An artist always loves to experiment with their creation. It could be drawing or painting. So, a watercolor pencil is a cross-over between painting and drawing. They are a great way to combine the two aspects. However, water-soluble pencils are intended to function with or without water. When you use watercolor pencils dry, they provide a colored pencil effect with precise details. And the moment you apply water, the color dissolves, and you have obtained paint. However, watercolor pencils can be used in various jobs like sketching, coloring, writing an assignment on canvas, etc. Best watercolor pencils maybe don’t make you a better artist (as it depends on your talent and hard work), but it enhances your circumstances and makes a favorable environment grow. It’s like a partner in your adventure. It will guide and help you, but you have to set the course.
Today, we will go through the top 10 watercolor pencils which are affordable, functional, and safe. So, let’s join the quest and pick up your desired one.
Table of Contents
10 Best Watercolor Pencils Review
1. Derwent Watercolor Pencils Review – Best Watercolor Pencils for Beginners
The Derwent brand offers the best for beginners. They are very suitable for bold and expressive drawings.
Key features
- Water Soluble: This colored pencil set allows you to explore your artistic possibilities. You can mix it with water and give birth to a good yet translucent ink-like effect. However, they can also be used dry for expressive drawings.
- 4mm Soft lead core: The round lead core is very suitable for bold, expressive illustrations. What is more, the highly pigmented color is brilliantly easy to apply plus creates a lively finish.
- Permanent Color: Pigments dry permanently and quickly when washed out. After they dry, you can place the colors next to each other. Most importantly, you do not have to fear color bleeding.
- Surface Variety: You can use different canvases. It’s excellent fabrics like cotton or silk or on paper.
- Customization: Here, you can modify the colors by just using some water. Also, you can mix colors to make custom shades.
- Includes a range of 72colors.
- It can be modified.
- Create custom shades.
- Break-resistant pencils.
- Simple to sharpen.
- Very easy to blend, plus layer the colors.
- None yet
Conclusion Ideas
These colored pencils are very affordable and add value to the paintings.
2. ARTEZA Watercolor Pencils Review – Best Pencil for Watercolor Sketching
ARTEZA Professional Watercolor Pencils came to the market to beat your expectations and add depth and value to your masterpiece.
Key Features
- Vivid: Thesepencils are very much eye-catching for vibrant color. They let you layer, blend, and create fantastic effects.
- Highly Pigmented: These sketch pencils possess soft and break-resistant cores made from the lightfast pigment. What is magnificent about this fact is the color will not fade over time.
- Nontoxic: What is more, ARTEZA pencils conform to all safety standards. So, they are very safe for kids, adults, teens, and so forth.
- Comfortable Grip: These pencils feature a vintage, 6-sided wooden casing for the ergonomic fit.
- 100% Money-back Guarantee: ARTEZA is a very reputable brand. So, they offer you a rock-solid satisfaction guarantee. So, you can ask for a refund and replacement without any hassle.
- Includes 72 shades.
- Layers and blends impressively.
- It comes in a protective case.
- Bright as well as lightfast.
- Suitable gift for anyone who loves art.
- These pencils are soft, but not like Prisma.
Conclusion Ideas
These pencils are brilliantly cute, affordable, and reliable. Deserve a place for your collection.
3. LYRA Aquacolor Water-Soluble Wax Crayons Review- Best Watercolor Pencils for Artists
Lyra provides the best value for watercolor pencils. This set is available in 24 or 48 crayons.
Key Features
- Water-soluble Crayons: Thesepencils have the most beautiful watercolor wax crayons. They are water-soluble and can make a natural watercolor effect.
- Wide Variety of Colors: This set has a decent mix of lambent or subdued tones. However, professional artists can use this kit for their excellent laydown. Additionally, beginners and children can also try this kit for its easy use.
- Intensely Pigmented: The highly pigmented crayons can be immersed to dilute the color. Also, you can layer the colors plus add water to blend the colors into new shades. Isn’t it amazing?
- Creamy Texture: Because of the creamy texture of the wax, this set provides excellent color laydown.
- Easy to blend.
- Highly lightfast.
- Reasonable price.
- Easy to use.
- Rich colors.
- This set is highly lightfast, but a few colors lose their magnificence if exposed to sunlight for a more extended period.
