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Marco Renoir Pencils

31/3/2016

24 Comments

 
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​Renoir pencils by Chinese brand Marco are the big brother of the more well known 'Raffine', which are extremely popular around colouring groups at the moment. Although Renoir are marketed as higher quality pencils they are still fairly cheap at just £25 for the maximum set of 72. This matches the number count of Raffine and the leads are much better.
First Impressions
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Each pencil has a bare wood barrel with a glossy dipped tip that denotes the lead colour. The tips and lead mostly match but there is some instances when they are quite different- particularly a medium brown which has a green-gold look when marked on paper. For the most part though, the colours and the tips match well. The pencils are numbered from 1-48 but are not ordered by shade; white is o1 and black is 10 for example. They have an even thicker lead than Raffines at 3.7mm, so are strong and durable.

Performance
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Varying pressure
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Quick blends

Like Raffine, Renoir are oil-based, yet they feel much creamier to lay down on the page. They compare to buttery leads like Prismacolor (even though the latter is wax based), so if you're looking for something much softer that is easier to blend, Renoir would be your best bet. I wouldn't say they're as good as Prismas, but certainly the closest thing you're going to get for such a low price. The colours are vibrant without having to put a lot of force on the pencil.

Blending is good as the soft leads merge well together. If you use anything less than hard pressure you're able to see quite a lot of white space, giving them the feel of oil pastels. 



Erasing, Smudging & Sharpening
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from Colouring for Two by Sarah Janisse Brown
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Renoir erase much better than Prisma due to the oil lead, ideally using a battery powered eraser to maximize the amount of pigment you can lift from the paper. I don't think you can erase quite so much of the Renoir as the Raffine, probably because these are a thicker, denser lead with much creamier colour.

Unless you rub a heavy hand over these pencils straight after colouring they do not smudge.

These pencils sharpen very well in comparison to Raffine, seeming much stronger in general. I haven't experienced any broken leads up to now. They do not crumble when colouring with a sharp point.



Value
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These pencils come in sets of 24, 36, 48 & 72, ranging in price from around £16 to £25. Each set is presented in a professional looking tin decorated with fine art that has been coloured with Renoir. These are fulfilled by Amazon so you don't have to wait for delivery from China.

Conclusion
If you want something about as creamy as Prismacolor for a lower price tag, try out the Renoir first- they perform very similarly and have a decent starter range of colours. Those who like Raffine but find them too hard will likely prefer Renoir, as will those who struggle to colour with too much hand pressure.

I was given these pencils in exchange for an honest review. You can find them on Amazon here:
Feelily MARCO Renior 24 Colouring Pencils with Tin Case, Coloured Drawing Pencils for Kid/Adult/Artist/Coloring Lover Sketching, Drawing and Colouring (24 colour)
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24 Comments
Jessica J
31/3/2016 09:56:21 pm

Thank you for this review! I've had these on my wish list for awhile, and was wanting to know more about them, and you have provided me with the info I was looking for! Thank you!

Reply
Linda Sabry
1/4/2016 11:56:57 am

Hi Claire
There is a 72 set available on Ebay. Ebay had the other sets before anyone else so hopefully we'll soon be seeing them on Amazon too. They're coming direct from China so will take ages to arrive x

Reply
Cloudy link
14/4/2016 11:08:35 pm

I was given a set a while back to review on my blog from the same seller as Claire, they are shipped from the UK and if you have prime you can get them the next day :)

They cost a bit more from this seller, but you get them a lot quicker. This seller stocks the Raffines ( which come in 72) and the Renoirs and Eco Plus, all three ship from the UK. They don't charge for UK delivery either so if you dint have Prime you're not gonna get hammered with shipping fees. I was very lucky to be contacted by the seller to review the Marco range (I paid for my Raffines at full price though) but if you are thinking of buying any of the Marco pencils, I recommend joint amz review trader as you can currently get the 72 set of Raffines for under £6, the 48 set of Renoirs for £10, 48 Eco plus for £5, all shipped from uk, it's why so many of the reviews say "I got this at discount" on Amazon, they are getting discount codes from amz from Taotree and Feelily in exchange for reviews.

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Joan Riwan
2/4/2016 11:04:48 pm

I was about to order Raffine, when I read your review I went for the Renoir. I had a gift certificate for Amazon, so went for the 48 box. They shoukd be here middle of the week. I can't wait!

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Radhika Kishore
12/7/2016 08:48:24 am

I need to buy a colour pencil set.. I was thinking to buy raffine but after reading this I changed my mind..
I just wanted to ask that if Renoir can also be used like water pencils.

Reply
Claire
12/7/2016 08:49:53 am

Hi Radhika,

I'm afraid they don't have watercolour properties x

Reply
Radhika Kishore
12/7/2016 09:03:40 am

Ohh can u please suggest me a set which can be used either ways.
Thank you !

Fiza
14/10/2016 12:55:48 pm

Renoir does have watercolor pencils. You can find them online. I saw them before :)

Chantal van den Dool
14/9/2016 04:11:05 pm

Radhika, they have the Rafinne in water color pencils ;)

Reply
Nido
19/8/2017 09:29:23 pm

The do have a watercolour range and mode number should be 3120. The have a blue strip on the pencil.

Claire
12/7/2016 09:27:37 am

These are great: http://amzn.to/29Als8A

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Celes
1/6/2017 01:26:51 am

Claire, the Marco renoir also has a watercolour version.

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Tricia M
12/8/2016 08:53:30 am

I would love to have these pencils. I think that I'm addicted to pencils. Unfortunately these are way too expensive for my pocket.

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Martin Reina
2/9/2016 07:29:56 am

New 100 pencils set Marco Renoir in Aliexpress

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Marjorie Laigue
23/11/2016 10:05:47 am

I bought one! 😍

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Celes
1/6/2017 01:27:16 am

Me three!

Jana Dean link
27/9/2016 01:58:50 am

Is there a difference between the Marco Renoir 72 count pencil set and the 100 count pencil set? Is the only difference that the 100 count have 28 more different colors?

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Fred B.
15/12/2016 11:35:52 am

Thank you for this review. Theses pencils come also in a 100 pencils tin.

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Jessica Savoie-Martin
19/1/2017 04:06:36 am

I wonder how you would compare these to another oil based pencil such as Fc polychromos or Lyra. I have the renoirs but not the pricier polychromos. I like my renoirs and would order another set but I would also like to try an even better pencil pending comparisons.

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Sybil
25/8/2017 08:30:27 am

Hi

How do you know they are oil based not wax based pencils?

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jackie aisbitt
22/9/2017 11:58:35 am

hi i wanted to check.. i have marco renoir set of 100 i got off wish site, but then is there a set of marco renoir watercolor? not sure of the difference or what are they called so i can order a set of watercolor .. what would be a good set

Reply
Desmoond Townsend
21/3/2018 08:39:32 pm

Hello please can you tell me if they are good for animals and landscape drawings and make them life like...and also is watercolor paper ok to use them on...thank you very much.yours sincerely Mr Desmond Townsend

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Claire
22/3/2018 08:03:46 am

Yes and yes :)

Reply
Desmoond Townsend
22/3/2018 11:19:05 pm

Dear CLAIRE ear you very much for your help and I look forward to using them yours sincerely Mr Desmond Townsend


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©Claire Eadie 2015
  • ~Home~
  • ~My Story~
  • ~Mental Health~
  • ~My Illustrations~
  • ~Beginner's Guide to Colouring~
  • ~Tutorials~
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  • ~Arts & Crafts Reviews~
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  • ~Colouring Challenges~
  • ~Gemstones~
  • ~The Color Catalog~
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