If you want the short version: the Prismacolor Premier 150-count is the best colored pencil set for adult coloring overall, the Castle Art Supplies 72-count is the best value pick, and the Crayola 50-count Adult set is the easiest place to start. Those three cover roughly every kind of colorist, from someone filling large areas of a stress-relief page to someone shading skin tones in a portrait.
We spent weeks going through buyer feedback, specification sheets and colour-by-colour reviews on ten of the most-reviewed sets on the market, because the difference between a set that blends and one that just deposits pigment is enormous and almost invisible in a product photo. We also compared them against what people actually say on coloring forums, where the loudest complaints are rarely about colour count.
They are about three things: points that snap off in the sharpener, wax-core pencils that feel greasy rather than creamy, and cheap coloring book paper that grabs the pigment and ruins a smooth laydown. This guide covers all of that before it names a single set, so you can match the pencil to the pages you actually want to color.
Updated for October 2026. We may earn a commission on purchases made through links on this page, which never changes what we recommend.
Table of Contents
Top 3 Picks for Adult Coloring in 2026
Prismacolor Premier 150 Count
- 150 assorted colors
- Soft thick cores for shading
- Lightfast pigments
- Ultra-smooth laydown
Castle Art Supplies 72 Count
- 72 colors in color families
- Soft durable cores
- 3-tier flip tin
- Layering and burnishing
Crayola Adult 50 Count
- 50 vibrant colors
- Fine point tips
- Sturdy durable core
- Non-toxic formula
The Prismacolor leads because it is the only set here with both a genuinely large colour range and cores thick enough to shade with, and it has the heaviest review base of any set we looked at. Castle Art wins on organisation and point retention for a set under half the size. Crayola is not the most capable set, but its leads survive a basic household sharpener better than anything else in this list, which matters more to a beginner than pigment density.
Best Colored Pencil Sets for Adult Coloring (October 2026)
| Product | Specifications | Action |
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| Prismacolor Premier 150 Count |
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| Castle Art Supplies 72 Count |
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| Crayola Adult 50 Count |
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 Shuttle Art 80 Count |
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 Soucolor 72 Count |
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 KALOUR 72 Count |
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 Faber-Castell Polychromos 24 Count |
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 PRINA 120 Count Kit |
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 Lyra Rembrandt Polycolor 72 Count |
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 iBayam 150 Piece Art Kit |
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Two things stand out in that table. First, the highest review counts belong to sets you would not call artist-grade, which tells you volume is not the same as quality. Second, only three of these ten sets have an oil-based core at all, so most of the good blending behaviour on this list comes from wax pencils that are unusually well made.
Wax vs Oil Cores: Which One Should You Buy?
A wax-based core is pigment suspended in a wax binder. It is creamy, soft and easy to blend, and it takes colour down in smooth layers with very little pressure. The tradeoff is that it wears down faster, needs more sharpening on a long page, and can develop a cloudy film on the finished artwork called wax bloom.
An oil-based core is pigment suspended in an oil binder. It is firmer, holds a much finer point for longer, layers more deeply and resists fading. It also takes more pressure to blend smoothly, so it rewards a slower hand than a wax pencil does.
Neither one is better in the abstract. The right answer depends on your pages. Wax core is the better choice for floral pages, mandalas, paisley and stress-relief designs where you want soft gradients with minimal pressure. Oil core is the better choice for portraits, animals with fur, anything with fine line detail, and any page you plan to keep for years.
Wax bloom deserves its own explanation because it confuses almost every beginner. It is a pale, waxy haze that can appear on a finished wax-core page days or weeks after you colored it, especially in dark blues, greens and blacks. It is not a fault, it does not mean the pencils were bad, and it can be reduced by pressing a clean sheet of scrap paper over the finished area and rubbing gently with the back of a spoon.
Lightfastness is the other term that trips people up. It describes how resistant a pigment is to fading under light. The Prismacolor Premier, Faber-Castell Polychromos and Lyra Rembrandt Polycolor lines all carry lightfast pigments, and Polychromos prints its lightfastness rating on each barrel so you can build a collection that will not fade unevenly over time.
How Many Colors Do You Actually Need?
Colour count is the most over-marketed number in this category, and buyers consistently report paying for quantity they will never touch. Here is how the tiers actually map to real pages.
24 to 36 colors is enough for color-by-number pages, simple mandalas and a first serious set. It is also the right size for travel and for anyone who wants to test whether coloring is for them before committing.
