About Us

Last Updated by Brandon F. on 12/22/2022

First of all, thanks for checking out the site!  We have worked hard to ensure that we provide the most up-to-date and informative colored pencil reviews you will find anywhere.

What started as a small art blog, BestColoredPencils.com has slowly blossomed into what you see today.  We take great pride in our reviews and our small team of testers/writers do our best to impartially and accurately give you the information you need to make the best purchase.

Why You Should Trust Us

There are plenty of art review sites out there, so what makes us unique?

First of all, we physically test every pencil that we put on the site.  This includes analyzing the pencil for color output, lightfastness, reliability, blending ability, and a host of other aspects.  We will typically use drawing paper and do a free sketch or sometimes use a coloring book that allows us to put the pencils through various trials.

We receive our pencil samples from vendors in addition to purchasing the pencils ourselves.  We don’t sell any physical products nor do we accept payment from pencil brands to rank their products higher.  Because of this, our reviews are not biased.

Our reviewers come from a host of backgrounds.  While some have a professional art background, others are casual novices.  We believe in having a variety of people test the products since there are a variety of people that buy them!  Our readers range from beginners to seasoned experts.  Because of this, we think that having reviewers of similar backgrounds is helpful.

Over the years, we have been referred by many different art sites, art blogs, and even educational settings for our wealth of information.  We take what we do very seriously and strive to give you the most accurate information possible.

How We Test

Whenever we receive a new set of colored pencils to test, we follow a typical process. First, we will inspect the pencils, the pencil case, and any additional items that are included in the packaging.

There are various things that we are looking for.  We like to see a strong case that not only protects the pencils but makes them easy to insert and remove.  On the pencils, we like to see information printed on the barrel such as the type of pencil, the color, the color code, and any additional information that the manufacturer might include (lightfast rating, for instance).  Also, being attractive doesn’t hurt, either!

Next, we will test out the pencils.  We will apply light strokes, medium strokes, and heavy strokes.  We will try blending, combining with other pencil colors, and even see what happens when we add solvents to the mix.  We try to put the pencils through all of the various conditions that they would be put through when you, our readers, have them in your hands.

We make notes of colors that stand out (be they good or bad) as well as general summaries about the performance of the pencil (color vividness, blending ability, lightfastness, etc.).

After we have a good understanding of how colored pencils perform, we will then dig into other details about them.  We will see what other size sets they come in, look at how much they cost, etc.

As for “long-term” tests, we constantly use our test pencils even after a review is finished.  If we come to discover that certain issues seem to pop up after an extended period, we are sure to go back and update our review accordingly.  Also you, the reader, are an invaluable asset to us.  We receive constant emails from you telling us about personal issues or compliments that you have about certain pencils that we have written about.  We try to include this in our reviews as well.

Our goal here is really simple: we want to take the headache out of trying to figure out the best-colored pencil set for you.

The Team

Our dedicated team of writers and reviewers is what makes this site so great.  We will briefly introduce each below.

Brandon

Brandon is the owner/publisher of BestColoredPencils.com.  While he has a background in engineering, art has always been one of his passions and this is what spawned him to create the site.  He has tested quite a few of the pencils and also manages the daily upkeep of the site.

Susan

Susan is the head reviewer for the site.  She has an art education background with over 20 years of professional teaching experience.  Her knowledge of art mediums (and particularly art history) is immense and she is the go-to source when anybody contacts us with a technical art question.  She also helped with writing our various art tutorial articles.

Tina

Tina is our “all-around” helper.  She does a bit of everything: reviews, writing, responding to emails, and even a bit of coding!  She is a senior in college right now and is majoring in accounting.

Have any questions or concerns about the site?  Need additional assistance in choosing your next set of colored pencils?  Don’t hesitate to Contact Us at any time.

Thanks for stopping by and happy coloring!