Coloring Book Addict

Adult Coloring Books, Supplies & Tips - Adult Activity Art Books

You are here: Home / Archives for Coloring Supplies

Coloring Supplies

coloring book affiliate disclosure

Best Colored Pencils for Coloring Books

By Addicted Colorist 42 Comments

coloring book affiliate disclosure

Colored Pencils Options 

Colored Pencils are the most used item for those folks that are truly addicted to adult coloring books. If that sounds like someone you know then this is the list for you. 

Alice in Wonderland - Good Wives and Warriors colored by Chrissy the Coloring Book Addict

Everything we have learned about the best coloring supplies for the most discerning Adult Coloring Book Addicts!

The first question you will have to answer is pencils or markers? If pencils are your answer then you just have to decide your budget and buy the best line you can of the biggest color selection you can. Buying a smaller set will only frustrate you so it’s best to just wait and order the big set.

Oil-Based Colored Pencils include: 

Faber-Castell Polychromos Colored Pencils

Faber Castell Polychromos colored pencils perfect for adult coloring books
My beloved Polys

At the top of the list are the beloved Faber-Castell Polychromos Colored Pencils. They are not THE most expensive but they are near the top. These pencils are creamy, smooth, blend easily, layer forever and will give you a gorgeous result with practice and patience if you are new to this skill. The largest tin has 120 luscious colors including 3 metallic pencils.

We have found that the sharpener that is made for the specific brand of pencils works fairly well but I always have my trusty Kum sharpeners with me as well as you can never have enough of them.

Lyra Rembrandt Colored Pencils

lyra rembrandt colored pencils

Only recently have we discovered these gorgeous sticks of color and we are currently in serious crush status with them. (pictured at the top of this page) They are soft and luminous and the colors are different than the Polycromos so you get a completely unique look when you use them instead of the polys. The only complaint we have is that the largest box is 72 pencils. Lyra’s are oil-based so no pesky wax bloom and they layer and blend nicely. They also come with their own blending pencil in the box but it seems completely useless and has zero effect so stick with your Derwent or Prismacolor blender colorless pencils instead. (More about those later)

Caran d’Ache Colored Pencils

Caran d'Ache Colored Pencils

Apparently, the finest colored pencil money can buy. We can’t speak about these from our own experience I SPLURGED! After reading the glowing only 5-star reviews and from coloring friends! We bought the small box of 20 just to see and WOW!!! I now have to rave about them too!!! If you can afford them, give them a try as you won’t’ be sorry. “Caran D’ache luminance pencils are simply the best-colored pencils money can buy.”Each pencil is pocketed in its own foam bed within the box. I have enjoyed my set of 20 and the white pencil does amazing things for highlights and special effects.  Read the description and reviews carefully as Caran D’ache makes several lines of colored pencils including these two top artist varieties which get fabulous reviews and then the and student and watercolor pencils which didn’t get great reviews for use on adult coloring books. These Luminance pencils have the highest lightfast rating meaning that they won’t fade over time like wax and other oil-based color pencils do. They have SO much pigment and go on SO easily, they really are so lovely.  One day I’ll have the big set!! Maybe!

Pablo Colored Pencil Set Of 120 Metal Box “They are delicious. No wax bloom, no flaky bits. Gorgeous colors that lay down over each other well and blend beautifully. Plus the pencil wood casing is harder, easier to sharpen.” These pencils aren’t quite as pricey and get rave reviews in all the groups on Facebook.

Marco Raffine Colored Pencils

The least expensive wax-based colored pencil that performs like it’s oil-based more expensive cousins are the Marco Raffine line from Japan. You can buy these from Amazon here.
Marco Raffine 48 Amazon US   UK   Canada
Marco Raffine 72 Amazon US   UK   Canada

Other brands that are gorgeous but only sold in high-end fine art stores are these BruynzeelColored Pencils are uber soft and creamy, possibly too creamy if there is such a thing but I would test these pencils at the nearest high-end fine arts store near you before you invest in a set of these. I have a few to fill in missing greens I wanted for Enchanted Forest.

Wax Based Colored Pencils

prismacolor colored pencils

Prismacolor Premier Artist Pencils – These very nice pencils come in the biggest set and for a price below all but the Marco Raffine pencils in the oil-based pencils above. They are a huge step up from Crayola or other school / student-grade colored pencils and I’ve had no difficulty with mine breaking or chipping when they get sharpened. They do get a wax bloom if you want to layer your colors to blend and they aren’t colorfast, meaning your colors will fade over time particularly if your pictures are exposed to light.

I recently learned something else about these coloring work-horses for mixed media use. These are THE go-to pencils for many mixed-media artists and art journaling enthusiasts because they DO seal in the color from water-based art supplies you might use in proximity and completely seals the colors if you are doing encaustic work or sealing with beeswax.

What does “wax bloom” mean? 

Wax bloom is a natural oxidation process of wax-based materials, just like rust is an oxidation of iron. It appears as a cloudy white film over a drawing or color lay down. If you are plagued with wax bloom, simply wipe your drawing with a clean, dry cloth and spray it with a final fixative to seal out air. If you find your drawings are prone to wax bloom, you may want to use a workable fixative intermittently as you layer your artwork and then finish with a final fixative. Wax bloom is especially prevalent in warmer climates and for artists who apply greater pressure when working with colored pencils. Prismacolor FAQ’

Prismacolor Verithins Colored Pencils are not to be confused with the Prismacolor Premier. These pencils are very hard and to be used for details and tiny spaces. They do not work well for blending or shading. Many people like to use them for the tiny spaces in books like Secret Garden or Time Garden.

Prismacolor Verithins Colored Pencils UK

Prismacolor Verithins Colored Pencils Canada

COLORED PENCIL TIP: You want to be careful with these colored pencils because the wax core can break and if that happens it pretty much ruins the pencil because you can’t sharpen it without it falling apart. Some people swear by microwaving them if that happens but Prismacolor FAQs warn against that and instead tell you to lay them in a sunny hot window and then firmly press the cores back together. Another person in our Facebook group suggested laying them on a heating pad. I think that would work well too.