50 to 72 colors is the sweet spot for almost all adult coloring books. It covers skin tones, hair shades, greys and neutrals plus a full spectrum, and it stays light enough to carry around. Most of our picks sit here.
120 and above only makes sense if you color big country or floral scenes, or if you work across several books at once. On a low-detail color-by-number book, a 150-count set is money you spend twice.
One more consideration is the colour chart. Sets with named, numbered barrels and a matching colour tip save real time, because hunting through a tin for the right red is the single most tedious part of shading. If you intend to buy more than one set, matching numbering systems across brands also makes the pencils interchangeable.
1. Prismacolor Premier 150 Count – Best Overall for Adult Coloring
- Huge 150-color range for adult coloring books
- Soft thick cores built for shading and shadows
- Lightfast richly saturated pigments with smooth even laydown
- Robust leads that resist cracking and chipping
- Storage case included
- Soft cores need frequent sharpening during long sessions
- Bulky 150-count set is less portable than smaller tins
Yes, Prismacolor pencils are oil-based, which is the detail most product pages bury. That oil core is why the laydown is so smooth and why the shading and gradients on a big country scene or a portrait page look the way people expect colored pencil work to look.
Our experience with this set is that the thick cores do exactly what the specification sheet claims. You can lay a broad, dark tone and then burnish it lighter with the same pencil, which is what makes it a favorite for shading shadows rather than just filling shapes.
The review base is the largest in this roundup by a wide margin, and the praise is consistent rather than enthusiastic-but-vague. Buyers point to the range, the buttery laydown, and the fact that the leads hold up under shading pressure without snapping.
To be fair to the complaints, two come up repeatedly and neither is a dealbreaker. The cores are soft enough that a long page means frequent sharpening, and a 150-count tin is genuinely bulky to carry to a cafe or a class.
Are Prismacolor pencils wax or oil-based? Oil-based, with a soft core, and that combination is what separates them from the wax sets below on point retention and layer depth.
Who This Set Is For
This is the set to buy if you intend to color seriously rather than casually, and if your pages involve skin, hair, fur or large gradients. The pigment depth is the difference you notice first, and lightfast pigments mean a finished piece still looks like itself years later.
It is also the right choice for someone already holding a small set who has run out of shades rather than someone buying a first tin on impulse. If you have 24 pencils and are tired of improvising, this is the upgrade.
Where It Falls Short
The soft core is a real cost on detailed line art because the point rounds faster than a firmer oil core would, so you will be sharpening more often. And at this size the set is not a travel kit; consider the Castle Art 72 or a smaller option if portability matters to you.
Budget is also the honest concern. This is the most expensive single purchase in the roundup, which is exactly why it is worth checking that you will use the full range rather than the same 30 colors forever.
2. Castle Art Supplies 72 Count – Best Value for Serious Coloring
- Soft buttery laydown that resists crumbling and holds a point
- Intensely pigmented creamy colors that layer and burnish smoothly
- Color-coded named and numbered barrels in a 3-tier tin
- Works on paper eggshell canvas and wood
- Fewer colors than larger 100+ count sets
- Some may prefer a firmer core for very fine detail work
This is the set we recommend most often to people who ask what to buy after their childhood tin falls apart. The 72 colors are sorted into families across a three-tier flip tin, with the name and number printed on every barrel, so finding the right mid-tone is fast.
The core is described as soft but the formulation is unusually durable for that softness. Colorists report that the points resist crumbling and keep their shape through a whole page, which is precisely the failure mode that frustrates people with cheaper soft-core sets.
Burnishing is where this set earns its rating. Layering two or three pencils and rubbing them with a blending tool produces a smooth, almost marker-like surface on paper, and the same pencils also work on eggshell, canvas and wood if you branch out from coloring books.
It ships with a fold-out tutorial that walks you through recreating the illustration on the tin, which is a small thing but genuinely useful if you have never layered before. Newer versions also include a duplicate-color-free arrangement, so you are not topping up shades you already own.
Who This Set Is For
Choose this if you want a real hobby set that stays affordable, works on adult coloring books of any style, and travels without becoming a nuisance. It is our pick for the widest range of adult colorists, and it is a safe first serious purchase.
It also suits anyone who cares more about smooth gradients and shading than about having every color imaginable. Seventy-two well-chosen colors will cover more pages than 150 that include fifteen near-duplicate browns.
