The Best Pencils for Colouring

Today there are so many choices of coloured pencils! We’re lucky to have so many great brands available, but picking a set can be tricky.

The best pencils are the best for the task. Depending on the purpose, we might choose different sets. Colouring for fun and relaxation, Learning new Techniques or Creating Artwork to last.

I created a list here of my favourite brands, to help finding the best pencils. I’m posting many sets, but certainly there’s a lot more great pencils that are not included here, because I prefer to post about products I’ve already tested. I will keep updating regularly, to include more options.

Here’s a list of my favourite Coloured Pencils, divided in 3 groups:

Best Coloured Pencils for Colouring Artists and Artwork: Here, top brands that are recognized for high quality. Resistance to light, rich deep colours and superior performance. Some sets in this group are priced in the medium range, while others are sky-high expensive. These pencils are guaranteed to bring many smiles to the most exigent of Colourists!

• Top Resistance to light – Lightfastness (80% to 100%)
• Very Rich Pigmentation
• Hard and soft core available, all comfortable to work with
• Deep Rich tonalities
• Top Performance
• Great Blending and Layering capacities
• Durability
• High Consistency – all pencils same quality
• Comfortable to hold
• Medium to High Prices

Best Coloured Pencils for Colouring Create and Practice: This group presents brands that have great quality, including some resistance to light, with prices in the medium range – excellent for colourists that want to develop skills, practicing techniques like blending and layering, without burning more expensive pencils. These group is also ideal for colouring books, because they offer pro performance for better budget than artists’ pencils, as pigments don’t have the same level of light resistance. Differently than framed artwork, book pages are not often exposed to light, so they will last longer. Great balance between price and quality!

• Large choice of colours
• Good Resistance to light – Lightfastness (av. 50% to 80%)
• Good Blending and Layering
• Rich Pigmentation
• Hard and Soft Core options
• Vibrant Colours
• Great Performance
• Good Consistency – most pencils same quality
• Confortable
• Medium to Accessible Prices

Best Coloured Pencils for Relaxing and Fun : I’ve selected only brands that have good quality with best prices – perfect for colouring activities focused on fun and relaxing. I’m impressed with how many lovely pencils are available today in this category! Before I would use Crayola as a reference for this group: accessible, large colour choice and easy to replace. Now, for the same budget or even less, there are a ton of options that are way better! (sorry Crayolas…) In this group you will find very good pencils that are pleasant to hold, colour beautifully and have nice packaging. They don’t offer resistance to light and have less pigment in some tonalities.

• Very large choice – many colours
• Beautiful tonalities
• Medium to Zero Resistance to light – Lightfastness (0% to 50%)
• Shorter life – issues with sharpening and breakage
• Soft Core options available
• Comfortable to hold
• Consistency variations – not all pencils have same quality
• Easy to replace
• Available in many stores
• Accessible – Great Prices

Best Coloured Pencils for Colouring Artists – Professional Artwork

Polychromos by Faber-Castell

• Polychromos Gift Set – 20 Coloured pencils, 4 Drawing pencils 2H, HB, 2B, 9B +1 sharpener +1 eraser
• Polychromos Outdoors Leather Roll Set – 30 Coloured pencils, 3 Drawing pencils +1 eraser + Synthetic Leather Roll
• Polychromos 48 Set Wood Box – 48 Coloured pencils, 2 Drawing pencils +1 sharpener +1 eraser
• Polychromos 120 Set Wood Box
• Polychromos 120 Set
• Polychromos 60 Set
• Polychromos 36 Set
• Polychromos 24 Set
• Polychromos 12 Set