Prismacolors are usually available open stock at Hobby Lobby, Michaels and Guirys so you can always buy a couple to test them. Once you try any of these nicer quality pencils you won’t be able to color with a Crayola colored pencil or <GASP> a crayon every again. But those are great to have around for the kids or grandkids.

Tombow Irojiten Colored Pencils  US  – UK  – Canada

These pencils remind me of a cross between a Lyra Oil-based pencil and Prismacolor Verithins. These pencils sharpen to a nice sharp point and keep the point nicely. The one thing I really LOVE about the Tombow line is that they come in small packs of 30 colors that don’t overlap one another so you can continue to add to your collection without having to buy a small pack and then have duplicates when you decide to buy the bigger set. They are HARD pencils though and don’t have the pigment of either then Prisma’s or the Poly’s.

Chel had this to say in an Amazon review, I’ve only a small pack of these so this explains how the colors are organized brilliantly.

A few things to note:
The Irojitens are pretty hard, as far as colored pencils go. They are not a smooth, creamy pencil that seems to melt over the paper with the lightest of stroke. They cover beautifully, and a little goes a long way, but they definitely require a little more “push” than the softer color pencils on the market. HOWEVER, they are super rich and creamy, and even if you push down on them quite a lot, the leads do not crumble or turn into dust. They maintain a sharp point for a long time. And the ability to shade with these pencils is incredible- because they are slightly harder, you can get very very light layers of color, and layer many different colors together without losing the surface of the paper under a waxy buildup.

The color range is very untraditional- there is one set of “Vibrant” colors that has your basic red, blue, green, yellow, orange, but the rest of the range are mostly pastel, “dull” (their name, not mine), and softer, creamier colors (also, one set of ten neon color, which are SO bright and vibrant!)

If you are looking for a collection of bright, traditional, clear jewel-tone colors, you may not love the colors that are available in the Irotijens. I happen to LOVE the colors- they are all creamy, beautiful, painterly… but again, very unusual, especially for colored pencils. It’s almost as if the opaque paint was made into a pencil.

The color names are equally unusual- there’s no Cadmium Red or Gamboge or Cobalt Blue. There’s “Lettuce Green”, “Firefly Yellow”, “Verbena”, and “Jay Blue”, just to name a few.

The pencils are grouped into nine “Volumes” of ten different colored pencils, each following a color theme. There’s Vibrant, Pale (I and II), Very Pale, Dull, Deep I (I and II), Fluorescent, and Light Grayish. The pencils are packaged inside a little box shaped like a book, ten pencils per “Volume”. The packaging is beautiful, but for regular use, I eventually had to give in and store the pencils in a more traditional holder (I wish there was a ton available for the complete set of 90.) Even though I store them out of their book-packaging, I couldn’t bear to separate them out of their color Volumes because they are grouped so perfectly (and I’m the kind of person who obsessively swatches everything and rearranges colors according to my eye rather than whatever numeric system/order they come in).

tombow pencils

I do wish more colored pencil brands split up their pencils into color volumes like this.

staedtler colored pencils

Johanna really likes these colored pencils for use in her books because you can sharpen them to a very fine point and they blend nicely. They have a coating around the led that produces less breakage than other pencils. The triangular shape is also easy to hold. Click here to Order  There just aren’t enough colors here to keep me happy but I do like to take these pencils with me when I color at the coffee shop, the stand is really nice and makes it easy to share with friends.

Click to order Staedtler Colored Pencils Amazon US     Amazon UK    Amazon Canada

Since Adult Coloring Books are gaining such a huge market share, lots of manufacturers are jumping in to produce coloring supplies. So far NONE of the new colored pencils that have come to the market is anything I would recommend.

Things to look for before you buy Colored Pencils

  1. Do the core colors match the outsides of the pencils?
  2. Are the cores centered in the wood? If not you will never be able to sharpen them correctly and the cores will break.
  3. Do the colored pencils have color names or numbers?
  4. Are there actually as many colors as the label says or are there duplicates? I was recently sent a set of 50 colored pencils, as I pulled them out to see what the difference was between the 36 and 50 set, I was so disappointed to find that the extras were just that extras of the same colors that are in the 36 set. If you stick with one of the suggestions above that fits your budget you will be much happier.

Honestly simple Crayola Colored Pencils give fantastic results, you just have to work harder to get the color onto the paper.

Blending Pencils & Medium

A blending pencil is a colorless pencil that you use to blend your color together and smash the pigment into the tooth of the paper so those white speckles aren’t showing anymore. They give you a very painted look instead of the scratchy appearance you might think of with colored pencils.

I have both the Prismacolor blender colorless pencils and the Derwent blender, they both work well for me. Test them with the colored pencils you have decided on to see which one gives you the effect you are looking for. I find that each book with its paper and binding takes me at least one picture to find the pencils I prefer for it. It’s hard not to go right for your favorite image but try so you won’t be disappointed.

Many people prefer to use solvents to help with their color blending in their coloring books.

Gamsol*  US   UK   Canada – take great care with this item as it is toxic and fumes could bother those with respiratory issues.**

Zest-ii is only available in the UK but colorists there swear by it

Baby Oil*  – I like this pack of 3 small bottles because no matter what, I am constantly misplacing my coloring supplies. This is the one I choose to use as it’s the non-toxic option.

Vaseline* – I’ve seen both a method using a q-tip dipped in vaseline and also where you put the pencil itself into the pot of Vaseline.

*As always please test these methods on a scrap page of your coloring book.

There are Colored Pencil Tutorial Video’s here using these blending methods. 

