The Best Watercolor Pencils - 2021
We looked at the top 12 Watercolor Pencils and dug through the reviews from 24 of the most popular review sites including and more. The result is a ranking of the best Watercolor Pencils.
Why Trust The DWYM Score?
DWYM is focused on helping you make the best purchasing decision. Our team of experts spends hundreds of hours analyzing, testing, and researching products so you don't have to.Learn more.
Our Picks For The Top Watercolor Pencils
- The Best Watercolor Pencil
- 1. Castle Art Supplies Watercolor Pencil Set, 72-Count
- 2. Crayola Watercolor Colored Pencils, 24-Count
- 3. Staedtler Presharpened Ergonomic Watercolor Pencil Set, 12-Count
- 4. Magicfly Watercolor Pencil Set, 72-Count
- 5. Derwent WaterColour Colored Pencils, 24 ct
- 6. Ohuhu Water Coloring Brush Pens, 6 ct
- 7. Faber Castell Watercolor Pencil Set, 120 ct
- 8. Arteza Woodless Watercolor Pencil Set, 24-Count
- 9. Fantasia Premium Watercolor Pencil Set, 36 ct
- 10. Coolbank Watercolor Pencils Set, 72 ct
- 11. OOKU Watercolor Pencils Arist Set, 48 ct
- 12. Colore Watercolor Pencils, 72 ct
Unbeatable QualityThis watercolor pencil set offers artists a set that will last forever.
Arrives Pre-SharpenedBold pictures are what you'll be able to create with this watercolor pencil set.
Lightweight and PortableEach of the watercolor pencils in this box are ergonomically designed to provide a good grip, while also preventing wrist fatigue.
Most Bang For Your BuckYou won't regret spending the money on this, all-in-one watercolor pencil set. With paintbrushes and an eraser included, you're ready to create!
Why we recommend these watercolor pencils?
Products Considered
Products Analyzed
Expert Reviews Included
User Opinions Analyzed
Our experts reviewed the top 12 Watercolor Pencils and also dug through the reviews from 24 of the most popular review sites including and more. The result is a ranking of the best of the best Watercolor Pencils.
DWYM is your trusted roduct review source. Our team reviews thousands of product reviews from the trusted top experts and combines them into one easy-to-understand score. Learn more.
The Best Overall
Castle Art Supplies Watercolor Pencil Set, 72-Count
Our Take
Rated the Best Overall, this watercolor pencil set has it all. An excellent quality in the lead keeps artists pleased with their performance across the board. The only negative is that the colors are quite bold and don’t offer muted colors for landscapes and portraits. During our testing, we loved all the color options and the easy mixing with water.
What other experts liked
What other experts didn't like
The Best Bang For Your Buck
Magicfly Watercolor Pencil Set, 72-Count
Our Take
For the Best Value, this watercolor pencil set is the product. Not only does the kit offer 72 colors, but also two paint brushes and an excellent sharpener. You can take this complete set, on-the-go with you. As an added perk, they are made from recycled wood for an eco-friendly product.
What other experts liked
What other experts didn't like
Overall Product Rankings
3. Staedtler Presharpened Ergonomic Watercolor Pencil Set, 12-Count
Our Watercolor Pencil Findings
Castle Art Supplies Watercolor Pencil Set, 72-Count
What We Liked: Rated the Best Overall, this watercolor pencil set has it all. An excellent quality in the lead keeps artists pleased with their performance across the board. The only negative is that the colors are quite bold and don’t offer muted colors for landscapes and portraits. During our testing, we loved all the color options and the easy mixing with water.
Crayola Watercolor Colored Pencils, 24-Count
What We Liked: If caring for the environment is at the top of your priority list, you’ll want to go with these watercolor pencils. They are constructed from made from reforested wood and are free from any harmful toxins. Both children and adults will love the way these pencils add to shading and color-mixing techniques.
Staedtler Presharpened Ergonomic Watercolor Pencil Set, 12-Count
What We Liked: With this watercolor pencil set, you’ll feel like you’re actually painting a beautiful masterpiece. The tips are smooth and glide neatly over your canvas as you express your own unique creativity. Since the pencils on activate when they come in contact with water, you’ll have no trouble packing them for an art class or family road trip.
Magicfly Watercolor Pencil Set, 72-Count
What We Liked: For the Best Value, this watercolor pencil set is the product. Not only does the kit offer 72 colors, but also two paint brushes and an excellent sharpener. You can take this complete set, on-the-go with you. As an added perk, they are made from recycled wood for an eco-friendly product.
Arteza Woodless Watercolor Pencil Set, 24-Count
What We Liked: This watercolor pencil set is a set that should surely be in your art supplies for its versatility. This set can be used for adult coloring books, watercolor paper art or even as a base layer for watercolor painting. Artists can count on vibrant hues, lightfastness and excellent control for finer detail work. During our testing, we loved the vibrant red hue and the spreadability of the color.
Our Expert Consultant
Artist and art educator
Artist and educator Amy Markham is the creator of Starling, a podcast dedicated to helping artists develop depth in their creative practice. A graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University, Amy has been an art educator since 2001. Today, she teaches middle school art at a school outside of Memphis, Tennessee. Her personal artwork explores myth-making and symbolic understandings. Through her brand, Starling Creative Living, she leads others to explore art production as a method for enriching their life experience.
Our Watercolor Pencil Buying Guide
Take your art to the next level with the best in art supplies. There is no better feeling than stocking your art bin with new, fresh supplies and starting on a new work of art. There are countless types of colored pencils to choose from but if you are looking for a watercolor effect, you’ll want the best watercolor pencils you can find to bring your project alive. There are multiple sets to choose from, but how do you know if you’re getting the best quality? There are a few factors to consider.
