/3/2016 05:33:07 pm

I have been looking for some cheaper pencils. Thank you for the review i will get looking now

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Kate link
27/3/2016 08:29:42 pm

I love reading your reviews of colouring books, I noticed that part of your postcode is NG1, I come from Nottingham so I think you must live in the Nottingham area.

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Jessica J
27/3/2016 09:08:55 pm

I noticed the same problem with sharpening... you can get it sharpened to a needle point tip, but once you lay it to the paper, the tip crumbles, no matter how gentle you are. However, I love the look that Marcos give with their oil-based leads. So, I definitely will keep them around. I just wish they had open-stock buying options like Prismas.

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kanga
27/3/2016 10:01:28 pm

72 pack $20 australian--aliexpress ---bargain!

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Shelley Jessup
2/4/2016 10:11:59 pm

Thank you for this wonderful review I have been looking for some help when it comes to purchasing cheap but good colouring items & these look wonderful.

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Karen
8/4/2016 07:05:24 pm

Love reading about the products and hints and ideas......GREAT WORK

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Pauline
9/4/2016 12:55:20 am

I've been seeing colorists using this brand but only stumbled on one review in YT. It's nice to read another review. I will definitely consider them once I used up my student grade faber castell classics.

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Kvitkapaporoti
9/4/2016 02:02:38 pm

I have these pencils, it's good for its price. Thank you for review!

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Courtney Tomasu
18/4/2016 06:21:31 pm

I just ordered these and am anxiously awaiting them. But there's a part of me that has buyer's regret already....I kinda wish I had bought the Renoir instead. But I will be patient and just just see how I like the Raffine first :P Thank you for the review and swatches

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Rusco
28/4/2016 11:36:16 pm

Courtney, I purchased the Renoirs before I got the Raffines. The Renoirs arrived with many broken tips however, worst was that some also had broken cores which made sharpening impossible. I found the Renoirs variable in laying down the colour, some being very soft and some scratchy. IMO the Raffines are the better buy.

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Rusco
28/4/2016 11:31:41 pm

Thanks Claire! I mention this as I do not recall you doing so, the Marco Raffines are not available in open stock and therefore replacement pencils are not available.

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Tracey Peach
11/8/2016 08:23:46 pm

Thank you for this review I now have them on my want list & hopefully will have some soon :)

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Christine
16/2/2017 03:09:02 pm

Hi, I found out by accident, when I was applying a watercolour background, that the Raffines are water-dissolvable. So they're really a watercolour pencil, even though they don't say that. And I think my 50 set of Crayolas give better colour laydown.

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Helen
12/3/2017 12:00:18 pm

I have just found out(by mistake) that the raffines are water soluble,hence the reason for checking out this page. My raffine pencils look slightly different,as the MARCO logo stamped on pencil is in plain text.no fancy 'M'.

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Nido
19/8/2017 09:25:36 pm

There is 2 type of Raffine, one is oil base and one is watercolour. If you brought the one that comes with the brush it will be watercolour pencils.

The model number for oil base i believe is 7100 and the watercolour one is 7120.

Tammy
16/10/2017 10:36:57 am

I also got a set of these pencils and they are also water soluble. Someone wrote that those with model number 7100 are oil based and 7120 are water soluble. Mine are clearly marked 7100 so if this information is true, they have a whole batch of colored pencils with the incorrect model number! I actually liked the pencils but I wasnt looking for water soluble. I wanted something that was different in texture etc to my Prismacolor Premiers. So, I have gone ahead and ordered the Prismacolor Scholars to use with my Premiers.

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Jayne
23/2/2017 11:25:48 am

I'm new to colouring so was really glad to find your reviews here. But am interested to know if the Raffines are better than WHSmith Blendables which I inherited from my children!? I've already made a small error in purchasing some upmarket pencils and they were too hard to blend. I love my soft ancient tatty WHS blendable colouring pencils but want to replace them.

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Charlene Rhodes
20/8/2017 11:25:25 am

I just love it there are loosely or closely knit groups of people making art. I must have been in a cave the last 3 years

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Provini Pierre
30/12/2017 09:54:07 pm

Hi Claire ! Thank you a lot about your feeback. Can I translate your review in french for my online shop (actually in construction). I will link your blog and you will win a lot of french artist !

Best Regard Pierre (you can contact me with my email or here)

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Claire
31/12/2017 04:52:37 pm

Hi Pierre,

Yes you can- please send me the link when it's up!

Claire x

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Mary ann manders
14/1/2018 09:22:21 pm

I am looking to replace two lost pencils Anyone know where I can go

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Claire Berry
15/5/2018 09:55:48 pm

I would like to know the names of the colour for the Marco Raffine 72 art coloured pencils. Is there a chart I can dowload thank you

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Claire
16/5/2018 08:23:42 am

Hi Claire, I don't think the Raffine have names, just numbers x

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Caroline-Jean
23/8/2018 02:18:04 pm

These pencils are a great cheaper alternative, I'm using mine for taking out and about rather than taking my considerably more expensive caran d'ache pablo's! Just bought my boxed set of 72 on eBay for £8.98 (£5.99 + £2.99 p&p) that works out at 12.5p a pencil!!! Absolutely Bargain, I'm so pleased with them!

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Mathona Moore link
18/1/2020 11:16:29 pm

Thank you. I'm going to check these out. A person here said, he paid 20 dollars for 72 from Ali Express.com. That's still great value but I hate being ripped off! At a glance, yours do sound better value mind. Xx

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Yasmine
11/2/2019 09:43:26 am

Hello Claire, I would like to know which pencil sharpener I can use for Raffiné pencils?
Thanks for your help!

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Claire
11/2/2019 10:02:59 am

Hi Yasmine, I use this one: https://amzn.to/2GlOZqf

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©Claire Eadie 2015
  • ~Home~
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  • ~Mental Health~
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  • ~Colouring Challenges~
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