Hello everyone! I’m back from the dead I guess, my last post was half a year ago. And even though I hate making excuses, a lot has happened that prevented me from writing, we moved houses, kids kept getting sick in rotation, and AI has been taking over, so much that I began questioning my place in the art world. But here I am again, doing what I love most, sharing my raw, honest, unfiltered art journey.

And today’s post is something a lot of you have been waiting for. My all time favorite high end artist grade colored pencils. Wow, even the title is long and sounds scary, right?! Well, today is the day, I answer one of my most asked questions, what colored pencil brands are my favorite, what I use all the time, what I recommend and what works for me. Mind you, this post is about HIGH END brands. I, by no means believe that you need expensive tools to create fine art, quite the contrary. There are many misconceptions out there about high end colored pencils, and to be honest I can debunk most of them. (Yep, really. So, if you have any questions, shoot!) In any case super expensive artist grade pencils are out for a reason, so let’s jump straight in!

1. Faber-Castell Albrecht Dürer

Yep, that’s right. My all-time favorite colored pencils are actually… watercolor pencils. The unsung heroes no one is talking about, mainly because their siblings, polychromos, are the ones that get all the praise. But hear me out, after hoarding and testing countless colored pencils, I came to the conclusion that these are the perfect ones for me. And even though I love polychromos, I find Albrecht Dürer superior in many ways.

Generally colored pencils fall into two big categories, wax-based (wax is used to bind the pigment) which are usually soft and creamy, perfect for blending, and oil-based (oil is used to bind the pigment) which are usually hard and sturdy, perfect for details. Albrecht Dürer combine the best of the two worlds, they are softer than Polychromos but harder than most wax-based pencils (like prismacolor). They lay down smoothly and they are perfect for details. Plus you can use them wet for some quite impressive effects!

One last disclaimer: I truly believe art is a personal journey and what works for me might not work for you. So, instead of promoting products, I prefer laying down the facts. Faber-Castell Albrecht Durer are exceptional pencils. They are smooth but sturdy, perfect for details, always reliable. Color palette is quite organic, Perfect for photorealistic work. Some might prefer brighter colors. Still they are my favorite high end colored pencils. Unless I find something else to blow my mind, I won’t be changing them any time soon.

2. Prismacolor

To be honest second place is a tie between Faber-Castell Polychromos and Prismacolor. And although I love love love Polychromos, I decided that second place belongs to Prismacolor. Why? Because they are perfect for beginners and affordable. With prismacolor you get the best quality/price ratio EVER.

Prismacolor colored pencils are wax-based pencils (wax is used to bind the pigment) and as such, they are super soft, they blend easily and lay down smoothly. If you are leaning towards hard core pencils (no pun intended!) proceed with caution, as prismacolor can be tricky with fine details. There are a couple of additional disadvantages that some might find annoying, like buildup of wax bloom and allegedly not-so-great lightfastness ratings, but it’s nothing serious that can’t be dealt with.

In any case, they are superb pencils. As mentioned, they provide the best quality/price ratio, they include some of the brightest colors I ever saw and they also come in a staggering assortment of 150 different colors, the greatest range out there.

3. Faber-Castell Polychromos

Who needs explanation? I believe Faber-Castell Polychromos is a staple to every artists stash. Everybody uses them and everybody loves them. And for a good reason. They are always trusty, always reliable, they always deliver results, they always do the job. Nothing can go wrong with Polychromos, so much that I sometimes feel I need that little “wow” factor that is not there. Do you get what I mean? Polychromos are the most reliable pencils, the “safest” choice but they can be boring sometimes. Still, I love them. Whenever I have a big project ahead, I always start off with Polychromos.

Just like Albrecht Durer, Polychromos come in 120 different color shades. They are very hard pencils, so if you prefer buttery textures, these might not be for you.

4. Caran D’Ache Luminance

Over the years I’ve been having a love-hate relationship with Caran D’Ache Luminance. Sometimes I love them, sometimes I hate them. The fact is that they are the most pricey colored pencils out there – a single case probably costs more than my car, and no I am not joking. Even when you touch them, you can feel the luxuriousness. I remember, the first time I got my hands on them I got ecstatic. At such a high price tag you kinda expect that they will solve all your problems. Well, it turns out that they don’t. No one can solve your problems (not in art, not in life) you have to do all the nasty job yourself.

Why am I sharing all these? Simply because I had so many expectations and nothing worked as well as I thought. Luminance was an initial disappointment. Over the years, however, I re-tried the pencils multiple times. And the truth is that they are good pencils. Maybe not my all-time favorite but undeniably good. Sometimes I love them, sometimes not so much. Partly because at such a high price tag I half expected the pencils to draw by themselves. But even though I do not enjoy them as much as I would have hoped, and even though I do not recommend them for beginners (unless budget isn’t an issue), they are definitely good pencils worth trying.

They come in 100 different color shades, which might not be as many as the Prismacolor but they are still a lot. (I talk about this extensively here, you don’t need a lot of shades to create something solid. Stop looking for the biggest set and start creating with what you got NOW!)

5. Lyra Rembrandt Polycolor

An outsider, worth mentioning. Lyra Rembrandt polycolor used to be my favorite colored pencils a few years ago.

The first time I found out these pencils I reluctantly grabbed a couple of them at the local bookstore. The next day I was back and got the whole range. For a while I couldn’t put them down! However I gradually stopped using them altogether. Why? Well…

Lyra Rembrandt Polycolor pencils are super hard. Perfect for detailed work, perfect for photorealism. But that kind of work comes with a price: the amount of time it takes to polish things up is insane. And time is something I cannot afford at that specific point.

Up till now, I still believe Lyra Rembrandt polycolor are among the best pencils out there, even though I do not use them often. (Another major advantage is that they are the most affordable on the list) But they quite difficult pencils to work with, and I definitely do not recommend them for beginners.

That’s all folks! The top 5 high end colored pencil brands. Coming from a girl who hates ranking stuff. This is how much I love you guys!

Oh, and another thing: The list is by no means complete. I omitted well-known brands that I want to try but haven’t yet (yes, derwent, I am talking to you!) as well as brands that they are great I am sure but I don’t know they exist. All recommendations are more than welcome, let’s expand the list in the future!