Are you in need of the best-colored pencil at the moment? Look no further as our intricate review will support you find it. The colored pencil can make the work of an artist more lively and real. Since there are so many options to choose from, many beginners and pro artists find it hard to select the best. This is because they vary in shape, color, size, durability, and quality. Also, not all colored pencils will perform certain roles well as they are created for specified uses. Some are good for use on canvas, while others are on paper. The binding material used as well varies from one colored pencil to another as they might be wax-based or oil-based.
Before you commence searching for the best-colored pencil, be well informed on what will work best for you and your practice. With all these varying factors, choosing the best will mean a lot to your artwork.
Summary of Contents
SAVE TIME: Directly Go Our Recommended Top 5 Colored Pencil list
What to look for when buying colored pencils?
Despite choosing the best-colored pencil being a daunting task, you shouldn’t panic at all, as we will make this process easier than you thought. Our panel sat down and conducted broad research, which was able to come up with some useful information that you need to know before getting your desired coloring pencil. They spoke to several artists, viewed online reviews, and reviewed previous customer responses before narrowing down to the information we will discuss with you below. As you already know, there are several brands to pick from, and they also vary in price. Some have great reputations and are well-known all over. You only need to know a few facts about colored pencils in order for you to make a good choice within your needs and budget.
Do you’ve to try out several brands of colored pencils before knowing which is best for your job? Whether you are an artist, or student, or just drawing and coloring for fun, acquiring the coloring pencil for your needs shouldn’t be daunting. Read the best-colored pencil features below to enable you to easily identify a pencil that will give you pleasing and excellent results. These are as follows.
Best quality colored pencil?
The brightness of color – the coloring pencil should be in a position to offer you great brightness as you color a drawing or empty page. If the color is very bright, it will give a wonderful vibrancy. Dull colors will make your work boring and less lively, which is not very appealing to the eye. Bright colors attract the eye from a distance, and this can draw many people to your piece of work easily when compared to dull colors.
Durability – make sure you acquire a pencil that is strong and durable. Different colored pencils are made with different materials. In most cases, the lead is enclosed with a wooden body that is smooth and long-lasting.
Related: Find the top-rated fountain pen here.
Best soft colored pencil?
Quality of the lead is one of the most important parts of the best-colored pencil. Since the lead is the one that will color your drawings or art, it needs to be of high quality. The lead can further be subdivided as being soft or strong. Depending on your purpose, you may need a strong or soft lead. In most cases, people prefer a strong lead that gives them full control as they color.
Smoothness – how smooth is the lead? The best-colored pencil should be very smooth so that it gives you the power to color and shade easily and well with regard to your likeness for perfect outcomes.
The best type of colored pencil binder
Types of binder – Manufacturers tend to use different bindings in coloring pencils to meet artists’ various needs. The three commonly used binders in colored pencils include water-based, wax-based, or oil-based binders. These are expounded further as follows:
- Wax-based binders; are the commonly used best-colored pencils and can be found almost everywhere. They use wax which is the binding material. Also, they are fairly priced and will give you quality results. The only setback that these colored pencils have are that they wear and break easily.
- Oil-based binders; are well known by people who want to layer easily and have a rich color. They use oil as their binding material and appear to be brighter. One of the advantages they have over wax-based pencils is that they last longer and don’t bloom.
- Water-based binders; can be either wax or oil-based. The only thing that makes them different from the two is that they have an emulsifier. The emulsifier enables the pigment to be liquefied with water which brings about a watercolor effect. These can be used as normal colors or liquefied.
Different colored pencils?
Range of colors – know which types of colors you want before picking any pencil as they come with a different assortment. Also, a pack may have as little as 30 colors to over 120 colors per pack. Look at such features when selecting to make sure all your colors are included.
Ease of blending – ensure the colored pencils you’re buying can easily blend to give you the different inspirations that you are looking for and the ideal shade and shadow. The best qualities will blend well. Consider going for these.
Breakage – see if the lead is strong or just breaks easily. Try to avoid colored pencils with soft leads that break easily after some time. This will greatly slow you down as you carry out your art.
Best colored pencils for portraits or classwork?