Erasers

Yes, you CAN erase particularly if you have a light hand with the pencils. I like the erasers that come inside a plastic tube like a pen but any good quality artist eraser will work at least partially. Each brand erases to a different degree. Kneadable erasers are something I’ve loved ever since I dated a commercial artist, these little gems are fun Derwent also makes a battery-powered eraser for the truly addicted. There is a list of my favorite erasers on the Stocking Stuffers page here.

While taking an online art class one of the teachers recommended this amazing erasing tool the Tombow MONO and I immediately ordered both the round and square versions. I use these in Lifebook quite a bit!

tiny erasers
CLICK TO ORDER AMAZON US, UK OR CANADA

Colored Pencil Sharpeners

Really you can never have enough sharpeners because they are easy to lose and they do wear out if you are coloring often.

The biggest bang for your buck is the German-made KUM sharpeners. There are a few varieties but this little metal guy is a workhorse. You can find them anywhere you see fine art supplies.

Kum Sharpener If you have any 2 hole sharpeners and use just one side of this sharpener you can save a little cash by switching the blades to the size you use most often
 Click to Order Amazon US, UK or Canada 

sharpener

Kum Long Point Sharpener

long point sharpener

Click to Order Amazon US, UK or Canada    

Staedtler double hole colored pencil sharpener – a great tip shared by Peta Hewitt in one of her videos is to get double duty out of these types of sharpeners. You mostly use the smaller hole so when that blade starts to get dull, simply switch the blades and get double the amount of use out of the sharpener. That would work with the Kum Sharpeners as well.

Staedtler 2 hole sharpener with compartment for shavings

pencil sharpener
prismacolor blender and sharpener

Prismacolor Pencil Sharpener – works well on… you guessed it Prismacolor Colored Pencils. For the life of me though, I can’t get this to open so I can empty it so it’s not one I use at all. The Kum brand works just as well.
Prismacolor Sharpener + two blending pencils

Faber Castell Colored Pencil 3 hole Sharpener CLICK TO ORDER

pencil sharpener

I have all of these and keep them in different spots where I like to color. Another tip is to sharpen a regular #2 pencil with them every couple of weeks to clean off the wax and the oily buildup from the blades. The Kum Sharpeners also let you change out the dull blades for new ones.

Colored Pencil Storage

canvas pencil storage bag
CLICK TO ORDER AMAZON US, UK OR CANADA

How to carry around your colored pencils. I like to color in public so the first thing I started looking for were ways to bring my new favorite hobby with me so I could share. This Derwent Canvas bag came very highly recommended by the pro colorists I’ve met in Facebook groups.

Two pencils fit in each space on the 3 dividers that fit on the binder rings and you can buy more of these if you have more than 132 pencils. Pens also fit nicely in this bag but it’s not big enough to stick a full-size coloring book into but the postcards and portable books fit nicely on the inside or the outside pocket. There is a zipper pocket inside for your erasers and sharpeners too. The shoulder strap is removable.

Large Binder for Colored Pencil Addicts

Several people in our coloring group have recommended this jumbo pack that holds 216 pencils and/or gel pens. There are also 2 pockets for erasers and sharpeners and a zippered mesh pocket to hold your favorite coloring book. It comes in green, pink and black.

pencil storage

Click here to Order Amazon US, UK or Canada

Me & My Big Ideas Striped Organizer Bag

striped art supply storage

I recently started adding Mixed Media pieces into my coloring books and stumbled upon this bag that one of the people in my class had. I fell instantly in love with it. SO many supplies will fit in this bag and all the zippers keep things nice and organized.

Click here to Order and also see a video that shows you all the amazing that is inside this cutie.

I have heard RAVE reviews about these pencil drawers for all of your coloring supplies too.

US Art Supply® Artist Wood Pastel, Pen, Marker Storage Box with 4-Drawers

Colored Pencil storage

If I worked at a desk they would be a must-have for me but since I seem to color everywhere, I will stick to my bags and baskets full of pencils for now.

Not addicted yet? Overwhelmed by all of this pencil chatter? No worries, check out

Did I miss anything? Do you have other favorites? Let us know in the comments below. 

Happy Coloring!

coloring book affiliate disclosure

Top Coloring Supplies

By Addicted Colorist Leave a Comment

coloring book affiliate disclosure

Every year new coloring supplies come into the market and in 2020 these were the most popular & purchased items by the Coloring Book Addict Fans. They aren’t necessarily my preferred / recommended supplies so I have editorialized the list below. I’ve listed the top 10 coloring supplies in a few categories below.

Top Colored Pencils 2020

  1. Prismacolor Colored Pencils 72 Colors – Probably my favorite too. Prismacolor Colored Pencils various sizes
  2. Crayola Colored Pencils 50 Colors ( recommend Marco Raffines over these for pigmentation and blending)
  3. Castle Art Colored Pencils ( I haven’t heard of them but they have amazing Amazon reviews and a low price)
  4. Marco Raffine – 72 Colors (These are my favorite budget pencils)
  5. Sargeant Art Pencils 50 Pack
  6. Lyra Rembrandt 72 Colors
  7. Faber Castell 120 Colors – Tons of pigment in these color sticks they rank neck & neck with the Prisma’s for me.
  8. Staedtler Ergosoft Pencils (Johanna Basford’s favorites)
  9. Faber Castell Polychromos Artist Pencils 60 count
  10. Luminance Colored Pencils – the most amazing pencils money can buy, lightfast, creamy dreamy, uber-expensive buy oh my what a treat. I have a small set and adore them. I also use them in my mixed media art.

