I recently bought a 12 pack tin of Derwent watercolor pencils for doing the sketch before a watercolor painting and to add details to watercolor paintings as well. I've also acquired a 12 piece Derwent watercolor collection which includes watercolor pencils, Aquatone watercolor crayons, Inktense pencils and a paintbrush. The Inktense pencils are basically ink in pencil form and are permanent once dry (contrary to regular watercolor pencils that can be removed and blended to a certain extent).
So I got them out today and "Thing 1" and I tested them. As you can see on the pictures below "Thing 1" had fun painting her favorite subject, rainbows and flowers (and mom and herself). I on the other hand sketched a flower from memory. I have to say I enjoyed the Aquatone watercolor crayons (used in the blue background) and the Inktense pencils (magenta color in the flower) more than the regular watercolor pencils.
For people who want to start getting some exposure to art, I would highly recommend getting a small set of either the Aquatones or the Inktense. They are very convenient to store and use, don't take much space. All you need is some good watercolor paper (like Arches, Fabriano, Saunders Waterford), a paintbrush, and a container with water and you can start producing simple watercolor sketches and even good paintings.
For anyone interested, I am currently selling two Derwent sets on Ebay (one is a 12 piece watercolor pencil set and the other one is a 12 piece watercolor collection):
