Colored Pencils reviews from Reddit
Summary
We analyzed 185 Reddit reviews across 13 subreddits and 31 posts to rank the best Colored Pencils brands recommended by redditors, including communities like r/ColoredPencils, r/ArtistLounge, r/AdultColoring, r/Coloring, r/pencils. Top-rated brands include Prismacolor (4.4/5), Faber-Castell (4.7/5), Caran d'Ache (4.9/5).
Stats
Reviews185
Subreddits13
Posts31
Brands51
Products76
185 reviews from
and
By Brand
/By Product
#1
Prismacolor
4.4
(44)
"They’re vibrant, blendable, and I don’t think they’re supposed to be but erasable too."
"Prismacolor is the best in my experience."
"Prismacolors! I used those when doing professional illustration work."
"Prismacolors!"
"Prismacolor is what I use."
"I've ended up with two kinds that I'm really happy with: Prismacolor Premier and Faber-Castell Polychromos. The Prismacolor is so soft and so fun to color and shade with"
"Prismacolor. Faber Castelle. However, HOLBEIN are amazing."
"If you're in the US, Prismacolor Premiers would be perfect!"
"For anyone interested, I’ve been coloring a few months and created a list of best vs worst pencils I’ve used so far. Hope this helps!"
"For anyone interested, I’ve been coloring a few months and created a list of best vs worst pencils I’ve used so far. Hope this helps!"
#2
Faber-Castell
4.7
(30)
"If I want finer details, I use the Faber-Castell as it's harder and better at that job."
"I got a 36 set of polychromos for about $50!"
"I think this set from Faber-Castell is a great choice. They're known for their quality and vibrant colors."
"Faber Castell Black Edition"
"Faber-Castell Polychromos are probably one of best color pencils to use."
"Polychromos from Faber-Castell. Hands down my favourite."
"Probably Faber Castell Polychromos."
"Another brand is goods, which are the Faber Castell polychromos."
"Thank you to every one who commented, I'm going to buy the Polychromos pencils that several of you mentioned."
"The Faber Castell Polychromos will give you more joy than the Prism."
#3
Caran d'Ache
4.9
(14)
"Got a set years ago, on a sale. Still going. I love them so much."
"The "Luminance 6901" ones are better if you're not into this"
"Caran d'Ache colored pencils are THE best to me, even better than Faber-Castell. I use the "Museum Aquarelle" ones when I want to play with watercolor a bit"
"I would recommend Caran D’ache Museum Aquarelle. They lay down perfectly smoothly, and are packed with pigment."
"About the same as Derwent Lightfast, two of the best coloured pencils on the market."
"I absolutely LOVE them!"
"Professional artist level (high lightfastness): Caran d‘Ache Luminance."
"Caran D'ache, Faber Castell, Derwent."
"Caran d'ache 100% nothing compares."
"Caran d’Ache Luminance or Faber-Castell Polychromos would be better options."
#4
Derwent
4.4
(11)
"About the same as Derwent Lightfast, two of the best coloured pencils on the market."
"You might want to try looking into colored pencils considered 'harder', these will have better point retention at the cost of saturation."
"Derwent drawing has been my favorite set."
"The top 3 artist grade colored pencils are actually Royal Talens Van Gogh, Derwent Lightfast and Caran D'ache Luminance."
"Caran D’Ache Luminance and Derwent Lightfast."
"I like Derwent's Lightfast & Chromaflow lines!"
"I love the Lightfast range, which I use for commissions."
"Holbein Colored Pencils and Derwent Drawing - I prefer soft and non-scratchy"
"I have good experience with both Prismacolor Premiere and Derwent Coloursoft."
"Derwent coloursoft thicker barrell, soft slightly powdery some , easy coloring."
#5
Arteza
4.0
(7)
"I’m obsessed with Arteza Expert Colored Pencils."
"Arteza colored pencils are REALLY soft and sometimes just hit the spot."
"I enjoy my Arteza pencils, more than Prismas because I feel like it's overall less likely to break."
