Best Colored Pencils for Art Class: Top Picks for Students and Teachers

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Choosing the right colored pencils for art class depends on age, skill level, and the kinds of projects you plan to do. Below are seven well-known, widely available colored pencil lines with a short note on who each suits best and why. Use this as a quick guide to match pencils to learning objectives—sketching, layering, illustration, or general classroom use.

1. Prismacolor Premier Colored Pencils

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Best for: middle and high school students who are learning blending and soft shading techniques. Prismacolor Premier pencils have a soft, wax-based core with rich, creamy color laydown that blends easily for smooth gradients and painterly effects.

Why choose them: the soft cores make layering and burnishing straightforward, which helps beginners explore value and color transitions. They are popular in art classes, though the softer leads can break if not sharpened or handled carefully.

2. Faber-Castell Polychromos

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Best for: students and teachers who want durable, detailed work—especially drawing and fine-line coloring. Polychromos are oil-based pencils with a firmer core that holds a point well and resists crumbling.

Why choose them: they deliver clean, precise marks and excellent color permanence. The firmer core also means fewer breakages and good performance on textured papers used for detailed rendering.

3. Caran d'Ache Luminance

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Best for: advanced high school students, portfolio pieces, and anyone prioritizing lightfastness and archival quality. Luminance pencils are artist-grade with exceptional pigment concentration and documented lightfast ratings.

Why choose them: their creamy, oil-based cores blend beautifully and retain color over time, so work intended for assessment or display benefits from this line. They’re a long-term investment for serious projects.

4. Derwent Coloursoft

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Best for: expressive classroom projects and mixed-media exercises where rich, velvety coverage is helpful. Coloursoft pencils have a soft, thick core that lays down bold, saturated color quickly.

Why choose them: they’re great for covering large areas and producing painterly textures without much effort. The softness helps with fast, expressive work, though heavy layering can lead to wax buildup.

5. Staedtler Polycolor

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Best for: elementary to middle school classrooms and students who need an economical, robust option. Polycolor pencils are oil-based and known for their break-resistant cores and consistent performance.

Why choose them: they withstand classroom handling and are versatile for drawing and coloring on a variety of paper weights. Their durability makes them a practical pick for communal sets and busy art rooms.

6. Crayola Colored Pencils

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Best for: younger students, early art lessons, and practice drills. Crayola’s classic colored pencils are affordable, non-toxic, and easy for small hands to use.

Why choose them: they’re ideal for learning color mixing basics, simple shading, and control without the expense of artist-grade sets. They won’t match professional pigments, but they’re reliable for developing foundational skills.

7. Arteza Artist Colored Pencils

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Best for: teachers and students seeking a budget-friendly artist-style option for classroom sets or small personal collections. Arteza’s artist pencils offer strong pigment and decent blendability for their price point.

Why choose them: they strike a balance between student and artist grade—good pigmentation and reasonable lightfastness for practice work, making them useful for experiments, assignments, and introductory portfolio pieces.

Buying advice

• Decide core type first: wax-based cores (Prismacolor, Derwent Coloursoft) feel creamier and blend easily; oil-based cores (Polychromos, Staedtler Polycolor) hold a point longer and resist breakage.
• Consider lightfastness: for portfolio pieces or work you’ll display, choose pencils with good lightfast ratings (e.g., Caran d’Ache Luminance).
• Match set size to goals: a basic 12–24 set is fine for practice; 48–120 colors give more subtle hue options for advanced projects.
• Think classroom durability: if pencils will be shared, prioritize break-resistant, oil-based cores and sturdy barrels.
• Test on your paper: different pencils behave differently on smooth vs textured paper—try a few colors before buying large sets.
• Sharpening and storage: invest in a reliable sharpener and keep pencils protected in a case to avoid broken leads and lost pieces.

Conclusion: There’s no single “best” colored pencil for every classroom—your ideal choice depends on students’ ages, lesson goals, and budget. For beginners, affordable and durable options like Crayola or Staedtler work well; for technique-focused classes, Prismacolor or Derwent Coloursoft help teach blending; for archival or portfolio work, consider artist-grade lines like Caran d’Ache or Faber-Castell. When in doubt, buy a small set to try in class first and let technique, not branding, guide your long-term purchases.