Conclusion Ideas
Undoubtedly, it looks like a great product. And I will recommend it for the children mostly because of its vibrant colors and easy usage.
4. Sanford Prismacolor Watercolor Pencils Review – Best Watercolor Pencils for Coloring Books
These pencils are considered one of the best for coloring books. It is available in packs of 12, 24, and 36.
Key Features
- Water Soluble: The water-soluble cores assist your sketch flowing liquids. And help you to generate shimmering effects.
- Pigments: Pigments have brilliant solubility so, you get a smooth laydown.
- Lightfast: These are for coloring books, specifically for adult books. The colors are lightfast and richly saturated.
- Usage: You can use these pencils for dual purposes. They can be used wet or dry for effects.
- Blend: These deep and thick are very easy to apply. Most importantly, they blend brilliantly.
- Highly break-resistant.
- Easily layered.
- Creamy colors.
- It comes with a 4mm lead.
- It can be used dry color to match the prism color palette
- A Very modest range of colors.
Conclusion Ideas
Even though I do not consider this set very significant for pros, they can find it because of its quality and handy features. Plus it’s also very much cheap.
5. Albrecht Durer Watercolor Pencils Review -Best Colored Pencils for Professional Artists
Since 1761, Faber Castell is known as a top leading brand in this wood-ceased pencils business. It has more than 250 years’ reputation and experience. From this, we really can assume what a great brand it is!
Key Features
- Premium quality: This set is made of high-quality materials. So, the effects and vibrancy offered by these pencils are unparalleled. With a few broad brush strokes, the colored surface can indeed be changed.
- Break Resistant Leads: The Company’s Secure Bonding Process (SV) outcomes in robust 3.8mm leads. And it resists breakage. What is more, they offer sharp fine lines plus retention.
- Colors: the colors are amazing. They are vivid and gorgeous. Most importantly, they blend impressively when water is added.
- Performance: Dry or wet; however you use them, they performed wonderfully. Colors become permanent when dry.
- Lightfastness: These pencils possess unsurpassed lightfastness. So, it will resist fading.
- Fully water-soluble leads.
- Full range of 120 pencils.
- The Pigment can be entirely dissolved.
- Smooth color laydown.
- Available as an individual or in the set.
- None yet
Conclusion Ideas
Albrecht Durer is perfectfor professionals. It’s also convenient for beginners.
6. Faber Castell Watercolor Pencils Review – Best Watercolor Pencils for Dolls and to Doll repaint
Established in 1761, Faber Castell always made top-rated watercolor pencils. Now they came with this set, which is functional as well as very cheap.
Key Features
- Comes with: This set is decorated with 48 eco-friendly pencils. What is more, it’s also designed with a quality sharpener.
- Vibrant Colors: This set has some very gorgeous colors with a silky smooth color laydown.
- Hexagonal shape: these pencils are hexagonal so that you get a better grip.
- Special bonding: Faber Castell’s unique bonding process make the lead secure. As a result, they are very less likely to break.
- Suitable for: These watercolors are ideal for the students. They are reliable, and students can sketch with them. Also, kids can use them.
- Point retention is good.
- Easy to work.
- Lines are sharp as well as crisp.
- Great value.
- High pigmented medium soft 3.3 mm leads.
- It’s not always very much friendly when you try to blend two colors.
Conclusion Ideas
These pencils provide great value and fantastic for doll customizing. The price is brilliantly low.
7. Caran d’ache Watercolor Pencils Review – Best-Colored Pencils for Bible Journaling
These Water-Soluble Pastels are very helpful for passionate painting. According to the brand’s claim, they inspire the artists and help in their adventure, which has served the customers for more than 80 years. This set comes in 10, 15, 30, 40, or 84 colors.
Key Features
- Water-soluble pastels: These water-soluble pastels are designed to create marvelous watercolor effects. At first, make a sketch, sprinkle it with water, and let the colors dilute. Paint it with watercolors. What is more, you can also try these pastels on a moistened paper for a wash plus varnish effects.
- Safety: The Company usesEN71 (CE) and ASTM D4236 safety standards for their art materials. So, their products are entirely safe.
- Usage: You can use various materials like cardboard, glass, paper, and illuminated signs and panels.
- Covering Power: They have excellent covering power. As a result, you can use them wet or dry on a wide variety of materials.
- Color: They enhance bright color plus watercolor effects to your valuable artwork.