Where It Falls Short
The honest limitation is count. If you are coloring large florals or wide scenes and constantly need a fourth green or a second neutral, 72 will feel tight and you will be buying individual refills later.
The other drawback is the core softness. For very fine detail work in a small area, a firmer pencil will hold a needle point longer, so artists doing precision line art may want to supplement rather than rely on this set alone.
3. Crayola Adult 50 Count – Best Starting Set for Beginners
- Sturdy leads that do not bloom or snap like many premium brands
- Smooth laydown with good blending and fine detail capability
- 50 distinct colors with no duplicates
- Sharpens cleanly even in a basic household sharpener
- Some colors are less saturated than artist-grade pencils
- Heavily weighted toward reds and oranges with few true greens and purples
- Firm core needs more pressure for deep shading
Crayola is not the finest set on this list and we will not pretend otherwise. It is here because for a first purchase, the durability of the lead matters more than pigment density, and this set has the largest review base in the entire roundup with a consistently positive verdict.
What that durability looks like in practice is simple: these sharpen cleanly in an ordinary pencil sharpener without chipping or snapping, and they do not bloom the way soft wax cores can. For someone coloring for twenty minutes a night, that is a set that will still work a year from now.
![Crayola Colored Pencils For Adults (50ct), Colored Pencil Set for Adult Coloring Books, Coloring Set, Gift for Teens & Adults [Amazon Exclusive] customer photo 1](https://www.narcosis-the-game.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/B018HB2QFU_customer_1.jpg)
Blending is better than the price suggests, particularly between adjacent shades, and the fine 0.3mm point is precise enough for the small enclosed areas that fill intricate coloring book pages.
The range is where the criticism lands. Buyers point out that the distribution skews heavily toward reds and oranges while true greens and purples are thin on the ground, so plan on buying a handful of single pencils in those families when you need them.
![Crayola Colored Pencils For Adults (50ct), Colored Pencil Set for Adult Coloring Books, Coloring Set, Gift for Teens & Adults [Amazon Exclusive] customer photo 2](https://www.narcosis-the-game.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/B018HB2QFU_customer_2.jpg)
Who This Set Is For
This suits a complete beginner, a teenager or adult buying their first set, and anyone who wants a low-stakes way to find out whether adult coloring is for them. It is also a very safe gift when you do not know someone’s taste or level.
It is equally good for color-by-number pages, where the goal is filling flat regions rather than building shading, and for anyone who shares pencils with a child and needs something that tolerates being sharpened roughly.
Where It Falls Short
Pigment intensity is lower than artist-grade pencils, so deep saturation takes more layers and more pressure. If your goal is rich, dark shadows, this will feel flat next to a soft-core oil set.
The uneven colour distribution is the more annoying limitation. When a page needs a specific purple and you do not have it, no amount of technique substitutes for the pigment being there.
4. Shuttle Art 80 Count – Best for Large Fills and Non-Repeating Colors
- 80 genuinely unique colors with no duplicates
- Cores erase cleanly for minor corrections without damaging paper
- Break-resistant soft core that holds detail well
- Hexagonal barrel stays comfortable over long sessions
- Wax-based formula needs more layers and pressure for deep saturation
- Blending is less seamless than artist-grade oil-based pencils
- Flat plastic trays can be wobbly and let pencils fall out
The selling point here is duplication. Shuttle Art pushes 80 colors with no repeats, and the barrel is printed and color-coded to match the core, so you identify a shade by looking rather than by reading tiny numbers.
It is a wax-based formula in a hexagonal barrel, which gives it a different feel from the round-barrel sets. The flat sides help with grip and roll control, and the core is described as break-resistant even though it is soft.
The eraser behavior is a quiet strength. Because wax core is less aggressive than oil core, minor corrections come out cleanly without tearing the paper, which matters if you are working on thinner coloring book stock.
Our honest read is that this is a strong set for pages with large areas to cover and for people who like to pick exactly the shade they want rather than approximate it. The hexagonal shape also happens to roll less, which matters if you steady the page with your other hand.
Who This Set Is For
Pick this for background-heavy pages, large floral designs, and anyone who wants a broad spectrum at a low cost per pencil. It is also good for color-by-number books and for travel, since the whole set is light and slim.
Colorists who work with one hand pressing down on the page often prefer the hexagonal barrel, because the flat face stops the pencil rolling out from under the fingers.
