10 Best Quality Colored Pencils 2025 in the United States

The Crayola Colored Pencils Set with 120 colors offers a wide variety of shades, which is great for kids and beginners who want lots of choices without buying multiple sets. These pencils have a smooth and creamy core, making them easy to blend and layer colors for creative effects. The pre-sharpened tips are convenient, allowing users to start drawing right away without the hassle of sharpening. The pencils are built to be durable and long-lasting, suitable for regular use in school projects or coloring books.

This set is well suited for young artists, school use, or anyone looking for a large assortment of colors for casual coloring and craft projects. The cores are softer to make coloring easier, which might reduce precision for detailed work or make the tips prone to breaking if pressed too hard. While the pencils blend nicely, they may not offer the rich, intense colors or archival quality that professional artists seek.

In summary, Crayola’s 120-pack provides a fun, affordable choice to explore coloring with plenty of shades. It is designed more for casual use than for professional or serious hobbyist needs where pigment permanence and a wider range of core hardness are important.

The KALOUR 72 Count Colored Pencils set is a versatile option for both adults and kids, making it a suitable choice for a wide range of users, from beginners to those engaging in more detailed art projects. One of its standout features is the vibrant pigment quality, ensuring that the colors are vivid and lively when applied.

With 72 different colors, artists have a broad palette to choose from, which can be particularly useful for detailed coloring and drawing tasks. The soft core of these pencils allows for smooth application and seamless blending, which is beneficial for creating gradients and layering colors.

Additionally, the pencils are made of high-quality basswood, making them easy to sharpen and reducing the risk of breakage, which can be a common issue with colored pencils. The pencils are also marketed as non-toxic and safe for kids, adhering to safety standards, making them a good gift option for children above the age of 5. These colored pencils are well-suited for general use, including school projects and adult coloring books.

The Crayola Colored Pencils (36 count) are designed primarily for kids and classroom settings, making them a solid choice for younger artists or group activities. They offer a wide color range with 36 different shades, which helps bring coloring books and creative projects to life. These pencils have soft cores that are less prone to breaking and come presharpened, so they're ready to use right away—great for kids who want to start coloring without fuss. The pigment quality is decent for children's use, producing vibrant colors suitable for coloring books and basic artwork. However, these pencils are not known for high lightfastness, meaning the colors may fade over time if exposed to strong light.

The core hardness is on the softer side, which makes blending colors easier but can wear down tips faster. Blendability is good enough for simple layering and mixing of colors, fitting the needs of beginners rather than professional artists. The pencil construction using round, smooth wood makes them comfortable to hold but might lack the durability and precision found in more advanced sets. This set is ideal as basic, affordable colored pencils for kids and encourages creative expression, but it may not meet the needs of users looking for archival-quality artwork or advanced blending and shading techniques.