Best Colored Pencils for Beginners

Updated by Brandon F. on December 29, 2022

Using colored pencils can be a very rewarding experience.  They are versatile, can produce great color, and have a wonderful ability to work well for detailed pieces as well as works that require a lot of color blending.  The color palettes are superb and there are plenty of various products and companies to choose from.  However, everyone had to start somewhere, and without proper guidance jumping into a colored pencil set can be somewhat intimidating and overwhelming.  So what are the best colored pencils for beginners?

Colored pencils are unique in that there can be significant differences between a beginner set and a more advanced set.  Someone who doesn’t have proper experience with applied pressure and blending techniques might find a more advanced oil-based line to be frustrating to work with.  At the same time, someone who is a more advanced user might feel that they struggle to have enough control of the color that is put out on a typical, harder wax beginner set.  

And then there are considerations about colored pencils that “check all the boxes”.  Some people aren’t necessarily after the very top-of-the-line pencils nor the most affordable, but rather a colored pencil that does everything well.

To help with this, we thought it would be useful to list out some examples of what we feel are some great sets for people just starting.  In coming up with a few products, we considered what we feel are important attributes to have in a beginner set.  But before we list all of them out, here is a helpful video that will get your brain flowing:

So after watching the video, a few obvious examples should come to mind.  Also, we have added to that list from experience knowing what beginner-level colored pencils should bring to the table.  A few of the top ones are listed below:

Good color output without having to utilize advanced blending techniques.

Harder wax core to prolong pencil life and have a better ability to put direct color down.

Versatile color selection from the start to avoid having to mix colors to find the hue you are looking for.

Affordable since many beginners don’t want to fork out hundreds of dollars for a set.

Relatively easy to sharpen with a conventional pencil sharpener.

Easily-identifiable color labeling.

There were other considerations but we feel that these are a good foundation for what people typically look for in a beginner set.  Feel free to click on any of the links below and it will take you to the more thorough full-page review for each colored pencil.  We are confident that any of these selections will work well for anybody looking to get started in the wonderful world of colored pencils.  And when the time is right, encourage beginners to try out their skills with more advanced colored pencil sets.