Right. Let's talk about the tin that sits between "I'm getting into this" and "I need every colour Caran d'Ache makes". The Neocolor II Tin of 40 is where it gets properly exciting. Forty chunky, buttery wax pastels that draw like a dream dry, then turn into glowing watercolour the second you touch them with a wet brush. Enough colours to stop mixing every green from scratch, and still small enough to live on your desk.

What You Get in the Tin of 40

The jump from 30 to 40 is where Neocolor II gets grown up. Those extra ten sticks fill the gaps working artists actually feel: softer greys, more earths, gentler tones for skin and landscape. Less time mixing, more time making. It is the set we point people to when they have used a smaller tin to death and want room to move.

Every stick is the same Neocolor II that has been on art school kit lists since 1972. High pigment, strong covering power, and a wax that leaves zero dust. Dry, it behaves like a creamy pastel you can layer and blend with a fingertip. Wet, it dissolves into a wash with the clarity of watercolour. Use both in the same piece and you have built texture, depth and glow with one box of sticks.

Colours in the Tin of 40

All 40 colours by number and name, as shown on Caran d'Ache's official colour chart for this set. Every colour is also sold on its own, so note the numbers of your favourites for top ups.

Caran d'Ache occasionally updates set assortments, so the colours in your box may vary slightly from this list.

The Caran d'Ache Difference: Swiss Made Since 1915

Here is the thing about Caran d'Ache. They have been making drawing tools in Geneva for more than a century, and they still do it the slow way, in their own Swiss workshops at Thônex just outside the city. Not outsourced, not rebadged, not made wherever is cheapest this year. When the tin says Swiss Made, it means the pigment, the wax and the stick were all made by people who have been perfecting this exact thing for generations.

It is still a family company too. The Hübscher family has been at the helm since the 1930s, and today Carole Hübscher leads as the fourth generation. That is why the quality does not wobble from one batch to the next. A Neocolor II stick you buy today behaves exactly like the one your art teacher handed you years ago.

Caran d'Ache also has form for inventing the things the rest of the art world copies. They launched Prismalo in 1931, the world's first watercolour pencil, and turned their Neocolor wax pastel water soluble in 1972. Neocolor II is the original, which is why so many imitations get compared to it and so few come close. We have stocked Caran d'Ache at Art Shed Brisbane for years, and it is one of those brands our team actually buys for themselves.

Why Artists Keep Coming Back to Neocolor II

• Two mediums in one stick. A bold, creamy pastel when dry and a luminous watercolour the moment water touches it. Fewer tools to carry, more ways to work.
• No dust, no mess. Wax based, so nothing to breathe in, nothing to fix, nothing smudging across your desk.
• Works on almost anything. Paper, cardboard, wood, glass, fabric, leather and stone. Journals, rocks, windows, mixed media.
• Pigment that pulls its weight. High pigment content means real covering power, so light colours sit over dark and washes stay bright.
• The original water soluble wax pastel. Neocolor II has been on art school kit lists since 1972. Everything else is the copy.
• Made to last. Excellent lightfastness and a stick tough enough to survive a school pencil case, so your work and your tin both go the distance.

Getting the Most Out of Your Neocolor II

Start dry. Block in shapes with the side of the stick, then add water with a soft brush to melt the colour into washes. Go back in dry once it is completely dry for edges and detail. That dry, wet, dry rhythm is the whole trick.

For intense, inky lines, dip the tip in water and draw straight onto the paper. For a delicate wash, rub a wet brush on the stick and paint with it like a pan of watercolour. A water brush from our water and aqua brush range turns the whole tin into a travel watercolour kit.

For wet work, use a watercolour paper of 300gsm or more. For dry work, try toned or kraft paper and let the opacity of the light colours shine.

Browse the rest of our pastel sets, everything in pastels, or the full Caran d'Ache range.

Questions About the Caran d'Ache Neocolor II Tin of 40