The world of art supplies is vast, and it can be hard to filter through all the material. Even now looking at reviews can be challenging (I find myself questioning the authenticity of reviews constantly). You want to save money, but never at the cost of quality.
Arteza pencils are of good quality, especially considering their price point and competition. They outperform others in the same price range and even give higher-tier brands a run for their money.
The world of art supplies can be a difficult one to navigate, but companies like Arteza do their best to provide products you can believe in. In this article we will go over Arteza as a company, the pencils they offer, why people love (and don’t love) their products, and their closest competitor.
Arteza History
Arteza was co-founded in 2015 by Mike Koshatko and Jurgis Plikaitis in an attempt to fill a void in the art supply market. While most households were involved in arts and crafts, they often had to choose between quality and budget. While Arteza may have started with gel pens, they now offer one of the widest varieties of art and craft supplies from any one supplier.
They base their business on three core values:
Ultimate Customer Service – Arteza offers a 100% satisfaction guarantee, runs a 24/7 call center, and has recently started a rewards program.
Premium at High Value – Arteza products are tested by professionals and submitted for professional certifications. They have a free blog library full of instruction videos, interviews, and craft projects.
One-Stop Shopping – Arteza boasts a wide range of supplies and even offers free shipping and art bundles to make the experience smoother. You can even use a program called Afterpay to split your purchase into four payments set two weeks apart.
Arteza recently ranked #32 on the 2020 Inc. 5000 list of the fastest-growing private businesses in the United States. They now serve more than 2 million customers, have the United States and United Kingdom eCommerce sites, and continue to push forward into their bright future.
A Sweeping Line of Pencils
While their colored pencils are one of Arteza’s most famous products, they offer a variety of other pencils to complement your drawing and coloring needs.
Colored Pencils – An artist’s coloring staple. Arteza colored pencils have a wax-based core and boast a high pigment-to-binder ratio.
Drawing Pencils – Whether you need these for drawing or shading, these graphite pencils come in a range of hardness (6B to 4H) to suit your needs).
Watercolor Pencils – The beauty of watercolor, with the control of a colored pencil. These pencils have a water-soluble core, and just a drop of water can lead them to a watercolor paint appearance.
Number 2 Pencils – These are the typical school pencils. Their medium tone is perfect if you need versatility, and it makes them good for both art and general writing.
Woodless Pencils – Their pigmented core is coated only in a light lacquer so you won’t get anything on your hands, but you can use almost every part of this pencil (including the shavings) on your work.
Mechanical Pencils – You’ll not need to worry about dulling or broken lead with these. Simply refill the reusable casing and click the dispensing button a few times.
What People Love
While Arteza is a fairly new company, it didn’t take them long to construct an amazing reputation. Their colored pencils are one of their best-selling products, and they’re a pretty good example for the company. People know what they’re looking for when it comes to colored pencils, and Arteza Experts seem to check off every part of the list.
The pencils come in a sturdy tin case with plastic inlets grooved to keep the pencils organized. The pencils have a solid colored barrel that matches their output. They’re labeled with their color, color code, and a system used to indicate lightfastness. The last is probably the most shocking because most colored pencils at their price point do not do lightfastness testing. The range of colors is satisfactory. They blend very easily and better than others at their price point. Harry at The Art Gear Guide noted that while resistance in layering normally starts at the fifth layer, Arteza colored pencils feel like they could keep layering long after that point.
Their core is harder than average. This means they can be sharpened to a fine point that is fantastic for details, even though they don’t have a smaller-than-normal core size. Arteza’s biggest boast is their price. They may not be down there with the school supplies bought at the end of every summer. Their dramatic increase in quality does not have a corresponding price increase, and you would almost be better off just buying these, to begin with. (Maybe not for your toddler, but young aspiring artists would be grateful.)
What They Don’t Love
Just as there is a silver lining in every storm, these roses have their thorns. A big peeve with colored pencil enthusiasts is when the color on the paper does not mark the casing of the pencil, and more than once Arteza pencils have been accused of this. Not enough to hurt the company, but enough worth noting. It seems that purple and pink colors could use a pigment boost.
Because of their harder than the normal core, you’ll have to be careful not to press down too hard. This could cause the core to fracture or crumble at the point. While the pencils are labeled with a lightfastness system, it seems that the ratings are the same across the board for the other products that Arteza offers. For example,
Rivals?
It doesn’t surprise me that Prismacolor is one of Arteza’s biggest competitors. While Prismacolor sets aren’t as cheap as Crayola colored pencils, I remember that my high school art teacher required them for his class. The price was right at the time for an academic setting.
Now Prismacolor has Arteza to compete with. Both brands offer (roughly) the same set sizes, and both brands are considered quality wax-based colored pencils.
So what sets them apart?
Looking at Prismacolor first, their colored pencils are open stock. While Arteza offers open stock on some other products, they do not currently do this for their colored pencils. This is a major plus for someone who is often shopping for single colors. Prismacolor also boasts its rich history, dating back to 1938. That’s a lot of time to build a reputation and a following. In terms of performance, some people say that Prismacolor Premiers are slightly softer, more opaque, and just a bit more pigmented than Areza. Arteza’s biggest strength is, once again, its amazingly low price point. (I wonder now if my high school art teacher would have let me get away with Arteza colored pencils….)
Other than that, they are noticeably less prone to breakage. (I think I cried anytime my Prismas rolled off my desk.) They also have caps on the ends of the pencils, so this provides more protection for the cores. Arteza pencils seem to keep a sharper point, so they would be your go-to for detailed work.
Prismacolor Premier currently has a 4.8-star rating on Amazon, and Arteza Expert has a slightly lower 4.7-star rating. Both brands are noted for their packaging, gift ability, being for beginners, sheerness, and value for money. A unique compliment on Arteza Expert is sturdiness.
Arteza vs. Prismacolor HERE!
One Tree Planted
One of the coolest things Arteza offers isn’t even their products, and I didn’t want to pass up an opportunity about it. Arteza is currently partnered with One Tree Planted, and they have committed to planting 10,000 trees around the United States.
One Tree Planted was founded in 2014 and is dedicated to giving back to the environment, creating a healthier climate, protecting biodiversity, and helping reforestation efforts. Every dollar donated goes to planting one tree, but their efforts do so much more.
They have more than doubled their trees planted year after year, rebuilding after tragedies like fires and floods. This creates more jobs, helps build communities, and protects habitats. Even if you aren’t an Arteza fan, looking into One Tree Planted might be worth your time.
Frequently Asked Questions
What complimentary pencil products does Arteza offer?
Most of Arteza’s complementary products appear to be offered in their sets, but they do sell pencil cases, drawing surfaces, and an eraser pencil kit. Their drawing sets may also include blending tools (like paper blenders or water brushes), erasers, sharpeners, and hobby knives.
What brands are similar to Arteza?
Some brands that are similar, in terms of price and quality, are Prismacolor, Blick Studio, Fantasia, and Chameleon. It’s hard to find an exact match for Arteza’s company because of its steadfast commitment to keeping quality high and prices low.
Where can I buy Arteza products?
Arteza products can be purchased directly from their company site, but they can also be found purchasable from major retailers such as Amazon, Walmart, and Target. Arteza’s reward program, which offers exclusive deals, free shipping, and free returns, requires purchases through its website.
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