Colored Pencil Drawing: The Complete Guide to Techniques, Tools & Results

My first colored pencil drawing took three hours and looked like a kindergarten art project. I’d bought a cheap 12-color set from a drugstore, pressed too hard, and ended up with a waxy, streaky mess that refused to blend. I almost gave up.

Then I borrowed a friend’s Prismacolor Premiers. Same subject. Same paper. Completely different result.

That gap — between frustrating and magical — usually isn’t about talent. It’s about understanding how colored pencils actually work: how they layer, how they blend, why paper texture matters, and why some pencils cost $2, and others cost $8 each (and when that price difference is actually worth it).

This guide covers everything you need to go from “why does this look terrible” to “I can’t believe I made this.” We’ll cover choosing the right pencils and paper, the core techniques that separate flat drawings from rich ones, and how to approach the subjects that trip up beginners most — portraits, animals, and landscapes.

No art school required. Just the right information and some practice time.

Choosing the Right Colored Pencils (Without Wasting Money)

Walk into any art store, and you’ll find colored pencils at every price point, from $8 student sets to $400 professional collections. The difference matters — but not always in the ways you’d expect.

Wax-Based vs. Oil-Based: The Core Decision

Every colored pencil uses either a wax or oil binder to hold the pigment together, and this single difference shapes how the pencil handles.

Wax-based pencils like Prismacolor Premier ($29–$149 depending on set size) are soft, creamy, and incredibly easy to blend. They go on smoothly even with light pressure, which makes them forgiving for beginners. The downside: wax bloom — a hazy white film that can appear over heavily worked areas. Easily fixed with a light coat of fixative spray.

Oil-based pencils like Faber-Castell Polychromos ($3–$5 per pencil, sets from $50) are harder and more precise. They hold a sharper point longer, layer beautifully without getting muddy, and don’t produce wax bloom. The trade-off is that they require more pressure to build up color density — they reward patience.

I’ve noticed that most artists eventually end up using both: Polychromos for initial layers and detail work, Prismacolor for final blending and burnishing. It’s not either/or once you get serious.

The Beginner Sweet Spot

You don’t need to spend $150 to start. The Prismacolor Premier 24-set (~$29) gives you enough colors to learn color mixing without overwhelming you. The Faber-Castell Goldfaber student range (~$25 for 36 colors) is another solid entry point with better lightfastness than most budget options.

Avoid anything under $10 for a 24+ set. Those pencils have poor pigment load and minimal lightfastness — colors that fade within years, sometimes months, of being exposed to light.

Lightfastness: The Thing Nobody Mentions

Lightfastness is how resistant a color is to fading when exposed to light. It’s rated I (excellent) through V (very poor) by the American Society for Testing and Materials.

Professional pencils like Polychromos and Luminance by Caran d’Ache are rated predominantly I and II. Student-grade pencils often include III and IV ratings — fine for practice, not for work you want to last.

Check the lightfastness ratings before you buy. Manufacturers list them in their product specs, and it takes two minutes to verify.

Choosing Paper for Colored Pencil Drawing

The paper is the part most beginners skip. It shouldn’t be.

Texture: Smooth vs. Tooth

Paper texture (called “tooth”) determines how much pigment the surface grabs. More teeth = more texture, more pigment layers possible. Fewer teeth = smoother, finer detail work.

Strathmore 400 Series Bristol Smooth (~$12–$18 for a 20-sheet pad) is the go-to for detailed, realistic work. The smooth surface lets you build precise detail and achieve almost photorealistic results with enough layers.

Canson Mi-Teintes (~$10–$15 per pad) has a light texture that works beautifully for looser, more expressive colored pencil work. The colored paper options also let you use the mid-tone as part of your palette — a technique portrait artists love.

Strathmore Toned Tan and Toned Gray papers are worth trying for portraits and wildlife — the warm or cool neutral ground gives your lights and darks something to anchor against.

Weight Matters

Use paper that’s at least 90–100 lb (190 gsm). Lighter paper buckles under heavy layering and erasing. The Bristol boards I mentioned above are typically 100–270 gsm — comfortably in the right range.