Role of the colors – different pencils is meant for different uses. Depending on the quality of the image you want, expect to get different results when you use different colored pencil brands. Some coloring pencils are meant for use on canvas, while others are on paper. Also, there are those that are best-colored pencils for drawing a portrait, and others are meant for classwork.
Ease of sharpening – consider acquiring a colored pencil that is very easy to sharpen so that you don’t end up messing the entire lead before you even start using it.
High pigment colored pencil?
Pigment quality – get a pencil with a high pigment quality so that when the light strikes on your work, it is still able to maintain its originality before it begins fading.
Brand
Brand reputation – the best-colored pencil top brands may be a bit highly-priced than the normal colored pencils, but they are worth every penny because of their performance. Brands such as Derwent, Prismacolor, Sargent, and Faber castella will offer you exceptional quality when you use them.
Best budget colored pencil?
Cost – if you want the best quality, be ready to spend a few more bucks. The quality pencil comes at a higher price but will offer you excellent outcomes. Still, you can work within your budget and find coloring pencils that have the properties that you need.
Our Recommend Top 5 Best-Colored Pencil Reviews
Maybe you’ve been struggling with different types of pencils that have given you divided results, and you’ve been thinking of quitting, don’t just quit yet. Our top 5 colored pencils are what will bring you a new chapter in your career of art or just for fun. The list comprises highly regarded colored pencils that perform outstandingly for different roles. When you buy from one of these, expect outstanding results that are to be admired by many. These include:
Best Prismacolor pencils review softcore 72 counts (Our Top Pick)
Prismacolor is one of the highly recommended best-colored pencil brands. It is well known for creating quality coloring pencil that offers great precision in their functioning. The Prismacolor premium softcore 72 count is one of the best. It comes with an assortment of 72 different colors that offers the user a wide range of choices. The pencils are lightfast and will ensure your art lasts longer than you can ever think of. They have a thick and robust lead that is not only easy to sharpen but gives you full control of your work.
Technical Specifications of the Prismacolor Premiered Color Pencils:
| Type | Colored Pencil |
| perfect for: | shading and shadows |
| Leads: | thick and durable |
| Cores: | creamy and thick |
| shades: | 72 |
| Pre-Sharpened: | Yes |
| Core Material: | Soft |
| Material Type: | Wood |
| Dimension: | 8.2 x 1.1 x 10.2 inches |
| Line Size: | 0.7mm |
| Weight: | 1.54 pounds |
In addition, it has soft thick cores that make shading and shadowing fun and easy. If you’ve been looking for an ultra-smooth and even color layering colored pencil, look no further than the Prismacolor premium 72 counts.
Check Price
Key features:
- Lightfast.
- Soft thick cores.
- Richly saturated pigments.
- Thick, robust leads.
- 72 premium colored pencils.
Pros:
- They have a strong and thick lead that is long-lasting.
- It is ultra-smooth to give you quality paint.
- It is lightfast and thus cannot fade easily.
- The pencils has a great assortment of colors with its 72 pack.
- It has excellent soft thick pores that are great for shading and creating shadows.
Best colored pencils for coloring books – Prismacolor pencil for adults
With over 75 years in this industry, you can as well say Prismacolor knows what the customers want. That’s why they have been one of the leading producers of quality pencils for over a long period of time. The Prismacolor premium 48 count is one of the best in the market. It has a thick and robust lead that won’t break easily for longer use and easy sharpening. In addition, it has rich pigments that offer you bright colors that are very appealing to the eye. With the lightfast property, expect your work to last longer when compared to other brands of colored pencils. It is the best colored pencil for adults.
Technical Specifications of the Prismacolor Premiered Color Pencils-3598T:
| Type | Colored Pencil |
| perfect for: | shading and shadows |
| Leads: | thick and durable |
| Cores: | creamy and thick |
| shades: | 48 |
| Pre-Sharpened: | Yes |
| Core Material: | Soft |
| Material Type: | Wood |
| Dimension: | 9.5 x 8.2 x 1 inches |
| Line Size: | 0.7mm |
| Weight: | 1 pound |
Also, it has an ultra-smooth even color for simple layering and blending in order to get the desired outcome. Whatever your imaginations are, put them down on paper in different colors as this pencil gives you a choice of 48 colors to pick from. Acquire this best-colored pencil today for quality art in your class or just for fun.
