Testing ALL the BEST COLORED PENCILS for adult coloring: 26 Brands! Faber-Castell Prismacolor + more 

PART 2: Which pencils I recommend from this list! For beginners, advanced artists, skin, hair, coloring pages, and more. Watch it now: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-dnR5bI5moio.html

I do not understand why anyone would give this video a thumbs down. A lot of time and effort went into this review of so many brands of colored pencils. This is very valuable information. Thank you making this video. THUMBS UP! 👍

She reviewed 26 brands and made a chart for us!?! Subscribed :)

This is a fabulous comparison! Thanks for putting all the work in. What a great resource! Well done:)

I've watched all the big art RU-vidrs but your break down of color pensils was the most comprehensive I've seen 💯. Whereas most artists only speak on more notable brands like Prisma's and Faber Castell, you shed light on a wider range pensil brand and the numerous applications of each...Boss Move!!!💨🔥

Even someone who's never made a social media video could see how much work went into this. Your video is so detailed and well thought out I can't imagine the time and effort it took great job this is amazing!!!

GIRL FRIEND THE FACT YOU DID ALL THIS FOR US....JUST FRIGGING AMAZING 👏 😍 IM A BEGINNER & LOVE LEARNING FROM YOUR POST..🦄🦜🦚

This randomly popped into my recommendations and while I don't do anything arsty I do generally enjoy watching reviews of anything and this was very well done. Having watched the whole video I'm now sorely tempted to pick up a colouring book and set of pencils and have a go at exercising what little creativity there is in me.

Man, there are so many colored pencil brands that it makes your head spin! It can't be stated enough just how helpful informative videos like this really are!

This video is going to be such a great resource for so many people - there's a never-ending list of brands and sets and price ranges of coloured pencils, it can be quite overwhelming! Comparisons like these are really great to help people navigate all of that :)

The proof that high prices are not always synonymous with quality, sometimes a school brand or a cheaper one, is much better than many professionals. And one brand can complement another.

Wow your hand must be hurting after testing soooo many pencils! Thank you very much!

Note Koh-I-Noor Polycolor are actually artist grade as well. Lightfast and work nicely for you if you are used to that level of hardness. They can break if you press really hard but it does not happen very often. Being from Czechia its my default colored pencil since for forever and although i underestimated them a bit at first when other brands became available but finding since that anytime the other brand just cant do something, KIN Polycolors can do it very nicely. Only 4 times or more expensive brands do some things a little bit better i think. So if you are starving artist these are great :) . Though not sure how its with open stock availability in your country... there are KIN stores in lot of countries but not in USA. In my city i can get open stock for these very easily. As for working better on cheap papers ... former soviet countries do not have as high salaries as USA so lot of people are likely to use cheap or cheaper paper. When i was a kid we used cheap thick paper for everything from watercolor to geometrical drawings, you just choose either shiny or matte side.

Some more gems to try: Derwent Drawing, Bruynzeel Expression, Bruynzeel Design, Deli.

I’m an avid quilter so fabric is my medium. In this art, color, texture, and imagination are everything! Thank you for expanding my knowledge of colors and how they work.

What an experience seeing and hearing about all the different pencils! Thank you for helping me take that next step with more confidence!

I love your honesty, and I appreciate all of your work!

I truly enjoy artists that have type a personalities like myself. Excellent comparisons and detail to your research.

I love the voice coming from the background saying "you don't need any more colored pencils".

i just have to say that i appreciate the amount of time and effort that went into this video! only the dedicated would get through all those pencils. as i beginner i found the information overwhelming and yet helpful at the same time. i bought a box of prismacolor premier a while back and although i have used them, i can see that i was not using them as intended. i look forward to watching your follow up video. i am still blown away by the amount of work/research that went into this project!

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! Yes- it is very evident that an immense amount of time and effort went into this video- so kind to share! Extremely informative with clear visual demonstrations... 🎉😊

Wow, what a lot of work, I'm impressed! My favorite pencils depending on paper quality is Holbein, which didn't rate well for you. Just love the color options, blending, etc., yet find they work better on a paper with some tooth. Some of my other favorites are Polychromos, Caran d'ache Luminance and Pablos, and of course for those smooth paper coloring books, Prismacolor. I have some other brands like Derwent, etc., but the ones I listed are my go to ones. As I watch your review, it makes me realize that it's a good thing there are so many choices out there, since we're not all the same, and the different qualities will have their appeal to various consumers, for various reasons. Thank you for sharing their qualities.

