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The Best Colored Pencils for Artists: Honest Picks for Every Budget

The Best Colored Pencils for Artists: Honest Picks for Every Budget

Heads up: some of the links below are affiliate links, which means if you buy through them I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. I only recommend supplies I’ve actually used or would genuinely hand to a friend. 

Can I tell you something about colored pencils?

For years I thought the “right” set was whatever was most expensive, or whatever the artist I was watching on YouTube happened to be holding. So I’d spend the money, get them home, and feel a little let down when my work didn’t magically look like theirs.

Here’s the thing I wish someone had told me sooner: there is no single best colored pencil. There’s a best colored pencil for what you’re actually doing. Detailed portrait work and loose, dreamy layering over a watercolor wash want completely different things from a pencil. 

So instead of handing you a list of the most expensive options and calling it a day, I want to walk you through what actually matters, and then give you my honest picks by category. Some of these I reach for constantly. Some are ones I’d steer a beginner toward before they drop $400 on a tin. Let’s get into it.

The 3 things that actually matter (before you spend a cent)

Lightfastness. This is the big one, and it’s the thing budget brands quietly skip. Lightfastness is how well a color resists fading over time when it’s exposed to light. If you’re coloring for fun in a sketchbook that lives in a drawer, it truly doesn’t matter. But the second you want to sell a piece, frame it, or hang it on a wall that gets any sun, this is everything. Nobody wants a commission that goes patchy in two years. The best brands publish real ratings; the cheap ones usually stay quiet, and that silence tells you what you need to know.

Wax core vs. oil core. This is the difference most people never learn, and it changes everything about how a pencil feels. Wax-based pencils (think Prismacolor) are soft, buttery, and lay down intense color fast, but they crumble more and can leave a hazy “wax bloom” over time. Oil-based pencils (like Faber-Castell Polychromos) are harder, hold a sharp point longer, and are built for control and fine detail. Neither is better. They’re just built for different jobs.

Open stock. Boring word, genuinely useful idea. Open stock means you can buy pencils individually instead of only in sets. You will always burn through your whites, your skin tones, and one or two blues way faster than the rest. Being able to replace just those is what makes a set worth committing to long-term.

Best Overall: Faber-Castell Polychromos

If you made me pick one set for most artists, most of the time, it’s these.

Polychromos are oil-based and on the harder side, which sounds like a downside until you feel what it does for you: they hold a needle-sharp point, so you can render fur, eyelashes, wood grain, and all those tiny details that make a drawing read as real. 102 of the 120 colors carry the highest lightfast rating, so work you sell will hold up. And they’re meaningfully cheaper than the other two pro-grade sets I’m about to gush about.

This is the set professional portrait artists reach for again and again, and it’s not hype. It’s control plus permanence at a price that isn’t absurd.

 Shop Faber-Castell Polychromos

Best for Buttery Blending (my personal ride-or-die): Caran d'Ache Luminance

These are the ones I use most and love, so let me be real with you about why.

Luminance are the smoothest pencils I’ve ever put to paper. They’re a wax-oil blend, so you get that soft, gliding lay-down without the crumbly mess, and the color blends so evenly it almost feels like cheating. They’re also among the most lightfast pencils money can buy, which is rare for something this soft and creamy.

Here’s my favorite way to use them, and the thing I’d tell any friend who paints: I lay down a loose watercolor base first, let it dry, then go back in with Luminance on top. The watercolor does the big, moody washes and the shadows, and the pencils give me crisp edges, highlights, and those final details that make a piece feel finished. It’s the fastest way I know to get depth without laboring over a hundred pencil layers. 

The catch, and it’s a real one: they’re expensive. This is a “buy the small set or open stock, fall in love, then expand” situation, not a first purchase. But if blending and archival quality are what you care about, nothing else feels like these.

 Shop Caran d’Ache Luminance

Best Fully Lightfast Set: Derwent Lightfast

If your whole reason for buying is “I want this to still look right in 50 years,” this is the answer.

What makes Derwent Lightfast special is right there in the name: every single one of the 100 colors is rated lightfast. Not most. All of them. That’s genuinely uncommon. They’re oil-based but go on surprisingly creamy and opaque, which means you build up rich color in fewer layers than you’d expect, so less time grinding away, more time actually finishing.

Reviewers regularly crown these the best artist-grade pencil overall, and I don’t think they’re wrong. If you’re building a body of work you plan to sell or exhibit, this is the safest possible bet.

