The ease of use and compact shape of the pencils make them extremely popular not only among children and students, but also among established artists. They are made with a stylus made of finely ground graphite timber, mixed with clay, wrapped in a wooden body (in most cases from cedar wood, allowing easy and smooth sharpening). In general, pencils are divided into two types – graffiti and colored pencils, and in the latter the pen is a mixture of wax and clay, colored with dye pigments. For this reason, the graffiti of colored pencils are not as dense, allow for greater softness when drawing, but are also more fragile than ordinary graphite pencils. Depending on the ratio and type of colorants used, colored pencils leave a mark of different color, density and coverage.

Dry colored pencils

Classic, plain colored pencils have dry, water-insoluble graffiti. When coloring, they are applied on top of each other, which achieves visual mixing. For this reason, they are available in rich color palettes, with different shades and shades. The coloured dry pencils with the widest range of colours include pencils from Caran d’Ache’s Pablo series with a colour range of 120 colours. Dry colored pencils are suitable not only for use on any type of paper, but also for working with wood surfaces. In this regard, the colored pencils Lyra Rembrandt are very good, whose oil stylus leaves dense and saturated traces.

Water-soluble (watercolor) colored pencils

The graffiti structure of water-colored pencils is less stable and allows pigments to be blurred when mixed with water. The controlled use of fuzzy and ethereal watercolor colors and the fine delineation of contours and details make the use of water-soluble pencils a favorite illustration tool for both children and beginners, as well as advanced and professional artists, animators and designers. One of the best colored watercolor pencils known on the market are the pencils of the Swiss company Caran d’Ache – a leader in the production of colored water pencils with a high degree of solubility, coverage and lightfastness.

Children’s colored pencils

Each of these groups of colored pencils also has products designed for children’s creativity. Usually, children’s series have an easy-to-hold shape, a small number – up to 24 bright and saturated colors, with strong coverage and soft and smooth spreading. Unlike high-quality children’s colored pencils, however, there are also pencils on the market that are not suitable for children’s creativity, with too hard graphite, pale pigment dyes and a low degree of coverage, taking away or outright denying the child the desire to draw. For this reason, it is desirable to purchase quality children’s colored pencils from established and well-known brands of art materials – such are the dry colored pencils “Tsvetik” by “Nevskaya Palitra” and colored watercolor pencils for children’s drawings from the series “Lyra Osiris” by “Fila”, in the sets of which a brush for watercolor effect is included.