Where It Falls Short
Wax core means it takes more layers and more pressure to reach the saturation an oil-core pencil gives you in a single pass. Visible pencil lines are harder to blend away, so gradient work will take longer.
The packaging is the other issue. Reviewers specifically call out flat plastic trays that can be wobbly and let pencils fall out, so if you plan to carry the set around, move them into a tin or a case first.
5. Soucolor 72 Count – Best Budget Set for Travel Coloring
Soucolor 72 Colored Pencils for Adult Coloring Book,Back to School Supplies
- Highly pigmented colors with a bright silky-smooth laydown
- Soft points that break rarely and sharpen without splintering
- True-to-color shades that blend smoothly on adult coloring books
- Comfortable durable barrels sized well for both adults and children
- Some users find an initial waxy resistance to break through
- Cardboard box with loose plastic trays is not ideal for transport
- Numbering and color chart ordering can be confusing when swatching
Soucolor arrives pre-sharpened, which is a detail that sounds trivial until you are starting a page at a café and do not own a sharpener. Out of the box you can color immediately, and every pencil is numbered and named on the barrel.
Buyers rate the pigment brightness and the smooth laydown highly, and reviewers single out how rarely the tips break as a standout for a set at this level. The 3mm round wood barrel is a comfortable, standard diameter for adult hands.
There is a small learning curve people should know about. A few users describe an initial waxy resistance that has to be worked through before colors blend freely, so do not judge the pencils on the first stroke before you have layered them a few times.
Lightfastness is claimed for this set, which is unusual at the budget end, and the materials are non-toxic, odorless and EN71-3 certified. That makes it a straightforward choice for a shared or family pencil box.
Who This Set Is For
This is the one to buy if you color on the move, in waiting rooms, or in short sessions where you want to open a bag and start. It is also a solid first set for a teenager or an adult who wants to test the hobby cheaply.
For anyone shading skin tones, the neutral and brown families in the 72-color arrangement are more useful than you would expect from a set at this tier, and they blend smoothly once warmed up.
Where It Falls Short
Packaging is the main weakness and it is a consistent one. The cardboard box with loose plastic carriers is unstable and reviewers repeatedly say it is not built for transport, so buy a separate tin if you plan to travel with it.
The numbering and color chart order also confuse people who are swatching for the first time. It takes an hour to get used to, and organizing your own palette reference avoids the issue.
6. KALOUR 72 Count – Best for Sharpening Without Breakage
KALOUR 72 Count Colored Pencils for Adult Coloring Books, Soft Core,Ideal for Drawing Blending Shading,Color Pencils Set Gift for Adults Kids Beginners
- Smooth even laydown with soft cores that blend and layer easily
- 72 non-repeating colors covering vibrant and muted ranges
- Cores sturdier than many premium brands and rarely snap when sharpening
- Good basswood barrels that sharpen easily
- Flimsy cardboard box with wobbly plastic trays that let pencils fall out
- Not very portable for on-the-go coloring
- A handful of red shades are less saturated than the rest
Breakage when sharpening is the loudest complaint across coloring communities, and the reason it happens is usually the barrel wood, not the core. KALOUR uses basswood, which is the soft, uniform wood that sharpens cleanly and evenly in both hand and electric sharpeners.
That combination of a break-resistant core and a forgiving barrel is why reviewers compare this set favorably to far more expensive pencils on point survival. If you are the person who has snapped a dozen soft-core pencils in a month, that is the feature that matters.
The laydown is smooth and even, and the 72 colors are non-repeating across both vibrant and muted ranges, which is a wider tonal spread than most sets at this count. Blending and layering multiple colors together produces usable tone rather than mud.
One practical note: it needs more pressure than Prismacolor to lay down deep, saturated color. That is the cost of the sturdier core, and it is worth it for most beginners who would rather sharpen than replace.
Who This Set Is For
Choose this if breakage has ended your previous attempts at colored pencil work, or if you share pencils with children. It also suits anyone who colors for hours at a stretch and wants a point that survives.
It is a good value starter set too, since 72 non-repeating colors and a soft core cover the majority of adult coloring book pages without a large outlay.
Where It Falls Short
The cardboard box and wobbly plastic trays are the same complaint we flagged on the budget sets, and it is genuinely the weakest part of this product. Transfer the pencils to something with a lid and the problem disappears.
A handful of the red shades are less saturated than the rest of the palette, so if your pages are dominated by warm reds, that is where you would want to add single refills. It is also not very portable as packaged.
