Best Coloring Pencils For Adult Coloring Books?
July 13, 2015 2:04 PM Subscribe
Or, like gel pens? I was given a couple of coloring books and love them but I really know nothing about the best stuff to use for them and really can't afford to purchase a set I'll just be irritated with and need to replace to give me he results I want.
If you can, go to a real life art store so you can test different pens and pencils on the books you own. Paper quality makes a huge difference to what medium you want to use. Some papers will take color pencils really well, on others they will look washed out and annoying. Some will hold up to a nice felt tip, others will bleed horrendously. You're gonna want to test it out before you commit to buying a $$$ box of caran d'ache
posted by mymbleth at 2:23 PM on July 13, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by mymbleth at 2:23 PM on July 13, 2015 [2 favorites]
Crayola doesn't smudge because it has relatively lower wax content-- they might be perfectly fine for coloring books. Staedtler and Prismacolor are my favorites, but they might be smudgier (Prismacolor moreso than Staedtler) and are certainly more expensive.
posted by gemutlichkeit at 2:26 PM on July 13, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by gemutlichkeit at 2:26 PM on July 13, 2015 [1 favorite]
Caran D'Ache Supracolor Sets (from 12-200+ colors) and a water brush pen (depending on the type of paper).
posted by melissasaurus at 2:40 PM on July 13, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by melissasaurus at 2:40 PM on July 13, 2015 [1 favorite]
Crayola has a set of coloring pencils that can turn into watercolor. I like them.
posted by Ms Vegetable at 2:54 PM on July 13, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Ms Vegetable at 2:54 PM on July 13, 2015 [1 favorite]
Hobbyist, not artist at all here, so please take my suggestions with a grain of salt:
Depends! Do you want to blend and do texture things and do other drawing tricks? Pencils. I have a Prismacolor set that's pretty good. The nice thing about pencils is that you can get a lot more out of one pencil — you can color lightly and heavily and get a range of shades out of one color. With marker it's pretty much what you see is what you get. Still, I can't color for long periods of time with pencils — my hands cramp up and get sore. I also get sick of constantly sharpening the pencils, and I feel like I occasionally waste a lot of pencil trying to get the tip sharp enough again. I am a fan of super vibrant colors, also, which is harder to do with pencil. So I tend to stick largely to markers/watercolor markers. I haven't experimented with the watercolor aspect yet, tbh, so I'm interested in melissasaurus' suggestion.
For cheap but surprisingly decent markers, I found that the Artist's Loft watercolor dual tip markers were good. I got them at Michael's a few months back but I don't see them on their website now. At $1 per marker, it was a pleasant surprise. I kind of love the brush tips — you can go much finer or much heavier and the ink goes on very smoothly because you can use a very light touch. The Staedtler 24-color set is ok, not streaky, but only has one tip type. If you live to spend money, there's a ton of much nicer really expensive stuff out there. Do what mymbleth suggested and visit an art store if there's one around and experiment. I'm still not satisfied because no set has enough variety in color for me — at least not one I can afford.
I tend to use the two sets together because then I ALMOST get enough color range for my tastes. YMMV!
posted by clone boulevard at 2:56 PM on July 13, 2015 [2 favorites]
Depends! Do you want to blend and do texture things and do other drawing tricks? Pencils. I have a Prismacolor set that's pretty good. The nice thing about pencils is that you can get a lot more out of one pencil — you can color lightly and heavily and get a range of shades out of one color. With marker it's pretty much what you see is what you get. Still, I can't color for long periods of time with pencils — my hands cramp up and get sore. I also get sick of constantly sharpening the pencils, and I feel like I occasionally waste a lot of pencil trying to get the tip sharp enough again. I am a fan of super vibrant colors, also, which is harder to do with pencil. So I tend to stick largely to markers/watercolor markers. I haven't experimented with the watercolor aspect yet, tbh, so I'm interested in melissasaurus' suggestion.
For cheap but surprisingly decent markers, I found that the Artist's Loft watercolor dual tip markers were good. I got them at Michael's a few months back but I don't see them on their website now. At $1 per marker, it was a pleasant surprise. I kind of love the brush tips — you can go much finer or much heavier and the ink goes on very smoothly because you can use a very light touch. The Staedtler 24-color set is ok, not streaky, but only has one tip type. If you live to spend money, there's a ton of much nicer really expensive stuff out there. Do what mymbleth suggested and visit an art store if there's one around and experiment. I'm still not satisfied because no set has enough variety in color for me — at least not one I can afford.
I tend to use the two sets together because then I ALMOST get enough color range for my tastes. YMMV!
posted by clone boulevard at 2:56 PM on July 13, 2015 [2 favorites]
Response by poster: Ok, I never imagined there are 800 dollar pencil sets! Or 200 dollars, for that matter. That's not the kind of investment I can make at this time.
This is the kind of color book I mean, if that helps.
The nearest art supply place is a bit less than 70 miles away but it would probably be worth the trip, mymbleh, thanks for that tip.
effluvia, thanks for the information on what I need to look for, that makes a lot of sense.
gemutlichkeit, can you recommend one or the other for the beginning colorist?
posted by merelyglib at 3:06 PM on July 13, 2015
This is the kind of color book I mean, if that helps.