Great review! I have tried a handful of these. For me I always go back to Prismacolors :) love the color vibrancy and blending ability!

Congratulations Sarah for ALL these comparesons !!! Really amazing !!!!

Wow! What a fantastic review! Can't wait to see more! I also own a small set of the derwent lightfast and luminance. Both are wonderful pencils that blend together effortlessly. I wish more people knew just how wonderful the lightfast really are.

I have the 150 Set of Holbein colored pencils. The most expensive, by far. They are so gorgeous. I find they a little difficult to blend. They are very buttery soft. But one day I was inspired and could color a silver spoon drawing and it came out as the most beautiful and realistic. I guess I have to learn better how to use them. My favorite colored pencils are the Luminance. Flawless.

I picked up a Faber Castell Polychromos set as my first set a while ago because I wanted pencils and these looked nice. Happy to hear they are such amazing quality cause I am considering buying a lot more of them. Will definitely do so now!

As a newbie, I want to thank you so so much for doing thins video, it truly help's tremendously, because as a starter I have Arteza and figured it was best to go with.

Oh my gosh! Im obsessed. I have just brought your colour pack. The colour catalogue is amazing. the pencil video just incredible. The amount of effort is just crazy. I cant tell you how long i have been looking for something to help me with my crafts. Now i have found it! I'm elated . Thank you thank you thank you Sarah.

I love colour pencils but find I don't use them enough, and I own several of the most expensive ones. But I love all the pretties so much. Thank you for this overview of them all. Really helps me decide whether it is worth expanding my collection more.

Thank you so much for the detailed review! I look forward to your next "summary" video. I agree about the Caran d'Ache Luminance not being the best on Strathmore Colored Pencil paper. I felt like there was drag on the pencils with that paper but they glide nicely on Strathmore bristol smooth paper.

Thank you so much for this video! All the work you put in is amazing, you’ve just got yourself a new subscriber! 😁 I have the prismas, polychromos, Derwent artists and Luminance. I mostly use the Prismas, Polys and Lumis, I love how different they are but how well the work together.

This is the best pencil comparison that I have ever seen!!! Fantastic!!!! Thank you!!!

Hi Sarah. Based on your previous video I bought the Arteza Expert pencils. I love them. However the Indigo colour kept breaking. I contacted Arteza and they replaced them. Great customer service. This is a great/affordable starter set for anyone colouring for fun. Thanks for these videos!

Loooool my husband says things like that too hehehe “you don’t need anymore pencils”. I always say oooh but there are no two pencils the same

Absolutely loved this video. I've been subscribed for a while, but getting notifs and sharing everywhere right now. Thank you so much...this was a lot of work and it is greatly appreciated!

Great and informative video! Thank you for taking the time, money and effort into trying all of the different brands. I love your honesty in your reviews. Thank you for the information! You are an AMAZING artist!

Thank your for this incredible review. Watching you, I saw Cretacolor mega color and I fall in love with them and went immediately to amazon to buy it. 😁😁 I'm so happy !

Thank you, i was actually considering expanding my art from pencil sketches to adding colour but knowing which set to get is confusing and overwhelming when you consider how many there actually are!

A wonderful comparison full of great insights. Thank you

Thank you so much for this awesome video!!! Love all that you do and all that it takes to do what you do!!! I’m constantly referring coloring book colorists to your channel. Thank you for being here 😀. Stay safe.

beautiful review. I am 1st time viewer of this channel. I thought the review was just going to be about comparing the pencils to each other, but you did way more than that. You tried them out in different paper, told us which paper is best for them, gave pros and cons, and compared them to each other. I am very impressed and thoroughly intrigued by the video. It was very informative. very well done!

So nice colors, I'm jealous now.

Thank you for taking your time to create this video. Highly Appreciated!!

I keep coming back to this video whenever I consider getting new pencils. Thank you, Sarah!