Top Coloring Gel Pens

  1. Color-it Gel Pens – These were a new supply for me in 2020 but WOW what a punch of glittery shimmery perfect color in my books. Plus the pack they come in is just fantastic.
  2. Sakura Gelly Roll Pens – Big box of 72 – a long time favorite of mine, particularly the sparkly set, you all know I can’t live without the clear sparkle pens that you can use over your pencils or marker marks.
  3. Uniball Signo White Pen in Bold – invaluable for making white highlights and other special features in your coloring.
  4. Reaeon Gel Pens – a set of 100 with 100 refills – 28 Glitter, 18 Metallic, 16 Neon, 15 Pastel, 14 Neon-Glitter, 6 Swirl, 3 Classic
  5. Tanmit Gel Pens set of 100 with 100 refills
  6. Gel Pens – a small set of 30
  7. Glitter Gel Pens, 100 Color
  8. Arteza Gel Pens, set of 60
  9. Shuttle Art Gel Pens, set of 180 with 180 refills
  10. Fiskars 48 Gel Pens
  1. Staedtler Fine Tips Markers – These are really the only markers I use in my books. Always recommended by our Queen Johanna Basford and still the best. They are bright, never bleed and come in enough colors (36) to keep me happy.
  2. Pentel Markers set of 36
  3. Staedtler Triplus Fineliner Pens – My go-to for fine liner pens in my books, another favorite of Johannas.
  4. Dual Tip Brush Marker Pens by Tanmit 
  5. Dual Tip Art Marker Pens Fine Point Journal Pens & Colored Brush Markers 
  6. iBayam Journal Planner Pens
  7. Arteza Real Brush Pens
  8. Ohuhu 40-color Alcohol Markers – Reminder! Alcohol markers bleed through paper so these should only be used on one-sided images with a barrier behind your coloring page
  9. BIC Intensity Fashion Permanent Markers
  1. Prismacolor Sharpener
  2. Staedtler Sharpener
  3. Kum 2 Hole Pencil Sharpener – This is my favorite, yes it’s a bit more expensive perhaps but it works on every pencil and never breaks them. Any of the Kum sharpeners are fantastic.
  4. Staedtler 512 001 ST Double-hole Tub Pencil Sharpener – this is my preferred Staedtler sharpener particularly if you have the ergosoft pencils.
  5. Faber-Castell Grip Trio Pencil Sharpener
  1. Derwent Blender Burnisher Set
  2. Mungyo Square Chalk, Soft Pastels for Backgrounds
  3. White Posca Pens – Fabulous option for white details in your coloring pages

I hope this helps you narrow down your choices if you don’t want to read through my in-depth supply pages on Colored Pencils, Markers, Gel Pens, and Background Materials.

coloring book affiliate disclosure

Best cheap colored pencils for adult coloring books

By Addicted Colorist 10 Comments

coloring book affiliate disclosure

Most adults who are just starting to color are not willing to invest a bunch of cash for colored pencils or other art supplies until they decide that they want or need to, and honestly, you can get beautiful results from the cheapest of pencils.

There are three differences between student grade and artist grade colored pencils.

  1. Colorfastness – if you are just coloring for fun, you don’t need to worry about this at all! What it means is that your colors if exposed to light will fade over time. Sometimes they even do that right in the book even if it’s not exposed to light.
  2. Ease of Coloring – the artist quality pencils have more pigment in them so the colors are easier for older fingers to apply. , Luminance pencils, for example, the most expensive of the artist pencils glide on your paper like silk.
  3. The intensity of Colors – the intensity of the colors is much deeper and richer with fewer layers.

All that being said, if you are coloring for fun, recreation and relaxation, those things really don’t matter, so these are our favorite inexpensive colored pencils.

Best Budget-Friendly Colored Pencils

Marco Raffine Colored Pencils

The least expensive wax-based colored pencil that performs like it’s oil-based more expensive cousins are the Marco Raffine line from Japan. These were the first set of cheaper pencils we tried out and we are still a huge fan. They are my go-to set to take with me on outings because for one thing, the whole set fits in my pencil roll-up AND if I lose them or one gets broken, my investment is minimal.  You can buy these from Amazon here.

Pros: Lost Cost, Nice Colors, Ease of Coloring

Cons: Only 72 colors, no color names on pencils (just a number) and the barrel is silver so it’s sometimes hard to see what color the pencil is. No tin.

Click to order here.
Marco Raffine 48 Amazon US   UK   Canada
Marco Raffine 72 Amazon US   UK   Canada

Crayola Colored Pencils

These are a fantastic option and for the price, you can’t beat it. You can invest in better pencils later and let the kids or your friends use these, but some colorists find they like the results they get from these as much as they do the expensive artist brands.

Pros: Low Price, a large variety of colors, easy to sharpen, barrel of pencils is the color of the lead and the color name is clearly printed on the barrel.

Cons: Very waxy making them hard to layer, no tin.

If you really hate to sharpen pencils, you might give Crayola Twistables a try.

Prang Colored Pencils

I found a few Prangs in my stash from my kids’ school supplies and played with them a bit and I like them a bit better than my Crayola’s. The color selection isn’t as large but what is there is nice.

Sudee Stile Colored Pencils

This set is the largest variety of colors in our list of cheaper colored pencils and gives you 150 different colors. Some shades are close as is the case with all large sets of colored pencils, for instance, I find there are always too many shades of yellow that are virtually identical to one another. There is some talk about these pencils having a strong unpleasant smell. That smell seems to come from the case so when you get rid of that and use a pencil cup or a pencil wrap, the bad smell disappears.

Pros: LOTS of colors, low price

Cons: no color name on pencils, barrels aren’t the color of the lead.

Johanna Basford’s recommended colored pencils are the Staedtler’s.

Staedtler Colored Pencils 

Johanna really likes these colored pencils for use in her books because you can sharpen them to a very fine point and they blend nicely. They have a coating around the led that produces less breakage than other pencils. I also really love this stand-up plastic case.
Click here to Order Amazon US    ~ UK   ~ Canada
staedtler colored pencils johanna basfords recommendation for her coloring books
I was set a gorgeous tin of 36 Staedtler Ergosoft Colored Pencils from the manufacturer and I adore them, however, they still don’t seem to be available to the public. The tin has Johanna Basford designs on it so it’s even more special. As soon as they are available I’ll alert everyone on social media.