"Arteza from those two options."
"Arteza Expert Colors are affordable and good to begin with."
"I also have an Arteza set for backup and they're almost as nice, I can't fault them."
"If you want a less expensive option Arteza colored pencils are fine."
#6
Kalour
4.2
(5)
"An inexpensive option is Kalour. I love mine."
"I was pretty impressed by the color payout."
"Kalour - they are made in the same factory as brutfiner."
"Kalour coloured pencils for budget friendly were actually quite solid pencils."
"The Kalour pencils are honestly better than they should be for the price."
#7
Faber Castell
4.2
(5)
"You might want to try looking into colored pencils considered 'harder', these will have better point retention at the cost of saturation."
"Faber castels artist range is also good."
"FC or Prisma Scholar they are cheaper than the artist grade but are nice."
"Faber Castell Black Edition good coloring pencils and reasonable prices."
"Faber Castell black edition. Opaque, good quality."
#8
Holbein
4.5
(4)
"Holbein I think has the most vibrant colors."
"I really like my very expensive Holbeins, and won't be parted from them."
"Holbein Colored Pencils and Derwent Drawing - I prefer soft and non-scratchy"
"My Holbein are a very close 2nd."
#9
Caran d’Ache
4.3
(4)
"The very best is considered to be Caran d’ache Luminance colored pencils."
"IMO Pablos are the *perfectly* made pencil - it's hard like Polychromos, but goes down creamy and richly pigmented like Prismacolors."
"I mostly use Caran d’Ache coloured pencils because I like the colour range."
"I again like the soft hard/balance and they occasionally release special edition sets."
#10
Arrtx
4.3
(3)
"For beginners I always recommend the 126 set Arrtx."
"For the purposes you’ve listed, Arrtx 126 on Amazon."
"Were Arrtx colored pencils covered? Those are my go to everyday pencil right now."
#11
Koh-I-Noor
4.3
(3)
"I remember being gifted a set of kohinoor woodless colour pencils when I was younger."
"I have a set of koh-i-noor woodless colored pencils that some people have issues with but I really like them."
"Another great option are Koh-I-Noor Polycolor, but they are more harder pencils."
#12
Black Widow
4.0
(3)
"Black widow or castle arts are absolutely fantastic budget pencils!"
"I would heartily recommend Black Widow colored pencils."
"I'm really Big black widow pencil fan."
#13
Castle
4.0
(3)
"Maybe an unpopular opinion, but I’ll always recommend the most premium materials you can justify."
"Personally I’d rather have 6 high quality pencils than 24 cheap terrible ones."
"Something like Castle really wouldn't be the end of the world for a kid, better and bigger range than the cheap kids ones."
#14
Soucolor
4.0
(3)
"These have a great range of colors and they blend pretty well."
"I use soucolor, they’re very nice and vibrant, and color smoothly!"
"For pencils, I got my husband the Soucolor 72 set."
#15
Crayola
3.3
(3)
"I'll be honest if you are starting off try crayola!"
"If you are on a budget, Crayola works just fine..."
"Crayola makes a set of erasable colored pencils, they sell them at Target and on Amazon."
#16
Royal Talens
4.5
(2)
"The top 3 artist grade colored pencils are actually Royal Talens Van Gogh, Derwent Lightfast and Caran D'ache Luminance."
"If you can find them, Royal Talens Van Gogh are a great option too."
#17
Castle Arts
4.5
(2)
"The quality, blending, and color saturation are beyond what I had expected, but pleasantly so."
"My first 'real' set was the Castle Arts 120 color set."
#18
Brutfuner
4.0
(2)
"The best set of budget pencils are the Brutfuner or the HuHuHero set."
"I'd suggest Brutfuner square pencils."
#19
Faber-Castell Colored Pencils
4.0
(2)
"I bought a set of the Goldfaber because they’re wax based like Prismacolor."
"I do like the color palette of the FCs."
#20
Castle Art
3.5
(2)
"I got a change to try the Castle Art Soft Touch pencils from Amazon."
