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Starting out with colored pencils is harder than the shelf makes it look. Cheap pencils fight you with scratchy, waxy cores that refuse to blend, while overpacked kits bury six pencils you actually want under fifty you never touch. What a beginner really needs is a soft, forgiving core that lays down color without hand cramps, plus a sensible range of shades you can learn on before you upgrade. This guide walks you through five kits that get that balance right, from a 1100-plus-review all-rounder to a pastel set that adults adore for smooth, buttery laydown.
This guide is built by comparing the manufacturers’ published specifications and the patterns across verified customer reviews, so you get each pick’s real strengths and trade-offs instead of marketing spin.
Every set below puts soft, blendable cores and a genuinely useful color range first, so the only decision left is how many pencils and extras you want in the tin. Weighing core softness, color range, and the bonus supplies you’ll actually touch is the fastest path to the right colored pencils for beginners.
Top Picks
How To Choose The Best Colored Pencils for Beginners
You do not need a hundred pencils to start. You need a soft core that glides instead of scraping, a color range wide enough to actually finish a page, and a kit that does not fall apart in the first week.
Core softness is the whole ballgame
A soft core lays down saturated color with light pressure, which means less hand fatigue while you practice. The KALOUR pastel set lists Hardness as Soft, and the H & B 72-pack describes its cores as soft with bright, rich pigment. Hard, waxy cores are what make beginners think they are bad at blending when the pencil is really the problem.
Core diameter shapes how it feels and how often it snaps
Diameter is measured in millimeters, and it changes the whole experience. The PRINA set runs a 5-millimeter core, which is a thick, forgiving lead that resists snapping under a heavy hand. Thinner cores sharpen to a finer point for detail work but ask for a gentler touch. If your pencils keep breaking mid-stroke, diameter and hand pressure are the two things to check first.
Look past the pencil count to the extras
A 72-pencil bag sounds impressive until you realize half the value sits in the case, the sharpener, and whether the tin keeps leads from rattling around. A zippered or strapped case protects soft cores, an included sharpener saves you a trip, and a printed paint tutorial or color chart genuinely teaches you how to start. Match the extras to where you draw — a couch, a classroom desk, or a lap desk on a road trip.
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Model | Best For | Pencil Count | Core Diameter | Bonus Extras | Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PRINA 81 Drawing Set★ Best Overall | Complete first kit with case | 81 pencils | 5 mm | Sketchbook, coloring book, tutorial | Amazon |
| KALOUR Macaron Pastel 50Best Value | Soft pastel color blending | 50 pencils | 3.8 mm | DIY color chart, tin box | Amazon |
| PANDAFLY 80 Drawing Set | Mixed-media and watercolor | 80 pencils | — | Watercolor pad, water brush, stumps | Amazon |
| KALOUR 50 Metallic Pencils | Shimmer on dark paper | 50 pencils | — | DIY chart, gift tin box | Amazon |
| H & B 72 Colored Pencils | Big color range on a budget | 72 pencils | — | Coloring book, sharpener, eraser | Amazon |
Detailed Reviews
1. PRINA 81 Drawing Set Sketching Kit
Our pick — over 4.5★ from 1,000+ verified ratings; the strongest balance of quality and price.
The one kit that hands a total beginner every pencil and accessory in a single zippered case.
If you want exactly one purchase to cover your entire first year of drawing, this is it. The PRINA 81 set packs 21 oil-based colored pencils, 15 graphite sketching pencils, 12 watercolor pencils, 12 metallic pencils, 3 charcoal pencils, and 12 rainbow pencils — each rainbow pencil blended from at least three different colors so a single stroke shifts hue as you draw. The core runs a full 5 millimeters, noticeably thicker than the 3.8-millimeter lead in the KALOUR Macaron set, so your lines come out broader and it holds up far better when you press hard.
What pulls beginners in is the package deal. You get a 6 x 9-inch spiral sketchbook with 50 pages split across white, toned tan, and black paper, plus a coloring book and a printed tutorial on how to draw flowers. The spiral binding lets the pad lie flat, and the mixed paper stock means you can test light and dark work in the same sitting without buying extra pads. Buyers report this exact setup traveling beautifully — one family hauled it along on road trips with a lap desk and ended up filling two large spiral sketchpads.
The one honest snag: soft leads and a portable case can work against each other. A sharpener that fails to re-point a tip after a lead drops out is the kind of thing a beginner runs into, so a firmer hand and a spare sharpener save frustration. For a kit this complete at an entry-level price, that is a small trade for having everything in one bag.
What You Actually Get In The Case
- 12 rainbow pencils, each built from three or more blended colors
- 5-millimeter soft core that resists breaking under pressure
- Three-color sketchbook spanning white, tan, and black paper
- Printed tutorial plus coloring book for guided practice
Where It Asks A Little More Of You
- Included sharpener can struggle after a lead slips out of the barrel
- Soft 5-millimeter leads need a lighter touch to sharpen cleanly
- Portable zippered case protects pencils but adds bulk for travel
Buy this if: you want one complete set to start drawing today without buying a single extra supply.
