Artist coloured pencils used for adult colouring

When I began my creative journey into the world of adult colouring, I followed countless tutorials, and one of the biggest challenges as a beginner was deciding which pencils to buy based on my colouring style and budget.

In this post, you'll find a quick overview of the most commonly used professional pencils featured in various tutorials.

In any case, as explained in the previous post, artist pencils are not required for adult colouring. With the right techniques, excellent results can be achieved even with more affordable school pencils.

Artist coloured pencils: an overview

Holbein

Made in Japan, the Holbein artist coloured pencils are among the best (and most expensive) on the market. Highly pigmented, they are available in 150 colours both as sets and individually.

They have a 3.8 mm lead and, thanks to their wax and oil composition, are very creamy when applying color, easy to blend, and perfect for creating details. They are a middle ground between Caran d'Ache's Luminance pencils and Faber-Castell's Polychromos.

Regarding its degree of lightfastness, according to Holbein's website (colour chart) all pencils are lightfast except for the fluorescent shades.

Faber Castell Polychromos

Made in Germany, the artist coloured pencils in the range Polychromos are oil-based, highly pigmented, and lightfast pencils. They are available in 120 colors, both in sets and individually.

They have a 3.8 mm lead and, due to their oil-based composition, are more difficult to apply, but are better suited for layering or fine details.

All pencils are lightfast. For the lightfastness rating of each color, please refer to the color chart on their website.

Prismacolor Premier

Made in Mexico, the coloured pencils in the range Prismacolor Premier, , are available in 150 colors, both in sets and individually.

Thanks to their creamy texture, waxy composition, and high pigmentation, they are among the most popular pencils for their ease in creating gradients and their vibrant colors.

They are considered artist-grade pencils and are lightfast certified.

Caran d’Ache Luminance

Made in Switzerland, the artist coloured pencils in the range Caran d’Ache Luminance (100 colours) are highly pigmented wax crayons with lightfast certification. Their creamy texture and vibrant colors make them a favorite among artists, allowing for easy color transitions.

They have a round shape and a smooth 3.8 mm lead encased in cedar wood.

They are considered a complementary color range to the Pablo and Supracolor sets.

Caran d’Ache Pablo

Made in Switzerland, the artist coloured pencils in the range Caran d’Ache Pablo are highly pigmented, lightfast, and available in 120 colors, both in sets and individually.

They have a hexagonal shape and a 3.8 mm diameter lead encased in cedar wood.

Oil-based, they are slightly more difficult to apply than Caran d'Ache Luminance and more similar to Faber-Castell Polychromos.

Derwent Lightfast

Made in England, the artist coloured pencils in the range Derwent Lightfast are oil-based pencils, 100% lightfast, highly pigmented, and available in a wide range of 100 colors, both in sets and individually.

They have a round tip diameter of 3.8 mm. Although oil-based, like Faber-Castell Polychromos, they are slightly softer and fall somewhere between Faber-Castell Polychromos and Caran d'Ache Luminance, making it easier to create color transitions.

They are considered a complementary colour range to Caran d'Ache Luminance.

I hope this post has helped you broaden your creative horizons. In the next post, you'll find a summary of complementary colored pencils used with artist sets to add even more realism and depth to your work.

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Laura