Albrecht Dürer Watercolour by Faber-Castell

• Albrecht Dürer Outdoors Leather Set – 30 Watercolour pencils + 1 Water Brush + Synthetic Leather Roll
• Albrecht Dürer 120 Set Wood Box
• Albrecht Dürer 48 Set Wood Box – 48 Watercolour pencils + 1 Drawing pencils + 1 Paintbrush +1 sharpener +1 eraser
• Albrecht Dürer 36 BoxSet with paintbrush
• Albrecht Dürer 120 Set
• Albrecht Dürer 60 Set
• Albrecht Dürer 36 Set
• Albrecht Dürer 24 Set
• Albrecht Dürer 12 Set
• Albrecht Dürer 6 Set

Luminance by Caran D’Ache

• Luminance 100 Set
• Luminance 76 Set
• Luminance 40 Set
• Luminance 20 Set – Portrait
• Luminance 20 Set
• Luminance 12 Set

Pablo by Caran D’Ache

• Pablo 120 Set Wooden Box
• Pablo 120 Set Metal Box
• Pablo 80 Set Metal Box
• Pablo 40 Set Metal Box
• Pablo 30 Set Metal Box
• Pablo 18 Set Metal Box
• Pablo 12 Set Metal Box

Lightfast by Derwent

• Derwent Lightfast 100 Set Wooden Box
• Derwent Lightfast 100 Set Tin Box
• Derwent Lightfast 72 Set Tin Box
• Derwent Lightfast 36 Set Tin Box
• Derwent Lightfast 24 Set Tin Box
• Derwent Lightfast 12 Set Tin Box

Inktense by Derwent

• Derwent Inktense 72 Set Wooden Box
• Derwent Inktense 48 Set Wooden Box
• Derwent Inktense 100 Set Tin Box
• Derwent Inktense 72 Set Tin Box
• Derwent Inktense 36 Set Tin Box
• Derwent Inktense 24 Set Tin Box
• Derwent Inktense 12 Set Tin Box
• Derwent Inktense Wash Set – 8 Inktense Pencils, 1 Spritzer, 1 Waterbrush, 1 Paint Brush
• Derwent Inktense 6 Set Blister

Best Coloured Pencils for Colouring Artists – Create and Practice

Prismacolor Premier

• Prismacolor Premier 150 Set
• Prismacolor Premier 132 Set
• Prismacolor Premier 72 Set
• Prismacolor Premier 36 Set
• Prismacolor Premier Verithin 24
• Prismacolor Premier Verithin 36

ColourSoft Extra Soft Core by Derwent

• Derwent ColourSoft – Extra Soft Core 72 Wood Box Set
• Derwent ColourSoft – Extra Soft Core 72 Tin Set
• Derwent ColourSoft – Extra Soft Core 36 Tin Set
• Derwent ColourSoft – Extra Soft Core 24 Tin Set
• Derwent ColourSoft – Extra Soft Core 12 Tin Set

Procolour by Derwent

• Derwent ProColour – Firm Core 72 Tin Set
• Derwent ProColour – Firm Core 36 Tin Set
• Derwent ProColour – Firm Core 24 Tin Set
• Derwent ProColour – Firm Core 12 Tin Set

Chromaflow by Derwent

• Derwent ChromaFlow – Soft Core Rich Colours 150 Tin Set
• Derwent ChromaFlow – Soft Core Rich Colours 72 Tin Set
• Derwent ChromaFlow – Soft Core Rich Colours 48 Tin Set
• Derwent ChromaFlow – Soft Core Rich Colours 36 Tin Set
• Derwent ChromaFlow – Soft Core Rich Colours 24 Tin Set
• Derwent ChromaFlow – Soft Core Rich Colours 12 Tin Set

Rembrandt Polycolor by LYRA Germany

• LYRA Rembrandt Polycolor – Oil based 12 Tin Set
• LYRA Rembrandt Polycolor – Oil based 24 Tin Set
• LYRA Rembrandt Polycolor – Oil based 36 Tin Set
• LYRA Rembrandt Polycolor – Oil based 72 Tin Set

