best colored pencils for art

For the selecting and reviewing of colored pencils there were spent more than 20 hours. This allowed to find some initial things to be done with the tools before use, how should they be kept, which ones are must-haves, etc. Choose the best option with following tips.

Top Rated Sets of Colored Pencils

Rank	Product Name	Hardness	Rating
1	Faber-Castell Polychromos View Details	Soft	9.9
2	Prismacolor Premier Manga Colors View Details	Soft	9.8
3	Crayola Classpack View Details	Soft	9.7
4	Faber-Castell Goldfaber View Details	Soft	9.6
5	Prismacolor Premier View Details	Soft	9.5
6	Castle Art Supplies View Details	Soft	9.5
7	Derwent Inktense View Details	Soft	9.4
8	Prismacolor Premier Portrait View Details	Soft	9.2
9	Crayola Erasable View Details	Soft	9.0
10	Derwent ColourSoft View Details	Soft	8.9
11	Sargent Art Premium View Details	Hard/Soft	8.7
12	Marco Renoir View Details	Soft	8.5
13	Prang View Details	Soft	8.4

Faber-Castell Polychromos: Best for Artists

Faber-Castell is the best representative of how the best colored pencils should look. They become standard of colored pencils with high ratings.

Pros

They need much less pressure to achieve saturation
Soft and easy to color
The colors are deep
Smooth and stable gliding is like best
Not scratchy or rubbery or sticky
They keep a nice point
Can be sharpened with a regular sharpener
Dense and solid feel of them
Comes in a solid tray with divided trays
They blend beautifully
In case of a mistake the line is erased easily
The lead bonds and is securely centered
More product with less wood
Much less breakage
Comfortable to hold

Cons

Slightly thicker than others. These pencils would not lay color on duralar without added pressure
When using duralar, pressure can quickly damage the minimal tooth
Can be cracked while sharpening
The color of the lead can be changed while writing

This set consists of variety of shades – this is a brilliant find for a professional artist. There are also metallic shades which are dazzling, except the gold pencil. Unfortunately, some users found it like a dirty water.

This set is perfect for somebody who is looking for the best solution in one tool. Try it, you'll never regret it.

Prismacolor Premier Colored Pencils with Thick and Soft Cores

There is a wonderful set of colored pencils from Prismacolor for manga lovers. Although the collection contains only 23 tools, the color selection is specially picked according to the frequency of usage in the manga.

In fact, there are 18 regular pencils with soft lead that lay down and blend with each other nicely. The other 5 are Verithin pencils. The main difference is that they have wax but harder lead. They produce saturated thin strokes which are quite important in this type of art.

The pack serves as a holder and a stand simultaneously. So users can use it for transportation.

Pros

They apply smoothly
They blend nicely
The Verithin pencils can deal with tiny details producing vibrant and saturated strokes
The pack serves as a stand and a holder

Cons

The lead is too fragile for sharpening

Crayola Colored Pencils Multi-Pack: Ideal for Classrooms

If there is a pack of colored pencils in your supply list for school then take a look at Crayola Pencils Bulk Pack. It accommodates 12 basic colors. However, there are 12 pieces of each color, so in total there are 240 pencils. Besides, the pack comes with the 12 sharpeners.

Moreover, the pack itself is a perfect organizer for such a number of devices, when there are lots of users. Thus, a teacher will never be challenged by collecting and arranging devices, so there won't be a mess around.

Pros

The pencils come pre-sharpened
The box serves as a holder

Cons

The pencils have a round shape so they tend to roll and fall down

Faber-Castell Creative Studio Goldfaber

Faber-Castell announced a new set of colored pencils that is rather ideal for adults. Indeed, they come in a tin box so they can be transported in original packaging without any worries about their safety.

The device itself has a 3.3 mm lead that is quite thick. The lead is absolutely water and smudge-proof. There are only 36 pencils in the set which is enough for basic drawing, but it's less sufficient for professional art.

Pros

The lead is wide
The lead is break-resistant and water-proof
They are easy to carry

Cons

Some of the colors may smudge after time of application

Best for Fashion Design: Prismacolor Premier

Prismacolor Premier for Fashion Design is quite famous among designers, artists, and even beginners. Everyone wants to have it in their own arsenal of tools for realistic color rendering.

