Amazon Basics Premium Colored Pencils

So I got these on a deal for $3 and not really expecting too much. Surprisingly these are pigmented and have very nice color to them. The color selection is very good. However where they are cheap I can tell the difference between Prismacolors and Amazon Basics. They are a little bit slick and plastic feeling when holding the pencil making them slightly uncomfortable to color with. They sharpen very well. They are not lightfast like prismas but behave like prismas without the breakages. Overall, the Amazon Basics are not lightfast at all and will fade. Amazon Basics are slightly lighter in color than prismacolors, but not by much. The size of the barrel is just a normal colored pencil size. I love the tin case it comes in. The cores of the pencil are centered well with thick cores. The overall coloring experience and performance of these pencils are good as they are easy to blend. These pencils are of good value, but not artists quality. I’d recommend these pencils if you’re on a budget and color for leisure or for fun. If you can catch a prismacolor on sale and more serious about your artwork, you’re much better off spending money on prismacolor or the other pricey brands for lightfastness. *Update 1 year later, one star lost* So the more they’ve been used, the more problems I realize there are. At first they seemed to have sharpened well per color, but I ended up experiencing some above average breakages with these pencils. I don’t press down when coloring as I work in light layers so it’s a bit strange that these breakages occur. The more artwork I’ve done with them, the more I realize the colors are scratchier and not as saturated as I like compared to other pencils I’ve used. They don’t like to layer or mix very much at all as they seem to layer on top of each other instead. I discovered that this was a problem when I was working on clothes for an anime portrait. My lady unfortunately faded a year later and the color just isn’t like what it was when it was first put down. Actually within 4 months I could tell a difference in the fading. The pinks literally disappear and some colors actually change color overtime. I still stand behind what I said that there are better pencils out there. This set is named appropriately in that these are just basic pencils and only ok for coloring but not for serious artwork. There isn’t anything special about these pencils as they are basic as they come. Good artwork can come of it but don’t expect any exceptional results when you start to use and start seeing the reasons why these are cheap. If you like the price like I did, then expect those $23 results for 72 pencils or $3 for 24 pencils. For $23, you can find better pencils even if you don’t get as many colors. For $23 dollars you can afford a small set of Prismacolors, 12 Polychromos, the Goldfabers and even the Derwent drawing pencils (not the lightfast, chromaflow or pro color, but specifically Derwent drawing) which give or take is a few dollars more or less depending what set size you get. Anyone will be able to see a drastic change in the performance and lightfastness of a good pencil compared to the Amazon basics. There’s a nice budget pencil called SJ Starjoy that comes with a nice canvas cases that’s just a few $$ more with a larger selection, It would be easy to see how special those artist grade pencils really are compared to a set like this. Would I recommend this set still after a year later? Yes and no. Yes if you want these for your kids or basic coloring. Absolutely no for artists.