Colored Pencils: What to Buy First When You Begin

A 48-count set will feel overwhelming to open for the first time — try not to think about using all of them at once. Most colored pencil artists start every piece by selecting just eight to twelve colors in advance, choosing a limited palette that keeps the piece harmonious. The pencils you skip will still be there when you need them.

Start every piece working light — much lighter than you think you need to. With colored pencil you can always darken, but lifting color from textured paper is difficult and often damages the surface. The most common beginner mistake is pressing too hard in the first layer and running out of paper tooth before the depth is built.

Don't skip the quality sharpener. Generic two-hole sharpeners will consistently snap Prismacolor cores, which are much softer than the barrels they sit in. Losing a half-inch of pigment core because the sharpener twisted rather than cut cleanly is a predictable frustration. The Prismacolor sharpener pays for itself the first week. And if you're wondering which supplies to prioritize, the guide on art supplies beginners commonly waste money on includes a section on sharpener mistakes specifically.

Use the colorless blender in the final stages of a piece, not mid-way through. Blending early closes the paper tooth and prevents new pigment from adhering, which locks you out of further layering in that area. Finish all your color work first, then blend the areas where you want a smooth, unified finish.

These three items add roughly $37 to the initial spend. If you're still deciding whether colored pencil is the right medium for you, start with just the first three sections and come back to this one after a few sessions. The core setup alone — pencils, paper, sharpener, and erasers — is everything you need to discover whether this is how you want to spend your time.

What Beginners Don't Expect When They Start With Colored Pencil

Why does my color look faint no matter how hard I press?

Pressing hard on colored pencils doesn't produce richer color — it fills the paper tooth too quickly and creates a shiny wax buildup that actually repels additional layers. Rich, saturated colored pencil work is built through multiple light layers with consistent gentle pressure rather than one heavy pass. Try making your first layer as light as you can while still depositing color, then build gradually over four to six passes. The depth you're looking for arrives slowly and then suddenly looks right.

Why do my colors look muddy instead of vibrant?

Muddy results almost always come from layering complementary colors without intention — reds over greens, blues over oranges — without enough of either to dominate. Colored pencil layers mix optically, so two near-complementaries applied with equal pressure cancel each other toward grey. Establish your dominant color family early and let opposing hues appear only as subtle shadows. Also check that you're using colored pencil paper specifically: smooth paper causes premature wax buildup that scatters light and makes colors look flat by the second or third layer.

Why do my pencil tips keep snapping?

The most common cause is internal fractures in the pigment core from being dropped or roughly handled during shipping. If a Prismacolor pencil keeps snapping at the same point no matter how carefully you sharpen, the core is cracked. The fix is to sharpen slowly from the very tip with a manual sharpener, removing only a small amount at a time. Storing pencils horizontally rather than tip-up also prevents gravity-induced core separation over time.

Why is my fixative spray turning my colors darker or duller?

Workable fixative applied too heavily saturates the paper and pushes the wax binder into the tooth, darkening values and flattening color. Apply from at least twelve inches away in a very light, even mist — not a soaking coat, just enough to form a thin protective film. Always test on a scrap of the same paper first. For pieces framed under glass, fixative is optional since the glass itself prevents wax migration and smudging.

Why does my drawing look grainy no matter how many layers I add?

Once paper tooth is full, additional strokes pile on top of existing wax rather than bonding to the paper, creating a rough, uneven texture — a condition called waxing out. A colorless blender pencil applied with firm pressure over a waxed-out area can redistribute the wax into a smoother surface. Prevention is more effective than correction: work lighter for longer before building toward final density, and let each layer fully settle before applying the next.