Best Colored Pencils For Blending

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.


01) Caran D’ache Luminance Colored Pencils – Set of 80

Can be blended and layered for various effects

Caran D'ache Luminance Colored Pencils main image

Features:

  • Set of 80
  • Comes in a fancy wooden box
  • Lightfast and smooth coloring
  • Decent range of colors

Description:

The Caran D’ache Luminance colored pencil set is a great collection of color pencils that will give any brand a run for your money. Packed in a sturdy wooden box and a brilliant collection of vibrant colors.

The lead encased in the wooden shell is neither too soft or hard like other hard colored pencils. All of them sport vibrant hues with a beautiful finish that is easy to blend and shade.

Pros
  • Versatile color selection
  • Solid pencil encasing
  • Great for delicate or strong strokes
  • Superior blending
  • Medium soft
Cons
  • Very pricey
  • Not a complete collection

Review:

Caran D’ache is a very popular brand, especially for artist-quality products. In this set, you get nothing but high-quality pigments and professional-grade pencils.

Overall for the price the set is a serious investment and worth every penny if you decide to splurge on any pricey and fancy set of pencil sets.


02) Faber-Castell Polychromos Artist Colored 120 Pencil Set

Premium Quality Polychromos Colored Pencils. Effortless color laydown, bright and very bendable

Faber-Castell Polychromos Artist Colored Pencils Set ain image

Features:

  • Set of 120
  • Comes in a nice tin box
  • Artist-grade colored pencils
  • Vegetable oil-based colored pencils

Description:

Faber- Castell is pretty much a favorite for every artist when it comes to art supplies. They are known to provide artist-grade pencils with incredible performance and feel. Superior to most colored pencils for adult coloring books or anything else.

The pencil lead is sturdy and provides amazingly vibrant colors which will put you to the test of showing off your best colored pencil skills. They can also be used as student-grade colored pencils and that’s the beauty of the versatility of the pencils.

Pros
  • Versatile color selection
  • Water-resistant
  • Smudge-proof
  • Oil-based pencils
Cons
  • More on the expensive side
  • May have some availability issues

Review:

Faber-Castell never misses when it comes to the quality of their pencils. They provide higher quality pencils without a doubt over other traditional colored pencils. While their pencils are more like hard pencils, they provide vivid colors, being high quality, oil-based colored pencils.

Overall a great set of colors that make the color laydown thick with richly saturated pigments.


03) Derwent Lightfast Coloured Pencils, Metal Tin, 72 Pencils

Rich and creamy texture. Highly blendable

Derwent Lightfast Coloured Pencils main image

Features:

  • Lightfast
  • Oil-based colored pencils
  • No-wax bloom
  • Pack of 72

Description:

Derwent colored pencils are very popular in the art world due to the quality of products provided at all times. All the pencils sport a hexagonal shape for a better grip. The encasing has a wooden look and has a lead that is sure to withstand bold lines without breaking the fine point.

The application has bright colors with a beautiful texture to make it blend nicely. Something any artist would prefer I’m sure.

Pros
  • Vivid color in each pencil lead
  • Great for blending colors
  • Rich creamy texture
  • Long-lasting fine point
Cons
  • Might be too soft for some

Review:

The Derwent colored pencils are a beautiful selection of vibrant colors. The soft core colored pencils are acclaimed by many artists to use.

Overall a great purchase for anyone looking to add quite a few colors to your collection.


04) STABILO CarbOthello Chalk-Pastel Colored Pencils

Dry-blended or smudged with either fingertips or a blending stump to create a variety of artistic effects

STABILO CarbOthello Chalk-Pastel Colored Pencils main image

Features:

  • Comes in an attractive wooden box
  • Set of 60
  • 4.4 mm diameter lead
  • Wide range of color

Description:

The STABILO set of colored pencils has a selection of 60 colored pencils that are within a decent range of colors. These are chalk-based colored pencils that can be considered soft pencils.

The individual pencils of the sticks are extremely good for blending color and have vivid colors on any drawing surface. The pencils are water-soluble making them excellent for anyone who is interested in blending color.

Pros
  • Versatile color pencils
  • Affordable artist-grade pencils
  • Water-soluble pencils
  • Lightfast
Cons
  • Comparatively limited sticks of colored pencils

Review:

The Stabilo Colored pencils are a brilliant collection of artist-grade pencils for your collection. With superior blending, you are sure to achieve amazing results for your art projects.

Overall a great purchase for any artist or art teacher to invest in blending colors and general pencils for adult coloring books.


05) KOHINOOR set of 144 artists´ coloured pencils

Durable, soft and blend extraordinarily well

KOHINOOR set of 144 artists´ c main imageoloured pencils

Features:

  • Set of 144
  • Water-resistant
  • 3.8mm lead thickness
  • Lightfast

Description:

The KOHINOOR selection of colored pencils has pencils that have a velvety soft core that is easily blendable and has a selection of 144 colors.

While offering such great and versatile colors they also offer one of the largest colored pencil sets ensuring you never run out of colors for your art.

Pros
  • No smudging
  • Lightfast
  • Oil-based pencils
  • Low chances of wax bloom
Cons
  • Not water soluble

Review:

The KOHINOOR set has you covered on all fronts when it comes to offering a large and versatile selection of colors for a very affordable price.

Overall a great purchase for anyone who needs a huge set without breaking the bank.


General Information About The Best Colored 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. 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 pencil?

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 / Prismacolor Premier Colored Pencils good for blending?

Prismacolor Scholar pencils and Prismacolor Premier 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.


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