To start with Prismacolor makes the best pencils available. Vibrant, lightfast colors that blend easily. Unlike most sets that usually include colors I'll never use, this particular set includes an excellent assortment of colors, all of which I use. The only colors I have to buy separate that I use for skin and hair are Tuscan Red and Indigo blue which I use for dark shadows instead of black.

This pencil set rocks. The reason this is so worthy of being a colored pencil set is because more of the pencils are actually used. If we were all to be completely honest, the thing that bites most about color pencils(besides the fact that some brands such as Prismacolor will break tips endlessly if you don't use an electric pencil sharpener) is that we pay money for colors we never even use. We know that a professional series of pencils should mix well and be light fast. Prismacolors do and are. Granted, Koh I Noors are my favorite for mixing; a basic 12 pack of Koh I Noors are brought to shrubs in my hands. However... I can not find a place to buy Koh I Noors. So, as far I see, the best out there thats available is the Landscape and the Portrait pack of Prismacolors(Actually, I think this set may well be my favorite set for portraits). With the added bonus of buying colors you use most often in sets of twelve, you never really need to buy another case. Which saves all of us from one more trip to the trash can.