Caran d'Ache Swisscolor vs Supra Color II: Which Water-Soluble Pencil Fits Your Work?

Introduction

Caran d’Ache makes a lot of pencils, and their water-soluble range can be genuinely confusing: Museum Aquarel, Swisscolor, Prismalo, Fancolor, Supra Color, and Supra Color II all sit in the catalogue, some still in production and some discontinued. Two of the lines still going strong sit at very different ends of that range: the Swisscolor pencils, a student-grade option, and the Supra Color II pencils, an artist-grade line just below the flagship Museum Aquarel. This comparison looks at how the two stack up so you can decide which one belongs in your kit.

Caran d’Ache Swisscolor: The Student-Grade Option

The Swisscolor pencil has a hexagonal body with a matching barrel color and a cedar wood casing around a thinner 2.8mm core. One notable omission: the color name is not printed on the barrel, which is a small frustration, particularly for colorblind artists who prefer having the name right there on the pencil. The end is not capped either, so this is clearly not one of Caran d’Ache’s premium pencils.

That said, even at a student grade, Caran d’Ache loads good pigment into these. Dry, the colors lay down like a normal colored pencil. Add water and they melt nicely, with very few remnant lines left behind, even with the darker shades. The colors are not as vibrant as some watercolor pencils on the market, and the line is generally considered a replacement for the older Fancolor pencil, but the pigment quality is strong for the grade. The Swisscolor line comes in sets of 12, 18, and 30 colors, with a 40-color complete range.

Supra Color II: The Artist-Grade Step Up

Supra Color II sits at the top of the range alongside Museum Aquarel as one of Caran d’Ache’s two really nice artist-grade water-soluble pencils, with a price tag to match. The barrel is a little thicker than the Swisscolor, and the core is thicker as well, which translates into a noticeably more comfortable feel in the hand and a smoother laydown.

These pencils also last a long time, and they handle fine detail work well. They are a practical choice for preliminary sketches, graphite washes, and finished watercolor work alike.

How They Handle Water

Both pencils dissolve well in water, and this is an area where Caran d’Ache clearly does its homework. Wetting a swatch of the Swisscolor shows the color melting into the paper with only a few remnant lines and a touch of granulation, even when the lines were laid down fairly hard.

The Supra Color II, by comparison, shows less granulation, a smoother dissolve, and cleaner remnants. The difference between the two is visible in a close-up wet swatch, and it reflects the gap between a student-grade and an artist-grade pigment.

Swisscolor vs Supra Color II: Side by Side

Comparing the two directly, using the closest sepia tone each set offers, tells the story well. Both pencils go down with a nice feel, but the Supra Color II lays color down more smoothly and with more pigment strength. When water is added, the two shades read quite differently: the Swisscolor leans toward a warm brown, while the Supra Color II sepia stays deeper and cleaner.

Erasing was tested with a standard eraser too. Both are erasable with some remnant pigment left behind, and the Swisscolor actually showed decent erasability, though the darker sepia tone naturally shows more residue. Sharpening was uneventful in a good way: the Swisscolor sharpened to a nice point with no breakage, and the California cedar casing is genuinely good quality. Caran d’Ache did not cheap out on the wood.

Putting Them to Work in a Sketch

The real test is always how the pencils behave in an actual drawing. Sketching out a pine tree using several colors from the Swisscolor set showed how the thinner core suits layering and fine detail, and how the water activation helps colors blend into soft foliage tones.

One broader point worth keeping in mind: watercolor pencils let you be more precise than watercolors alone, which can help build confidence if you are just getting into watercolor work. That makes both of these pencils useful on-ramps, depending on your budget and ambitions.

Buying Advice

If you are an artist set on artist-grade materials, it may be worth saving up for the Supra Color II or Museum Aquarel rather than settling. The Swisscolor pencils are on the expensive side for student grade, at least in the United States. However, if you simply want to experiment with watercolor pencils, or you are buying for a young artist starting out and want a higher-quality student pencil, the Swisscolor is a strong fit. You will spend a few dollars more than on some alternatives, but you get better quality from a company with a long track record of making good pencils.

Conclusion

The Swisscolor and Supra Color II are not really competitors; they serve different stages of an artist’s development. The Swisscolor offers genuinely good pigment and clean water dissolution in a student-grade package, while the Supra Color II delivers smoother laydown, less granulation, and a more comfortable barrel for serious work. Choosing between them comes down to whether you need a dependable, quality entry point or are ready to invest in artist-grade performance.