Derwent Watercolor 72 Set Review: A Palette That Deserves a Second Look

Introduction

Some art supplies earn their reputation over time, and the Derwent Watercolor 72 set is a good example. Years ago, these pencils were tested on questionable paper with limited experience, and the result was an unfairly harsh first impression. After revisiting the full 72 set with better knowledge, proper watercolor paper, and a more considered technique, the verdict has changed completely.

This set was retested alongside quality watercolor surfaces, and the pencils performed dramatically better than expected. If you dismissed Derwent’s watercolor pencils years ago, or you are simply shopping for a serious water-soluble set, this review explains what the 72 set actually delivers.

What You Get in the 72 Set

The 72 count is the largest set in the Derwent watercolor range, housed in a metal tin with a printed color legend on the front. Derwent is best known for water-soluble lines like Inktense and Graphitint, but after extended testing, this watercolor set stands up well against those flagship names.

The palette is organized across two layers. The top layer runs from yellows into oranges, a strong run of reds including scarlet lake and deep vermillion, then violets, deep blues like Delft blue and ultramarine, cobalt, Prussian blue and indigo. The bottom layer continues with kingfisher blue, a signature Derwent color, then a genuinely excellent green selection from jade green through bottle green, emerald green, sap green and olive green, before moving into earth tones such as burnt umber, raw sienna, copper beech and terracotta, and finishing with grays from blue gray to gunmetal and silver gray.

One small note on the palette: reviewers of large sets often wish for a wider gray range, and this is no exception. French gray is a highlight, but there is room for more grays if Derwent ever expands the range. Otherwise the palette is well balanced, with very few near-identical colors and a healthy spread of lights and darks.

Pencil Characteristics

The core measures around 4mm, sitting in a hexagonal barrel roughly 7.2mm across. The hexagonal shape is a practical touch for a water-soluble pencil, since round-barreled watercolor pencils have a habit of rolling off a desk and snapping. The cores are somewhat more brittle than traditional colored pencils, so careful handling still matters.

The pencils are made in England at Derwent’s Lake District works, and the barrel carries the pigment name plus a half-inch color identifier at the end. Every pencil in the set sharpened cleanly and beautifully. One practical caution: the Derwent Studio pencils are nearly identical in barrel size, core size and finish, differing only slightly in barrel color. If you own both ranges, double-check before picking up a pencil mid-painting, because mixing in a non-water-soluble Studio pencil by accident is easy to do.

How the Colors Activate

The dry swatches show a mix of opaque and translucent behavior, with colors like pale peach, rose pink and light blue sitting noticeably opaque even before water touches them. Magenta and ultramarine read more translucent in dry form and come alive once activated.

And that activation is where this set earns its praise. Once water is applied, the colors turn rich and vibrant across the entire spectrum. The blues, especially Delft blue, kingfisher blue and ultramarine, look dramatically better wet than dry. Burnt carmine is a standout reddish-brown, and French gray remains a favorite among the neutral tones.

The single most important quality test for a watercolor pencil is whether pencil strokes disappear after activation. Heavy dry application followed by a wet brush left no visible pencil marks underneath, which is a reliable sign of good pigment quality in the core. Cheaper watercolor pencils often leave strokes visible after activation, though some artists deliberately want that textured look, and a few affordable sets do manage a clean lift too.

Real-Time Testing on Quality Paper

A final live test was done on a 100% cotton watercolor block, applying heavy layers of crimson lake, deep cadmium, grass green, ivory black, Prussian blue, light violet and pink madder lake, then activating each with water in real time. Every color lifted cleanly and dissolved fully, with no residual pencil strokes even under the deliberately heavy black application.

This is also where paper choice matters. The same pencils that once seemed mediocre on unknown, likely low-grade paper performed beautifully on quality cotton stock. Anyone buying these pencils should budget attention for the surface as much as the pencils themselves, since the two work together and one cannot compensate for the other.

Buying Advice

The Derwent Watercolor 72 set suits artists who want a full-spectrum water-soluble palette with strong activation, rich blues and greens, and an organized two-layer tin. It works well for botanical subjects and general watercolor work, particularly paired with 100% cotton watercolor paper. If you love gray tones, manage expectations on the neutral selection, but for overall palette balance this is a genuinely well-thought-out set. Anyone choosing between water-soluble brands may also want to wait for direct comparisons against other premium watercolor pencil lines before deciding, but on its own merits this set is easy to recommend.

Conclusion

The Derwent Watercolor 72 set is proof that technique and materials shape the verdict as much as the product itself. With good paper and proper brushes, these pencils activate cleanly, deliver vibrant color across a well-balanced palette, and hold their own within Derwent’s water-soluble lineup. For anyone after a large, versatile watercolor pencil set, this one deserves a place on the shortlist.