Well, good technique can only compensate so much for poor tools. Sure, cheaper brands will probably work, but I've found them considerably harder to work with and still get a smooth, well blended finished product. I guess it all depends upon your own experiances though. Yeah, they are a little pricey. Since they are the colored pencils that all the college art classes insist upon, they will run you $15 to $20 for a set of 12. The larger sets start at about $25 and go up from there. Individual pencils will cost you around $1.25 a piece.