Coleen Colored Pencils

This set of double ended pencils are really fun to use, particularly for a travel set since twice as many colors fit into half as big of a spot. They lay down nicely and layer pretty well, particularly for the price.

Click to Order Amazon US, UK or Canada  – The newer version (787’s) includes a couple of neon colors too.

Black Window Colored Pencils

I’ve just started hearing great things about these pencils but haven’t tried them out myself yet. The advertising says they are easy to sharpen but reviewers say the opposite. They are difficult to sharpen and tend to be eaten up easily by the sharpener. They are similar to the Marcos in that they have a black barrel and no color numbers and only come in a set of 24 colors, really not enough to bother with and your money would be better spent on a set of 100 Crayolas. Reviewers also say they have hardly any pigment at all when using them in coloring books. They come with or without a tin with a price variation, really the best part about them is the cool tin with a cool picture of a scorpion or a Black Widow Spider! They are made in China. If you look on all the listings you will see lots of negative reviews however one of our readers was really upset that I gave them this review because she loves them. I’d love to hear from my readers about them if you have tried these spider inspired pencils.
Original Black Widow Pencils

Black Widow Colored Pencils

Hopefully, Black Widow Manufacturers are listening to their audience and will improve the product.  You can check them out here.

The flesh toned sets of colored pencils by Black Widow have gotten some great reviews.

Dark Skin Tone Colored Pencils for Adults

dark skin tones for coloring

Click to Order Amazon US, UK or Canada

Light Skin Tones Black Widow Pencils

If you have any favorite cost-saving ideas for your coloring please let us know on social media or in the comments here.

Click to Order Amazon US, UK or Canada

Blending Tools

There are a few special techniques to make your cheap pencils perform like artist quality and that’s blending tool. There are specific blending pencils that will take your coloring pages to the next level. Different blenders work with different paper and pencils, so I’d buy both and play with them.

Many people love to use baby oil for blending. You apply a VERY small amount with a paper blending stump and blend it. Put a piece of paper underneath and leave the book open for the oil to evaporate. You can also dip your pencil in the oil or in Vaseline. I would play with this on a book where the pages are removable just to see what you think. There are expensive blending mediums and mineral oils but they are toxic so why not use something you may already have in your house.

Cheapest Background Coloring Materials

If you want a nice easy and inexpensive background idea, head to your dollar store and find some eyeshadows and blush colors or use your own old makeup. You can use either a makeup applicator, a cotton bud or a makeup applicator which you can also purchase at the dollar store if you don’t have some at home to use.

These are quite nice too!

Chrissy and the crew at the Coloring Book Addict

coloring book affiliate disclosure

Background Coloring Supplies

By Addicted Colorist 1 Comment

coloring book affiliate disclosure
coloring backgrounds with chalk pastels

I know, you have just finally figured out how to make shiny leaves and flowers, how to make fur on your fox hidden in the brush and how to highlight an eye on your fairy coloring.  You thought you were at the end of your learning process but then you see that those other colorists, you know the ones… whose gorgeous products always make you feel like yours isn’t finished… it’s the background. I too am still learning techniques on how to do backgrounds but having the right background coloring supplies does help.

Soft Pastel for Adult Coloring Book Backgrounds

The easiest way to put a background in is with soft pastels. They come in several different forms and price points. Questions to ask yourself are do you care if your area is messy because playing with chalk pastels is messy! Do they need to be lightfast, aka do you care if your pictures fade over time. The first set I bought is this inexpensive one that has LOTS of pretty colors because I had no idea what I’d want.

Soft Pastels Background Coloring Supplies for Adult Coloring Books

The first set I tried were these Mungyo Soft Pastels in 64 colors. Each stick is a little over an inch long but for backgrounds, you don’t use much. I take my fingernail, a pocket knife, these artist knives that are specifically for this purpose or anything handy and scrape a tiny big on the area where I want the color and using either my fingers or a makeup applicator or q-tip I carefully fill in the background. (See Peta Hewitt’s Tutorial Video’s Below) You can layer and blend colors really easily for a sunset effect for instance or a soft glow around the moon. These are light

Soft Pastels Background Coloring Supplies for Adult Coloring Books

My next experiment was a bit more expensive and I still don’t think I’m using them right! I bought these Derwent soft chalk pastel pencils. I don’t like using them at all, first off the sound and feel of using them on the paper is a bit like fingernails on a chalkboard, so maybe I should try sharpening them onto a paper plate and using them with an applicator like the Mungyo’s above. After reading the reviews on Amazon, I guess I should try them again. I think 24 colors is plenty if you are going to use them for backgrounds. If you would use them for other art projects, the 72 color set in the wooden box looks pretty awesome and only a couple more bucks than the tin which we all know are frustrating to use at best.

Soft Pastels Background Coloring Supplies for Adult Coloring Books

I would like to give these Faber-Castell pastels a try just to see the difference between the budget brand above and the mid-range artist quality of these FC’s. Pastels, however, can go up in price from here, these iridescent 24 color Sennelier set of chalk pastels are tempting and the reviews are glowing and are the top of the line for artists.

Pebbles Soft Pastels are great! I particularly love the applicator and little cotton buds that come with these sets of colors that come in 15 colors with 2 shades of each color for 30 different options.

PanPastels

The creme de la creme when it comes to pastels for coloring books. They are quite lightfast and low dust. PanPastels used to be hard to find but with the onset of colorists all over the world, they are now quite easy to find on Amazon in both single colors, small and large sets.

