Beautiful range of colours. Bought as a beginner for a portrait class, however, I find I am really only using charcoal and soft pastels at this level. A range of colours specifically for portraits would have been appreciated. An unnecessary purchase at this level, unfortunately but maybe will be better used in future.

I bought the smallest set just out of curiosity, because they were a brand I hadn't used yet. I have used just about every other artist and student grade oil pastel sold in the US, and find they all have qualities that make them useful. However some stand out from the herd,and some don't. For me, these don't.The Faber Castell brand is very reliable,and these pastels have nothing really wrong with them. But, to me, they are not outstanding in any way compared to other brands in the student category. They are okay. I only bought the 12-piece set, and can only comment based on that. The dark colors would be hard to tell from an artist grade pastel. They seemed to lay down pretty smoothly and opaquely. The lighter tints were obviously waxier in texture and don't have ... MoreI bought the smallest set just out of curiosity, because they were a brand I hadn't used yet. I have used just about every other artist and student grade oil pastel sold in the US, and find they all have qualities that make them useful. However some stand out from the herd,and some don't. For me, these don't.The Faber Castell brand is very reliable,and these pastels have nothing really wrong with them. But, to me, they are not outstanding in any way compared to other brands in the student category. They are okay. I only bought the 12-piece set, and can only comment based on that. The dark colors would be hard to tell from an artist grade pastel. They seemed to lay down pretty smoothly and opaquely. The lighter tints were obviously waxier in texture and don't have the level of pigment that you would want for opacity.Other than that, the price per set is affordable, and these would be okay for beginning students, or for sketchbook use. I am neutral about recommending them - like I said, they are OK but not special.For what it's worth, if you are a beginner or need to save money, I would recommend the super-cheap Pentel oil pastels over these . Despite their price and student grade rating, they are quite nice in terms of pigment load, soft texture and range of colors.

I wish Dick Blick allowed editing of previous reviews. I bought these for plein air studies and sketches, and the nice size case & sleeve (which fit in my small backpack & won't fall open while I'm walking) and wrote the previous review after only sampling the colors and without wiping off the surface of the sticks first. Though they did not show a white surface haze, like some waxy student brands when you first get them, they did have a somewhat hard surface layer that wiped right off, and now they really blend and behave quite nicely for a student brand, and are soft enough to allow dabs of impasto color on top of other layers, which is really wonderful & a pleasant surprise. At least so far (it's winter), they are not affected by heat going places with me in the ... MoreI wish Dick Blick allowed editing of previous reviews. I bought these for plein air studies and sketches, and the nice size case & sleeve (which fit in my small backpack & won't fall open while I'm walking) and wrote the previous review after only sampling the colors and without wiping off the surface of the sticks first. Though they did not show a white surface haze, like some waxy student brands when you first get them, they did have a somewhat hard surface layer that wiped right off, and now they really blend and behave quite nicely for a student brand, and are soft enough to allow dabs of impasto color on top of other layers, which is really wonderful & a pleasant surprise. At least so far (it's winter), they are not affected by heat going places with me in the car, as some other more expensive brands are, so they will be just perfect for what I got them for. I am going to wear out the lovely light blending colors way too soon, though ... fortunately, at the price Dick Blick sells them for, I will just buy more sets when colors run out. My 4 stars consider the price of this product. Of course, they are not better quality than Senneliers (which I gave a low review to because in my area, they simply melt into unusable goo), which are almost 6 times the price, but are a solid 4 stars compared to other student brands. I should have used them more before writing the other review!