NEOCOLOR II GREY

GREY

The Caran d'Ache Neocolor™ II Aquarelle Crayon in Grey is a premium, professional-grade water-soluble wax pastel designated by the official color number No. 005. It serves as the definitive mid-tone neutral anchor within the collection's specialized grayscale spectrum.Color Profile & CharacteristicsThe Hue: A clean, balanced, and perfectly regulated neutral gray. It sits directly in the center of the Caran d'Ache neutral scale, running lighter than Dark Grey (No. 007) and Greyish Black (No. 008) but darker than Light Grey (No. 003).Undertones: It is a true, unbiased neutral value. It features no shifting warm (brown) or cool (blue) undertones, making it a reliable standard for accurate tonal value studies, sketching, and mapping shadows.Opacity: Complete, 100% solid coverage. Its ultra-high pigment concentration allows it to layer directly over dark backdrops or mask underlying pigments without turning chalky or translucent.Lightfastness: Rated as excellent. The premium Swiss-formulated pigments resist fading or yellowing under UV exposure over time.Performance & TechniquesDry Foundations: Glides effortlessly onto textured surfaces with a velvety, dust-free texture that resists crumbling under heavy hand pressure. It is highly useful for laying down matte blocks of tone, rendering concrete textures, or roughing out underlying composition lines.Wet Dispersal: Highly reactive to water. Touching it with a damp brush instantly dissolves the wax binder, changing dry crayon lines into a flat, ink-smooth watercolor wash that leaves no crumbly residues or gritty spots.Clean Tonal Adjustments: It is excellent for adjusting the values of chromatic colors. You can mix it directly with shades like Cobalt Blue or Jade to produce sophisticated, desaturated tones while preserving palette harmony