Best Colored Pencils TechnoBuffalo 2021

Colored pencils are an excellent tool to fuel your creative process, adding bits of personality onto a blank page or coloring book. With choices between vibrant, muted, and bold colors, you are free to pick the colored pencils that best represent your drawing. Colored pencils promote artistic expression, and the act of coloring with these pencils can reduce stress and anxiety in children, youth, and adults. When it comes to the best colored pencils, here are our favorites.

Best overall: Prismacolor 3596T Premier Colored Pencils

Staff Pick

This 12-pack of uniquely colored pencils comes carefully organized inside of a tin case. Manufactured with soft, thick cores, each pencil smoothly distributes color across your page. The pigments are highly saturated, making these colored pencils perfect for shading and shadowing as well. The thick and durable lead inside of each pencil is crack-resistant, which makes these colored pencils great for children and adults.

$13 at Amazon

Best for children: Crayola Colored Pencils

The Crayola colored pencils are great for children as they are non-toxic and feature 50 different vibrant colors. These colored pencils are easy to hold and sharpen, making them great for children. Your kids can choose from the array of bold colors to complete their realistic or imaginative drawings. Packed in a reusable cardboard box, your children can safely store these colored pencils while transferring them from home to their classrooms.

$11 at Amazon

Best for adults: Castle Art Supplies 72 Colored Pencils Set for Coloring Books

These premium colored pencils are strategically placed inside of a tin box. With 72 color options, each pencil has its designated numbered spot inside the box. These utensils feature highly pigmented lead encased inside of finished basswood, making them great for use with adult coloring books or advanced drawings. You can easily and effortlessly layer and blend colors to reach the shades and tones that you desire without breaking or cracking the pencils.

$38 at Amazon

Best value-pack: Zenacolor 120 Colored Pencils Set

Featuring 120 colored pencils, the Zenacolor pencil set radiates high-quality and value. The 3.3-millimeter thick oil-based lead provides a smooth and vibrant finish on your paper. Shading, shadowing, layering, and blending with these colored pencils is both easy and enjoyable. Stored inside of a metal case, these basswood pencils are durable and long-lasting. These non-toxic pencil crayons are perfect for children and adults.

$30 from Amazon

Best for sketching: AmazonBasics Soft Core Colored Pencils

If you're looking for the best colored pencils for sketching, the AmazonBasics Soft Core Colored Pencils are exactly what you need. With 48 colors carefully organized inside of a reusable tin box, you can safely store and transport these pencils to a place where you feel motivated to sketch, such as a park. The soft lead responds beautifully to changes in pressure so that you can layer and blend pigments to accentuate areas of light and shadow in your drawing.

$20 at Amazon

The bottom line

Colored pencils are brilliant for releasing your creativity on a piece of paper or for losing yourself in a coloring book. The Prismacolor 3596T Premier Colored Pencils feature 12 high-quality lead pigments, each encased in a crack-resistant pencil. The soft and thick lead allows for beautiful shading and blending to help you artistically express yourself on paper.

The Castle Art Supplies 72 Colored Pencils Set for Coloring Books are designed with organization in mind. Stored inside of a tin box with specific numbered designations, this colored pencil set is an artist's dream. These premium pencil crayons are great for coloring inside the lines of very detailed adult coloring books. The best colored pencils will help you and your children destressed.

We may earn a commission for purchases using our links. Learn more.