- Have a high pigment concentration.
- Bring bright, opaque colors to your artwork.
- Suitable for sketching, portraits, and figure drawing.
- Colorfastness.
- Excellent Lightfastness.
- Sometimes they dry a little chalky. But, after some time, chalkiness goes away.
Conclusion Ideas
With this set, you can give your expressions a better reality. In every way, it’s an appealing product for any artist.
8. Cretacolor Watercolor Pencils Review – Best-Colored Pencils for Realistic Drawing
These CretacolorWatersoluble oil Pastels are very high quality drawing material with excellent color section. They live up to their 200 years’ legacy.
Key Features
- Water Soluble: The CretacolorAquastic Water soluble oil Pastels have marvelous water solubility plus pigmentation.
- Work on: They can work fantastically on various surfaces like glass, wood, canvas, etc.
- They are very soft:So, it’s suitable for various techniques like blending or sgraffito.
- Suitable for: They are very much ideal for a professional artist.
- Easy to use.
- Best value.
- Includes 40 rich colors.
- Affordable Price.
- Smooth blending
- If they are exposed to a heat source for a very long time, they can be a little melted.
Conclusion ideas
They are intended for professional and passionate artists. And take their creation to the next level.
9. Koh-I-Noor Colored Pencils Review – Best Watercolor Pencils for Card Making
Koh-I-Noor Pencil set comes in 12, 24, or 36 assorted colors. You can pick up whichever game you like and meets up your budget and needs.
Key Features
- Dual Purposes: You can use them dry or wet. In every aspect, they work brilliantly fine.
- Pigments: They designed highly concentrated, flawlessly dispersed pigments made from the best hard truth colors.
- Excellent solubility: Thesepencils have high additives and binders combined to ensure all components’ brilliant solubility.
- Lay down: they possess an unparalleled ability to create dense strokes; thus, the colors lay down exquisitely on many surfaces.
- Light Permanency: They possess excellent light permanency.
- Easy to blend.
- Vivid, charming colors.
- It goes down and dilutes quickly.
- Great Performance.
- Suitable for professional design and drawing.
- They come in a nice case so that you can travel with them. But the fact is not very compatible with traveling. It’s better to use a separate bag for your colors.
Conclusion Ideas
The price is also very reasonable and under $25. So, you can keep it on your list.
10. Staedtler Watercolor Pencils Review – Best Cheap Watercolor Pencils
Staedtler Company, founded in 1835 in Germany, claims to have invented coloring pencils. Undoubtedly, they made some fantastic pencils on the market. This set comes with 1 pack (35 colors), two-pack, or 3 pack options.
Key Features
- Come with: It comes with a box of 36 colors two-pack with a bonus paintbrush.
- I am blending: the color blend so beautifully that it gives birth to a wide range of shades and tones.
- Anti-breaking coating: The pencils are designed with an anti-breaking layer that covers the length of the lead. As a result, it prevents lead leakage,
- Sharpen: The colors are brilliant and easy to sharpen.
- Sturdy: These pencils are sturdy. So, you can give these to your kids to use without tension.
- Colorfastness is excellent.
- Functions fine with water.
- Pigmented
- Last longer as they are not very soft.
- After drying, you can enhance with more colors to make the painting darker or highlight it.
- These are not very soft or water-soluble.
Conclusion Idea
These pencils are perfectly great for a professional—worth a try.
Overall Ideas
We did not pick up many expensive watercolor pencils. Because we noticed the cheaper ones have some excellent features. And with some features, you really can adjust. So, if you have a tight budget, you really can go with a cheaper one. They are delicious. You have to take proper care of them.
Finally, if we have to recommend one watercolor pencil among them, it would be Albrecht Durer 120 Pencil Set Tin. This product stands out. It’s just what a professional artist needs. And equally, it makes a beginner’s journey productive and secure. So, it will be out of today’s star product.
Factors to consider when buying watercolor pencils
The quality of the mine
The mine has to be soft enough so that the colors are easy to mix and degrade.But at the same time, it has to be flexible so that they do not break when sharpening.Although I like soft and paste mines, you may need a slightly harder mine to make more detailed illustrations.I’ll go into more detail in the reviews below.Another critical point is that the shaft must be well centered on the wood. Otherwise, it will break when sharpening.
