The Best Kids Colored Pencils
The Best Kids Colored Pencils On Price For Parents and Performance For The Kids
Art supplies for kids or young artists is such an important topic for me, I feel that when we are young children, we get distracted and bored very easily, so if you had a toy or art product to a child that is next to useless, the child will very quickly put it down and move on to the next thing.
I know this because with regards to art supplies, I was guilty of doing that very thing to my own children. Our eldest daughter was the one who got me into art, this was something she loved to do and as parents, we felt rather than pushing the kids down a pathway we wanted, we would support and guide them down a pathway that made them happy.
I actually completed a video on this very subject, buying those huge art sets that only cost a few pound, you can watch or read the article by clicking on the links. But handing a child a set of crayons or colored pencils that don’t produce bright vibrant color immediately, none of this layering nonsense, directly on the paper, was only going to produce a grumpy unhappy kid and a set of art supplies never touched again.
What Constitutes A Good Colored Pencil For Children
In this list, I have added my recommendation for the best colored pencils to give young artists just starting out. The colored pencils that have made this list have done so for a few important reasons. The first is the most important and that is the rich color, immediate lay down, of the pencil; the pencils must produce vibrant color on pretty much any paper surface with ease.
The next is cost, the price being asked to pay. Let’s face it, it’s the parents, grandparents or guardians making the payments; but here’s the rub. When we allow our young children to experiment and experience new things life has to offer, there is going to be a lot of those experiences that individual children are just not going to like, so regarding art supplies, or more specifically colored pencils, a balance needs to be found.
We don’t want the pencils to be too expensive due to the likelyhood the child just isn’t into art at all. But at the same time, the child needs to be given a set of pencils that are going to provide instant color on the surface with the minimal amount of effort. If this balance is struck, then if the child disregards the products, you will know it's not as a result of terrible products, perhaps the child will try art again at a later stage in their lives. At the end of the day, not all of us love art, some people
Where possible, I have provided sets of 24 to the list, some of the colored pencils in the list provide significantly larger sets than just the 24, however, I feel a 24 set for young children starting out is a good place to begin. I would also like to define a little bit more specifically the demographic, I am not including very young children in this list, ages 0 - 5 would in most cases be using crayon type medium. For the sake of this list, I am thinking of children aged five, all the way up to at least twelve or thirteen. From thirteen on we would be considering kids of this age group to be using low end student grade to high end student grade.
Finally, when selecting the best children’s colored pencils, I have not considered layering ability or blending. The reason for this is simply due to the fact, most young artists that fall within the age ranges assigned, will not be layering and blending. This may come later in their art journey but certainly not within the early ages assigned.
No. 7 - Crayola Signature Colored Pencils
I had to include a set of Crayola Colored Pencils because lets face it, love them or hate them, I think every child in the Western world at least, used a set of Crayola at some stage of our lives. The only reason I have not used the traditional Crayola colored pencils is simply due to expectation; such sets I am sure would be expected to be included, but I have opted for the Signature set.
the Crayola Signature is an attractive looking pencil, sporting a black barrel and an inch long, color ID flash on the end of each barrel, indicating the color of the core. This makes color selection easy due to the contrast of the black barrels. The signature is quite a hefty, sturdy pencil which is perfect for young artists, sporting a generous 3.8mm core, housed within a chunky 7.5mm barrel. the signature barrel has the color names printed in three different languages, perfect for young minds learning about color.
The signature carries a beautifully strong pigment lay down. skipping the layering and blending tests, you can clearly see that with the heavy application, a strong pigmented layer is visible. This is all a child is interested in, when drawing Superman or Wonder Woman, all the child wants is strong blues and reds from the set, a feature certainly achievable from the Crayloa Signature.
No. 6 - Staedtler Ergosoft Colored Pencils
The Staedtler Ergosoft is actually a pencil I love and still to this day have incredibly fond memories of. When I very first took to art, the only colored pencils I had, were the cheap pencils my wife and I had purchased for our eldest daughter. When she suggested I start art to help with my PTSD and depression from serving in the British Army, I started watching YouTube videos.
One style of art that I really took to was Manga and the artist I binged watched used Prismacolor Colored Pencils and in particular the Black Prismcolor pencil for line work. At the time I didn’t even know what Prismacolor was but when I found them, they were out of my budget, certainly for something I considered less than a hobby; at the time.