Panpastels Soft Pastels Background Coloring Supplies for Adult Coloring Books

I started with a yellow, blue and pink but now that I’ve tried them I want more. You can also use these with a damp brush to give you a watercolorish look. PanPastels are highly pigmented and lusciously smooth in their application.
This painting set contains 10 colors of 9-msl PanPastel titanium white, hansa yellow, yellow ochre, permanent red, violet, ultramarine blue, phthalo green, burnt sienna, raw umber, black colors. The Seascape 10 pack contains titanium white, ultramarine blue, ultramarine blue shade, ultramarine blue tint, phthalo blue, phthalo blue tint, turquoise, neutral grey, neutral grey tint, Payne’s grey colors. The Tints set would probably be a perfect place to start as they are light shades you might want to use for backgrounds, it includes Hansa Yellow Tint, Permanent Green Tint, Permanent Red Tint, Ultramarine Blue Tint, Violet Tint.   The drawing set has all neutral colors. Panpastels also have this colorless blending medium that helps to soften or create other layering effects. You can also get this tray that will organize your pastels.

This one even has pearl colors and it says easy to blend so perfect for your pages.

Eye Shadow – yes, eye shadow. Do you have eye shadow from when you were in high school that you never threw away? perfect! Use them just as you would soft pastels. Once you start using them for coloring don’t use them for your eyes anymore, you wouldn’t’ want to use that bacteria in your eyes. You can also just go to the dollar store of the after Christmas makeup kits on half price. This is a fantastic set with 120 bright colors

Watercolors and Watercolor Pencils – We won’t got into detail here because we have an entire article about using watercolors in coloring books so click here for that.

Do NOT buy Oil Pastels for Coloring Books, they are completely different and will make a smeary mess of your coloring book. You are looking for soft pastels also sometimes called chalk pastels.

Do not BLOW the pastel dust off of your work, gently tap it into the trash can, you can accidentally breathe the dust in which can cause issues. You can also use a fixitive.

Soft Pastel Fixatives

Chalk is by nature dusty and messy and you don’t want that spreading all over the rest of your coloring pages and books in your collection so a spray fixative is necessary. You need to get a workable fixative so that you can go over the chalk with gel pens, pencils or marker and be sure to spray the fixative BEFORE using gel pens or markers as it can make them bleed through the paper or smear. This should be done outdoors of course.

Soft Pastel Applicators

Erasers

Coloring and pastel backgrounds are a precise endeavor so you are going to need an eraser no matter how careful you are. These erasers will serve double duty for your colored pencils and your soft pastels.

Background Stencils

for coloring backgrounds distressed looking Burlap and Bubbles stencils from Tim Holtz

I’m starting to see colorists using various mixed media supplies to do special effects on their backgrounds and one of the things is the use of stencils. Usually using a repetitive type stencil gives you the best results since you want the background to be just that, a backdrop to your beautiful colored-in picture. Martha Stewart has an entire line of stencils suitable for backgrounds, you could use the soft look of pastels using a q-tip type of applicator or lay down a smooth chalk background and go back in with the simple stencils using a more precise method with your colored pencils.

Tim Holtz layering stencils are my favorite he has dozens of sets.

Experimenting is always fun!

I think this snowflake stencil would look fabulous in Johanna’s Christmas book or any of my top 25 Christmas Coloring Books. Little Circles seem to be a new trend for backgrounds, I really like the look of these Cell Theory by Crafters Workshop since I never like anything to look too perfect. If you don’t like the look of your own lettering or handwriting, these word stencils look fun. This Folk Art Moroccan Tile would make a fantastic background as well as Tim Holtz flowered flourish stencils, (I use this one all the time in my art journal) this flower lace stencil  or this layered lace stencil, but my favorite by far are these distressed looking Burlap and Bubbles stencils from Tim Holtz.

Backgrounds using Markers or Gel Pens

I’ve successfully used my Faber Castell Pitt Pens for backgrounds and they work great. A little streaky if you look up close and use that critical eye we turn on ourselves, but step back a few inches and it looks flawless. My recommendation is to use the smaller detail Pitt Pen around the design and for tight spaces. Then the Big Brush pen in the matching color for the larger areas. If you are using Faber Castell Polychromos pencils for your drawing then you will immediately notice that the Pitt Pens match the colors exactly so that makes for a very cohesive look for your project.

Posca Paint Pens –  I’ve seen artists raving about these pens and like them over Pitt Pens, so far my experience hasn’t been great. They are the type of paint pen where you have to prime them and when I do that paint gushes out all over the place. I’m going to say try them at your own risk and look up some YouTubes on how to use them. This is the set I bought with the bigger nibs, maybe I should have bought the fine points to try first. At any rate, if you love these lets us know your tips on how to use them, I’m sure in my case it’s user error.

Gel Pens – These are tricky to use for backgrounds because of the smearing that happens inevitably if you are an impatient colorist but particularly using metallics or glitter effects, you can get a really wonderful piece of art. My favorite one is the skull from Magical Jungle where I used the silver metallic gel pen to do quite a bit of fill-in work along with the black Pitt Pen for the full background using only blue colored pencils.

Visit the Background Coloring Technique Tutorials page here.

coloring book affiliate disclosure

How to Organize Adult Coloring Supplies

By Addicted Colorist 13 Comments

coloring book affiliate disclosure

If you have become a true Coloring Book Addict by now you are sure to have quite the collection of colored pencils, pens, markers and more and NOW you need to organize your art supplies.

There are so many options that I will just be sharing several that might meet your artistic needs, we colorists are all so uniquely individual.

ROLLING CARTS

I honestly don’t know how I lived before I recently discovered the RASKOG rolling cart. Once you have one you might want more. I’ve watched numerous video reviews on Rakog versus the Michaels Brand and Costco brand and everyone agrees that the RASKOG is da bombdiggity in all sorts of art supply storage. What I love most about it is how sturdy it is AND that I can store ALL of my colored pencils, erasers, sharpeners, and books all in one spot and then roll it away when company comes. You can also clip an LED light on the edge of it in case you need more light in your family room which is where I always end up coloring.

organize coloring supplies in your raskog

If you have an IKEA store nearby then go buy one. I promise you won’t be sorry. They no longer have the aqua blue color (BOO!) so I bought the cream and if I get really ambitious I’ll spray paint it. However, I don’t think I can live long enough without it to do that.. so I may just wait for them to bring out a blue again. They are super easy to put together and SO sturdy. The middle shelf can be moved up or down but I just left mine right in the middle.