Nice video. I have a pencil problem and can't stop buying them. I have the Luminance, Prisma, Polychromo, Lyra and now Holbine, (intreestedd in the Derwent) I like mixing all the high end brands since they all do different things. I LOVE the Holbine pencils which feel like Prismas at a formal dance. The soft (sticky) white of Holbein is absolutes magical for highlights and blending. I'm going to look for your newest review on Holbeins.

Thank you you do the best review and good Personality in front of the camera that makes me want to stay listening to you to the end ,you also stay very professional and organized through the video thank you

Thank you for your breakdown, expecially addressing not only price and blendability but skill level. For someone like me who loves to color but is not a artist. It's hard to find a good pencil because the most recommend ones are things like prisma colors that while might be worth the price for a serious artist, is not something that a straight to barely blended coloring person like me would find worth it. This video was very helpful

I am considering buying the Winsor & Newton Studio Collection, I have heard great things about them, I wish you would be able to add them to your incredible extensive review. I would like to add that I have the Chameleon Pencils and they are fantastic for Cardmakers and Bullet Jornalists because they take all the guesswork out of colouring and you can have some really nice results in a quick manner and they are so easy to carry around. I can stamp several tiny images and then just colour them sitting in my sofa while watching tv. No big tins to move around. I recommend them totally for these type of crafters and planner fanatics.

Awesome review....I have the Polychromos and they are just stunning and worth the money as they are just such a joy to use. I got my neice the Arteza for Xmas and she thinks they are great....the best she's ever had apparently 👍😁😁😁

This is absolutely fantastic! The amount of work and research behind this video is staggering. And so, so thorough and helpful! If I ever decide that my beloved Polychromos needs some kind support from another range of pencils, I'll know where to look. ... and I will be sharing this with *everyone* who is even remotely interested (and some who aren't).

I just watched this through for the second time, and shared to my niece. I love your reviews and how thoughtful they are!

I can't get over how under rated your channel currently is. I have a feeling you're going to BLOW up very soon. Especially when you continually make quality material such as this. Your video/editing is always just as high class as your art work.

This my favorite, top video for comparing colored pencil sets. I am an artist, but also enjoy adult coloring books, of which I have several. And I DO mean several - different illustrators, themes, and paper types. I do not possess quite as many different pencil sets as you do, but it is one of my goals to do that. Thank you so much for sharing this video!

All your reviews have been so helpful. there are SO many brands and types for a beginner to decide what to buy.

OMG!! Thank you for this massive work!! So much information, amazing!! 🤩

Awesome comparison! I wanted to buy some nice coloured pencils for my partner, as he quite recently took an interest in colouring... We only have my childhood crayons 😅 now. I think the Lyra ones would be the most suitable for us right now ☺️ I was looking into Derwent and Koh-i-noor, too, but I am confident to go with Lyra ☺️ Thank you!

Brilliant video. Iv watched so many videos to help me choose pencils and this is far far the best and most informative. It has everything you need to make an informed decision. I wish I had seen this video BEFORE watching all of the others as I would have saved so much time.. thanks for this . I'm now a subscriber xx

Love this video. I’m saving it to watch again and again. Takes all the guess work out. My mum bought me the Derwent set at when I was 16. I am now 55. Looooove my Derwents. This video helps me mix other pencils with them now. Thankyoooooouuuuuu!!!!

What a great comparison! I'm only launching my channel, it's so inspiring to see more established RU-vidrs doing such a great job ☺️

So Much pens and so little time! Already waiting for your next video.;-).

Fantastic video and a brilliant resource for us mortals to find just what we need in the mine field of coloured pencils. Very interesting to see how they compare and perform on different papers. Thank you for your time and effort,it is very much appreciated.

Wow! Thank you so much for this very detailed description! It has obviously taken you a lot of time. It is greatly appreciated!

So true about derwent studio. I have those.. Hard, good for detail etc. Unfortunately some of my pencils broke from top to bottom (like you know, the whole lenght on the pencil) when i used normal sharpener. Now I use this "automatic" and have no problem.

This was by far one of the best videos about different color pencils !! and about the holbeins I agree with you they are creamy and vibrant but they don't hold a point ,I have the full 150 set and I don't love them as much as I should for the price. In my opinion only the pastel tone are a must from holbein bc most of other brands don't do them. A must for me are my polychromos, prismacolor, caran d ache pablos ,arteza and black widows. My luminance aren't as loved only bc the color selection isn't as brighter as other sets but they do perform beautifully.

