Colored pencils are one of my favorite drawing tools because they are portable, direct, and capable of everything from loose sketching to deeply layered color. I use them observationally, starting with the larger shapes created by light and shadow before gradually working toward smaller forms, edges, and details.
This guide is the starting point for everything I have written about colored pencils. I cover how to use them, choosing pencils and paper, layering, shading, blending, burnishing, sharpening, watercolor pencils, erasable pencils, and a few practical drawing projects. When a subject needs more depth, I link to the dedicated guide.
Getting Started With Colored Pencils
You do not need an enormous set or complicated technique to start drawing with colored pencils. A modest group of colors, decent paper, and a sharp pencil are enough to learn most of the fundamentals.
If I were starting again, I would concentrate first on pressure control and layering rather than trying to collect every possible color.
- Choose a simple subject. Fruit, leaves, shells, feathers, cups, or other familiar objects let you concentrate on color rather than complicated construction.
- Look for the largest light and dark shapes. I establish those relationships before worrying about small details.
- Build color gradually. Several controlled layers give me more flexibility than pressing hard immediately.
- Change colors instead of relying on one pencil. Layering related colors creates more variation than simply increasing pressure with a single pencil.
- Save the strongest pressure for later. Once the paper tooth has been flattened, it becomes harder to add more color.
My dedicated guide to how to use colored pencils goes deeper into this basic process.
What Are Colored Pencils Made Of?
A colored pencil combines pigment with a binder to form the colored core, which is usually enclosed in a wooden casing. Unlike a graphite pencil, the core is designed to deposit colored pigment onto the drawing surface.
The exact formulation varies between manufacturers and pencil lines. That is part of why different pencils can feel noticeably different on the same sheet of paper. Some feel softer and lay down color quickly, while others feel firmer and give me more control over a sharp point.
I pay more attention to how a pencil behaves in my hand than to trying to classify every pencil by one ingredient. What matters for drawing is how easily it layers, how well it holds a point, the strength of the color, and whether it suits the marks I want to make.
Choosing Colored Pencils
The best pencil depends on what you want from it. A soft pencil can make laying down dense color easier, while a firmer pencil can be useful when I want small marks or a point that lasts longer.
I would not automatically buy the largest or most expensive set. Start with enough colors to learn how the pencils behave, then expand when you know what you are missing.
If you are comparing brands and artist-quality options, see my guide to the best colored pencils for artists.
If the number of colors is the bigger question, my colored pencil sets guide looks at choosing a useful set without assuming that more pencils are always better.
Different Types of Colored Pencils
Colored pencils are not all designed for the same job. The main distinction I make is between conventional artist pencils, watercolor pencils, and pencils designed to be easier to erase.
Traditional Colored Pencils
These are what I reach for when I want to work completely dry. I can use the point for small marks, the side for wider areas, and repeated layers to gradually build color and value.
Prismacolor is one familiar example. I have a separate guide to using Prismacolor pencils because their softer handling encourages a somewhat different approach from harder pencils.
Watercolor Pencils
Watercolor pencils can be used dry like regular colored pencils, but their marks can also be activated with water.
That gives me the option of drawing precise marks first and then dissolving some of them into washes. I can also return with dry pencil after the paper has dried.
Start with my comparison of colored pencils vs watercolor pencils if you are deciding between the two. If you already own watercolor pencils, see how to use watercolor colored pencils.
Erasable Colored Pencils
Some colored pencils are made to erase more readily than conventional artist pencils. I find that useful for exploratory sketching when I want color but still expect to make changes.
My erasable colored pencils guide explains the category in more detail.
I have also looked specifically at Ticonderoga erasable colored pencils and at colored pencils with erasers attached. Those are related ideas, but they solve slightly different problems.
Best Paper for Colored Pencils
Paper changes colored-pencil drawing more than many beginners expect.
The small irregularities across a paper surface are usually described as its tooth. Those tiny peaks and valleys catch pigment as I draw.
A smoother paper makes it easier to produce fine details and even-looking color, but it may fill with pigment sooner. A more textured sheet can accept repeated marks, but the grain becomes much more visible in the finished drawing.
I usually want something between those extremes: enough tooth to accept layers without forcing me to fight deep texture every time I want smooth coverage.
My full guide to the best paper for colored pencils compares smooth Bristol, vellum, drawing paper, hot press watercolor paper, toned paper, and other useful surfaces.
How to Shade With Colored Pencils
Shading with colored pencils is less about coloring an outlined object darker and more about noticing how value changes across the form.
I look for the broad shadow masses first. Then I gradually adjust the transition between light, middle values, and darker areas through additional layers.
Pressure is only one way to darken an area. I can also change colors, overlap complementary or neighboring hues, change the direction of my marks, or build several transparent layers.
For a deeper look at shading, layering, blending, crosshatching, scumbling, and related approaches, see my guide to colored pencil techniques.
Layering and Blending Colored Pencils
Layering is the foundation of how I work with colored pencils.
Rather than trying to reach the final color in one pass, I build relationships between several colors. A shadow might contain a dark local color, a cooler layer, and a warmer reflected color instead of simply being a harder version of the same pencil.