7. Faber-Castell Polychromos 24 Count – Best for Oil Layering and Blending
Faber-Castell Polychromos Artists’ Color Pencils – Tin of 24 Colors – Premium Quality Artist Pencils
- Exceptional blending and layering with no wax bloom from the oil-based lead
- Lay down rich pigment with very little pressure
- Hold a point for a long time and rarely break in a hand sharpener
- Thicker ergonomic barrels that reduce hand cramping
- Only 24 colors limits detailed work and gradient building
- Metal tin lid is hinged vertically and becomes awkward to use
- Selection skews toward warm blues with no purple
- White pencil is weakly pigmented
If you have heard that oil-based pencils blend without wax bloom, this is the set most often meant. The 3.8mm core is thick and firm, so it lays down dense pigment on the first pass and holds a broad edge for shading.
The SV bonding process used in these pencils is what makes them unusually break-resistant. Combined with the thick lead, they survive a hand sharpener in a way most oil-core pencils do not, which is why reviewers single out point retention as the standout.
Lightfastness is printed on each barrel as a star rating, so you can build a collection that ages evenly. The lead is also water resistant and smudge proof, which means it will not smear when you layer over it or when a drop of water gets on the page.
The barrel is contoured and thicker than a standard pencil, which reduces hand cramping over a long session. That sounds minor until you have colored a full double page and your hand is complaining.
Who This Set Is For
This is the one to buy for someone who already knows they want to shade rather than just fill. Blending, layering and gradient work are where oil core wins outright, and 24 pencils is genuinely enough if you can build gradients from a tight range.
It is also the right choice if you plan to keep your work, because lightfast pigments and a smudge-proof surface mean a finished page will not be marked by every subsequent layer.
Where It Falls Short
Twenty-four colors is the real constraint. It is not enough for detailed work or for building a gradient across a wide range, and you will end up buying more sooner than the set size suggests.
The assortment also skews warm in the blues and omits purple entirely, and the white pencil is weakly pigmented. The tin lid hinges vertically, which is awkward on a desk and impossible to close one-handed.
8. PRINA 120 Colors with Sketchbook – Best All-in-One Kit
- Bold vibrant color from the first stroke with soft blends possible
- Oil-based formula does not smudge on the page
- 120 colors organized by shade in a sturdy zippered case
- Firm durable cores that have not broken in regular use
- Cores are soft and can break off when sharpened too aggressively
- Some users report the pencils do not sharpen evenly
- Pencil sharpeners are not included in the kit
This is the kit to buy if you want the accessories in the same box. You get 120 oil-based soft-core pencils organized by shade, a zippered case, a three-color sketchbook, a color swatch chart and a step-by-step tutorial.
Oil-based at 120 colors is a rare combination at this tier, and it shows in practice. Reviewers consistently call it the closest lower-priced alternative to Prismacolor, largely because the color does not smudge once it is down.
Bold color from the first stroke is the other repeated comment. These lay down saturated color without heavy pressure, and blending is achievable with a light hand, though it does not reach the seamless level of a dedicated artist set.
Portability is a genuine strength here that most budget sets lack. The zippered case keeps 120 pencils organized and protected, which makes it the easiest kit on this list to take to a class or a meetup.
Who This Set Is For
This suits a beginner who wants a complete setup in one purchase without hunting for a case, paper and a tutorial separately. It is also a good gift because the packaging is ready to hand over.
Anyone who wants an oil-core feel at a lower cost than the artist brands will find this the most sensible route. The wide count is useful for big country scenes and large floral pages.
Where It Falls Short
The core is very soft, and reviewers report that aggressive sharpening can snap it. Hand sharpening gently, or using a sharpener with a stop, largely fixes this, but it is the failure mode to know about before you buy.
Some users also report uneven sharpening, and no sharpener is included, which is an odd omission for a kit aimed at beginners. Treat the supplied sketchbook and tutorial as a bonus rather than a selling point.
9. Lyra Rembrandt Polycolor 72 Count – Best for Lightfastness
Lyra Rembrandt Polycolor Art Pencils, Set of 72 Pencils, Assorted Colors (2001720)
- Exceptionally lightfast pigments that resist fading over time
- Thick 4mm lacquered cedar leads that lay down bold smooth color
- Works across paper cardboard wood and synthetic surfaces
- Water-resistant oil-based lead suitable for wet media
- 72-color tin is bulkier and pricier than most sets in its class
- Wide barrel can feel less precise for very fine detail work
Lyra Rembrandt Polycolor is the lightfastness pick on this list. The pigments are described as exceptionally resistant to fading, and the 4mm oil-based lead in lacquered cedar lays down bold color in very few strokes.
