This is the water-soluble version of Giotto's school colour pencils, and the difference is what happens when a wet brush touches the paper. Draw with them dry and they behave like ordinary colour pencils; run a damp brush over the marks and the colour dissolves and flows into a soft watercolour wash. One box therefore does two jobs, a colouring pencil and a paint set, which is why art teachers reach for aquarelle pencils for a first painting lesson.

The word on the box is Acquarell, Italian for watercolour, and the range is Colors 3.0 from FILA, the Giotto maker that has made school art materials since 1920. Each pencil is marked Giotto Colors 3.0 Acquarell along the barrel, so a pencil that strays into another box is easy to identify.

The barrel is triangular with a 3 mm core. The three flat sides stop the pencil rolling off a sloped desk and settle a child's fingers into a steadier grip than a round barrel, while the thicker 3 mm lead lays down enough pigment to wet and move around without pressing hard.

Three set sizes are stocked. Twelve covers the basic spectrum for a school art bag, twenty-four adds the in-between shades a keen young artist starts to ask for, and thirty-six gives the fuller range for watercolour work where subtle steps between colours matter. The colours are the same across all three; only how many you get changes.

Safencia lists the Giotto Colors 3.0 Acquarell watercolour pencils at Rs. 999 for 12, Rs. 1,850 for 24 and Rs. 3,545 for 36, with Cash on Delivery across Pakistan. WhatsApp confirms stock, your city and delivery charges before dispatch, whether you order from Lahore, Karachi, Islamabad or elsewhere.

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