If you are ready to start using colour in your artwork, the best colour pencils are a great entry point. They are a dry medium and clean to work with, making them convenient for a lot of situations. For more experienced artists, colour pencils can be subtle medium capable of fine lines and control over details.
Different ranges of colour pencils can vary in their consistency, the longevity of their pigments, and the selection of colours. A few brands produce pencils with a thicker core. which are a good option for larger drawings and more expressive work.
Professional quality pencils should contain archival pigments that won’t fade for a long time, suitable for making work intended for display. Most cheaper ranges tend to use at least some fugitive pigments, meaning that they will fade faster, so these should be reserved for use in sketchbooks and quick sketches.
For this guide, we’ve looked at how colour pencils perform on different surfaces, the selection of colours in each range, how they feel to use, and the reported longevity of their pigments to select the best colour pencils for different uses.
One of the best sharpeners will help you get the most out of your coloured pencils, and our guide to the best pencils for artists overall is good place to start expanding your drawing kit. If you need something to draw on, our selection of artists’ favourite sketchbooks has you covered.
Check out our list of how to draw tutorials to help improve your drawing and sketching technique. We also have a guide to the best colouring books.
The best coloured pencils available now
Point type: Medium
Pack sizes: 72, 120
+ Easy to sharpen
+ Soft-touch finish
- Not a hexagonal finish
We think these round-barrelled pencils from Castle Arts are the best coloured pencils available for most purposes. With a soft-touch finish, we find them a first-rate choice for blending and layering and love their smooth, creamy hues. They're comfortable to use over long periods, stay sharp for longer than most pencils we've tested and they come in a protective zip-around case. The colours are also clearly labelled. Superb.
Point type: Medium
Pack sizes: 20, 40, 76, 100
+Excellent light-fastness
+Extremely high quality
- Expensive
Caran d’Ache Luminance are a high quality range of colour pencils that excel in balancing excellent light-fastness over time with a high colour intensity and wide range of colours, making them the best colour pencil for professionals. They particularly good at layering, working well on a variety of papers, and are soft enough to blend easily.
Point type: Fine
Pack sizes: 240
+ Huge variety
+ Unique colours
- Not so rich
This Kalour set of 240 coloured pencils offers great value for money, providing lots of pencils and a unique range of colours, including metallics and neons. Pros may find they lack the rich pigment of the previous options on our list, and you'll need to manually organise the collection, which takes time. However, these have soft break-resistant cores and we found they worked well for colouring, sketching and blending.
Point type: Fine
Pack sizes: 12-120
+ Water-resistant
+ High lightfastness
- Could be too soft
We were impressed by the lightfastness of these pencils (that is their resistance to fading when exposed to light) thanks to their bright high-quality, acid-free pigments. A thick 3.8mm core offers high break resistance, and the wooden barrels are protected with a water-based 'eco' varnish. They're available in a variety of pack sizes, from 12 to 120. They also make a perfect pair with Faber-Castell's Albrecht Durer Watercolour Pencils.
Point type: Broad
Pack sizes: 6-72
+ Range of set sizes
+ Attractive box
- Soft leads require care
These are the best coloured pencils we've used for still life or landscapes. With a round 4mm velvety-soft core, they're great for building up colour quickly. They're highly blendable, and thanks to the break resistant core, you can also sharpen them to a fine point. They're available in a large variety of box sizes too, from six to 72 and in a presentation box, which makes a nice choice as a gift for an artist.
Point type: Extra thick
Pack sizes: 12, 24, 36
+ Great for large areas
+ Blends well
- Not so good for detail
These pencils offer a larger scale option without sacrificing on quality, with a chunky 6.4mm diameter core. They are great for larger, expressive drawing approaches and mixed media work, or just simply covering large areas. They are also quite soft, so they lay down colour easily, and combined with their larger size, are easy on the hands.
Point type: Fine
Pack sizes: 24
+ Nice firm grip
+ Smooth colouring
- Harder to sharpen
These coloured pencils have a rather unusual triangular design, which we actually loved. It ensures they don't slip when sketching and they'll never roll away on a desk. The non-slip surface also feels nice to use, and the ergonomic design features continue in the case, which folds out as a stand. The colour lays down in smooth, creamy shades too. The downside? The triangular shape requires manual sharpening to get a perfect point.
