On Test: Lyra Rembrandt Pencils & Strathmore Toned Paper

On Test: Lyra Rembrandt Pencils & Strathmore Toned Paper

In this blog publish Joanna Farrow puts the Lyra Rembrandt Charcoal, Sketching & Artwork Specials pencil sets through their paces. Joanna utilized Strathmore Sequence 400 Toned paper pads as her floor. Lets discover out how these solutions carried out.


The Lyra Rembrandt Pencil Sets

On Test: Lyra Rembrandt Pencils & Strathmore Toned Paper
The contents of the three Lyra Rembrandt pencils sets are pictured higher than. On the still left is the Art Specials Sketching set, in the centre is the Sketching established and on the correct the Charcoal set.

The assortment of drawing products contained in the Lyra Rembrandt sets and top quality of the Strathmore Toned pads presents a excellent basis for experimental and completed artworks. They are appropriate for novices as well as far more expert artists, irrespective of whether for land and seascapes, still lifestyle, determine drawing or portraits. Lets search at the sets in additional element.

Lyra Rembrandt Charcoal Set

Joanna Farrow drawing using the Rembrandt Lyra Charcoal set on Strathmore Series 400 Grey Toned Paper
Joanna Farrow drawing employing the Rembrandt Lyra Charcoal established on Strathmore Collection 400 Gray Toned Paper

The Lyra Rembrandt Charcoal set includes 12 assorted charcoal drawing resources and extras.

Tough and tender charcoal and carbon (a combination of charcoal and graphite) pencils make this set great for all forms of charcoal drawing.

The ‘paper blender’ supplies one way of smudging and smoothing charcoal and pastels all-around the paper. Use the suggestion for doing the job about more compact locations or on its side for larger regions. Build a related impact by working with your fingers or a piece of fabric or kitchen towel.

Image of charcoal blended with a paper stump and lifted with a putty rubber.

The kneadable, or ‘putty’ eraser operates in the similar way as a frequent, stable eraser. Push or mould your putty rubber into diverse shapes for functioning on more compact regions.  Use it to soften and blur parts and when blackened use it to make softer marks on the paper.

Build distinctive marks with the two measurements of charcoal sticks by functioning with them flat or on their edges.

Lyra Rembrandt Sketching Established

Carbon pencils used dry (left) on water misted paper (centre) and with water brushed over (right).
Carbon pencils made use of dry (left) on drinking water misted paper (centre) and with water brushed around (appropriate).

The Lyra Rembrandt Sketching set contains an assortment of significant excellent sketching pencils and sticks.

The sketching set is suitable for identifying the characteristics of both of those charcoal and oil based pencils as very well as pure charcoal and black and sepia pastel sticks.

Experiment with combining the distinctive finishes you can attain. The charcoal adhere and pastel blocks are great for shading, equally faint and darkish, whilst the pencils insert structure and form.

Function the challenging pastel adhere onto h2o misted paper for deep, abundant solid marks. Use the adhere like a paintbrush to press the wetted pastel all over the paper. At the time the paper is dry, add more detail on to the dried marks.

Lyra Rembrandt Artwork Specials Sketching Established

Image of the Art Specials set

The Lyra Rembrandt Artwork Specials Sketching Pencil established involves an assortment of superior high-quality drawing and sketching pencils.

This established is beautifully built for artists seeking to investigate the qualities and uses of diverse varieties of pencils.

The two shades of oil sketching pencils supply deep tones that don’t smudge or mix. They are hence superior for outdoor sketchbook drawing when you may not have entry to a fixative.

Carbon pencils, (combining charcoal and graphite) are significantly less ‘smudgy’ than a softer charcoal pencil.  They are excellent for linear scientific tests, and you are ready to however rub out and partly blend them.

Graphite Aquarell pencils have been used on dry and water misted paper.
Graphite Aquarell pencils have been utilized on dry (on the remaining) and water misted paper (on the proper)

Use Graphite Aquarell dry or moist.  Consider drawing with them onto paper that you have sprayed with a h2o mist. Or use them dry and then brush with drinking water to make a a little bit watercolour, inky finish.

Use the sanguine and sepia dry pencils dry or like the aquarelle, with water.

The white pastel pencil has a dry, chalky texture that blends nicely with the charcoal and carbon pencils to generate softer, gray tones.  Try layering white pastel in excess of charcoal and visa versa.

Strathmore Series 400 Toned Pads

An image of a Strathmore Series 400 Toned Grey Pad with some Lyra Rembrandt pencils

Strathmore Toned pads are 118gsm Spiral Certain Sketchbooks. They are acceptable for a array of drawing and sketching approaches.

This colour paper is mid-toned, indicating that you do not have to have to render these center values you. Utilise the medium tone of the paper to intentionally place the darkest of shadows or the brightest of highlights. This strategy saves time and permits you to emphasise those people dark and gentle worth. For dramatic consequences use this paper with the darkest graphite or charcoal and white or pale toned pencils, and genuinely make your drawings pop!

The Exam Benefits

Image of Strathmore & Rembrandt Lyra products

All of the drawing sets give more than enough comfortable, medium and really hard leads to create a wide variety of marks and textures on the paper.  Personally I discovered the charcoal set the most suited to my drawing style as I use the two charcoal and graphite pencils in my landscapes as perfectly as the sticks and blocks. The high-quality of each papers is good. Their mid tones offer a fantastic foundation for introducing light-weight highlights and darkish marks that a white area does not offer. 

I identified the papers clean and uncomplicated to layer contrasting tones above. The locations of the paper left simple had been of sufficiently superior good quality and confirmed the texture of the paper. My private desire is to use white paper for drawing but I can respect the benefits of the tonal papers, specifically as a draw for new artists.

So, by now you might have picked a single of these pencil sets and are raring to go with a drawing! Make certain you check out out my site put up Top Suggestions & Methods For A Effective Drawing for some useful assistance on generating some excellent drawings.


Following finishing a high-quality artwork diploma as a experienced university student, Joanna Farrow determined to focus on painting. She operates each in her dwelling studio, as nicely as at workshops with other artists in buy to encourage and create her strategies and procedures.  A large amount of Joanna’s operate is on canvas while her mediums are getting to be progressively diverse as she experiments with different combined media to boost her scope of procedures and competencies.  Joanna has exhibited at different artwork fairs and is represented by galleries in the South East.

Visit Joanna’s web site in this article www.artwork.joannafarrow.co.united kingdom and hold up to day with her on instagram.

Joanna is using part in the South East Open up Studio event in June 2022, find extra data here www.seos-artwork.org.