Think again if: you only want a bare set of colored pencils and no sketchbook, tutorial, or coloring book to go with them.
2. KALOUR Macaron Pastel Colored Pencils, Set of 50
Fifty spring pastel shades with a velvety soft lead that lays color down fast.
Blending is the skill beginners struggle with most, and pastel sets make it far more forgiving because the colors already sit close together on the wheel. This KALOUR tin holds 50 spring shades with silky soft, break-resistant cores built for layering and mixing. The 3.8-millimeter lead is thinner than the PRINA’s 5-millimeter core, which means a finer, more controlled point — welcome when you are learning to stay inside the lines of a coloring book.
Every pencil carries its own number and color name stamped on the barrel, so you are never guessing which shade you just picked up. The basswood body sharpens easily, and the set conforms to U.S. ASTM D-4236 and EN71-3 standards and is labeled non-toxic. The included DIY color chart lets you swatch every pencil before committing to a page — useful when you want to preview how the pastel tones sit next to each other.
Two things worth knowing up front. The color names are a little loose in places, with a shade called “Peach” leaning pink and “Flesh” landing somewhere else entirely, so trust the swatch over the label. And the pastel range runs soft and light, so vivid dark work is not what this set is for. As pastel pencils go at a value price, though, the color payoff and smooth application earn steady praise — as owners put it, they are “every bit as good as more expensive brands.”
Where it wins: the soft core lays down rich, blendable pastel color with minimal hand fatigue, and the tin keeps all 50 pencils organized between sessions.
The honest trade: skip this pastel palette if your project needs deep, high-contrast shading — the softer spring tones simply cannot get there.
Go for it when: your goal is soft, creamy blending and a wide pastel palette for coloring books and gentle illustration.
Hold off if: your work lives in dark, saturated tones rather than soft spring shades.
3. PANDAFLY 80 Drawing Set Sketching Kit
An 80-piece kit that goes beyond colored pencils into watercolor, charcoal, and graphite.
Most beginner kits stop at colored pencils. This PANDAFLY set wants you to try everything first and figure out what you love later. It carries 12 oil-based colored pencils, 12 watercolor pencils, 12 metallic pencils, 15 graphite sketching pencils, 7 black charcoal pencils, 3 white charcoal pencils, and 2 colored charcoal pencils — plus a refillable water brush pen, blending stumps, a kneaded eraser, and a sandpaper pencil pointer. The water brush and watercolor pencils together let you soften a drawing with plain tap water, no brushes to clean up.
What sets the kit apart for mixed-media work is the paper. You get a 5.5 x 8.5-inch watercolor pad at 140lb/300gsm with 12 sheets of bleedproof, rough-finish heavyweight stock. That paper holds up under wet media, which is exactly where a beginner discovers whether watercolor is their thing. The main 6 x 9-inch sketch pad comes spiral-bound with 50 pages across white, toned tan, and black paper, mirroring the three-paper idea in the PRINA set but adding the wet-media pad the PRINA kit does not include.
For a starter kit, the printed tutorial walks you through techniques with the included materials rather than leaving you to guess. Worth noting: it is bulkier than a plain pencil tin and the accessory count means more pieces to keep track of. One recurring note is that durability of the smaller tools varies, so treat the refillable brush pen gently.
The range play: twelve colored, twelve watercolor, twelve metallic, fifteen graphite, and twelve charcoal pencils in one case give a beginner room to test four media before committing to one discipline.
Size reality: the kit measures 11.8 x 8.6 x 2.7 inches, so it takes real shelf or bag space compared with a compact pencil-only tin.
Pick it for: a young artist or undecided beginner who wants to sample watercolor, charcoal, and graphite, not just colored pencils.
Look past it if: you want only colored pencils and no extra media cluttering your desk.
4. KALOUR 50-Piece Metallic Colored Pencils
Fifty soft-core pencils that turn color into a metallic shimmer, especially on dark paper.
This set is for the beginner who has the basics and wants their colored pages to actually pop. Every one of the 50 pencils carries a metallic sheen, so anything you color picks up a subtle shine. Where ordinary colored pencils sit flat on black paper, these show an excellent effect — the metallic finish catches the light and makes dark-paper work gleam. Each pencil body is a basswood build with its own number and color name, arranged in a gift tin box with a DIY coloring chart.
The handling is where this set needs a small adjustment. The soft cores are not as creamy as Prismacolor, so you build color in light layers rather than pressing hard. One buyer found the first swatch hard to pull, and sharpening all the pencils fixed it — a good reminder that soft metallic cores sharpen best with a firm, steady hand.