Pros

Soft writing, creamy texture allows to write in a rich buttery layer
Colors don't smudge and light-fast
They blend easily, thus blending allows to achieve other colors you don't have
They come in a metal tin which prevents accidental breakage

Cons

The lead is fragile and off-centered
The barrel tends to crack and split
The powder is left after writing
There is less variety of colors in the small set
The bar crumbles while sharpening

Castle Art Supplies: Cool for Coloring Books

If you are looking for some pencils for leisure, e.g. for coloring books – these are the perfect option that are made in a professional manner. They also have a metal tin which shows status, however, they are still much cheaper.

Pros

The wood is good
The lead is waxy, which allows them to blend with each other easily
The writing is smooth like butter
They work on many surfaces
Easy to hold
The core stays sharp for a long time

Cons

The colors are bold. It makes landscapes and portraits less realistic
It's hard to achieve more pale/nude shades
They leave some white areas as crayons do
These have chemical odor
The set has several duplicates of shades

They have a round barrel which is an unusual feature for pencils. They provide you with the best experience, especially as it concerns beginners with coloring books.

Derwent Inktense: Good Watercolor Pencils

Watercolors always fascinate people with their charm of illustration and reflecting things on paper. Derwent Inktense is a modern version of that familiar watercolor.

Pros

They blend wonderfully
Layering is perfect
The colors are vivid and intense
Wet applying differs from dry dramatically and dries very fast
After wetting the colors, they become permanent
Wet coloring doesn't go under the page, thus they don't color lower papers

Cons

Coloring doesn't cover the whole page, but leaves some blank spaces
The lead breaks often
They don't erase easily
Black pencil is not watercolor

It seems like Derwent keens on non-angular shapes, thus they love making their products round shaped, like these ones. This set is also comes in a metal tin for transporting them without damage. They are as good for sketching as Marco Renoir pencils.

These pencils have a slightly chalky look so it gives the drawing a quite unusual feeling.

Prismacolor Premier Portrait Colored Pencils

The Prismacolor Premier Portrait name speaks for itself. However, the use of these pencils is not limited. They can be easily used for other purposes where pale intensity is important.

Pros

This set contains nice nude shades for better portraits and coloring experience
They sharpen to a fine angle
The layering is quite good
Some colors are bright and saturated

Cons

They break easily in the sharpener
They wear down fast
The lead is not well-centered and falls out

The colors are perfectly designed for transferring shades of the human body onto the paper. The grade of intensity can be adjusted. Unfortunately, the lead bond with a wooden barrel is not so good as expected.

Crayola Erasable: Recommended for Kids

Crayola is a well-known brand, and the crayons are used by kids all around the world. This set is perfect for school, not only for art classes but for any subject because of their universality.

Pros

The bars are sturdy, long-lasting
The colors lay down like butter
Long-time holding doesn't make the hand cramp
Erase nicely

Cons

If something was erased on some brands of paper – these pencils will not write there anymore
The colors are murky
They don't sharpen well, wood gets caught in sharpener

Unlike the regular colored pencils in a wooden barrel, these leave clearly seen indications of crayons on paper. In other words, they are crayons in a wooden body.

Best Set for Blending: Derwent ColourSoft

Derwent has lots of fans in the world. Derwent ColourSoft is another variety which needs paid attention. At first glance, the obvious advantage of this product is the metal tin which prevents the pencils from damage. Unlike the other opponents, these pencils may also distinguished by users because of the round barreled body.

Pros

Terrific coverage without blank space
They blend well
The core is soft and thick, so colors can be mixed with each other easily
There are magnetic holders for pencils

Cons

These are larger pencils, thus they don't fit into the regular pencil sharpener
Rough sides of the wood
Too big, thus holding them doesn't allow precise drawing
They crumble with chunks of wood while sharpening

Since the wooden body is quite bigger than others, the producer cares about customers and has predicted the need of an irregular sharpener, thus this set includes its own sharpener.

Primarily, they are especially designed for better color transfer onto the paper, thus they have saturated colors and nice blending features. However, they would be wonderful for sketching and a cheap option for learners.

Sargent Art Premium: Good for Illustrations

A good set for illustrations may also become the best brand for adult coloring books. Since these books are getting more and more demand, this is why Sargent Art Premium is gaining rapid popularity.

Pros

The colors are smooth
The colors blend nicely
Hard lead allows to keep the sharp point and stay in the line while coloring
They wear down slowly
The colored area can be erased easily

Cons

They need more pressure in order to make a bold line
The set contains duplicate shades
The colors are not vibrant
They break while sharpening

There is one more thing that user should know before using them. The colors on the barrel are darker than they are on paper, thus this point can be confusing for non-professionals. Otherwise they would require an additional trial before use every time.