Thanks for all the work you put into this. Much appreciated!

Thank you so much for this review. I'm new to making my own mandala and zen doodle art. I'm looking to upgrade from my kids type pencil sets and this has been so helpful.

Wow didn't know there is a thing "color book Artist" shoot then I am too lol. This is the biggest comparison in color pencils I've seen I love it

I like the Holbein, Coloursoft and Polychromos but I always come back to Prismacolor

The quality, usefulness, and content of this video is astounding.

Thank you so much for this comparison!!! Great resource for teachers and artists!

My brain almost exploded with all these pencils! Such a comprehensive review and comparison! Seems like there’s a lot more options for budget pencils these days(like castle art and other similar on Amazon) that would have been useful back when I was a beginner with colored pencil and couldn’t afford most sets from the expensive professional pencils. Soo after this vid, the derwent lightfast definitely still have my attention, but I’m curious about their other sets like coloursoft and procolour. Coloursoft seems similar to prismacolor, but I find it odd that derwent has so many lines of colored pencils?! I am going to buy some open stock out of curiosity, but I definitely won’t try out the Studio set. Cretacolor from what I can tell is a really great brand- I’ve been using their oil based charcoal pencils because they’re so much less messy than a normal charcoal pencil! I want to try those giant colored pencils, they’re kind of hilarious looking😂 the rage about Holbein seems to have a lot to do with their color range and the pastels, but theyre just now available on Blick in the US so I may (carefully😂) purchase some open stock and see how I like the feel of them!

The uni Posca pencils are totaly different to the uni Mitsubishi pencil. Even the uni Mitsubishi 100 set is very different from the 240 set, the feel and laydown of the pencils are both very nice. The 240 set is closer to the polychromos while the 100 set is softer and more waxier. Thank for this great video💕

That's an insane amount of work, wow! Will definitely use this as reference in the future! New fan here 😊

I bow to you. What you did here is just incredible. You could have charged a lot of money for the information in your website. It is complete and easy to follow and understand. Just perfect! Thank you so much for all the work you put in.

Hahaha I'm going to show this video to my boyfriend that said I own a "excessive" amount of pencils (I just have 1 set of each different types like pencils, markers, gel rollerballs, fineliners, brush pens, etc). I'm not an artist, just a hobbyist crazy for the colors, and my desk looks like a 10% of what we reach to see at the background of this video 🎨🖍️🖊️✏️✒️ included the white letters board. I loved to find your channel and subscribed immediately to watch more of this. Hugs from Chile 🇨🇱.

24:16 Oddly enough, I don't experience too much frustration from the breakage. When my Prismacolors break, it is at the tip and it seems to do it in a way that keeps a sharp enough point for details. Somehow, I don't know how, I am able to do fine details with Prismacolors. Only one pencil in one set (my first ever set of Prismacolors, and I still have it and most of the pencils are long and usable despite my heavy hand when it comes to my grip and how much pressure I apply), the poor, 3.5 inch (8.3 centimeter) nub remnant of the tuscan red PC937 colored pencil, is the only one that had a frustrating amount of breakage. It was also the only pencil in which every sharpener I had (a plastic battery operated sharpener, a small metal manual sharpener with a regular insert and a big insert, and a small plastic manual sharpener that only has a regular-sized insert) got hungry and ate at its wood casing (hence why the tuscan red PC937 is now a poor small nub). And because the sharpeners all kept eating at this one pencil's wooden casing, the core kept breaking badly. And this is the only pencil out of both sets (I haven't used any of the pencils in the set I just bought yet as they will make good replacements if need be, like in the case of the tuscan red soon) that this has happened to. As I said, I recently bought a second set, thinking it had different colors since the packaging looked different (both my first and second sets contain 36 soft-core colored pencils and are of the assorted type, I guess, as they don't have a theme like "portrait"; my first set has a picture of a either a preteen or teen girl with long (past the shoulders) crumple-wavy hair and a purple shirt on the box (I think this is from 2019); my second set has the rainbow butterfly on a rainbow background that is dominated with bright greens and yellows with the red and purple being the colors that pop out the most in contrast (I think this is either 2020 or 2021 packaging because I bought them this year), but I am actually glad the pencils in the second set are exact color duplicates of the ones I already have because of the poor, small tuscan red PC937 colored pencil nub.