The metallic finish is also subtler than the name suggests. The shades land muted with a gentle sheen rather than full-speed glitter, and several pencils look similar in the tin until you get them on paper, where the hues actually differ. Leads hold up well and work fine in an electric sharpener. Conforms to ASTM D-4236 and EN71-3 and labeled non-toxic.
What Makes These Stand Out
- All 50 colors carry a metallic shimmer for standout effects
- Excellent shine on dark or black paper
- Gift tin keeps pencils organized with a DIY color chart
- Leads hold up and sharpen cleanly in an electric sharpener
What To Adjust For
- Metallic sheen is subdued, not vibrant glitter
- Some box colors look similar until swatched on paper
- Not as creamy as premium brands, so build color in layers
Best when: you color on dark paper and want a metallic finish that standard colored pencils can’t give you.
Not for: anyone expecting bright glittery pigment — these shine subtly rather than loudly.
5. H & B 72 Colored Soft-core Coloring Pencils Set
A 72-shade soft-core set in a strapped case — the range leader for the money.
When your problem shifts from “learning to blend” to “I never have the shade I need,” a wide range fixes it, and 72 colors solves that fast. This H & B set goes far beyond a basic box with bright, rich pigment and cores that glide smoothly for blending, shading, and layering. Every pencil is stamped with its color name, number, and lightfastness rating — that last one tells you how well the color resists fading over time.
The case is the quiet winner here. Rather than loose pencils in a tin, each one sits in its own elastic slot so it stays put and stays protected, and you can spot the color you want at a glance. The soft cores are described as non-toxic and eco-friendly, wrapped in an oil-based wood body built not to break easily, and the tips arrive pre-sharpened so you can color straight out of the bag. The kit also includes a garden flowers coloring book, a pencil sharpener, and a vinyl eraser.
On downsides, tips are the thing to watch. The recurring complaint in this category is that leads snap when you sharpen aggressively — the fix is a slow, steady hand rather than force, which is a good habit to build early anyway. Once you adjust your technique, the set proves genuinely tough; the case is well made and holds the pencils snug through daily use.
Range champion: 72 pencils each labeled with color name, number, and lightfastness rating give you the widest palette here to keep coloring without a gap in the shade you want.
Travel ready: the 0.77 kg bag packs a coloring book, sharpener, and eraser into one case that keeps the pencils organized and protected.
Reach for this if: you want the largest color range and a case that keeps every pencil strapped in place.
skip it if: you prefer a compact tin you can drop in a small bag over a full storage pouch.
Know the Specs
Core Diameter (Millimeters)
Core diameter is the thickness of the colored lead inside the pencil barrel, and it changes how the pencil feels in your hand. A 5-millimeter core, like the one in the PRINA set, is thick and forgiving — it covers paper fast and resists snapping when you press down. A 3.8-millimeter core, like the KALOUR Macaron, gives you a finer, more precise point for detail and staying inside coloring-book lines. Beginners who grip hard tend to prefer thicker cores; detail-focused colorists usually lean toward thinner ones.
Core Hardness and Softness
Hardness describes how the colored lead behaves on paper, and every set here favors the soft end. Soft cores — marked as Soft or listed as silky, velvety, or smooth — lay down saturated color with light pressure and blend more easily, which is why they suit beginners learning to layer. Harder cores hold a sharper point longer but demand more pressure and blend less readily. If hand fatigue or scratchy, patchy coverage is slowing you down, a soft core is the spec to prioritize.
Common Questions
Are soft-core colored pencils better than hard ones for beginners?
How many colored pencils do I actually need as a beginner?
Why do my colored pencil tips keep breaking when I sharpen them?
What is the difference between pastel, metallic, and rainbow colored pencils?
Can beginners use metallic colored pencils on regular white paper?
What does lightfastness or a color name and number on the barrel tell me?
Is a full drawing kit or a plain pencil set better for a first-time buyer?
Do these beginner colored pencil sets come pre-sharpened and ready to use?
Will these colored pencil sets work for coloring books and mandala patterns?
How should I store soft-core colored pencils so they do not snap?
The Bottom Line
As a starting point, the PRINA 81 Drawing Set still gives a beginner the most complete launch — colored, watercolor, metallic, charcoal, and rainbow pencils, a three-color sketchbook, and a printed tutorial all in one zippered case, backed by 4.8 stars from 1,100+ owners. If soft, blendable pastel color is what you are chasing, the KALOUR Macaron Pastel 50 lays it down smoother than a basic box ever will. And for the widest color range without adding bulk, the H & B 72 gives you 72 shades strapped into a case that keeps every tip protected — the pick if you already own paper and tools and just want more shades.
How we choose
We do not accept paid placement. Every pick is matched to a real buyer and a real use-case; we do not hands-on test units.
Sources
Specifications: manufacturer listings and product documentation. Review insights: verified customer reviews, as of October 2026. Pricing: not shown on this page (it changes often); check the current price via the retailer link.
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