Click to Order From Amazon: Cream Raskog, Black Raskog or Copper Raskog

The other alternative that is almost as good is the one at Michaels, it looks pretty identical but isn’t quite as sturdy. It’s part of Michaels Everyday Value selection so you can’t use your 40% off coupon on which makes it pretty reasonable. The advantage is that they DO have lots of color selections.

Lexington Rolling Cart in Grey from Michaels
Lexington Rolling Cart in Grey from Michaels

Click here to purchase from Michaels

Lexington 3 Tier Cart in Mint, White, Pale Pink (Blush), Yellow, Bright Pink, Champagne, Rose Gold, Grey & Black.

COLORED PENCIL STORAGE

Some people like to keep their pencils in the original tins but I find these less than satisfactory. I find I like to color all over the place, in front of the TV, our library coloring events and on the patio at Starbucks so I want my pencils to be easy to transport. I have been lusting after these cute pencil rolls on Amazon that hold 72 sticks of color and on Amazon Prime Day they went on sale so I snagged 3 of them.

colored pencil wraps for storage and to organize your adult coloring book colorists

Cloth Pencil Wraps

These are made by Creoogo and the price is right. The price for the 36, and 48 are the same as for the 72 pack so I’d get the largest one. You can also fit your gel pens and watercolor pencils easily in these bags and there are extra-wide slots at each end to hold your eraser, water brush or other coloring tools.

Amazon US  – Amazon UK  (This seller does not sell in Canada)

These BTSKY Leather Colored Pencil Cases are FANTASTIC

They come in 2 sizes, 72 pencils or 160 pencils. I’d opt for the big one even if you only have 72 pencils for now, you will likely get more or it can also hold your gel pens or markers.

Click to order any of these gorgeous colors in the 72 size!  The teal pictured, lilac, hot pink, grey, brown and black. These measure 7.8″ x 5″

The 160 Pencil Organizer comes in the same great colors and is 9.45″ x 7.87″

Click to Order Amazon US, UK & Canada.

Me & My Big Ideas Striped Organizer Bag

I recently started adding Mixed Media pieces into my coloring books and stumbled upon this bag that one of the people in my class had. I fell instantly in love with it. SO many supplies will fit in this bag and all the zippers keep things nice and organized.

  Click here to Order and also see a video that shows you all the amazing that is inside this cutie.

Pencil (or Pen) Roll-up Pencil Cases

The BTSKY Pencil organizers are great! They are sturdy canvas and zip closed. They also come in dozens of colors & patterns and capacities from 72 – 200.

This smaller bumblebee one holds 72 pencils with pockets for your sharpener, eraser etc. Click to Order Amazon US, UK Or Canada

This BTSKY Pencil Bag holds 120 Pencils!

Click to Order Amazon US, UK Or Canada

This zippered canvas bag opens to reveal all 72 of your colored pencils and received rave reviews from verified purchases (Not the “I got this for free” folks) One reviewer even said he got all 150 of his Prismacolors in with room to spare.

Click to order Amazon US  –  Amazon UK  – Amazon Canada (Canada & the UK seem to have a different seller but the case looks identical)

BTSKY 160 slot canvas pencil holder

Finally, a zippered canvas bag that fits all your Prismacolors in one place. This one comes in several colors too. 150 elastic spots for pencils or pens + 10 extra spots for blenders, your Gelly Roll Clear Glitter Pen, White Gel Pen for highlighting, Eraser pencils and whatever else your essential tools are.

Click to order Amazon US  –  Amazon UK  – Amazon Canada

Derwent Zippered Pencil & Supply bag

canvas pencil bag for organizing coloring supplies

I originally purchased the Derwent Canvas bag that holds quite a few supplies along with 132 pencils and it also has extra sleeves available for even more pencil storage. The zippered pockets also hold erasers, sharpeners, and other supplies for you in this nice sturdy bag with a shoulder strap.

Two pencils fit in each space on the 3 dividers that fit on the binder rings and you can buy more of these if you have more than 132 pencils. Pens also fit nicely in this bag but it’s not big enough to stick a full-size coloring book into but the postcards and portable books fit nicely in the inside or the outside pocket. There is a zipper pocket inside for your erasers and sharpeners. The shoulder strap is removable. I have had this for about 9 months now and it is still in perfect condition. I did buy an additional set of sleeves and there is still room spare.
Amazon US  Amazon UK   Amazon Canada

Coloring Supply Storage Ideas

(You might already have 1 (or 50) 31 bags in your closet already and any of those with lots of pockets are perfect.

I found this stackable interlocking storage and now have two of them.

storage containers for adult coloring book supplies

That top blue part is removable too which is what I did and then I used that little bin to store my erasers and sharpers and other ephemera. This is where I store my markers since they are to be stored horizontally versus vertical.

4 Drawer Rolling Storage

I have used these workhorses for years in my craft room, books in the bottom, pens, pencils. and whatnot in the top two drawers. You can wheel it out to your TV room or bedroom while you are working, and put it away the rest of the time.

Click here to Order

(Note: mine is pretty much always out unless we have company!)

Colored Pencil & Marker Storage Drawers

Wooden Storage Drawers are quite popular for those folks who have a dedicated area to color in.

These pencil drawer storage units are very popular, be sure to read the reviews for the one you are buying as some manufacturers are better than others. If you have a collection like I do you will probably need more than 1.

wooden pencil storage drawer

2 Drawer Storage can organize about 90 pencils or a set of 72 with blenders erasers & a few Gelly Rolls.
Click to Order Amazon US

3 Drawer Storage holds about 134 pencils: Click to Order Amazon US   Amazon UK   Amazon Canada

The 4 drawer holds about 180 pencils: Click to Order Amazon US

If you prefer to see all your colors at once you might like these upright colored pencil holders like this one I found on Etsy. It holds 50 pencils so you might need more than one, or if you have a handy person around, get them to make one for you.

colored pencil storage on Etsy coloring supplies for adult coloring books

Etsy Artist Pencil Storage

This Etsy store has some gorgeous pencil wraps with really cute fabrics, she says you can mix and match which fabrics you want as well. This one holds You can fit about 140 pencils, about 3 books or several coloring pages.