This also gives me more room to change direction. If I keep the early layers controlled, I can adjust the temperature, value, and saturation as the drawing develops.
Blending does not always mean eliminating every visible pencil mark. Sometimes I want the layers to merge smoothly; other times I deliberately leave some broken texture and direction in the strokes.
Burnishing Colored Pencils
Burnishing is a heavier-pressure technique that compresses the existing colored-pencil layers and can create a smoother, denser surface.
I treat it as a later stage rather than something I do immediately. Heavy pressure flattens the paper tooth, which means the surface may stop accepting additional pigment as easily.
My guide to burnishing with colored pencils explains when I use it and how it changes the surface.
How to Avoid White Spots in Colored Pencil
Small white specks usually come from the valleys in textured paper that the pencil has not reached.
If I want smoother coverage, I build several layers while changing the direction of my strokes rather than immediately pushing harder. A smoother paper can also make a major difference.
For the full process, see how to color with colored pencils without white spots.
Keeping Colored Pencils Sharp
A sharp point is useful when I want small shapes, clean edges, thin marks, or more controlled layering.
I do not need every mark to come from a needle-sharp pencil, though. A slightly worn point can be useful for broader passages because it puts more of the core against the paper.
The important part is using a sharpener that cuts cleanly without unnecessarily breaking or wasting the core. I compare the options I use in my guide to the best pencil sharpeners for colored pencils.
Can You Erase Colored Pencil?
Colored pencil can often be reduced or partially erased, but conventional artist pencils generally do not disappear as completely as graphite.
How much I can remove depends on the pencil, paper, pressure, and number of layers already on the surface.
This is another reason I avoid pressing hard at the beginning of a drawing. Lighter early layers give me more room to adjust.
If easy correction is important, start with my erasable colored pencil guide.
Can You Use Colored Pencils on Black Paper?
Yes. Colored pencils can produce striking results on black paper, but the process is different from working on white.
Instead of letting the white sheet provide my lightest value, I have to deliberately build the lighter and brighter areas. The dark paper already supplies much of the shadow.
This works particularly well when the subject contains bright highlights or strong color against darkness. My guide to colored pencils on black paper covers that approach separately.
Can You Use Colored Pencils on Canvas?
Yes, you can use colored pencils on canvas, but I generally prefer paper when colored pencil is the primary medium.
Canvas texture is much stronger than most drawing paper. That means the pencil tends to catch the raised weave while leaving deeper areas untouched. It can create an interesting broken texture, but achieving smooth coverage usually requires much more work.
A primed canvas panel or another relatively firm surface is easier to draw on than loose, flexible canvas. Even then, I would choose canvas because I specifically wanted its texture rather than because it performs like colored-pencil paper.
For controlled layering, fine detail, and smoother blending, I still prefer a good drawing or Bristol paper.
A Simple Colored Pencil Project: Draw a Sunset
A sunset is useful for practicing colored-pencil layering because the subject naturally contains gradual shifts between warm and cool colors.
Instead of treating the sky as separate stripes of color, I overlap neighboring hues and allow each transition to develop gradually.
If you want a specific project to practice with, see my colored pencil sunset tutorial.
Explore My Colored Pencil Guides
This page is the main colored-pencil hub. These more specific guides let you go directly to the part of the medium you want to work on:
- How to use colored pencils for the basic drawing process, pressure, and layering.
- Colored pencil techniques for layering, shading, blending, scumbling, and related methods.
- Best colored pencils for artists for choosing pencils and comparing options.
- Colored pencil sets for deciding how many colors you actually need.
- Best paper for colored pencils for Bristol, drawing paper, mixed media, toned surfaces, and paper tooth.
- Colored pencil sharpeners for maintaining a clean point without unnecessary breakage.
- Burnishing colored pencils for smoother, denser final layers.
- How to avoid white spots when paper texture shows through your color.
- How to use Prismacolor pencils for working with their softer cores.
- Erasable colored pencils for pencils designed to allow more correction.
- Ticonderoga erasable colored pencils for my look at that specific pencil line.
- Colored pencils with erasers for pencils with erasers built into the end.
- Colored pencils vs watercolor pencils if you are deciding which medium fits your drawing style.
- How to use watercolor pencils for activating pencil marks with water.
- Colored pencils on black paper for working from a dark surface toward the light.
- Colored pencil sunset for a practical layering project.
How I Approach Colored Pencil Drawing
I studied traditional 2D character animation at CalArts, where observational drawing was a large part of my training. That still affects the way I work with colored pencils.
I don’t want the medium to become a coloring exercise where I simply fill shapes that have already been decided. I look at the subject, find the major value and color relationships, and let the drawing become more specific as I work.
Sometimes the finished result is smooth and controlled. Sometimes I leave pencil strokes, gaps, changes in pressure, and other evidence of the drawing process visible.
That flexibility is what keeps me interested in colored pencils. A simple pencil can make a precise line, a broad layer of color, a broken texture, or a dense burnished surface depending on how I use it.
If you are new to the medium, start with a few pencils, a useful sheet of paper, and one subject you can observe closely. Learn what happens when you change pressure and overlap colors before worrying about owning every possible tool.