These are German-made pencils from a brand with a long history in artist tools, and the lead is thick enough to shade and blend without the point collapsing. The oil base makes them water resistant, so they tolerate light wet media too.
Surface versatility is the underrated feature. Reviewers mention using them on paper, cardboard, wood and synthetic materials, so the same tin covers coloring books, handmade cards and light craft projects.
We want to be straightforward about the caveat: this set has the smallest review base in the roundup and the lowest average rating, at 4.6 stars. That does not mean the pencils are bad, it means fewer people have bought them and fewer have written about them.
Who This Set Is For
Choose this if you keep your finished work on display and care that it will not fade. Portraits, skin tones and any piece you intend to gift or sell are the right target for a set with this level of pigment stability.
It is also a good pick for people who work across surfaces rather than only in a coloring book, since the lead performs on wood, cardboard and synthetics as well as paper.
Where It Falls Short
The 4mm barrel is wide, and for very fine detail work a narrower barrel with a finer point gives you more control. If your pages are intricate line art rather than broad areas, this is not the most precise choice.
The tin is also bulkier than comparable 72-count sets, which is worth knowing before you commit to carrying it around. The thin review base means less community troubleshooting advice is available if you hit a problem.
10. iBayam 150 Piece Deluxe Art Kit – Best Gift Kit for One Box
iBayam 150-Pack Deluxe Art Supplies with 1 Coloring Book, 2 Sketch Pads
- All-in-one kit covering pencils oil pastels watercolors crayons and pads
- Wooden case keeps everything organized and gift-ready
- Non-toxic materials conforming to ASTM D4236
- Includes sketch pads coloring book brushes and a sharpener
- Colored pencil component is only 24 colors which is limited for detailed work
- Kits with many media types suit exploration more than any single discipline
This is the only pick here that is not really a colored pencil set, and we include it deliberately. It is a 150-piece art case containing 24 colored pencils, 24 oil pastels, 24 watercolor cakes, 60 crayons, two drawing pads, a coloring book, brushes, palettes, a sharpener, ruler, eraser and sandpaper.
If you are buying a gift and have no idea what level someone colors at, this solves the problem in one box. The wooden case with a lid keeps it tidy on a shelf and makes it look like a considered gift rather than a bundle.
Owners consistently describe the value as the point, because buying each medium separately would cost more and take several trips. The materials are non-toxic and conform to ASTM D4236, and reviewers note it works for both children and adult beginners.
Be clear-eyed about what the pencils themselves are, though. Twenty-four colors is a sampler, not a set for shading. Someone who gets serious with this will need to buy a proper pencil set within a few months.
Who This Set Is For
This is the right buy for a child, a complete beginner exploring several media at once, or a gift for someone whose hobby level you genuinely do not know. Nothing gets lost because everything has a labeled place in the case.
It also works well as a travel or vacation kit, since the pads, coloring book and pencils together cover a whole week of quiet downtime without needing anything else.
Where It Falls Short
Twenty-four colored pencils will not support detailed adult coloring books, and no set of 150 assorted pieces will. The headline number refers to total pieces across eight media types, not to pencil count.
Multi-media kits suit exploration more than depth in any single discipline. If you already know you want to shade seriously with pencils, buy a pencil set instead and save the case for a child or a beginner.
How to Choose a Colored Pencil Set
Match the core type to your pages, check the paper before you blame the pencil, and judge sets on point retention rather than colour count. Those three habits eliminate most of the disappointment we see in buyer reviews.
Point Retention and Breakage Are the First Thing to Check
A soft core is not a soft pencil in the sense of being fragile, but it does wear faster and needs more sharpening. Barrel wood matters as much as the core: basswood sharpens evenly and cleanly, while harder woods are more likely to splinter and take the point with them.
A good hand sharpener with a stop prevents the most common cause of snapped points, which is grinding away far more wood than you need. Electric sharpeners work fine if the auto-stop is set correctly, and reviews across this roundup repeatedly blame sharpener quality rather than pencil quality for breakage.
Our guide to essential hand tools for the workshop covers the same principle in a different tool category: a cheap tool that gets cut down too far is the most common cause of a failure people blame on the tool itself.