The 5 Core Techniques You Actually Need

Forget the long list of 20+ techniques most tutorials throw at beginners. These five are the ones that will carry 90% of your colored pencil work.

1. Layering

Layering is the foundation of everything. Start with light pressure and build up gradually — this gives you control over color density and keeps the paper from getting overwhelmed early.

A useful rule: never fill a tooth on your first layer. Leave room for 3–5 more passes. This is where beginners go wrong most often — pressing hard on the first layer and leaving nowhere to go.

2. Blending

Blending smooths transitions between colors. You have several options:

• Light-colored pencil (cream or white): gently work over the boundary between two colors
• Blending stump or tortillon: good for subtle softening
• Colorless blender pencil (Prismacolor makes one, ~$3 each): melts wax layers together for a smooth, almost painted look
• Odorless mineral spirits on a cotton swab: the most powerful option, creates a painterly wash effect

I’ve found that the colorless blender is the most reliable for beginners — it’s controlled, clean, and doesn’t require solvents.

3. Burnishing

Burnishing means applying heavy pressure with a light pencil (white or cream) over a fully layered area to compress the pigment into a smooth, almost glossy surface. It removes all visible paper texture and creates rich, saturated color.

Use burnishing as a finishing technique — not mid-process. Once you burnish, adding more layers on top becomes difficult.

4. Hatching and Cross-Hatching

Parallel lines (hatching) and overlapping lines at angles (cross-hatching) are excellent for building texture and value without fully saturating the paper tooth. They’re particularly useful for fur, fabric, and backgrounds where you want visible stroke energy.

Keep your lines consistent in pressure and spacing for clean results.

5. Scumbling

Scumbling is a small, loose circular stroke that deposits color without following a pattern. It fills the tooth quickly and creates a soft, mottled texture — great for foliage, rough surfaces, and atmospheric backgrounds.

Drawing Subjects: What Actually Works

Animals and Pets

The key to convincing animal drawings is working in the direction of fur growth. Short, flicking strokes with light pressure simulate individual hairs far better than filling in areas with flat color.

For cats, soft overlapping strokes in 2–3 color values create that characteristic fluffy look. Use a sharp point for whiskers — draw them with a single confident stroke, not a series of short ones.

For dogs, vary stroke length based on breed. A golden retriever needs longer, flowing strokes layered in warm browns and ochres. A short-haired breed like a Dalmatian is almost more about value contrast and smooth layering than visible strokes.

Eyes are where most animal portraits succeed or fail. Reserve your brightest white (either a white pencil or a white gel pen) for the highlight dot — it’s what makes the eye look alive.

Portraits

Skin tones are built from more colors than you’d think. A realistic Caucasian skin tone typically involves peach, pink, light orange, yellow ochre, light brown, and cool shadow tones (blue-violet or purple) — all layered in transparent passes.

Work from light to dark. Establish your lightest lights first, then build midtones, then shadows. Trying to work dark to light with colored pencils is fighting the medium.

For hair, avoid outlining strands individually. Instead, lay in the shadow masses first (the dark areas between hair groups), then draw individual hair strokes over the top with a sharp pencil. This creates depth rather than a flat “hair-colored area.”

Landscapes

Start with the sky and work forward — background to foreground. This lets you overlap elements naturally without edge conflicts.

For grass and foliage, mix at least 3–4 greens: a yellow-green for sunlit areas, a mid-green for the general tone, a blue-green for shadows, and optionally a warm brown-green for dried or shaded areas. Pure green straight from the pencil rarely looks natural.

Water is mostly about what it reflects. Identify the colors above and around your water source, then use those same colors in horizontal strokes with white layered over them for highlights.

Setting Up to Succeed: Practical Tips Before You Start

A few things I wish someone had told me earlier:

Keep your pencils sharp. A dull point dramatically reduces your control over fine detail and makes hatching look messy. A good battery-powered sharpener (the Derwent battery sharpener at ~$25 is excellent) makes this effortless.

Work at an angle. Flat paper on a flat desk gives you less visibility on your own work than paper propped at 30–45 degrees. A simple drawing board or even a stack of books makes a real difference.

