Giotto Stilnovo vs Giotto Naturale: Two Budget Colored Pencil Sets That Punch Above Their Price

Introduction

Giotto, part of the FILA brand family, makes two colored pencil ranges that keep coming up in conversations about affordable art supplies: the Stilnovo and the Naturale. Both are clearly marketed toward school-age artists, but that label undersells them. Plenty of experienced artists and fan-art creators use these pencils to impressive effect, whether in sketchbooks or adult coloring books.

The key difference comes down to transparency. The Stilnovo leans translucent, the Naturale is notably more opaque, and each suits a different drawing method. Neither trait makes one pencil better than the other; it depends on how you like to build color.

Giotto Stilnovo: A 50-Count Set With Real Saturation

The Stilnovo 50-count set is a slimline pencil: a 3.5mm core inside a 6.8mm hexagonal barrel, with the barrel lacquer matching the pigment color. A small plastic sharpener comes in the box, and unusually for an included sharpener, it actually works well out of the box. One side of the barrel carries the brand print and the other has a name section for writing a child’s name, which reflects the school-first positioning.

The standout surprise is the pigment. Saturation levels are genuinely impressive for the price, swatched on Strathmore 300 series Bristol Vellum the colors land with plenty of punch. The set also includes four true neon shades (green, orange, yellow and pink), plus moss green, warm and cool grays, and metallics that shine beautifully on black paper. A few earthier olive greens and richer tones at the top of the range would have rounded the palette out, but that is a minor complaint.

Pigment, Layering and Blending

Layering tests show the Stilnovo building smoothly across five light layers with a heavy final application for burnishing, which matters if you work with odorless mineral spirits. Blending behaves well too: red over yellow produces a clean orange, blue over yellow a nice green, and the red-and-blue combination that trips up many budget pencils produces a respectable purple.

The white is very translucent, and the neons, so vibrant on white paper, lose much of their punch on black paper. The gold and silver metallics, however, look genuinely metallic on dark surfaces. None of this is good or bad in itself; translucent pencils simply suit a different workflow than opaque ones.

How They Handle Real Artwork

In practice, the Stilnovo core feels slightly softer than a Caran d’Ache Pablo, with a creamy, responsive laydown. A quick cherry drawing on lightfast paper took only about three hours yet layered up to rich, saturated color with a satisfying burnish. One or two colors in the set applied a little scratchy, but that happens in even premium sets, and the vast majority applied smoothly.

Giotto Naturale: Opaque, Creamy and Rich

The Naturale range comes in a 36-count set, priced around £11, which is remarkable value for the quality. The core is creamier than the Stilnovo, and the laydown is fully opaque, delivering instant, dense color on the first stroke. In feel, it sits close to a Prismacolor, only slightly harder. The main limitation is the palette: 36 colors is the largest set available, so a couple of deep shades, like a rich geranium red, are missing.

Where the Stilnovo translucency favors gradual layering, the Naturale’s opacity gives immediate saturation, which makes it especially rewarding for younger artists who want instant results, and equally useful for established artists who prefer an opaque workflow.

Which Set Should You Buy?

If you like building color gradually in translucent layers, burnishing with heavier applications, or working with odorless mineral spirits, the Stilnovo 50-count is the better fit, and its neons and metallics add range the Naturale cannot match. If you want immediate, opaque coverage with a creamier core and the lowest possible cost per pencil, the Naturale 36-count is hard to beat.

A Word on Kids’ Art Supplies

It is worth saying plainly: most art supplies aimed at children are not up to scratch, and poor tools discourage young artists who want instant, visible results. These two Giotto sets are exceptions. Hand a child either set and they get an immediate punch of color on paper, which is exactly what keeps them drawing. That applies equally to adults picking up an affordable set for sketching or coloring.

Conclusion

Both Giotto ranges deliver far more pigment and refinement than their kid-market positioning suggests. The Stilnovo offers a larger palette, neons, and a translucent layering character at a budget price; the Naturale counters with a creamier, opaque core and outstanding value in a 36-count set. Choose based on whether your workflow leans translucent and layered or opaque and immediate, and neither set will disappoint.