It should come as no surprise that the most commonly used tool for coloring books is the almighty colored pencil. Colored pencils provide the most control to the artist. The same exact pencil can color in tiny details when sharpened to a point, or color much bigger spaces quickly when the broad side of the graphite is used. You can also decide how much color you’d like to put down just by the amount of pressure you put on the pencil. Many colored pencils are also kind of erasable. I say “kind of” because although you can’t lift up a spot with heavy coloring some softer spots can be lifted with the right eraser.

With all these benefits leaning heavy on the colored pencils side and a plethora of choices on the market we decided to go through and list out our favorite options for a multitude of price points and seriousness.

Sargent Art Premium Coloring Pencils

These pencils are surprisingly cheap for how great the quality is. These are the cheapest pencils we suggest and urge you not to use the very popular Crayola pencils since the graphite they use is simply not good and will create low quality looking colorings. Like the Crayola these Sargent Art pencils are also easy on the pocket but do so while also delivering a great finish.

While you may not get the super strong and vivid colors with these pencils that you will with the higher priced options these pencils are perfect for general coloring and anyone just starting out. Be aware that these pencils will not blend very well so if that is a quality that is a must for you then you will have to go for a slightly higher quality pencil.

Prismacolor Premier Color Pencils

These are probably some of the most used pencils by people who color reasonably often and want to get a higher quality finish. They come in very nice and classy looking tin case that always makes me feel like an artist living in Paris in the 20s. These pencils are wax based and will blend reasonably well with other colors. Some of the larger packs even come with blending pencils which some artists find help with the blending.

The one downside to these pencils is that the wax based graphite will wear down pretty quickly and you will find yourself taken sharpening breaks often especially if you are trying to color a very detailed spot that requires a fine tip.

Faber Castel Polychromos

These pencils are an amazing value for their quality. Although quite a bit more expensive than the previous option these deliver very strong and vivid colors. These pencils are oil based instead of wax based which means that they will blend extremely well with other colors. Another really great thing that these pencils have going for them is that it takes a good amount of coloring to wear the point down. This means more time coloring between those pesky sharpening breaks.

Be aware than as the third option on our list they are on the pricer side. We suggest starting out with a smaller pack to find out if these are pencils that you like and then investing in the larger packs which provide you with the better price per pencil.

Which ever pencil you decide to go with in the end the important thing is to actually use them and not just let them collect dust on the shelving. Art is about the process and how it makes you feel and not so much the tools you use...I think Marcel Duchamp would agree ;)

Happy coloring!