Which colored pencils are the best

The most common packaging design for premium-grade pencils is a metal box containing a plastic tray with a groove for each pencil within. The Prismacolor Premier pencil set breaks from the norm by offering a deeper box with two stacked smaller trays. This design makes it impossible to see and reach all of your pencils at one time unless you remove a tray, and the trays themselves are made from a flimsy plastic, so they do not lift in and out of the box easily. We continue to stand by the Premier Colored Pencils as our pick for most people.

A Wirecutter staffer who is a longtime user of Prismacolor pencils and who bought a fresh pack of them over a year ago says they are still her go-to pencils. Well-liked by our testers, the Staedtler pencils ran neck-and-neck with the Prismacolor Premier pencils in vibrancy, the quality of their wax-based lead on the page, and durability. And we especially liked their convertible case, which turns into a stand to hold the pencils. The lead on the scholar-grade pencils, which is made from both soft and hard wax, was noticeably firmer and did not lay down as smoothly for our testers.

The color range is also less comprehensive than that of the Premier set. If you want a good, reasonably priced sharpener to pair with your new colored-pencil set, we recommend the Prismacolor Premier Pencil Sharpener.

For our guide to back-to-school supplies , we spent over four hours researching 12 and testing five new portable pencil sharpeners in The Prismacolor was our favorite, and it was the standout with our panel of kid testers at the New York Times office parent company of Wirecutter. This sharpener has both a small hole for putting a long point on standard graphite writing pencils and a large opening for inserting oversize pencils or cutting standard colored pencils at a shallower angle.

The integrated shavings container keeps your hands clean and lets you sharpen without having to stand near a trash can, and its attached cover means you can throw it in a bag or in storage with other art supplies and not worry about getting shavings all over. We also like its sleek design and think it will appeal to artists all of ages.

Not all of our testers liked the unique grooved design, which is meant to make these pencils easy to grip. The intended professional audience is also reflected in a higher price. While the color was deep in our tests, the range of colors in the oil-based Faber-Castell Polychromos Color Pencils felt a bit muted and heavily weighted toward neutrals. The very high price knocked this count set out of consideration as a top pick.

The Caran D'ache Pablo Color Pencils did not score well on several counts: The smaller size of this set, 18 pencils, resulted in a more limited range of colors, including no pink or flesh tones, which are hard hues to blend.

Color range aside, these pencils ranked in the middle of the pack in our testing, but with a high price, they did not present a good value. We included the Blick Studio Artists' Colored Pencils in our initial test round but eliminated them because their lead crumbled easily and left a mess of lead dust on the page.

But most of our older-kid and adult testers found these larger-circumference pencils awkward to hold and the smaller range of colors limiting. Robert A. Our pick. Prismacolor Premier Colored Pencils count The best colored-pencil set for beginners These perform as effectively as artist-grade pencils twice the price. Budget pick. Prismacolor Premier Pencil Sharpener The best pencil sharpener It has a sleek design, is easy to use and maintain, and can put a fine or medium point on most pencils.

Everything we recommend. Why you should trust us. But with so many great brands of colored pencils available, it can be confusing to determine which colored pencils you should go with. In this post I will review some of the best colored pencils available for artists.

If you want to learn about the standard drawing pencils graphite and charcoal , you should read this post. Below are the pencils which have been reviewed:. Prismacolor Premier Colored Pencils.

Staedtler Ergosoft Colored Pencils. Faber Castell Polychromos Color Pencils. Caran D'ache Luminance Colored Pencils. Prismacolor Premier Colored Pencils are widely considered to be the leading colored pencils in terms of quality for the cost. The quality of these pencils tends to match or come close to the more expensive colored pencils which are tailored to seasoned artists.

These are my number one all-round pick for the best colored pencils for artists. You cannot really go wrong here. These are decent colored pencils of comparable quality to the Prismacolor pencils. However, these are more expensive so Prismacolor has the clear edge.

In my opinion, the only reason you would choose these over the Prismacolor pencils is if you want the ergosoft grip or just for personal preference. These are brilliant colored pencils which are of a very high quality. However, they are at the high end of the price spectrum, so I would recommend these for more developed artists.

These are very high quality, oil based colored pencils which are tailored to professional artists. These pencils would make for the perfect gift for any artist friends.

