Colour pencils

Colour pencils

When you need rich hues and vibrant colours, there's no better place to look for artist-grade colour pencils than Art to Art. With literally hundreds of colours to choose from, in both oil and wax based pencil cores, you will be able to find the perfect diameter, softness,  barrel shape and colour to complement your artistic style.

Whether you're just starting out using pencils as a medium or you've mastered photo realistic drawings, you'll find what you're looking in our online store. Each pencil has a handy description of its lead's thickness and a swatch of colours to help you decide whether it's the right one for your next creative endeavour. Once you've explored one of the best selections of colour pencils in Australia and found your perfect match, peruse the colour pencil sets on offer. Choose between collections of 12, 84 or even 120 pencils from the most popular brands.

Types of colour pencils

Oil - offers a buttery smooth pencil that can be easily blended for layered effects, highlights, and transitions. Their break resistant, water resistant, smudge proof the pigment is bound with vegetable oil to produce the coloured hard or soft core.

Wax -Most colour pencils are wax based. The wax-based formula makes for smooth colour laydown in any application from the lightest of shading to the heaviest marks, and is water and break-resistant. Note: wax based pencils can be prone to producing “bloom”, which is a powdery film on top of the colour. 

Water Soluble - either wax or oil based, emulsifier is added to the pigment which allows it to be liquified.

Watercolour - Watercolour Pencils can be transformed or be completely dissolved to behave in the same way as classic watercolour paints. Watercolour Pencils provide artists with great versatility of expression when drawing, shading and painting in watercolours we have a wide range of watercolour pencils available.

Pastel - pastel pencils  are a wax and oil free pastel pencil with a high level of pigment perfectly suited for fine details in pastels. These richly pigmented pencils have the softness and blendability of traditional pastels, but encased in a painted wooden barrel, they eliminate the mess of traditional pastels and allow for easy sharpening and detail work (Must be sharpened with a knife)

When you shop online from Art to Art, shipping is free when you spend over $100. If you can't help but want one of our beautiful Caran D'ache sets, don't forget that you can use Afterpay to buy now, pay later.

And remember - you'll need pencil sharpeners and other drawing tools too! Check out our drawing accessories before you checkout. 

FAQs

What are the best colour pencils?

Pencils have their cores made from different materials, which makes their pros and cons depend entirely on the type of art you're making. Some pencils can be used like watercolour paints, whilst others have more vivid colours and harder textures and could be better for layering or burnishing. Experiment to find your favourite - it's all personal preference!

How many coloured pencils are in a pack?

The colour pencil sets at Art to Art range from 12 to 120 - you might not need every single colour, so chose the one that best suits your needs

Do professional artists use coloured pencils?

Of course - the colour pencil may be humble, but it can create amazing art in the right hands! 

How many colour pencils do I need?

Another answer that is dictated by your needs - sometimes all you need is 1!