Colored Pencils: Are They Really Worth My Money?

Colored Pencils: Are They Really Worth My Money?

Opening:

Many people buy colored pencils because they are deemed cheaper than markers, and paint can often seem like something the “important” people use, but I am here to tell you that colored pencils are worth the money, whether you buy the “good” quality ones or if you buy the ones from cheaper brands like Crayola ™ or RoseArt ™.

Main Thought:

Sometimes colored pencils get a bad rap, it's like people think colored pencils it's just Crayola and after all “dats kidz stuff!” Although depending on the brand this is true to a point, but colored pencils take as much skill as any other type of media, learning it and mastering it is key; Basically become a Zen Ninja and learn the way of the pigmented graphite! You may think that you cannot make good art with cheap pencils, I beg to differ! I believe that if you can't master the cheap the better/ more expensive will be wasted trying to learn the media; Granted brand and type are different in hardness, color depth and blending, but if you can get good at cheap then you will be able to expand your color variety and also texture, not to mention you can show how pro you are coloring a super cool drawing using kids pencils...!

I use many types of pencils, namely: Prismacolor Premier, Crayola, EK Memory and also many off brands, I will say that I adore some of the cheaper pencils, they are so nice!

This picture is an example of works that can be done with cheaper colored pencils:

Bigger Version Here.

Although the majority is Prismacolor colored pencils (19) in this image, there are also 15 lesser branded pencils, Namely: Crayola and EK Memory, and also 3 off-branded pencils (dollar-store pencils) and Crayola being the majority.

Another example would be this drawing:

Image Taken From An Earlier Blog Post Which Can Be Found Here.

Although it's not the best artistic feat, it's (near if not total) majority of colored pencils are Creatology colored pencils, which on my scale of pencils are on the minor end of the artistic quality “food chain”. Don't think you're cheap for getting colored pencils!

Other artists have much more time and talent dedicated to the usage of colored pencils, look on YouTube and you'll find many artists!

Mixed media:

Blog Post here.

I'm very much a “Mixed Media” - “Artist”, I love to mix up different types of media, put it together, and make something beautiful! Colored pencils have become a literal foundation for coloring my drawings on paper.

When I say foundation I mean, first thing on the paper is normally colored pencil(s), for me it adds texture, depth, as well as texture both rough and smooth, it makes my markers (which are almost exclusively kids markers) slip about on the waxy base and go on much smoother and can even be blended with my finger or tissue. They are also make a very nice paper stiffener, I am currently in a “pencil only” sketch book, so to color with markers is not ideal, but still possible!

Blog Post can be found here.

My tip to you would be to layer the colored pencils on top of each other to make a thick waxy “coat” over the pores of the paper, also I'd recommend to get a “colorless blender pencil”; This is a colorless wax type pencil that you use to blend pencil together, the softer the pencils the more the blender-pencil will do it's job, for this Prismacolor is best as it's the pencil the blender-pencil was designed to work with, but it works somewhat if you mix brands and it works oddly enough nicely on crayons.

The one I use is from Prismacolor, I'm not sure if other brands make it but it's totally possible.

The Images in this section are examples of Mixed Media Drawings.

Storage:

Ways to store:

• Rubber Bands
• Tupperware containers (small for colors, or a (few maybe) bigger ones to store bound colored pencils)
• Bags (I have sewn bags with zippers my mother made me)
• Storage Units with smaller drawers or cubby compartments.

Please, this is a personal plea, when storing your colored pencils please, I beg thee with ever fiber of my being...put them in color order...Nothing is more irritating and inconvenient (to me) than having a bunch of pencils (or markers) not in color order! Let me tell you some of the good things that come from doing this!!

• Coloring is more efficient
• Coloring Trains of thought will not crash as you look for a certain color
• You will realize when you are out of a color so you're prepared before starting a picture with certain colors in mind.
• You will feel good inside
• I will not come to your house to do it for you....That would be awkward...!!!!

Please, put them in color order!

Other things I would like to note is, when putting them in color order, also put them in brand order.

If you use Tupperware containers to store your pencils put each color in rubber bands, blues all together, pinks, greens, etc..., we all have a certain way to think of colors so I shall not say what order to set the pencils, but have some kind of order. Trust me it helps!!

I normally separate brand and color so lets say I have Crayola in Oranges and RoseArt, I'll put the RoseArt Oranges together and the Crayola Together within brand.

I'm getting irritating now, I'm sorry!

Conclusion:

Pencils are useful! Don't diss our graphic friends, embrace them with love and hugs!

If you want to read up on various brands I wrote a review and comparison on 4 different brands in detail and lightly touch on a few other various brands and types. The post can be found here.

I hope this was useful! Now go out there and create something beautiful and epic for all the world to see!

May God Bless You, Your Family, Friend; Along With The Health Of Yourself, Family, Friends, And All Who Know You. ~ Amen

~ Firefly

Useful Links:

Would You Like To Read More Blog Posts Similar To This One? Take A Look At The Official Blog Archive.

Would You Like To See My Drawings? Click here.

Have A Question?

Ask The Firefly!