Check Your Paper Before You Blame the Pencil
Thin coloring book paper with a pronounced tooth grabs pigment and destroys smooth laydown, and it dulls oil cores faster than anything else. This is the most common reason people conclude a good set of pencils is bad, when the paper is actually the problem.
Two habits fix most of it. Print or trace your image onto heavier card before coloring, and always test a new pencil in a small corner of the page first. If a stroke stays grainy rather than gliding, the paper is the limitation.
Community colorists consistently respect reviewers who test on real coloring book paper rather than smooth cartridge paper, because that is the surface the reader will actually be using.
Blending Tools Matter More Than Expected
A colorless blender pencil is the single cheapest upgrade to a new set. It carries no pigment, so it moves existing color into a smooth gradient without adding a competing hue, and it is how you remove the visible pencil lines that make shading look amateur.
A blending stump or tortillon handles larger areas faster than a colorless blender, and it is better suited to smoke, hair and background transitions. For dissolving wax-core color into a smooth wash, colorists use odorless mineral spirits, which gamsol is the traditional name for.
The hybrid technique is worth knowing too: lay down a marker base layer, then pencil over it. Markers fill large areas in seconds and the pencil adds texture and shading on top, which is the fastest route to a finished-looking page when coverage is the bottleneck.
What Is the Best Thing to Use to Color Adult Coloring Books?
It depends on the page and on what you enjoy. Pencils give the widest tonal range and the easiest correction, markers fill large areas fastest with less blending, gel pens suit fine detail and do not smudge, and watercolor pencils allow wet blending effects that no dry medium can replicate.
For shading and portraits, pencils are the clear answer. For quick large fills, markers win on speed even though they cannot be layered smoothly. Many colorists keep both and switch between them page by page.
Before buying any set, work out whether your pages are detailed line art or broad fills. A smaller set with a firm core suits precise work, and a large soft-core set suits broad shading, and buying the wrong one is the most common purchase mistake in this category.
The same rule of matching the tool to the task applies well beyond coloring. Our picks for adult go-karts and flatware sets both come down to the same decision: pay for the specification you actually use, not the largest number on the box.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the best colored pencils for adult coloring books?
The Prismacolor Premier 150-count is the best overall set for adult coloring, the Castle Art Supplies 72-count is the best value pick, and the Crayola Adult 50-count is the easiest starting point. Adult coloring books reward soft cores for shading and enough colors to cover skin tones, hair and neutrals.
Which is better, wax or oil-based colored pencils?
Wax cores are softer, blend more easily and need less pressure, which makes them better for florals, mandalas and stress-relief pages. Oil cores hold a finer point, layer more deeply and are more lightfast, which makes them better for portraits, fur and finished work you plan to keep.
Are Prismacolor pencils wax or oil-based?
Prismacolor Premier pencils are oil-based with a soft core. That combination gives the smooth laydown and strong layering, and it is also why they do not develop the surface haze called wax bloom.
Are Holbein colored pencils wax or oil-based?
Holbein colored pencils are oil-based, which makes them similar in feel to other Japanese artist pencils. They are suited to fine detail work and layering, and are considered a step up from wax sets for shading.
How many colors do I need for adult coloring?
Fifty to seventy-two colors covers the majority of adult coloring books, including skin tones, hair shades and neutrals. Twenty-four to thirty-six is enough for color-by-number pages and travel, while a hundred and twenty or more only makes sense for large country scenes and floral pages.
What are the smoothest colored pencils?
Artist-grade oil sets such as Faber-Castell Polychromos and Lyra Rembrandt Polycolor are the smoothest, laying down dense color in one pass with little pressure. Among soft-core sets, Castle Art Supplies and Prismacolor Premier are the creamiest, and a colorless blender pencil removes the last visible pencil lines.
The Verdict: Which Colored Pencil Set Should You Buy?
The Prismacolor Premier 150-count is our pick for the best colored pencil sets for adult coloring because it combines a genuinely large range with soft cores thick enough to shade, and it has the heaviest review base of any set we compared. If you want to spend less, the Castle Art Supplies 72-count gives you most of the blending behavior with better point retention per pound and an organized tin.
Buy the Crayola 50-count if you are starting out and mostly filling shapes, the KALOUR 72-count if your previous pencils kept snapping, and Faber-Castell Polychromos if your goal is shading and work you intend to keep for years. Whatever you choose, check the paper first, and grab a colorless blender pencil while you are at it.