Watercolor pencils can give a similar finished product as watercolor paint. Although they look exactly the same, watercolor pencils are made differently than regular colored pencils. What makes watercolor pencils different from regular colored pencils is their ability to intensify color when they come in contact with water. This gives artists the same effect as watercolor paint. To better understand this, it’s essential to learn how watercolor pencils are made.
First, traditional colored pencils are most likely the tool artists start with when learning coloring techniques. What matters the most in the pencil is the medium and binder. The binder is an ingredient that holds the pigment together until it is transferred to the surface you are coloring. The binder is what will determine the type of paper you use with the pencils. So for traditional colored pencils, an oil binder or a wax-based binder is used. The wax base is most likely what you’re buying since oil is a bit rarer. Because of this, traditional colored pencils can be used on most paper types.
So, what makes one package of traditional colored pencils better than another? The biggest indicator of the quality of a colored pencil is the ratio of the binder to the pigment. If the binder is too overwhelming for the pigments, the results will be a waxy finish that could potentially flake off the paper. When the binder is too small in comparison to the pigment, the colors will be extremely light when coloring. In addition, the quality of pigment used is a contributing factor to the overall quality of the colored pencil set.
One advantage of traditional colored pencils versus the other types is the ability to burnish. Burnishing is when an artist repeatedly colors over the same area, creating a build-up of the color. This makes the wax or oil binder build up to the point where the picture looks like it is painted. In addition, this technique allows artists to experiment with different solvents to achieve different results. Turpenoid, alcohol or a blender pencil can be used to get a painted appearance that you want. Just remember that traditional colored pencils are not water-soluble with their wax or oil binders.
Now that we know how a colored pencil is made and what influences their quality, we can look more in-depth at watercolor pencils. With a water-soluble binder mixed in the pigment, watercolor pencils produce a much different effect than traditional colored pencils. There are several ways to use watercolor pencils. You can use a brush to gently brush over the applied colors, you can dampen your paper and then add color, or you can dip the pencil in water before coloring. The pigment becomes brighter as it comes in contact with the water and creates an incredible blend of colors with one sweep of the pencil. Because of the use of water, you’ll want to make sure you use watercolor pencils on the right paper. The watercolor paper is usually a bit rough in texture and thicker to help absorb some of the water while not tearing. This is how you can get a watercolor paint result from watercolor pencils.
There are a few benefits to using watercolor pencils. The first benefit is control. As arts expert Amy Markham, an artist and the creator of Starling, a podcast geared towards artists and their growth, says: “Watercolor pencils give you the control of drawing with the ability to diffuse the linework you create with water and create the effects of watercolor painting.”
In comparison to watercolor painting with a brush, most artists find better control with a pencil. The second is detail. Markham supports this by saying, “They are great for adding small details that are hard to create with a paintbrush. So, you can draw in thin lines and complex details over your watercolor paintings.”
With a nice sharpened watercolor pencil, you can get extremely fine details that would be difficult with a paintbrush. The third benefit is convenience. When you don’t have a lot of space, time or money, it is so much more convenient to pull out a set of watercolor pencils rather than set up with paints and brushes and easels. All you need for the watercolor pencils are water, a brush (if you so choose) and the paper. Even Markham concurs that they are quite “portable.”
Now that you know how they are made and what makes them so useful, you can confidently shop for a great set of watercolor pencils. There are just a few sets that come highly recommended to get you started on your watercolor journey.
Check out the huge variety of colors in the Castle Art Supplies 72 Watercolor Pencils Set. This set has all the colors for blending and layering.
Look for a gorgeous collection of highly pigmented watercolor pencils. In addition, you want them to be specially bonded to resist breaking. This set will give you a complete range of colors to create vibrant pictures for beautiful art.
Beginners would do well with a simple set of just 24 pencils. With basic but essential colors, you’ll find all that you need for adult coloring books, beginner watercolor art and detailed drawings.
If you’re looking for a complete kit, the Magicfly Water Color Pencil Set comes with it all. With two fine-tip paintbrushes, a sharpener and 72 pencils, you will have it all. Plus, it is all organized in a durable, metal case for easy transport.
DWYM Fun Fact
Although there is evidence that the ancient Greeks had wax-based crayons, the first colored pencil did not enter the art scene until the 1800s. The German company, Staedtler, in 1834 created the colored, oil, pastel pencil. They were not readily used by artists until the 1900s by artists. In 1924 by Faber-Castell and Caran d’Ache placed colored pencils on the market for art purposes. They were followed by quite a few other names in the industry such as Progresso, Blick Studio, Derwent, Rembrandt and Lyra. Since then, colored pencils have been progressing with different medias and binders. That is where watercolor pencils come into the picture. As manufacturers discovered they could use different binders mixed with the pigments, watercolor pencils were born not long after the traditional colored pencils.
The Watercolor Pencil Tips and Advice
- Determine the best set for you depending on your skill level. Start with a smaller kit if you are just beginning out and a larger set if you’ve got some experience.
- You can use quite a few things to add water to your watercolor pencil art including spray bottles, cotton swabs, spray bottles and toothbrushes even.
- A good sharpener will make a world of difference, especially with the wooden watercolor pencils.
About The Author
Genevieve Nino a professional writer located in the Topsail Island area of North Carolina. Her writing career started in 2014 as a travel writer. Since then, she has written in multiple niches including business reviews, parenting, hospitality and weddings. A few of the sites she has written for include Wedding Wire, The Knot, Go Banking Rates and Reservation Counter, just to name a few.