Faber-Castell Polychromos 20 New Colours Tin

The First New Polychromos Shades in Over 25 Years · Oil-Based · Artist Lightfast · Made in Germany

Lizardite Green

Arylide Yellow

Golden Ochre

Perinone Orange

Red Jasper

Pyrrole Red

Quinacridone Magenta

Tyrian Purple

Dark Ultramarine Violet

Fra Angelico Blue

Aquamarine Blue

Green Jasper

Bohemian Green Earth

Slate Green

Zircon Red Bright

Thulite Reddish

Thulite Yellowish

Thulite Brownish

Amethyst Grey

Serpentine Grey

Approximate colour reference · screen calibration may vary

Download the full colour chart (PDF)

Polychromos hasn't added a single new colour since the 1990s. Then, out of nowhere, Faber-Castell dropped twenty at once, and the coloured pencil world lost its mind. Portrait artists, botanical illustrators and colour-pencil collectors have been posting unboxings, swatch charts and wishlist threads since the announcement, and early stock is moving fast wherever it lands. This is the Tin of 20 New Colours: the complete set of every new Polychromos shade, in the same oil-based, break-resistant, artist-lightfast formula the range has built its reputation on for over a century. If you already own the classic 120, this is the tin that completes your set. If you don't, it's a genuinely rare chance to get in early on a set that's about to become very hard to find.

Brand	Faber-Castell Polychromos
Set Size	20 pencils (all-new colours, none duplicated from the original 120)
Lead Type	Oil-based, break-resistant core
Lightfastness	Rated on Faber-Castell's 1–3 star scale (see full colour list below)
Format	Metal tin, individual slots
Made In	Germany
Compatibility	Blends seamlessly with the existing 120-colour Polychromos range

Why This Release Is Different

25+

Milestone

First Expansion in a Generation

Polychromos has stayed at 120 colours since the late 1990s. This is the first time Faber-Castell has expanded the range in over 25 years: a genuinely rare event in the art materials world.

111

Heritage

Marking 111+ Years of Polychromos

Polychromos launched in 1908. This expansion lands as the range passes its 111th year, new colour development to mark over a century of the artist pencil that set the professional standard.

◆

Palette

Named After Real Minerals and Gemstones

Lizardite, Jasper, Thulite, Zircon, Serpentine, Amethyst. Many of the new shades are named for the actual minerals that inspired their colour. It's a genuinely fresh naming language for the range: muted earths, soft neutrals and mineral greys that fill real gaps in the original 120.

✉

Demand

Selling Out on Release

Artist forums and colour-pencil communities have been tracking this release for months. Stock has been moving quickly through global retailers since launch, so if you've been waiting, now is the time.

Perfect For

Portrait skin tonesBotanical illustrationRealistic wildlife & furMuted, contemporary palettesCompleting your 120-colour setColour pencil collectors

Art Shed Staff Tip The new tones fill gaps that Polychromos users have complained about for years: soft muted greens and greys, warm neutral skin-tone browns, and a true bright magenta. If you already own the 120-set, resist buying doubles: check your existing colours against the list below first, since Thulite Yellowish and Thulite Brownish in particular sit close to some of the earthy browns already in the range. For portrait work, Zircon Red Bright, Thulite Reddish and Golden Ochre are the three artists are talking about most for building realistic skin undertones without reaching for red or orange straight from the core set.

All 20 New Colours

Swatch	Colour Name	Number	Lightfastness
	Lizardite Green	204	★★
	Arylide Yellow	202	★★★
	Golden Ochre	285	★★★
	Perinone Orange	210	★★
	Red Jasper	286	★★★
	Pyrrole Red	211	★★
	Quinacridone Magenta	325	★
	Tyrian Purple	339	★★★
	Dark Ultramarine Violet	350	★★
	Fra Angelico Blue	150	★★★
	Aquamarine Blue	348	★★★
	Green Jasper	261	★★
	Bohemian Green Earth	372	★★★
	Slate Green	238	★★★
	Zircon Red Bright	216	★★★
	Thulite Reddish	213	★★★
	Thulite Yellowish	215	★
	Thulite Brownish	214	★★★
	Amethyst Grey	337	★★★
	Serpentine Grey	237	★★★

Faber-Castell rates Polychromos lightfastness on a three-star scale: ★★★ highest, ★★ good, ★ satisfactory. Fifteen of the twenty new colours carry the top rating, in line with the standard the rest of the Polychromos range is known for.

