KOH-I-NOOR Gioconda White Coal Pencils

KOH-I-NOOR Gioconda White Coal Pencils deliver professional-grade white charcoal for creating luminous highlights on dark and toned papers. Each set includes three hardness grades—#2, #3, and #4—offering versatility from soft, broad strokes to precise detail work. The 4.5mm lead core combines high pigment concentration with lightfast properties, ensuring your highlights remain vibrant over time. The pencils blend smoothly and layer effortlessly, making them ideal for mixed-media work, portraiture, and expressive mark-making on charcoal, pastel, or toned paper grounds. Sharpening is best done with a manual handheld sharpener or craft knife to prevent the brittle charcoal core from snapping. Apply these pencils as a final layer—placing graphite or wax-based media over the white chalk risks muddying the effect. Use a kneaded eraser to lift highlights or a battery-powered eraser for crisp edges. Finish your work with spray fixative to protect against smudging, as the chalk-based pigment lacks an inherent binder. Ideal for artists working on medium to heavy-tooth paper.