The nearest art supply place is a bit less than 70 miles away but it would probably be worth the trip, mymbleh, thanks for that tip.
effluvia, thanks for the information on what I need to look for, that makes a lot of sense.
gemutlichkeit, can you recommend one or the other for the beginning colorist?
posted by merelyglib at 3:06 PM on July 13, 2015
get moonlight, metallic, and regular gelly roll pens. possibly also stardust.
I have seeded chaos in my entire office by having coloring books and gel pens at my desk.
posted by skrozidile at 3:07 PM on July 13, 2015 [8 favorites]
I have seeded chaos in my entire office by having coloring books and gel pens at my desk.
posted by skrozidile at 3:07 PM on July 13, 2015 [8 favorites]
I have 150-dollar colored-pencil sets and ones that cost 60-80 or so for fancy projects, but for coloring or basic sketching, I actually get the big 50-color sets of Crayola colored pencils. They actually work pretty well for the paper in a lot of coloring books (or for doing quick sketches of watermelon submarines), and they're like $8 at Target, so if you don't like them, you're not out much. I like them about as well as most beginner-level pencils at art-supply stores, which will cost you a bit more.
posted by heurtebise at 3:18 PM on July 13, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by heurtebise at 3:18 PM on July 13, 2015 [3 favorites]
First, I can definitely say do not bother buying cheap or knock-off gel pens. Get the gelly roll brand, if you go that route!
My grandmother was a regular happy customer of Cheap Joe's Art Supplies.
For pens, try Jet Pens.
One key thing I learned in art school is to go ahead and spring for the best materials you can afford - they look better, work better, feel better to use, and all around result in a more satisfying experience and more satisfying results. You don't have to go crazy expensive - but don't be miserly either. You'll notice something that's a step up from "cheap", for sure.
Have fun!
posted by jrobin276 at 3:18 PM on July 13, 2015 [4 favorites]
My grandmother was a regular happy customer of Cheap Joe's Art Supplies.
For pens, try Jet Pens.
One key thing I learned in art school is to go ahead and spring for the best materials you can afford - they look better, work better, feel better to use, and all around result in a more satisfying experience and more satisfying results. You don't have to go crazy expensive - but don't be miserly either. You'll notice something that's a step up from "cheap", for sure.
Have fun!
posted by jrobin276 at 3:18 PM on July 13, 2015 [4 favorites]
Response by poster: This is fantastic, thank you so much. Lots of things to think about and I don't feel nearly at sea about different kinds of coloring things.
IDK if I can select more than one "Best Answer," but if I could, you all would get it.
posted by merelyglib at 3:49 PM on July 13, 2015
IDK if I can select more than one "Best Answer," but if I could, you all would get it.
posted by merelyglib at 3:49 PM on July 13, 2015
Yea, Mrs. The Bellman is into Adult Coloring Books (don't miss this one) and also seems to favor the Sakura Gelly Roll Pens for them.
posted by The Bellman at 3:50 PM on July 13, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by The Bellman at 3:50 PM on July 13, 2015 [2 favorites]
I am very fond of watercolour pencils-- the Derwent and Conte boxes of 24 or 36 would set you back $30 or so.
posted by BibiRose at 3:53 PM on July 13, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by BibiRose at 3:53 PM on July 13, 2015 [1 favorite]
Gel pens are not a good much for coloring books or like, any large area coloring/fills, in my experience. They're hard to control, don't blend well, and show tracks when they're used that way. They're much better for lettering and outlining and have their uses, but yeah, coloring isn't one of them.
What you want if you don't want to go the colored pencil route are artist markers, like Copics. Their Ciao line is considerably cheaper than the main line and still very very nice.
posted by The Master and Margarita Mix at 4:11 PM on July 13, 2015 [5 favorites]
What you want if you don't want to go the colored pencil route are artist markers, like Copics. Their Ciao line is considerably cheaper than the main line and still very very nice.
posted by The Master and Margarita Mix at 4:11 PM on July 13, 2015 [5 favorites]
One other consideration: Your paper. Coloring book paper is made for dry media. It is not sized. So fluid media like watercolor will make the paper warp a bit. You may or may not care. Gel pen media made for writing and not art applications often has non-lightfast ink, which means it will fade or color shift in a relatively short amount of time, a couple of years. If you put a lot of labor of love into your coloring, you may find color shifts and wrinkly paper annoying. So, coloring paper is most likely made for dry drawing media and not sized.
posted by effluvia at 4:12 PM on July 13, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by effluvia at 4:12 PM on July 13, 2015 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: That book is on top of my wish list, do thank Mrs. The Bellman for the Sakura option.
The Derwent's look kind of like a pastel/pencil hybrid and I like the idea of that, BiBiRose, thank you!
The Master and Margarita Mix, I thought that might be the case, so maybe I should wait on that until I get more of the hang of, well, coloring.
That makes a lot of sense, effluvia, and was not something I'd thought about. (she said, googling 'sized')
This is so exciting!
posted by merelyglib at 4:25 PM on July 13, 2015
The Derwent's look kind of like a pastel/pencil hybrid and I like the idea of that, BiBiRose, thank you!
