Best Colored Pencils For Blending
Want to try out blending with color pencils, here’s a top 5 list of the best to choose from…
Colored pencils are used in a variety of situations by amateur and professional artists alike and as such, picking the best pencils for yourself overall is a crucial aspect of getting the best out of your drawing or painting experience.
There are many times when you want to experiment and/or try out something new and that’s not uncommon. Every artist has tried to blend their colored pencil somewhere along the line to get incredible compound colors and therefore having a colored pencil set that supports blending is essential.
Watercolor pencils are often seen as the easiest colors to blend because they’re just chalk and pigment and you can just simply draw the colors next to each other and apply some water to get the best possible blending shading result. There are however alternatives to this which we’ll look at a bit further on.
This guide will cover some of the best colored pencil sets on the market so you don’t have to search high and low for something to settle with.
Starting from artist-grade colored pencils to professional-grade colored pencils, this guide will have you covered. So stick till the end to find out the best colored pencil set for blending.
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01) Sanford Prismacolor Premier Colored Pencils 150 kg, 150 Count (Pack of 1)
Soft and easy to blend. Vibrant colours
Features:
- Pack of 150 soft core colored pencils
- Lightfast
- Large range of colors
- Robust leads resist cracking due to being thick and durable
Description:
The Sanford Prismacolor pencils pack of 150 as the name suggests has a huge selection of professional colored pencils in their pencil sets. The premier pencils are known to be of exceptional quality among many artists.
The set features soft colored pencils and hard colored pencils along with a variety of other shades that you will not miss.
Review:
The Prismacolor Premier pencils are widely acclaimed by artists all over the world for providing great quality pencils.
Overall a great purchase if you are looking to be stacked with a huge collection of colored pencils.
02) Holbein 100 Colored Pencil Set
Soft buttery texture enabling quality blending
Features:
- Set of 100
- Soft buttery texture
- Great for blending
- 3.8mm lead diameter
- Pastel pencils included
Description:
Holbein is an enormous brand that is acclaimed by all artists across the globe similar to Prismacolor premier pencils. The set features a wide range of buttery smooth textured colored pencils that are extremely satisfying to work with.
The set includes soft colored pencils that are easily applicable on a variety of surfaces.
Review:
Holbein is incredibly popular amongst artists across the globe due to its quality, making them an incredibly reliable suggestion regardless of your experience with colored pencils.
They are known for making wax-based colored pencils and other products that are incredible for all your art projects. Overall a very good purchase.
03) KALOUR 180 Colored Pencil Set
Rich Pigment Soft Core – 12 Metallic Pencil – Wax-Based – Ideal for Coloring, Drawing, Sketching, Shading and Blending – Vibrant Color Pencils in Tin Case
Features:
- Set of 180
- Non-Toxic
- Wax-based colored pencils
- Wide selection of colored pencils
Description:
Kalour is a well-known brand for all mediums of drawing and painting. Each wax-based pencil within the set is guaranteed to provide vibrant and rich colors with a buttery and smooth texture upon application.
Wax-based pencils are known for being soft and incredibly satisfying to work with making them a great option for any artist.
Review:
The Kalour set of colored wax-based colored pencils is a brilliant and extremely versatile collection of pencils. The set has pencils for any shade you can imagine making them very good for coloring on the go.
Overall for the budget, the set is a great purchase and provides excellent quality wax-based pencils.
04) MARKART 120 Colored Pencils Set
Perfect for Adult Coloring Book, Sketch, Shading, Blending Crafting, Soft Cores, Professional Art Coloring Drawing Pencils for Beginners & Pro Artists in Tin Box
Features:
- Set of 120
- Comes in a sturdy metal box
- Easily blendable like watercolor pencils
- Strong lead
Description:
The Makart collection of 120 pencils is a huge set of water-soluble colored pencils that come in fun and vibrant colors packed in a sturdy metal box.
Although they are not as popular as the other pencils on the list they have garnered a reputable name among the budget brands on the market on the down-low.
Review:
The Makart set is a large and versatile set that will have you ready for each shade of color with or without blending. Each pencil has a cylindrical shape that a lot of artists prefer when it comes to gripping for long periods of time without any strain.
Overall for the price and the value being offered, they are definitely a worthy pencil set for your collection.
05) Derwent Lightfast Colored Pencil Set of 36
Additional Colours Available, Supplied in a 72 Tin. Soft and easy to mix/blend
Features:
- Set of 36
- Vibrant and vivid colors
- Oil-based colored pencils
- Smooth and creamy laydown
Description:
Derwent is known for great lightfast colored pencils that last a lifetime upon applicationand this set of oil based colored pencils is a curation of all the essential colors that you might need in your projects.
Each pencil features a wooden encasing with high-quality leads.
Review:
Derwent colored pencils have garnered a reputation for being premium-feeling pencils akin to the Prismacolor Premier pencils with all your essential colors packed in one box.
Overall a great buy for anyone who isn’t looking for an overwhelming collection yet fit for purpose colored pencils.
General Information About The Best Coloured Pencils For Blending
When it comes to blending color for pencils you are given the option to pick from wax-based, oil-based, and chalk-based colored pencils. Each has its own strength and weaknesses.
The key difference in each of these is the amount of pigment in the cores and that will determine how vibrant or opaque your colors are going to look upon application.
Blending the colors would vary from using fixative or blending stumps depending on whether they are dry or wet media. Wax is usually worked with no water as they are thick yet rich in pigment.
Conclusion/ Roundup
Overall picking the right colored pencil will depend on your own preference, from premium quality pencils, to artist grade pencils to student grade colored pencils. Whether you like strong leads with hard core or a soft lead core will dictate which you want to invest in. It’s best to always try your hand out with them all over time as you never know what you might like.
FAQs
What is the best color pencil brand?
The best color pencil brand is purely subjective and is very difficult to speak objectively about. However, there are a few brands that have garnered high praise reputation. Such as Prismacolor Premier and Faber-Castell
Can you blend any colored pencils?
Colored pencils are generally super easy to blend. Moreso if you are using water-soluble pencils, they are the best when it comes to such techniques.
Are Prismacolor scholar pencils good for blending?
Prismacolor Scholar pencils are a very well reputed brand, especially in terms of budget and quality. They also happen to be extremely well versed in making pencils that are in fact, great for blending.
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Written By Adam Rushton
Adam has made a name for himself in the illustration industry and is a passionate blogger and writer on the subject of art, illustration and graphic design.
His artwork has been featured in countless publications and used for very well-known media projects. As a professional illustrator for over 20 years, Adams media outlets, a wealth of knowledge, and experience enable him to consult and advise artists and illustrators in this country (from York and Manchester to Southampton and London) and all over the world.