Marco Renoir Oil-Based: Best for Sketching

Marco Renoir are high quality decent pencils. Just like the majority of such level artist tools, these also come in a metal tin. The trays are made of plastic, thus it seems they break easily even when holding them in one hand. Marco Renoir is the nice option for sketching, as they make picture just the right.

Pros

No shade repetitions
The lead is soft, smooth, and creamy
The colors are unique exactly to this set, the other sets don't have them
They don't need much pressure for better color performance on the paper
They work on different types of paper

Cons

The colors are not vibrant
The lead falls out
They break while sharpening

Usually, in order to get the same pencil in an artist's store, the imprinted indication on the body of the bar will ease your search. These don't have names on the pencils, but numbers. Another thing about these pencils is that they teach a lighter hand.

According to the review and rank as top rated by thousands of users, this set is recommended to those who want to get quality and pay less.

Best for Adult Beginners: Prang Pencils

A cool option for those adult beginners who want to find and try alternatives of famous brands. Can they really replace famous brands?

Pros

The lead is soft, but hard enough, thus it doesn't break after falling
The colors blend nicely
The cover on the barrel is lacquer which gives an enjoyable feeling while holding it
The layering is wonderful

Cons

Needs more strength to get more vivid color on the paper
The bar is quite fragile, and the wooden body splits

This is an affordable version of top rated colored pencils, however, many uses show their poor quality. They may become popular if they sort out the problem with the materials.

FAQs

Users always spend hours surfing on the Internet and searching the best options. "What are the colors," "What are they made from" – these are the most common phrases in the search nowadays. Such questions always bother users and may cause them to spend additional time investigating all features of the samples. Those who are interested in obtaining some practical knowledge of how the best pencils should be chosen and stored, keep reading and you'll find the perfect solution exactly for you.

What to Consider When Buying Colored Pencils?

If your imagination is limited by your thoughts – just let it out onto the paper with colored pencils. Here are some criteria which will help you to find the best one for you: type (for beginners, school 👩‍🏫 , adults, or professionals); number (the more there are in the set – the more professional option it is); lead (for better blending experience a soft lead is great); the price 💰 is also crucial – choose them according to your budget.

Can You Combine Colored and Watercolor Pencils?

You can absolutely combine colored and watercolor pencils not just for experimental purposes. Using these two types of pencils simultaneously will help you to avoid using ten other shades. Colored pencils will make clear and precise lines, while watercolors will add more tenderness.

What Lead in Colored Pencil Should You Choose: Soft or Hard?

In terms of blending purposes, the softer lead will always allow super blending, while harder lead always needs pressure on it and is hardly ever used for blending. In case you want to achieve light touch – it's better to have hard lead.

How Many Colors in the Set Will You Need?

Try to understand the purpose of these pencils first. If the purpose is coloring pictures – you won't need 150 shades, unless you want just to have them. A set of 48 colors would be enough.

If you are beginner in the art industry – try to purchase a set of 50-80 colors, then gradually you'll see which pencil you require the most. Then you can purchase it.

If the set is for professionals, let's say for architects, they may require the biggest variety of shades and colors.

Can You Use Colored Pencils on Canvas?

If you think about drawing with colored pencils on canvas – be prepared for fast wearing of your tool. Otherwise, you should prepare canvas for minimal product loss. Anyway, always try something new and challenging!

Interesting Facts About Colored Pencils

There are interesting facts about such a unique invention by humanity:

If you need softer gliding on the paper, this result is easily achieved by heating them with a hair dryer for a few minutes.
If you need harder lead – put them into a freezer for 10-30 mins, depending on what hardness you want to achieve.
Colored pencils were designed for marking on documents rather than drawing on the surface.
Found colored pencils that are aged more than a hundred years are still usable, despite some people considering them out of work.
The pencil was invented by the Greeks in the Golden Age.
Crayola produces the majority of colored pencils in the world.

These fascinating facts will change your opinion on colored pencils, and, who knows, possibly inspire you to create a masterpiece.

Conclusion

You may waste lots of time surfing on the Internet and searching for the right solution according to your requirements. We believe these hints will help you to minimize wasting your precious time and instead achieve high results by using the perfect tools for your art.

References

What Makes a Good Color Pencil – The Importance of Pigment – https://pencils.com/
What Are Some Decently Priced Colored Pencils That Come with a Large Variety of Colors? – https://www.reddit.com/
Different Types of Colored Pencils – http://www.mooresartgallery.com/
Colored Pencil – https://en.wikipedia.org/