The Master and Margarita Mix, I thought that might be the case, so maybe I should wait on that until I get more of the hang of, well, coloring.
That makes a lot of sense, effluvia, and was not something I'd thought about. (she said, googling 'sized')
This is so exciting!
posted by merelyglib at 4:25 PM on July 13, 2015
I love these! Especially for tiny, small spaces. Papermate flair
posted by JacksonandFinch at 4:46 PM on July 13, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by JacksonandFinch at 4:46 PM on July 13, 2015 [1 favorite]
Johanna Basford, the author of some of those books, has some recommendations here. I own the precise set of Staedtler Triplus Finelines she mentions and love them, though I have yet to start using them on an actual colouring book (I've used them to scribble with and fill in a bunch of printouts and they feel great, but when it comes to the really pretty book I'm having ink anxiety so I need to remember where I put my Caran D'Ache pencils - which I would also, incidentally, recommend).
posted by sailoreagle at 5:43 PM on July 13, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by sailoreagle at 5:43 PM on July 13, 2015 [2 favorites]
Gel pens are not a good much for coloring books or like, any large area coloring/fills, in my experience.
As a counterpoint, I really love gel pens (especially Gelly Roll Moonlight) for coloring that involves lots of small bits (I recently got the travel version of this book and it is super neato) because they're opaque, require no pressure, and don't bleed through. In small areas, it's easy to get a solid field of color. They wouldn't be much fun for large areas, though, it's true. And the color selection is really limited.
If you go the fancy artist marker route, you can get special blending markers. I haven't tried them myself, but I've heard good things about them from coloring enthusiasts.
posted by Metroid Baby at 6:02 PM on July 13, 2015 [2 favorites]
As a counterpoint, I really love gel pens (especially Gelly Roll Moonlight) for coloring that involves lots of small bits (I recently got the travel version of this book and it is super neato) because they're opaque, require no pressure, and don't bleed through. In small areas, it's easy to get a solid field of color. They wouldn't be much fun for large areas, though, it's true. And the color selection is really limited.
If you go the fancy artist marker route, you can get special blending markers. I haven't tried them myself, but I've heard good things about them from coloring enthusiasts.
posted by Metroid Baby at 6:02 PM on July 13, 2015 [2 favorites]
I like these Prismacolor pencils. Also buy a blending pencil and a sharpener.
posted by purpleclover at 6:38 PM on July 13, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by purpleclover at 6:38 PM on July 13, 2015 [3 favorites]
Thirding or so Prismacolor. All of my acquaintances who are serious about coloring things in coloring books use Prismacolor (as do I!).
In the packs, they're usually about $1.75 a pop, but it looks like from purpleclover's link that Amazon is having a sale right now- get them!
posted by damayanti at 6:46 PM on July 13, 2015 [1 favorite]
In the packs, they're usually about $1.75 a pop, but it looks like from purpleclover's link that Amazon is having a sale right now- get them!
posted by damayanti at 6:46 PM on July 13, 2015 [1 favorite]
I have a similar adults coloring book and I love my watercolor pencils. I paid about $40 for a set of 48 Faber Castell ones. I love them.
posted by shazzam! at 9:31 PM on July 13, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by shazzam! at 9:31 PM on July 13, 2015 [1 favorite]
I use Staedtler Triplus Fineliner pens, as recommended by Johanna Basford. They're excellent for coloring small spaces, but not so good for coloring large areas.
posted by neushoorn at 10:27 PM on July 13, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by neushoorn at 10:27 PM on July 13, 2015 [1 favorite]
GET THE GELLY ROLLS!
I gave a single moonlight pen to the deputy executive. She bought 4 coloring books and the 64 "artist pack" on amazon the next day. She won the coloring contest.
(We had a coloring contest)
(I work at a Big 4 ish consulting company)
posted by skrozidile at 6:15 AM on July 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
I gave a single moonlight pen to the deputy executive. She bought 4 coloring books and the 64 "artist pack" on amazon the next day. She won the coloring contest.
(We had a coloring contest)
(I work at a Big 4 ish consulting company)
posted by skrozidile at 6:15 AM on July 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
I was recently given a coloring book for stress relief (thanks friends, I got the hint) and they gave me a set of Muji Coloring pencils. Honestly, for someone like me who will not then use these pencils for fine art or much real further sketching, they're fine. I've used really fancy colored pencils and those have much deeper colosr, but for coloring in a book, a relatively cheap set is fine.
posted by larthegreat at 6:51 AM on July 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by larthegreat at 6:51 AM on July 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
I bought the $9.99 "Brush Markers Multi-Colored Set of 12" from Barnes & Noble two days ago, because I don't have much money and just wanted to get started coloring.
Not sure how long they'll last, but they have the brush marker tip that I love!
posted by vitabellosi at 8:08 AM on July 14, 2015 [2 favorites]
Not sure how long they'll last, but they have the brush marker tip that I love!
posted by vitabellosi at 8:08 AM on July 14, 2015 [2 favorites]
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by effluvia at 2:10 PM on July 13, 2015 [3 favorites]