COLORED PENCIL CLASS ART SUPPLY LIST

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Although the minimum required set to take my class is the 48 color set, whether it is the right set for you or not depends on your skill level, your projects, and your goals.  Choosing the wrong size colored pencil set may result in getting another larger set within the first few months of taking the class or spending more money to supplement your set by buying open stock pencils at a premium price.  Below is my quick review of each set.

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48 Color Set

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• Best suited for: Younger beginner students

• Projects suitable for this set: Floral/botanical piece, simple landscape, and still life that does not involve metallic surface

• Not Recommended for: any teen/adult students, anyone who wants to draw portraits, animal portraits, still life/vehicle art involving metallic surface, or any projects that involve monochromatic tones.

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For younger students, I usually recommend the 48 or 72 color set.  Some younger beginner students may get confused by too many color choices, so I would wait with the 132 or 150 color set until they have taken the class at least for a few months. This is a great starter set but it lacks any grey colors which severely limits the options for doing any animal portraits, still life, or vehicles that involves metallic surfaces.

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72 Color Set

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• Best suited for: Younger/tween beginner and intermediate students, teen and adult beginner students

• Projects suitable for this set: Floral/botanical piece, manga/anime art, most animal portraits, still life & vehicles, simple landscapes, and beginner level portraiture

• Not Recommended for: Teen/adult students with some previous art experience in any medium, students who are planning to pursue colored pencil for more than 1 year, and anyone who is trying to create a realistic portrait.

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This is a well-rounded go-to set for most students who are starting out with colored pencil art.  Except for portraiture and more advanced level pieces, this set will allow you to create most projects without feeling the lack of having the right colors.  Highly recommended for most students.

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132 Color Set

• Best suited for: Intermediate and advanced students, beginner teen/adult students with some art background in another medium

• Projects suitable for this set: All projects

• Not Recommended for: Young and beginner students

This is a great set for anyone who is ready to experiment with lots of colors and delve into creating realistic art in any subject matter.  For a successful realistic portrait project, it is still missing a couple of colors which you can get as open stocks at the local art supply store.  I have seen many of my students who have switched to the 132 color set improving the quality of their finished piece by leaps and bounds!  While this is a fantastic set for students who have been taking my classes or has any art background, this set is unfortunately not suited for younger students since they get a bit overwhelmed by its number of colors.

150 Color Set

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• Best suited for: Intermediate and advanced students

• Projects suitable for this set: All projects

• Not Recommended for: Young and beginner students

If you want to pursue colored pencil art seriously, this is the set for you!  You have every color Prismacolor makes, so the sky is the limit!  As in the 132 color set, this set is not recommended for younger and beginner students.​