Check Price
Key features:
- Thick, robust leads.
- Richly saturated pigments.
- 48 premium colors.
- Lightfast.
- Soft thick cores.
- Ultra-smooth even color laydown.
Pros:
- They are very bright with intense pigments.
- Have a wide range of colors (48) to choose from.
- Prismacolor has smooth cores for easy blending and smooth coverage.
- Have thick, robust leads that resist breaking for long use.
Best colored pencil for artists – Prismacolor scholar colored pencil reviews
Similar to other Prismacolor pencils on this list, the Prismacolor scholar colored pencils count of 60 is just as exceptional as the other two. However, this one is a bit different in that it comes with a durable easel packaging for easy use and storage of colored pencils. As sleek as they look, these coloring pencils have a soft lead that blends easily to give you your desired image. Also, the vivid pigments of the product offer you nice shading that lasts long enough. It is the best-colored pencil for professional artists.
Technical Specifications of the Prismacolor Premiered Color Pencil-60count:
| Type | Colored Pencil |
| perfect for: | shading and shadows |
| Leads: | thick and durable |
| Cores: | creamy and thick |
| shades: | 60 |
| Pre-Sharpened: | Yes |
| Core Material: | Soft |
| Material Type: | Wood |
| Dimension: | 5 x 1 x 1 inches |
| Line Size: | 0.7mm |
| Weight: | 14.4 ounces |
Furthermore, the strong cores minimize breakage as you conduct your work, and they come in a pack of 60, which provides you with diverse color options. Get one of these to easily blend different colors and get your deep imaginations on the paper.
Check Price
Key features:
- Richly saturated pigments.
- Strong cores.
- Durable easel packaging.
- Soft leads.
- Pack of 60 colored pencils.
Pros:
- The Prismacolor scholar is very easy to use with the stand-up easel packaging.
- It has vivid pigments and soft leads for easy blending and shading.
- It is made u of strong cores that don’t break easily.
- Comes in a pack of 60 colored pencils to offer you a wide range of selection.
Best drawing pencils – Derwent colored pencil reviews
Derwent brand of colored pencils cannot go unnamed if you are talking about the best-colored pencils. This brand is known for creating high-quality coloring pencils that transform your imaginations into art. The pencil comes with a durable metal tin which is used to store the pencils after or during use. The velvety soft core ensures that you not only blend the colors but as well shade your work well.
Technical Specifications of the Derwent Colored Pencil:
| Type | Colored Pencil |
| perfect for: | still-life drawings and contemporary landscapes |
| Leads: | thick and durable |
| Style: | Metal Tin |
| shades: | 72 |
| break-resistant: | Yes |
| Core Material: | Soft |
| Material Type: | Wood |
| Dimension: | 9.4 x 0.5 x 8.5 inches |
| Line Size: | 4mm |
| Weight: | 12.8 ounces |
This pencil is very comfortable to hold and gives you thick, soft lines suitable for various drawing styles. With these and other excellent features it offers, expect it to get a spectrum of colors.
Check Price
Key features:
- Velvety softcore.
- Hues.
- Sturdy barrel.
- Lightfast.
- 4 mm core.
- Durable metal tin.
- Pack of 36 colored pencils.
Pros:
- They have a study barrel to give the user a quality grip for easy handling.
- They are made of a durable metal tin for storage.
- Have a velvety soft core for easy blending o colors and shading.
- Lightfast properties ensure your work stays for a long without fading.
Best watercolor pencils – Sargent Art colored pencils review
Sargent Art premium coloring pencils pack of 50 is one of the best-colored pencils an artist can have. It comes with a thick lead that measures 3.3mm and is very durable. Also, the pencil has a smooth laydown that enables the user to blend easily and obtain a shade of their choice. It comes with a wide range of colors to choose from, which are all pre-sharpened and ready for use.