The Prismacolor Premier Colored Pencils are in my opinion the best all-round colored pencils based on quality and price. Things you buy through our links may earn us a commission. You can learn more about our rating system and how we pick each item here. They are very smooth and the quality is just amazing!

Instead, they are so quiet and color as smooth as butter, which is probably my favorite characteristic about these pencils. Positive reviewers said over and over again that they appreciate the value of this set of Crayola colored pencils.

And now for some micro-picks of every type of colored pencil you might be looking for. Across Amazon, Prismacolor colored pencils get a ton of glowing reviews for their smooth texture and vibrant colors, and this set of a dozen colors with over 4, positive reviews is no different. You may have to be a bit more gentle with the leads to avoid breaking them but this is really our only minor issue.

And the fact that they come in at a much more affordable price point than many other premium sets makes any small concerns easy to overlook. You can choose from set sizes ranging from 12 to count. Finally, the core comes in at 5mm and it is wrapped in an 8mm round barrel. Pros : Wide range of colors, great intensity, excellent blending, superb price.

Staedtler Professional Watercolor. While Staedtler has a variety of pencils at various price points, their premium Profesional Watercolor set is one of our favorites. You will notice a big jump in performance between these and their budget sets. This includes superior blending, much more intense color, a smoother application, and more diverse color options.

As you might expect, this does also result in a higher asking price but it is more than warranted. The set sizes are a bit lacking, ranging from 12 to 60, so try to go with the bigger set if your budget allows. The cores are made of wax and are wrapped on a hexagonal barrel. Pros : Fantastic color depth, great mixing capabilities, good color selection, attractive packaging. If you are after a fantastic set of pastel pencils, then this is your answer.

These pastels produce immense levels of color, blend well, and look great while doing so. The large core means that you can put a lot of color on the page with ease. But these pencils are quite pricey and may struggle in highly detailed areas due to their size.

Pros : Great color output, Easy blending, Lovely packaging. Cons : Expensive, Will not be great for intricate areas of a canvas. The more affordable but less versatile sister set to their storied Museum Aquarelle line, these focus almost exclusively with wet applications with their harder lead and smaller lead size. Sets vary from 12 to 80 pieces and the barrels are hexagonal.

Pros : Excellent control when exposed to water, Deep vivid colors, Great for intricate details. Cons : May struggle when applied dry, Expensive. Mitsubishi Uni Colored Pencils. Pros : Good color production, Attractive packaging, Good core size, Large set sizes available. Holbein Artist. These colored pencils are very expensive but offer a unique experience thanks to their specialized core that consists of multiple ingredients including oils, waxes, and even fats.

Application is buttery smooth and the color is bright. Blending is a bit lacking, however. They come with a 3. Pros : Barrel color accurately depicts core color, vibrant color output, very soft and buttery application, great variety of bright colors. Cons : Extremely expensive, can be a bit messy in application, somewhat lacking in browns and grays, not great at blending.

Bruynzeel Design Colour. A very fun pencil that produces loads of colors thanks to its super soft lead and a thick core. This wax pencil comes in a small but potent set but is lacking in color variety and comes at a high asking price. However, it does adequately compete with the top colored pencil brands out there. This set comes with a 3. Pros : Very rich color application, easy to sharpen, great packaging. Cons : Somewhat expensive, a lot of overlap with reds, limited set sizes. This is the workhorse set for Derwent.

These pencils take a very proven method and deliver solid results that have helped to put Derwent on the map. The impressive set size range from singles up to means that everybody will be able to find something that meets their needs.

The 4mm wide core finds a happy medium between size and control and allows these pencils to feel right at home in any setting. The combination of acceptable blending and good color intensity are icing on the cake.

These wax-based pencils come wrapped in a 8mm round wood barrel. Pros : Good color selection, vivid output, great blending. Coming in at a somewhat thin 3. And for those spots that need broader, more subdued color, a little bit of water can go a long way and allow the color to spread evenly. We also like how tough the cores are. They seem to handle quite a bit of pressure for their size.

Overall, the pigments used are plenty vivid for our liking. Our only minor complaint is that these pencils may have some questionable lightfastness when used as a watercolor. Also, be expected to pay a high price for these advanced hexagonal-shaped pencils.

They are available in sets ranging from 12 to Pros : Great variety of colors, quite vibrant, nice packaging. Cons : Expensive, minor lightfastness issues.

Derwent Studio.