Pigments
Most manufacturers use different binders to bring the pigments into a usable form. But how to know who is the right one and in which case to use it? We learn that wax-based pencils are softer than water-based or oil-based pencils in this buying guide for the best-colored pencils. They offer, therefore, better coverage on paper. And the color is quite intense.
However, the small downside of this type is that it breaks easily and wears faster than others. And if you press too hard for a deeper color, you may have a bloom of wax or a layer of powder that can affect the intensity. Oil-based pigments are generally harder than wax-based dyes. If it is a colored pencil that lasts longer and is less likely to break than you are looking for in price comparison, opt for it.
However, to get the same intensity as the wax crayon, you need to press a little more on the colored pencil.Finally, water-based pens are less stable but can be used on a wet or dry substrate.
The quality of wood
The quality of the wood also plays a vital role in the overall quality of the pencil. If the wood splinters every time we sharpen it or break easily with a small blow, we run the risk of breaking the mine and wasting the pencil. And there’s nothing worse than spending good money on professional pens and seeing them disappear in 5 minutes.
The variety of colors
This characteristic is the most obvious of all.Generally, colored pencils are delivered to several.Therefore, you will find on the market packs containing only six colors and packages containing hundreds.Before deciding where to buy a new colored pencil, ask yourself this critical question: what color do I need?
According to the answer, you will judge if such a model is good or not for you. For beginners, you can initially satisfy a set that represents only the primary colors. On the other hand, if it is more useful, opt for a pack with several colors and even some unique pieces.
Container and aesthetics
Although this point is not as relevant as the previous ones, it is also a factor to consider, and in case of doubt, you may be influenced by a particular brand. The truth is that I rarely use the original claims since I like to take the pencils with me, and that’s why I use cloth cases, which take up much less space.
As for the pencil’s shape, I like them to be round instead of hexagonal, which are the two most common types. It’s a personal preference and does not have to match yours.
Use
How to buy a colored pencil of a better quality-price ratio?Based on the method you want to make.Indeed, some types of pens are better for specific artistic applications.Therefore, to correctly choose the model to buy, you must consider the kind of activity you plan to do.Are there any intricate details to work on?Does the pencil have to be precise and meticulous?
Some users also go further by defining, beforehand, the frequency of use.Ask yourself if good color saturation is essential for better results.Will it be necessary to indulge in complex mixtures of colors to obtain a precise style?And finally, what is the type of medium where you will color.
Price
There are brands with excellent quality, but some have exorbitant prices. And although most of the time you get what you pay for, there are times when only the value for money is not as good as it should be. With this article, I try to avoid that you waste money, offering you the best options.
Questions and Answers (FAQ)
What is a watercolor pencil?
In terms of appearance, watercolor pencils look very much like classic crayons. Also, from the handling, there are almost no differences. But according to various test reports, there is a significant difference, which lies in the color pigments. With a watercolor pencil, can draw fine lines, such as grasses, wires, or cables. However, if these lines are wetted with water, the pigments dissolve and can be wonderfully distributed to make appealing shades possible. A paper must be used that does not curl and does not soak directly when in contact with water. Therefore, a special watercolor paper should be used to work on it individually. As with a crayon, there are also different colors in pencils. Thus, colorful pictures can be designed without being specified in a color range.
Are watercolor pencils also suitable for children?
Elementary school children can easily use pens. With the pencils, the talent of the child can be promoted early on.
Do I have to use a special sharpener?
No, that’s not necessary. In principle, any sharpener can be used for sharpening.
Is there a brush with a set?
No. The brush usually needs to be bought separately. The manufacturer does not settle him.
What material is a storage box made of?
That varies and depends on the manufacturer. Usually, however, aluminum or dull sheet metal is used for the production.
Can the pens be used to paint by numbers?
In principle, yes, but it is not recommended. It is best to use the colors that are included.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of watercolor pencils?
Advantages: (1) easy to use. (2) different colors. (3) different ways of painting. (4) usable on dry and wet ground can be sharpened if necessary. Disadvantages: (1) No special effect when painting on a dry surface.
What are the best watercolor pencils brands?
There are several brands for watercolor pencils and from those, we have selected 6 bests. Those are 1. Derwent. 2. Arteza. 3. Lyra. 4. Sanford. 5. Faber Castell. 6. Albrecht.
If you have any suggestions or anything, comment below. Good luck in your artistic journey.
