Colored Pencils (Prismacolor)

Brands & Quality

It is night and day the difference in quality between Prismacolor and other color pencils.

Prismacolor is the highest quality color pencils I have used and would only be suited for high school students and mature middle schoolers.

Low Quality/Student Grade

Crayola colored pencils

Medium

Lyra Rembrandt Polycolor Premium Oil-Based Colored Pencil Set

High Quality

Prismacolor Quality Art Set
Koh-I-Noor Polycolor Colored Pencils
Caran d’Ache Luminance 6901 Set of 76 Lightfast Pencils

Age Appropriateness

Due to the high quality of Prismacolor pencils, this medium should only be used in high school art courses.

Additional Resources to Consider

Blending tools: Burnish through: colorless blender pencil, colorless blender marker, and/or another lighter color pencil; paper blender, paper towels, vaseline.

Cleaning supplies and proper safety precautions

Pencil sharpener – since Prismacolor pencils are expensive and high quality, a nice sharpener would be a good investment

High quality paper

Fixative spray or an alternative

Tape and a drawing board to make the artmaking process easier

blending
prismacolor

Limitations

This medium should be used on higher quality paper.
High quality: students have to be careful to not waste or misuse the product.
When you burnish (apply the last waxy layer to blend and push the pigment on the paper) – it is impossible to go over it
It is best to apply softer layers and build up the color before burnishing

Strengths

Lightfast
With the right tools: fixative spray and proper preservation – can produce long-lasting artwork
Bold and vivid colors
Beautiful blending and color layering

Ways to Blend

Prismacolor Pencils Tutorial

Personal Comfort Level

I am familiar with Prismacolor pencils, although color pencils is not my medium of choice. I could definitely experiment and become more confident with this medium.