This is like one of the most impressive and helpful videos I've ever seen lol!!! Good job Sarah!

Yesssss i'm here cuz i'm researching pencils, i currently have derwent artists. n i feel so much better abt my pencils now thx.

There's no doubt that the Caran D'ache Luminance is the best if you value longevity! lol I' was looking for a hardcore test exposing the colors to raw sunlight for a year...Amazingly, the C-Luminance retained its colors very well (on the photos I've seen, almost zero fading) while ALL the others faded in different grades, even the Caran D'ache Pablo faded badly, but NOT the Luminance, it crushed all the other big names when it came to true lightfastness! It's expensive so use it only for the end product.

Thank you for this review! Have you ever come across Tombow Irotijen or Marco Renoir pencils?

Literally what I’ve been looking for.. thank you so much!

Fantastic review appreciate all the time you spent on this 👏👏😊

Koh-I-Noor is the No. 1 brand you get in Czech Stationery shops - every kid has them since kindergarten. :) The plus is that you may buy them separately when you run out of one colour. And yes, really good for the simplest kinds of papers. :D They also sell watercolour pencils in bundles of up to 72 pieces. :)

Great context and great video but you missed out the Derwent Drawing Colored Pencils which are the best set in the Derwent line but that just my two cents

U literally did soo much effort doing this video AND soo much explanation thank u very much it helped me a lot LIKE 26 BRANDS CRAZY ❤️❤️❤️🔥

Excellent review of pencil sets Your efforts are very much appreciated and helpful Thanks a lot for this work

I got a handful a Holbeins a few weeks ago, none of them are the oddball ones you ended up with luckily. I like them and they’re pretty to look at, but they don’t stand out enough to justify the price for me. At this point if I’m going to invest more in pencils it’ll be to supplement my 76 Luminance with the new colors. I get the feeling the Holbeins were getting the benefit of scarcity to drive up everyone’s enthusiasm for them.

As a few people have already vaguely mentioned here; the Holbein pencils are only "overpriced" outside of Japan- I'm not entirely familiar with why this is but from what I've seen, most Japanese art supplies are more expensive in Western countries while in Japan they're quite reasonably priced, this being true for stuff like Holbein's watercolors and qouache or Copics. Like just as an example I looked up how much their pencils were in one Japanese store and they were about 1,8€ per pencil, while a single Polychromos in my country is like 2,5€ (of course, all of these prices vary from store to store though). So like, yeah, there must be some weird import tax thing going on there, but ya can't really blame the pencils for it. (Of course, while the price isn't the pencils' fault, it doesn't mean they're worth it)

The dedication is impeccable 👏 👏 👏

Wow, great video, and the work and detail you put into the chart on the website is amazing. Thank you!

hi, I'm Japanese and live in Japan. I've never seen heard Posca colored pencils here. Maybe they are sold only outside of japan. I agree with you about Holbein. I guess they are overrated. They don't perform as well as other artist grade pencils. Their colors are beautiful though.

I use my Prismacolor Verithins for details on my Prismacolor Premier drawings and art pieces as they are harder and hold a nice fine point.

Great job, I'm so glad I've stumbled upon it. I really appreciate all your hard work and the way the video is broken into segments that you can find a particular pencil.

Thanks so much for this comparison....its very informative!

From what I have learned, most professional colored pencil artists like to use a combination of Polychromos and Luminance pencils. One I know of prefers either Bristol vellum or Bristol smooth, and also fabriano hot pressed watercolor paper.

I have polychromos, haven't tried them on black paper though... are they good on toned or black paper or should I stick to white?

Many thank yous for making this video! It was such a great reference, and I can't wait to try some of the brands I haven't yet! (I have tried most of them.)

Thank you Sarah for reviewing these I've always wanted to get Derwent and forever contemplating when to buy!!! I think my prior choice is correct!

I own a recent Derwent Artist 12 set with green barrel. They look great but perform incredibily bad. They have super hard cores with no pigment at all. Even Crayolas compared to those looks professional. I think the set your mum gave you is an older one that has better quality. I don't recommend them at all, unless they are an older set.