Don’t erase heavy wax layers. Kneaded erasers work well on light colored pencil marks, but heavily burnished areas won’t erase cleanly — the wax is pressed into the tooth. Plan your light areas before you get too deep into a piece.

Scan or photograph work in progress. This gives you a neutral way to assess value (turn the photo black and white) and catch areas that feel off. Your eyes adjust to your work after staring at it for an hour — a photo resets your perspective.

Recommended Supplies by Budget

BudgetPencilsPaperExtras

Starter (~$40) Prismacolor Premier 24-set ($29) Strathmore 400 Bristol pad ($12) Kneaded eraser ($3)

Intermediate (~$100) Faber-Castell Polychromos 36-set ($65) Canson Mi-Teintes pad ($12) + Bristol smooth ($12) Colorless blender + battery sharpener

Serious (~$200+) Polychromos 60-set ($120) + Prismacolor 12 for blending ($15) Stonehenge paper ($18/pad) Odorless mineral spirits, full sharpener set, fixative spray

FAQ

Q: What is the best colored pencil brand for beginners?

A: Prismacolor Premier is the most forgiving starting point — soft, blendable, and widely available. The 24-set (~$29) covers enough colors to learn mixing without overwhelming you. If you want better lightfastness from day one, the Faber-Castell Goldfaber student range is a strong alternative at a similar price point.

Q: Can you blend colored pencils without special tools?

A: Yes. A light-colored pencil (cream or white) worked gently over two adjacent colors will blend them reasonably well. Your finger can soften blends slightly, too. For smoother results, a colorless blender pencil (~$3) or a tortillon stump is the most accessible upgrade.

Q: What paper is best for colored pencil drawing?

A: Strathmore 400 Bristol Smooth is the most popular choice for detailed, realistic work. It’s smooth enough for fine detail but still has enough tooth to hold multiple layers. For looser work or portraits, Canson Mi-Teintes toned papers give you a useful mid-tone to build from.

Q: How do you fix wax bloom in colored pencil drawings?

A: Wax bloom is a hazy film that appears over heavily worked wax-based pencil areas. Remove it by gently wiping with a dry soft cloth, then spray the piece with a fixative (Krylon UV Archival Varnish works well, ~$12 at art stores). This seals the layers and prevents bloom from returning.

Q: How many layers should you use in colored pencil drawing?

A: There’s no fixed number — it depends on the paper and desired result. Most detailed, realistic drawings involve 5–10 layers per area, sometimes more. The rule is simple: keep going until the color depth and value are where you want them. Stop when you’ve filled the tooth completely (burnishing) or when adding more layers stops improving things.

Q: Are expensive colored pencils worth it for beginners?

A: Partly. The jump from drugstore pencils ($8 for 24) to student-grade pencils like Prismacolor or Goldfaber ($25–$30) is absolutely worth it — the pigment quality difference is dramatic. The jump from student-grade to professional (Polychromos, Luminance) is more about longevity and precision than a beginner will notice immediately. Start mid-range, upgrade specific colors you use most.

Q: Can you use colored pencils over watercolor?

A: Yes, and it’s a popular combination. Lay down a loose watercolor wash as your base tone, let it dry completely, then use colored pencils to add detail, texture, and depth on top. The dried watercolor gives the pencil layers something interesting to interact with. Use watercolor paper (at least 140 lb/300 gsm) as your base — regular pencil paper won’t handle the wet wash without buckling.

Conclusion

Colored pencil drawing rewards patience more than raw talent. The artists whose work stops you mid-scroll aren’t working with magic tools — they’re layering slowly, choosing paper deliberately, and letting the medium do what it does best: build rich, luminous color through transparency.

Start with a quality 24-set, a pad of Bristol Smooth, and one subject you actually want to draw. Learn layering before blending. Learn blending before burnishing. Build the sequence.

The waxy mess I made on that first attempt? Still in a sketchbook somewhere. The drawing I made six months later with the same pencils and better technique — I actually framed it.

That gap closes faster than you think.

Published on skyryedesign. Primary keyword: colored pencil drawing | Secondary: colored pencil techniques, best colored pencils for beginners, layering colored pencils, colored pencil blending