Would love to do the orangutang! Have just been pricing out the Derwent big set - wow what a price. I JUST received the full on colored pencil set, so am stalling on the W/C pencil set.
Will appeal to nearby cities to see if I can “rent a set”. Anyone trying the orangutang with a limited palette?
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I got a set of 24 Faber Castell watercolor pencils for about $30. I’m hoping they will get me through the orangutan lessons!
Brenda
Thanks for the encouragement - I should try it with the limited palette I have and suck it up! LOL
Interestingly I had a really inexpensive set of 72 watercolor pencils that had been given to me. When I tried them out, they were so grainy. I just knew I needed something better than that. 
I decided a small set of better pencils was better than being being frustrated with the grainy texture.
Brenda
I have a set of Faber-Castell (Albrecht Durer). They are not necessarily budget friendly, but they are known to be better than Derwent. There is a line in Prismacolor that is budget friendly and, apparently, not too expensive. You are right in wanting to wait. In watercolor pencils as well as in regular watercolor, using a better quality will make the whole difference. Typically, the low budget ones such as Artist’s Loft from Michaels tend to be scratchy and have limited pigment resulting in less than satisfying results.
Good luck with your search and your art.
Patricia.
Dear Margaret,
I totally underatand your problem and will work myself with FC Albrecht Dürer (ü > ue), since I bought the 60 set some time ago. They are just great and nowadays come in a 120 set.
Here in Germany Derwent WC pencils will cost you about € 2,02 each and FC about € 1,75 (gerstaecker.de).
Regarding other colored pencils including pastel pencils, my experienceis: Derwent and FC work well together.
Maybe you can order the colors of you choice open stock pacing behind Matt, so you know about his color choices.
Have a great week,
Buddy
Yes - I have a set of 120 Faber-castell. I inherited them from a dear art friend that died years ago. I have done other classes with Matt with limited color palette. I usually don’t find it a problem but approach it as a challenge! And also I am not one to stress if my colors are not exactly like Matt’s or if mine looks a bit different. I approach these live lessons as a valuable learning experience and so far have always been pleased with what I manage to do. Just remember to have fun!
I also like Buddy’s suggestions of buying the individual colors after Matt selects his.
Good Luck
June
Hello Margaret,
I found a student grade watercolor set by FaberCastell that is pretty reasonable for starting. I have played around with them a bit and seem to work well. I ordered them from Blick Art Materials but most likely they are on Amazon too. I’ll find the links for you here.
Amazon.com: Faber-Castell Creative Studio Goldfaber Watercolor Pencils (48Count) : Toys & Games
Faber-Castell Goldfaber Aqua Watercolor Pencils and Sets | BLICK Art Materials (dickblick.com)
IYou can also get just the colors you think you need one at a time on Blick’s website, or possibly find them in a local store. The disadvantage at Blick’s is you have to order $60 for free shipping.
I hope this encourages you to find something in your price range and enjoy watercolor pencils.
Teri
Thank-you for taking the time to write! I have noted down your suggestions 
Looks like FC is the forum choice. I needed an attitude adjustment and you all pitched in!
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Hi Buddy, LOvely to hear from you. I have been missing the last few “lives” as we are comping! however, I am watching the videos later.
Good tip about open stock. I still like the idea or renting a set. Might need to join our local artist guild and beg.
m
I am so excited about this project that I want the 300 lb as well! Thanks for the suggestion. By the way, have you ever found open stock up here in Canada - if I am not mistaken, you are here…
I had my first trip to Miami Blick and was shocked at the open stock everything! Paper, pencils, everything. Won’t, however, be in USA anytime soon
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Hello @4Margaret, I have never used watercolor pencils before, and only used watercolor once before 20 years ago for a college architecture project. Not knowing anything about it, and told we had to use watercolor, as you can imagine it was a big flop. Hopefully I too can make it through with a limited set. Mine are Royal brand which came in a multi-media set given to me years ago, but those have never been used. So, I guess I’ll see what happens. Good luck to us both.
See you on Wednesday!
Has anyone tried the Arteza wc pencils available on Amazon? I ordered the 72 set of coloured pencils to do the peony live lessons and was pleasantly surprised. They were good enough to get me hooked on the medium. At less than $60 for 72 wc pencils this might be another option to get started.
(I ended up buying the full 120 set of Albrecht Durer from Deserres here in Canada. I found they had the best price on the Bette renown name brands)
*better known name brands
Dear Margaret,
I am a DAU and don’t know how to send a message via TVI. So, here I am!
doris.haupt@gmx.de
Thank you so much for contacting me. I have not been able to follow the lessons life myself due to health challenges, but were so happy to see you last week too.
Comping? Or did you mean camping? I wish you a great leasure time.
Will gerstaecker be available to you? It’s european. If not, I might be able to take your purchase and ship it to you. Just let me know.
You might know that Teri and me got in contact some months ago and became quite good mail-buddies-friends. If you like, just drop me a line. Would love to get you know better and am still overwhelmed how great the community is.
Best greetings from Germany, Duesseldorf
Buddy
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Hi Buddy,
Hope you don’t mind - but i sent you an email.
June
Hi Margaret, I am sorry, but I don’t remember in which province you are. Omer Deserres (Find a store | DeSerres) sells open stock of Derwent and Faber-Castell (Albrecht Durer). IN BC, Opus Art Suplies (Find a store – Opus Art Supplies) sells Albrecht Durer in open stock. Gwartzman’s (Ontario) also sells them, but shipping costs may be a factor. Two more alternatives are Amazon - but be very careful about prices as there are so many rip off vendors there. Best bet is to compare with brick and mortar store pricing to see if the price on Amazon is good. Finally, there is my favorite supplier: Jackson’s Art in the UK. Their prices are pretty good (you can see the price in Canadian dollars) and their shipping can be inexpensive. However, for the shipping you would have to play a bit with the shopping cart, get an estimate of the shipping and then decide if the unit price is still worth it. Currently, the Faber-Castell Albrecht Durer are: $2.26 each at Jackson’s, $2.99 at Omer De Serres, $2.90 at Opus Art Supplies. I hope this helps.
Patricia.
Teresa,
I have the watercolor set you bought by Faber-Castell in both my Amazon and Blick Art Material carts. One , if not my favorite brand for colored mediums in pencil and pen forms.
Just waiting for the funds to purchase them.
How is your Stan-Fran the Orangutan coming on?
Teri (Artsycrochet)