10 Best Pencils For Artists 2025 in the United States

The Prismacolor Premier Colored Pencils set offers 150 vibrant colors, making it an attractive choice for artists who value a wide range of shades. These pencils have soft, thick cores that are ideal for shading and creating shadows, providing a smooth and even color laydown. This can be particularly beneficial for detailed work and adult coloring books, as the leads are robust and resist cracking and chipping.

Another highlight is their lightfast pigments, which help in maintaining color quality over time. However, the softness of the lead means they might wear down quicker, requiring frequent sharpening. While the set is highly rated by users, some might find the price point a bit high.

Despite this, the quality and durability offered make them a solid investment for serious artists seeking reliable colored pencils.

The Prismacolor Scholar Colored Pencils 60 Pack is a strong choice for beginner and adult artists who want a large variety of vibrant colors. These pencils feature soft leads, making them easy to blend and shade, which is great for artistic coloring and layering. The cores are designed to be hardened to resist breakage, helping maintain the pencil's usability over time.

While these are colored pencils and not graphite, their softness means they won't offer the fine precision or erasability you might get from harder graphite pencils if you're looking for detailed sketching. The lead diameter and contoured grip provide comfortable handling for long coloring sessions. Prismacolor is a well-known and respected brand, and this set’s high customer rating reflects its good quality and reliability.

This pack’s large size with 60 assorted colors is especially useful for artists who enjoy experimenting with a broad palette. If you primarily need pencils for traditional graphite drawing with various hardness levels or high erasability, this set might not fully meet those needs since it focuses on vibrant color and blending rather than graphite hardness or erase-ability.