"I've been using Castle art colored pencils since I'm cheap."
#21
Canson
3.5
(2)
"I recommend a mid-priced multi-media notebook with 80 to 100 lb paper."
"I have used Canson XL mixed media, and I sometimes see warping due to alcohol markers."
#22
Strathmore
3.5
(2)
"Canson or Strathmore are common brands at art stores."
"I may try Strathmore mixed media."
#23
Stabilo Point 88
5.0
(1)
"I use Stabilo Point 88 color ink pens and black Pigma Microns for inking, then I color over it with Copics."
#24
Mary Maxim
5.0
(1)
"They also sell a Pencil Crayon set and a Gel pen Set"
#25
KUM
5.0
(1)
"It's the best. One hole strips the wood from the pencil, the other sharpens just the lead."
#26
Woodless Colored Pencils
5.0
(1)
"Woodless colored pencils. Seriously."
#27
Faber Castell Two-Hole Metal Handheld Sharpener
5.0
(1)
"I use the basic Faber Castell two-hole metal handheld sharpener, it costs under 2 Euros"
#28
Lyra
5.0
(1)
"You might want to try looking into colored pencils considered 'harder', these will have better point retention at the cost of saturation."
#29
Caran D'ache
5.0
(1)
"You might want to try looking into colored pencils considered 'harder', these will have better point retention at the cost of saturation."
#30
Dahle
5.0
(1)
"A helix pencil sharpener solved all breakage for me."
#31
Stabilo
5.0
(1)
"For watercolour in particular I love the Stabilo Woody 3 in 1. Designed for children but has proved itself for me time and again in journalling with watercolour."
#32
Tombow
5.0
(1)
"Very good quality, costs exactly 50 bucks for the 30 pencils box."
#33
Staedtler
4.0
(1)
"What about staedtler? I don't have the colored pencils but i do have the fine liners and some other things from the brand, and i like them."
#34
Alcohol Markers
4.0
(1)
"He might consider alcohol markers. To me, as a non-artist, impatient colorist, I find more satisfaction from markers."
#35
Colored Pencils
4.0
(1)
"As for colored pencils, it ca"
#36
Pentel
4.0
(1)
"I’d also highly recommend the pentel multi 8 which is something I didn’t know was possible and you can replace the leads with other ones."
#37
Mayco
4.0
(1)
"Depending on what you want them for you could try Mayco designer liner. I've heard it gives crisper lines."
#38
Koh-i-noor
4.0
(1)
"Koh-i-noor. Their magic pencils are fun to play around with too."
#39
Hippie Crafter
4.0
(1)
"I would recommend HIPPIE CRAFTER's Color Pencils for beginners."
#40
Amazon
4.0
(1)
"I have a 72 count of the Amazon brand and they are actually really nice."
#41
Artisto
4.0
(1)
"I bought the purple artisto 72 tin."
#42
Cezanne
4.0
(1)
"Jerry's Artarama is having a sale on their Cezanne 120 set."
#43
Ohuhu
4.0
(1)
"Ohuhu is a good start for budget markers."
#44
HuHuHero
4.0
(1)
"The HuHuHero are slightly better than the Brutfuner."
#45
Prang
4.0
(1)
"Prefer Prang as they are very vibrant in colors."
#46
Stillman and Birn
4.0
(1)
"Maybe stillman and birn alpha."
#47
Prismacolor Colored Pencils
4.0
(1)
"I like the control (blending & texture) I get with Prismacolor."
#48
Helix
3.0
(1)
"I bought some Helix erasable colouring pencils from Amazon for exactly this purpose."
#49
Amazon Basics
3.0
(1)
"The Amazon basics are supposed to be a dupe for Prismas."
#50
Derwent Colored Pencils
3.0
(1)
"If the color application is weak i'm assuming you have the Derwent Studio pencils or Procolour."
#51
Pentel, Uni-ball, Koh-i-noor, Staedtler
3.0
(1)
"Also coloured pencils can be staining and not easy to erase, so test your pencils before using them."
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