After finding the Staedtler Ergosoft, I thought they were the British alternative to Prismacolor, naive but hopeful to achieve the same results. The Staedtler Ergosoft sports a triangular barrel and whilst on occasions barrels of this shape can cause sharpening issues, this is not the story for the Ergosoft.
The core provides a soft application to the paper, producing a high pigment concentration, a beautiful smooth colored pencil. Every barrel is lacquered the same color as the core and along the barrel there is a spot for kids to write their names on for use in group settings. Staedtler have also added their ABS to the core and barrel.
The Anti Breaking System prevents the core from shattering if and when dropped onto the floor or used as a missile in the friend fire feud. This is displayed in the form of a white membrane between the core and barrel which is visible each and every time you sharpen the pencil. This is a fantastic pencil for young artists, robust, well pigmented an easy pigment selection.
No. 5 - Bruynzeel Colored Pencils Blue Tin
Bruynzeel are a fantastic company when it comes to colored pencils and watercolour pencils. They also provide artist grade products in their Design Range, but for this review we are looking at their lower grade colored pencils.
This particular set I have included doesn’t really have a brand name as such. This particular colored pencil set from Bruynzeel comes in a blue set and pink set, both sets carry only a 24 set. I reviewed the Blue Bruynzeel set a while back and I was incredibly surprised with them.
The Bruynzeel Blue colored pencil. sports a slightly thinner girth, with an average 3.3mm core in a hexagonal 7.4mm core. I tested this pencil on Bristol Velum paper from the Strathmore 300 series and they performed beautifully, providing rich pigmentation whilst creating the swatch. The Bruynzeel Blue also performed bright and vibrant on black paper, displaying a good level of opaqueness.
No. 4 - Faber Castell Black Edition Colored Pencils
Faber Castell are an absolutely tremendous company and to be quite frank, any art product under the Faber Castell banner is always going to be of excellent quality. The Faber Castell Black Edition was first released in Brazil and a lot of colored pencil artists were very jealous to not have access.
What I love about the Faber Castell Black Edition is that they are marketed to be used on black paper given their highly pigmented and opaque cores. The pencils themselves look very striking with their black barrels with only cores protruding, each core looking like little gemstones
The Black Edition barrels are similar to the Staedtler Ergosoft with regard to the 7.8mm triangular shape, housed with the barrel is the slim 3.3mm core. On the end of each barrel is a half inch pigment identifier. The strong pigment hidden within the soft Faber Castell Black Edition core, provided me with the perfect medium to create a Disney Classic art piece in way of demonstrations.
No. 3 - Staedtler Super Soft Colored Pencils
I was fortunate enough to have been asked by Staedtler to review products from their Design Journey Range; one of the products was the amazing Staedtler Super Soft Colored Pencils. The set that I reviewed was their 24 set which is perfect considering that is the palette size I have been recommending for all young artists getting started.
The Staedtler Super Soft is quite a bit slimmer than the previous pencils in the list and whilst girth and sturdiness are important when the use is young children, with the Staedtler ABS part of the pencils all is well. The Super Soft barrel is a slim 6.9mm hexagonal barrel, housing a 3.2mm core, the only down side to the pencil is the pigment identifier only part of the end cap.
Despite the Staedtler Super soft Colored Pencils being for the younger artist, when I reviewed it individually, I decided to create a botanical piece of art, something a bit more complex than cartoons etc. I drew some Orange Lillies on St Cuthberts Mill Hot Pressed paper and the color lay down was perfect. When I created the swatch on a much smoother surface, the Strathmore 300 series Bristol Velum, again the strong pigment from the pencils was beautiful.
No. 2 - Giotto Di Natura Colored Pencils
The Giotto Di Natura Colored Pencils are among one of my favourite pencils to use not matter what genre of art I am using, but for kids they are perfect. This brand is created under the Lyra banner and when you use them, I think long time colored pencil artists and hobbyists will recognise the feel. It was a close call between the number 1 slot and number 2 slot, but based on the facts, I am happy with the final decision.
The Giotto Di Natura is a thick sturdy barrel as is the gorgeous 3.8mm core held within the gorgeous 7.8mm natural wood barrel. Aesthetics such as the natural wood grain of the barrel do not matter to young minds, for them it is all about the final result on the paper.
The color saturation from the Giotto is just beautiful, vivid and strong, although the core is soft to the feel when applied to your favourite paper. When I reviewed this pencil individually I completed a Spiderman drawing and the colors are excellent. Despite the soft nature of the core, sharpening the pencil is easy without any shattering of the core which can occur in softer pencils.