 Shop Derwent Lightfast

Best Soft & Vibrant Set on a Budget: Prismacolor Premier

I can’t write an honest colored pencil list without Prismacolor on it, because so many of us started here, and for good reason.

Prismacolors are soft, waxy, and loud in the best way. The color saturation is intense, they blend with almost no effort, and a set of 24 runs around $20 to $25, which makes them one of the easiest ways to fall in love with colored pencil work without a scary price tag.

Now the honest part, because a smart friend tells you the annoying stuff too: Prismacolors are famous for breaking. Off-center cores, splitting when you sharpen, the whole frustrating dance. A lot of it comes down to that super-soft core needing gentle handling and a good sharpener. And only about 85 of the 150 colors are truly lightfast, with a chunk rated poorly. So these are a joy to learn and layer with, but I wouldn’t build work I’m selling around them.

Shop Prismacolor Premier

Best Budget Pick: Arteza

If you want quality that punches way above its price, Arteza is my pick, and it’s largely because of one thing that made me trust them: they actually print a lightfast rating right on each pencil barrel.

That’s rare honesty at this price point, and it tells you the brand isn’t hiding anything. The blending is genuinely good, better than it has any right to be for the cost, and while the durability is more “15 to 50 years” than “museum forever,” that’s completely fine for practice, sketchbooks, and gifts. This is the set I’d hand someone who’s serious about learning but not ready to spend real money yet.

Shop Arteza Colored Pencils

Best for Just Starting Out (or for the kids): Shuttle Art

Two very different “just getting your feet wet” options, both of which I genuinely respect for what they are.

Shuttle Art is the wildly cheap crowd favorite: around $25 for a set of 172. They’re oil-based, medium-soft, and honestly fun to use. There’s essentially no lightfastness to speak of, so this is a practice-and-play set, not an heirloom set. But for filling coloring books, testing color combos, or letting yourself make a hundred “bad” drawings without guilt, they’re perfect. 

The point I really want you to hear: you do not need expensive pencils to start, and starting cheap doesn’t make you less of an artist. Skill is built, not bought. You can absolutely learn everything you need to know on a $25 set and upgrade when your work asks for it.

One to know about: Holbein Artists' (the luxury soft option)

I’m including these because they’re stunning, and because I want you to spend your money wisely.

Holbeins are Japanese, wildly creamy, even softer than Prismacolor, dust-free, and the colors truly pop. They’re a dream to use. But they run around $760 or even $860 on some sites for a set of 150, and their lightfastness information is thin and hard to verify. So here’s my honest take: if you’re going to spend Holbein money and you care about work lasting, put it toward Luminance, Lightfast, or Polychromos instead. If you just want the most luxurious feel and permanence isn’t your priority, they’re a genuine treat.

Quick cheat sheet

Frequently asked questions

What are the best colored pencils for professional artists? Caran d’Ache Luminance, Derwent Lightfast, and Faber-Castell Polychromos. They’re the three most lightfast options on the market, so work you sell or frame will hold its color for decades.

What are the best colored pencils for beginners? Arteza is my top budget pick because of its blend quality and printed lightfast ratings. Prismacolor Premier is the classic soft option if you want intense color, just be gentle when you sharpen. Shuttle Art are great for pure practice.

Wax-based or oil-based colored pencils, which is better? Neither, honestly. Wax-based (like Prismacolor) are soft and blend fast but crumble more. Oil-based (like Polychromos) hold a sharp point and are better for fine detail. Pick based on your style, not the price tag.

Are expensive colored pencils actually worth it? Only when your work asks for it. If you’re selling, framing, or want archival permanence, yes, the lightfastness is worth every penny. If you’re learning or coloring for joy, a $25 set will teach you everything you need.

Can you use colored pencils over watercolor? Yes, and it’s one of my favorite techniques. Lay down a watercolor base, let it dry completely, then add colored pencil on top for crisp edges, highlights, and detail. Smooth, lightfast pencils like Caran d’Ache Luminance work beautifully for this.

So, which set is calling your name?

If you take one thing from this: buy the pencil for the work you actually want to make, not the one with the fanciest label. Start where you are. Upgrade when your art asks you to.

If you’re just beginning, grab the Arteza or Prismacolor set and give yourself permission to make a glorious mess. If you’re ready to invest in work that lasts, the Polychromos are where I’d send almost anyone, and the Luminance are the ones I’ll personally never stop loving.

I’d love to know which ones you end up reaching for. And if you try the watercolor-plus-Luminance trick, come tell me how it goes. 

Happy creating, Jess

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