Colored pencil review

This is an in-depth review of colored pencils. All my observations are my personal opinions, and I encourage you to try out any colored pencils to find what fits you best. For pricing I will use Amazon.com, and www.dickblick.com. Some of my colored pencils are old or unbranded, so I will give my best estimate of price. Let's begin!

Picture one of the colored pencils.

Picture two of the comparison.

These two photos show all of the colored pencils side by side. This was done on Bristol board, which us generally no recommend for colored pencils. I chose Bristol board because showing you their performance at their worst is a better indicator of quality than the pencils at their best.

Fantasia Artist Color

These are my current favorite pencils. 1) They are a store brand, so they are not expensive and often on sale 2) The colored ends make it easy to know which color I am using 3) soft cores!

Negatives: They are not the best blending pencils, but better than many. I feel these are a great middle of the road pencil.

Crayola

I don't understand why people hate on crayola. These are very consistent soft core colored pencil. Are they cheap? You can buy 50 for less than $7 on amazon at the time of this writing.

But they work very well for what they are. You will not be able to achieve a lot of layers with these. But as cheap pencils crayolas are good.

Berol Verithin (Prismacolor Premier Verithin?)

These are supposedly high end pencils, but mine may be old. They have a harder core, which I don't prefer. They are around $15 for a 12 count pack and are now known as Prismacolor verithin. Prismacolor and Berol are now the same company.

Liqui-Mark

These are relatively cheap ($15/36 count), but unlike the infamous rose art these are okay. They make a good first colored pencil for kids if you can't find crayola for some reason (as they come in a lot of children's art kits come christmas time).

Mongol

This is one of my older pencils and it still works. Some of the color is not the brightest, but that could be due to age. It layers well and I frankly like it.

Prang

Probably my first "fancy" set of colored pencils (they were marked artist, which to child me was amazing). I only have a few of these left, as the rest were lost to time. A good soft core, but the cheaper wood makes them hard to sharpen. They are owned by Dixon Ticonderoga now.

Prismacolor

These are the epitome of easy blend mid priced soft core colored pencils. I once had a huge set, but they died a good death (I used them to nubs). These are great artist pencils, but I personally can't afford a new set right now. They run about $26 for a set of 12.

Oil

Prismacolor Premier

Remember how I said there are two kinds of binders? This pencil is oil, not wax. I have about 5 of these, but I have no idea where they came from. I always assumed they cost more than typical prismacolors, but I found a set online for $15 for a 24 set. That is not the normal price though. The are very smooth and layer well. They work with other prismacolor pencils.

Dixon

This is a great soft core oil colored pencil. No idea where it came from. It could be from as early as 1940 (as I got a lot from my gramma when she cleaned her art room) as Dixon and Ticonderoga are now Dixon Ticonderoga (they merged). It is soft and a great color, typical of this kind of pencil.

Random OIl

I know even less about this oil colored pencil. It's buttery and strongly pigmented. No idea where to get more.

Erasable

Ticonderoga (erasable)

Another in the "where did these come from" collection. These are actually pretty famous drawing pencils, not colored pencils. They are meant to be used as underdrawing. These didn't erase well, but that was more the old eraser. They are $4.44 for 12 pencils. They are useful art pencils.

Dixon (erasable)

Dixon has been around since 1795 and this pencil is old. Colored pencils don't last forever ( though they do last longer than markers) and this pencil flat out refuses to erase. Dixon and Ticonderoga are now they same company, so refer to the newer Ticonderoga for an accurate review.

Watercolor Pencils

random water color

This colored pencil (yes, this stubby blue pencil specifically) is why I never tried water color pencils until recently. Very hard to use and it doesn't do the thing it is designed to do, blend with water. I can't warn you away from it, as I can't tell the brand, but this kind of pencil is to be avoided.

fantasia water color

Good Lord, where have these been all my life? These put down enough color that you can use them as normal colored pencils. I bought these by accident (they look a lot like the similar normal brand). Best accidental purchase ever. They are very reactive to water and layer well. And layer even after wet (if you wait for it to dry). Medium price and I love these.

Other Types of Colored Pencil

Rose art

This pencil is evil. They are incredibly cheap, $9.08 for 72, and they are the most useless colored pencils ever. It has a hard core, cheap wood, and it scratches your paper! It doesn't layer and it is just terrible. If you need cheap pencils, buy Crayola or Liqui-mark, don't give these to children.

mini colored pencils These are more of a novelty item. They don't do much really. They sort of color a bit, but I am afraid to snap them while using them, so not really recommended.

Alpino Ecologic

These are just odd. My cousin bought them in Spain. They are made from recycled materials and I really don't like them. They are like the mini colored pencils, more of a novelty item. They cost $24.99 in 2007, and I don't think they are worth that cost.

#review #coloredpencil