No. 1 - Faber Castell Classic Red Set
Here we are, The Faber Castell Classic Red Colored Pencil, this set of pencils made it to the number one spot for another top five list I compiled, but as always, there is good reason for this pencil performing well in lists such as this. With all the other sets, I tried to keep the set size to 24 or 36 at a push, but with the Faber Castell Classic Red I was boxed into a corner.
I added the 60 set of Faber Castell Classic Red and only for one simple reason, money. Taking into consideration parents might likely read this article later down the line, I had to be upfront. The 60 set is a few pound more than the 24, 36 and 48 sets, I couldn’t add in good conscions add a 24 set costing £11 when the 60 set cost £14. It’s important you also ensure you check the sets as Faber Castell also provide a set incredibly similar but the barrels have little rubber bumps along them for comfort, I personally have not tried these and so cannot say one way or the other how they perform.
The Faber Castell Classic Red sport a 7.0mm hexagonal barrel, encased inside which is a slim yet powerful 3.0mm core. The core in the Classic Red is a little dryer than the other pencils in this list when applying color to the paper, but that does not in any way hinder the strong pigment such a slim core leaves behind.
When I completed the artwork for this individual review, I drew Dory from “Finding Nemo” the color saturation is excellent, kids using the Faber Castell Classic Red will need very little pressure to see amazing rich and vibrant results on the paper in front of them. The paper types the Classic Red perform well on are pretty much any, from traditional printer paper, colouring book paper or Bristol Velum and Smooth surfaces.
As with the other pencils in this list, the Faber Castell Classic Red also perform beautifully on darker papers. Kids don’t tend to ordinarily reach for black paper when using colored pencils, except of course at holiday times, Halloween, Christmas time etc, when it comes to making cards or other crafts.
Pricing For Colored Pencils In The List
The prices I have included in this list are as always from Amazon, every Sunday afternoon I grab a selection of links from my reviews and ensure they are still live and still the cheapest on Amazon. That being said please feel free to check out other sites or local stores to you personally for a cheaper alternative.
Anything you purchase using the links I have included right across The Art Gear Guide and The Art Gear Guide YouTube Channel will provide a little bit of extra money for the website via affiliate marketing. This in no way costs you anything extra at all, it’s a free way for you to help support The Art Gear Guide and everything I do on the channel.
For the 24 set of Crayola Signature, in the UK you can expect to pay approximately £23 or for artists in the US you can expect to pay approximately $19
For the 24 set of Staedtler Ergosoft Colored Pencils in the UK you can expect to pay £16 or for artists in the US you can expect to pay $22
For the 24 set of Bruynzeel Colored Pencils Blue Tin in the UK you can expect to pay £10 and for artists in the US you can expect to pay $15
For the 24 set of Faber Castell Black Edition in the UK you can expect to pay £12 or for artists in the US you can expect to pay approximately $18
For the 24 set of Staedtler Super Soft Colored Pencils n the UK you can expect to pay £19 and for artists in the US you can expect to pay approximately $19
For the 36 set of Giotto Di Natura Colored Pencils in the UK you can expect to pay approximately £23 or £14 for the 24 Set. For artists in the US this is a brand harder to find given they are Italian.
Finally, for the 60 set of the Faber Castell Classic Red Set in the UK you can expect to pay £14 for artists in the US you can expect to pay approximately $16
Best Kids Colored Pencils Conclusion
I got this totally wrong as a parent and this was mainly due to the fact that at the time, art did not interest me; so I felt spending more that £3 on a set of 24 colored pencils was crazy. Now I go to the other extreme side of the spectrum. I am not trying to lecture other parents on how to parent, I would never do that, you have got to do what is right for you. I felt terrible when I started to understand how useless the art supplies were that I bought for my daughter all those years before when she was studying art at school. felt so guilty as if I had cheated out on my daughter for things she loved and needed and just because I didn’t understand what was going on, she suffered.
So now, I try to show my mistakes to parents and let them make the decisions based on that. The pencils in this list are reasonably priced and I know cost is relevant to each and every one of us. But if we allow our children to experience the best we can offer them as parents, I feel we put them on a good foundation, one that allows their young minds to be broadened in an inspiring and positive way. Check out the YouTube video review that I have created to go alongside this written review.