Click here to Order your Pencil Bag!

She also has this GIANT Coloring Pencil Organization Bag that holds 220 pencils, 6 books and a partridge in a pear tree.

minnie mouse pencil organization coloring bag

If you can’t get enough Disney, this mid-size bag is just adorable! 

You can fit about 140 pencils, about 3 books or several coloring pages, it comes with a generous zipper pencil case for odd-sized and larger items. Click here to Order the Coloring Beach Bag

There are all sorts of cute handmade pencil organizers here to shop through on Etsy as well. 

If you are a DIY kind of person, the Doodle Craft Blog has step by step instructions to make this cute pencil organizer.

DIY Fabric Pencil Organization
DIY Fabric Pencil Organization.              Click here for instructions
keep calm and color, colored pencil storage
rustic pencil storage

Or this one! it only fits 25 pencils, though.  I’d probably decorate any of these that I bought, to be honest.

If your style is a bit more rustic or Shabby Chic, you might like these that are wall mountable as well as able to sit on a table, they come in several colors. Click to order on Etsy

shabby chic pencil storage

Wooden Pencil Cups

Click to Order

Craft Innovation on Etsy has dozens of handmade pencil holders that are just beautiful.

rotating pencil storage

Click here to order this beauty on Etsy

Plastic Carousels are another option to store your pencils, just spin this lazy susan organizer to reach all your colors

Plastic Carosel Pencil storage

This clear plastic pencil organizer doesn’t spin but does have 120 slots for your pens pencils and markers

plastic pencil storage

Here are some great DIY ideas for how to organize your coloring supplies on Pinterest

I have a bit of a mason jar obsession, if you need a storage solution for everything in your home, this is my go to. For you Kawaii lovers, this is perfect for you, or just leave them without the faces like I have done.

Mason Jar Pencil Holders
wine rack plastic glasses colored pencil storage

Wine Rack + Plastic Glasses

Toilet Paper Roll Pencil Organization

I think I like this idea better for organizing with toilet paper rolls. The one above isn’t nearly big enough for my pencil collection from 20 free ways to organize. She has a bunch of other great ideas for organization too.

organize your pencils

Check out this DIY idea with full instructions on YouTube.

We would love to see your storage ideas on our social media accounts. Please tag us anytime..

coloring book affiliate disclosure

How to get white in your coloring book pictures

By Addicted Colorist 4 Comments

coloring book affiliate disclosure

Which white pencil, pen, crayon, mark-making device should I use to make areas of my project white? That’s one of the most asked questions in our Facebook group so I figured I should give you all my favorite white methods.

White Pencils

Of course, you have a white pencil in your set so one way if you want a large area to stay white is to color it first with the white pencil. You can also use your white pencil to blend other colors and to soften or lighten them up a shade. This doesn’t really work if you have already colored something in so let’s move on to another method. The Luminance White Pencil by Caran D’Ache is really the best white pencil to use for making things white as it is the most vibrant and you can buy it individually. It’s a softer method than those below but can be quite effective.

White Gel Pens

best way to get white in your coloring

There are a couple that we love and it just depends on your uses. Hands down my favorite are the Uniball Signo White Gel Pens This is a 3 pack of the broad point and it just keeps out performing other pens and it dries quite quickly. It works over all types of colored pencils and even watercolors & some acrylic paint. The picture I colored above shows you how well the Uniball pens show up even on light pastel type colors.

The next in line is the Gelly Roll White Gel Pen,  this one can fade into the pencils a little more than the Uniball but it’s a great choice if you can’t find my favorite.

White Paint Pens

White paint pens are the trickiest of these 3 options but give you the most reliable coverage over your colored pencils. You have to shake them each time you use them and prime them the first use by pressing on a piece of paper with the tip LIGHTLY until the ink flows.. do NOT do this ON your coloring book!! (I may have done that and ruined a page… OOPS!) .

White Sharpie

The most economical choice is the Sharpie WATERBASED White Paint Pen. ( I can’t find these locally but maybe your store carries them. Just be sure it doesn’t say OIL on the packaging) These come in Bold, Medium, Fine & Extra Fine.

White Posca Pen

These take a little longer to get the US but are worth the wait. This set of 3 has all 3 of the sizes, medium, fine & extra fine.

Dylusions Paint Pen

I confess, these just came out and I bought this set with black and white paint pens in it but haven’t had a chance to try it yet. I love the other Dylusions products and these other two options are often hard to find so hopefully they are filling a niche that is needed in the art supply section. Click to order Dyan Reaveley’s Dylusions Paint Pens in Black & White.

If you are new to coloring or just want to dive in a little deeper be sure to read our expansive supply recommendations along with our tips and tricks articles.

*How to Get Started with Adult Coloring Best Colored Pencils
*Best Gel Pens
*Best Markers that Don’t Bleed Through the Paper
* Background Supplies
*Coloring Tutorials
*13 Tips & Tricks for Colorists

You can also join our Coloring Book Addict Facebook Group Here.

There are so many uses for white in your coloring, the obvious things like snowflakes or highlights in the eyes, but you can also use them for detailing as I show in the picture at the top of the page. You can also use any of these three options to soften color that’s gotten too strong where you want it highlighted, the pencils you use by blending but both the gel pens and the paint pens are liquid when you apply them so you can take a damp paintbrush or your finger (Yes.. my fingers always have colors on them) and smudge it in to get the effect you are looking for.

en English
nl Nederlandsen Englishfr Françaisde Deutschel Ελληνικάga Gaeligeit Italianopl Polskipt Portuguêsru Русскийes Español