Best Coloured Pencils for Colouring – Relax and have Fun

Arrtx

• Arrtx Soft Core 72 Set
• Arrtx Soft Core 126 Set

Black Widow Collection

• Black Widow – Spider 24 Tin Set
• Black Widow – Scorpion 24 Tin Set
• Black Widow – Cobra 24 Tin Set
• Skin Dark Tones 12 Tin Set
• Skin Light Tones 12 Tin Set
• Monarch 48 Tin Set
• Dragon 36 Tin Set

Castle Arts

• Castle Arts Gold Oil Based 120 Tin Set
• Castle Arts Gold Oil Based 120 Case Set
• Castle Arts Gold Oil Based 72 Tin Set
• Castle Arts Gold Oil Based 72 Case Set
• Castle Arts Soft Core 120 Tin Set
• Castle Arts Soft Core 120 Case Set
• Castle Arts Soft Core 72 Tin Set
• Castle Arts Soft Core 72 Case Set
• Castle Arts Pasteltint 48 Tin Set
• Castle Arts Pasteltint 48 Case Set

Kalour

• Kalour 520 Tin Set
• Kalour 300 Tin Set
• Kalour 240 Tin Set
• Kalour 180 Tin Set
• KALOUR 180 Tin Set Artists Oil-Based
• Kalour 72 Tin Set
• Kalour Macaron 72 Box Set
• Kalour Macaron 50 Tin Set

Black Edition Soft Core by Faber-Castell

• Faber-Castell Black Edition 100 Tin Set
• Faber-Castell Black Edition 50 Box Set
• Faber-Castell Black Edition 36 Box Set
• Faber-Castell Black Edition 24 Box Set
• Faber-Castell Black Edition 12 Tin Set
• Faber-Castell Black Edition 12 Pastel Neon Box Set

Brutfuner

• Brutfuner Macaron 50 Set
• Brutfuner Macaron 72 Set
• Brutfuner Oil Based 72 Set
• Brutfuner Oil Based 120 Set
• Brutfuner Oil Based 180 Set
• Brutfuner Oil Based 260 Set

Soft Core Pencils by Shuttle Art

• Shuttle Art 80 Set
• Shuttle Art 136 Set
• Shuttle Art 180 Tin Set
• Shuttle Art 240 Tin Set
• Shuttle Art 60 Tin Set Metallic Shades
• Shuttle Art 60 Tin Set Pastel Shades

More Coloured Pencils? Yes, Please!

• Prismacolor Scholar 24 Pack Set
• Prismacolor Scholar 48 Pack Set
• Prismacolor Scholar 60 Pack Set
• Raam Refined 72 Tin Set
• Schpirerr Farben 96 Tin Set
• Amazon Basics 72 Tin Set

AMAZON ASSOCIATE CHOICE:
I’m an Audible fan, and listening to books has become one of my favorite parts of the day. I enjoy audiobooks because I don’t always have time to read as much as I’d like. They help me stay focused during certain tasks and also help me unwind before sleep. I especially enjoy light-hearted adventures and whimsical fantasy — they brighten my mood, carrying me into enchanted worlds at the end of a busy day.

I invite you to step into The Chronicles of Narnia Complete Audio Collection and let your imagination roam free! Listening to this epic tale is embarking on a quest full of magic, courage, and wonder. Created by C. S. Lewis — the lifelong friend of J. R. R. Tolkien — this timeless classic continues to win the hearts of kids and adults around the world.

Enjoy this Audible Promotion and pay only $0.99 for the first 3 months! Link valid until December 16, 2025

Hello Reader! I’m an Amazon Associate. The links in my blog are sponsored. They connect you to products I’ve personally selected for their value. Your clicks on these links help to support my work. Thank you!🤗

Ready for a change from 9 to 5 ? Build your business and brand with no upfront investments or monthly fees with Printful.

Learn how to open a store with print-on-demand: Start a Store Online with Printful

Affiliate Disclosure: I’m a Printful Affiliate. Some of the links in this blog are sponsored and lead to products I’ve personally selected for their quality and value. Every click helps support my creative work in a small but meaningful way. I truly appreciate your visit—thank you!