Technical Specifications of the Sargent Art Colored Pencil-3.3mm:
| Type | Colored Pencil |
| Perfect for: | Shading and shadows |
| Leads: | Thick and durable |
| Cores: | Creamy and thick |
| Shades: | 50 |
| Non-Toxic: | Yes |
| Core Material: | Soft |
| Material Type: | Wood |
| Dimension: | 8.1 x 7.6 x 0.7 inches |
| Line Size: | 3.33mm |
| Weight: | 2.4 ounces |
If you want colored pencils with exceptional color vibrancy, the Sargent Art premium pack of 50 colored pencils is the product for you.
Check Price
Key features:
- Thick 3.3 mm leads.
- Pre-sharpened.
- AP certified.
- Smooth color laydown.
- Exceptional color vibrancy.
- Durable.
- A pack of 50 colored pencils.
Pros:
- Has a wide range of colors to pick from.
- It is very durable due to its strong lead.
- They are pre-sharpened and ready for use out of the pack.
- Blends smoothly and excellently with the softcore.
Color Pencil Drawing Tips
Today, many artists use colored pencils to draw and color their work. Colored pencils are easily available, inexpensive, and portable, thus making them ideal for use by different artists. Actually, you can do many things with the best-colored pencil apart from just coloring – so you don’t need to limit yourself in any way. Learn some of the top colored pencil drawing tips below to add beauty and imagination to your artwork.
- Scraping –utilize an X-ACTO knife on a burnished surface so as to scrape away areas of pigment. This functions perfectly for capturing fine detail, such as personal hairs, or as a means of getting rid of color to re-work a problem area.
- Pressure shading – the easiest and most natural kind of shading is to simply change the pressure on your pencil. Sharpen the pencil to a fine point and make small overlapping circular marks with little pressure as you can. Try to cover the area smoothly at the light end of the section and slowly heighten pressure as you work toward the darker side.
- Burnishing – create light layers of color using any form of mark-making until all of the paper is covered and the surface looks waxy and tender.
- Colorless blend – on the paper, pressure-shaded spots indicate flecks of white. A great way to smooth them is by burnishing them with a colorless blender. Begin with the lightest spots and press hard while making slightly larger overlapping short or circular marks. Don’t go over value areas and work light to dark. This will darken and intensify the color. Provide a polished surface to the areas by darkening and intensifying the color as you smooth out all white specks.
- Shade light colors over dark colors to blend – set out different values in the same color group instead of shading entirely by pressure. Perform a small patch at the darkest end and shade away slightly with pressure. Then, overlap the area with the net darkest color, burnishing the previous color. If you use this technique, you don’t need to apply the colorless blend.
- Apply solvents – for those with watercolor pencils, simply select a pencil with a similar texture to your other colored pencil. But if you don’t have it, have in mind that different solvents can function with colored pencils.
- Scumbling – move the pencil in circular marks, layering color as you go. This skill is really versatile, functioning well to form distinct textures or smooth, blended areas.
- Directional lines – draw gently in one direction in swift, even strokes. For you to add complexity and depth, layer colors. This is a wonderful skill for any object with a clear-cut linear quality, such as draped fabric or hair.
- Cross-hatching – put down a layer of directional lines, then go over the same place with lines in the opposite direction. This is another excellent skill for forming texture.
- Don’t rub, but blot – if you rub colored pencils, there will be more harm than good as you will be grinding colors into the page instead of removing them. To have more control and a clean page, press a kneaded eraser on the spot and then carefully peel it off.
Different artists use different techniques to accomplish their work. The above colored pencil drawing skills will help you make your work stand out from the rest. Learn slowly and apply them to come up with unique work.
Conclusion
Figuring out which is the best-colored pencil requires much patience and research. But with this review, we’ve made things seamless for you by providing all the information you require to know before embarking on this tricky process. There are various brands to choose from, which ends up confusing people in making the best choice. Some pose as the best, only to use them and find that they are crap! For you to get the top colored pencil, you need to know what you intend to do with it, the type of pencil you want, its quality, shape, range of colors, and your budget.
Most of the top brands, such as Prismacolor, Derwent, Faber Castella, and Sargent, will give you exceptional results though they are a bit pricey. If you are an artist and want only the best, pick one of these, but if it’s just for fun, you can as well look for low-priced or budget-best colored pencils for drawing.