Point type: Fine
Pack sizes: 12, 24, 36, 72
+ Good colour selection
+ Great for detail
- Quite firm
Derwent Procolour are a reliable pencil with a good selection of different colours, especially neutrals and browns. They are on the firmer side, which allows them to sharpen to a fine point; combined with their colour range, this makes them a solid option for realistic work. A few colours in the range contain pigments that fade easily, but the majority of these pencils feature good light-fastness.
Point type: Chisel
Pack sizes: 12
+ Vivid colours
+ Easily erase mistakes
- Limited to 12 pencils
If you make a lot of mistakes, we find Prismacolors' erasable coloured pencils a nice set to have. They're good for artists who create detailed designs and patterns, or as colouring pencils for adults, because the sharp chisel tip allows for fine work and accuracy. When you do stray, marks can be removed with a dry or damp cloth. This does have a downside, as the pigments aren't the richest we've used. Also consider how you use them: they're fine as a base for watercolour but we wouldn't use them on top.
FAQs
What's the best brand of coloured pencils?
If you're a pro or semi-pro, our top choices overall come from Castle Arts and Caran d'Ache. With a soft-touch finish, Castle Arts' round-barrelled pencils offer first-rate blending and layering qualities. They're comfortable to use over long periods and produce smooth, creamy hues. They also stay sharp for longer than most pencils, and the colours are clearly labelled.
However, if you're only starting out and you're doing practice sketches, you may prefer a value option, so we've also chosen a range of more affordable coloured pencils in our list above.
What are the best cheap coloured pencils?
If you want quality coloured pencils, but don't want to pay high prices, we recommend Shuttle Art's set of 172. These round pencils are made premium quality wood and have a thick 3mm break-resistant core, making them great for regular, everyday use. They usefully feature colour names and numbers on the side. And they're pretty great in action too, with soft leads that produce vivid colours that are easy to blend, layer and shade.
How do you sharpen a coloured pencil?
Coloured pencils with soft leads should never be sharpened to a long point, because they are more likely to break. Instead, use a mechanical pencil sharpener (never an electric one) and sharpen to a short point. Test out different sharpeners to find the one that works best for you and your pencil – see our best pencil sharpeners guide for your options.
How long do coloured pencils last?
Coloured pencils typically last for at least two to five years, if used sparingly or not at all. Store them carefully in cool, dark place and they may last much longer. Conversely, the more that coloured pencils are exposed to heat or sunlight, the faster they will absorb moisture and dry out. This will make the lead brittle and difficult to use.
How to choose the best coloured pencils
Choosing the best coloured pencils for you will depend on what you want to use them for. It will also depend on your skill level, budget, and artistic style. If you're new to using coloured pencils and you're unsure of the qualities that you want for your art style, we recommend starting with a small set to test them out for yourself before investing in a large set with many shades.
The core performance of a pencil is determined by how its pigments are held together. For coloured pencils in particular, lightfastness is another key consideration.
Student-grade budget-friendly options use more filler and less pigment. They're perfect for beginners, hobbyists or coloring books, but the colors may appear less vibrant and are harder to blend. Professional-grade coloured pencils packed with dense, rich pigments blend effortlessly, resist fading and have excellent resistance to sunlight.
Wax-Based Pencils are the most common. These are soft, blendable, and creamy, making them excellent for layering and smooth gradients. However, they are prone to breakage and can develop "wax bloom" (a foggy white film) over time.
Oil-Based Pencils have a harder core that holds a sharp point for fine details. They rarely break, do not suffer from wax bloom, though they require a bit more pressure to blend.
There are also water-soluble coloured pencils (see below).
How we test coloured pencils
We've been reviewing creative tech and craft tools at Creative Bloq for more than a decade, and we've tested everything from pencils and sketch books to paints, easels and craft machines. In many cases, we have tested the colour pencils ourselves for a range of different types of work and on different kinds of surfaces, focusing on how well they lay down colours, how they blend and on their durability and lightfastness.
Note that we haven't include water-soluble pencils or pastel pencils on this list, since they're hard to compare with standard coloured pencils, and we have separate expert guides on these (see our picks of the best pastel pencils and the best watercolour pencils).
In cases where we've not been able to review the pencils ourselves, we've used our knowledge of the specifications needed for certain types of work and consulted reviews by other artists. We've also consulted opinions from the professional artists who contribute features and tutorials to the site.