Where These Colours Fit in Your Palette

The gap this set fills is obvious once you line the swatches up next to the original 120. Polychromos has always been strong in saturated primaries and classic earth tones, but thin on the soft, low-chroma "in-between" colours that portrait, botanical and wildlife artists reach for constantly: dusty greens, warm neutral greys, and pale mineral tones that read as skin, stone, bark or foliage in half-light. The Thulite trio (Reddish, Yellowish, Brownish) and the two greys (Amethyst Grey, Serpentine Grey) are built exactly for that job. Meanwhile Zircon Red Bright, Pyrrole Red and Quinacridone Magenta push the range's reds and pinks brighter and cleaner than anything in the core 120, and Tyrian Purple and Dark Ultramarine Violet give proper violet depth that Polychromos users have asked for since the range last changed.

About Faber-Castell Polychromos

Faber-Castell has been making artists' materials since 1761, and introduced Polychromos in 1908 as its professional-grade coloured pencil. Every pencil uses an oil-based, break-resistant lead formulated for smooth blending, fine detail and layering without wax bloom. The range has been the benchmark for professional coloured pencil work for well over a century, used by botanical illustrators, portrait artists and scientific illustrators worldwide. Until this release, the range had held at 120 colours since the 1990s, making these 20 new shades the first genuine expansion Polychromos has seen in more than a generation.

Frequently Asked Questions

What's included in the Faber-Castell Polychromos 20 New Colours Tin?

This tin contains all 20 new Polychromos colours, and only the new colours. None of these 20 shades duplicate anything in the existing 120-colour range, so if you already own the classic Polychromos set, this tin adds pure new colour rather than repeats. If you don't yet own any Polychromos, the 140-piece tin (120 + 20 new colours) gives you the full range in one box.

Where can I buy the Faber-Castell Polychromos 20 New Colours tin in Australia?

Right here. Art Shed Online is an authorised Australian stockist of Faber-Castell Polychromos, and we stock the 20 New Colours Tin with fast, tracked shipping Australia-wide. Because this release has been selling out at retailers worldwide since launch, we'd recommend ordering now rather than waiting, especially if you want to buy the new colours in Australia before local stock runs low too.

Why is everyone talking about these new Polychromos colours?

Polychromos hasn't added a new colour to its range since the 1990s, so this is the first expansion in over 25 years, a rare event for a range this established. The new shades are also named after real minerals and gemstones (Lizardite, Jasper, Thulite, Zircon, Serpentine, Amethyst), which has caught the attention of colour-pencil collectors and illustrators well beyond Faber-Castell's usual audience. Combined with limited early stock, that's driven a genuine surge of interest across artist forums and social media since the announcement.

Are the new Polychromos colours as lightfast as the original range?

Yes, largely. Faber-Castell rates all Polychromos pencils on the same 1–3 star lightfastness scale, and fifteen of the twenty new colours carry the top three-star rating. A handful, Quinacridone Magenta and Thulite Yellowish among them, sit at the lower end of the scale, which is typical for particularly vivid or delicate pigments across the whole Polychromos range, not just this release. Full ratings for each colour are listed in the table above.

Do these new colours blend with the existing 120-colour Polychromos set?

Yes. Same oil-based lead formula, same core diameter, same manufacturing standard: these 20 pencils drop straight into an existing Polychromos collection with no adjustment needed. They're designed to extend the range, particularly in muted greens, neutral greys and warm skin-tone browns that artists have flagged as underrepresented in the original 120 colours.

Should I buy the 20 New Colours Tin or the full 140-colour tin?

If you already own the original 120-colour Polychromos set, buy this tin: it gives you exactly the 20 new shades with no overlap or waste. If you're starting a Polychromos collection from scratch, the 140-piece tin (120 + 20 new colours) is the better one-off purchase, since it gives you the complete current range in a single box.

Art Shed Online is an authorised Australian stockist of Faber-Castell Polychromos. All Polychromos products are sourced through official distribution channels. Demand for this release has been high worldwide, so we recommend ordering early to avoid missing out. We ship Australia-wide.

(FC18110020)

Information PDF	Download PDF
SKU	FC18110020
Barcode #	4005401100201
Brand	Faber Castell
Shipping Weight	0.3580kg
Shipping Width	0.215m
Shipping Height	0.015m
Shipping Length	0.190m
Shipping Cubic	0.000612750m3