Faber-Castell Goldfaber Aqua watercolour pencils, tin of 24 colours
Product description
What to know before you buy
If you like the look of watercolour but also prefer the control of pencils, Faber-Castell’s Creative Studio Goldfaber Aqua range is built for that middle ground. The idea is simple: you can use the pencils dry for drawing, then activate the colour with a wet paintbrush to create watercolour effects.
These come as a multicoloured tin of 24 pencils, so it suits people who want variety on the page without immediately having to buy an extra set. On paper, the main selling points are that the leads are break-resistant, fully water soluble, and designed to be lightfast. That mix matters if you’re doing sketches you want to keep looking good over time, rather than just experimenting once.
Of course, they’re still watercolour pencils, so results will depend a bit on your brush technique and the kind of paper you’re working on. If you’re after fast, fuss-free colour fills with no blending, you may find proper watercolour paint is the more straightforward path.
Key features that affect results
Where these pencils stand out is the way they’re meant to move between “dry” and “wet”. Used dry, you get traditional pencil marks and colour laydown that feels soft and vibrant. Switch to a wet paintbrush and the pigment is intended to dissolve fully, giving you that watercolour look without needing a separate set of paints.
There’s also a practical detail that tends to get overlooked: the leads are described as high break-resistant and fully water soluble. In real use, pencils that are easier to keep intact through sharpening and handling can make the set more pleasant for school, home practice, or daily studio sessions.
And if you’re planning to sharpen rather than just use as-is, you’ll be glad these sharpen with normal sharpeners. The leads are listed as 3.3mm, which is useful context if you’re checking whether your sharpener is likely to cope comfortably.
What you’ll notice in everyday use
A good example of how you’d use them: start with a light sketch of a flower or landscape in pencil, then go back over a few sections with a damp brush. With fully water soluble colour, the marks are designed to “turn into” paint-like washes. You can keep some pencil lines crisp, while letting other areas bloom into softer tones—handy when you want both structure and atmosphere.
That flexibility is also why they’re often a sensible choice for mixed media. They’re not only for painting-wash effects, they can also work for colouring, illustration, and general sketching where you want controllable colour that you can manipulate.
Still, one limitation to bear in mind: because the colour transforms once it’s wet, the final intensity can shift depending on how much water you apply and how many layers you build. If you’re expecting completely identical shades every time you add water, it may take a little practice.
Technical overview
- Type: watercolour pencil
- Lead break resistance: high break-resistant leads
- Water behaviour: fully water soluble
- Lightfastness: excellent lightfastness
- Sharpening: compatible with all normal pencil sharpeners
- Lead size: 3.3mm pencil leads
- Pack size: tin of 24 pencils
- Colour: multicoloured
Who it suits (and who should be cautious)
It makes sense if you enjoy experimenting between drawing and watercolour effects—whether you’re starting out, you teach or practise at home, or you’re using them for university or school art sessions. It’s also a good match if you want a durable-feeling pencil lead and the option to sharpen to get fine detail again.
It might not be the best choice if your priority is purely dry sketching, where you’ll never use the wet-brush activation. In that case, you could put your money into a pencil set designed specifically for dry work and skip the extra watercolour features. Equally, if your watercolour technique is not yet consistent, you may find the “look” varies until you learn how your brush and paper respond.
Where it fits versus other approaches
Compared with buying separate pencils and paints straight away, this set keeps one tool responsible for both the sketch and the wash-like finish. That can be convenient if you’re working at home or in a classroom and want fewer materials to manage.
Compared with going fully into watercolour paint, you get more control at the drawing stage. But compared with dedicated colour pencils that stay completely “dry”, you’ll need to accept that water activation changes the appearance of your marks.
Is it worth it?
A solid pick if you’re drawn to watercolour pencils and want a set that can switch from dry drawing to wet, brush-activated colour. The combination of high break-resistant leads, full water solubility, and excellent lightfastness is exactly the sort of detail that tends to matter for real artwork—not just one-off tests.
You may want to skip it if you mainly do dry sketching or if you’re not planning to use a wet brush for effects. Also, if you’re expecting perfectly predictable colour outcomes with heavy water use straight away, keep in mind the results can depend on your technique and paper.
Mini FAQ
FAQ
What are these pencils for—dry drawing or watercolour?
They can be used for dry drawing, and they’re also designed to create watercolour effects when you apply a wet paintbrush.
Do the colours dissolve properly when wet?
The leads are described as fully water soluble, which is what enables the watercolour effect.
Are the leads easy to sharpen?
They can be sharpened with normal pencil sharpeners, and the lead size is listed as 3.3mm.
Are they suitable for keeping artwork looking good over time?
The description highlights excellent lightfastness, which is a good sign for longevity.
How many pencils do you get?
You get a tin of 24 multicoloured pencils.