Coloring with pencils is a relaxing and fun activity that can produce amazing pieces of art. However, to build up depth, richness, and texture in your work, you’ll need to learn this important skill: Layering.
Building up layers on your artwork allows you to mix colors, create smoother blends, and have a lot more control over what you create. It’s less important for beginner artists but super important if you want to draw textures or create a photorealistic portrait.
If you can learn to layer pencils, it will take your art to another level. Layering gives you more flexibility, control, and the ability to correct mistakes and add more detail.
Using better quality pencils makes layering much easier and will give better results for both new and experienced artists. They also make learning how to layer much easier, since you won’t be fighting your pencils for good results. Paper makes a big difference too, and can allow you to build up more layers with any brand of pencils, like I’ve shown in my comparison of Crayola and Caran d’Ache pencils, and in this detailed review on paper.
While layering with higher-quality pencils is easier, you can begin learning layering techniques with any kind of pencil. You may not get the best possible results, but good technique and patience will lead to very pleasing artwork.
I Tested Every Colored Pencil
My goal during this test was to find the best colored pencils for layering.
I wanted to find out exactly how many layers each of the 90+ brands I tested could build up before the paper refused to take any more pigment. I also rated them on user experience: scratchy or difficult-to-layer pencils received a lower score, even if they could apply lots of layers.
I decided to test 90+ brands of colored pencils to find the best pencils for layering, along with other tests on blending, durability, and more. (See the full overview here)
How I Tested the Colored Pencils
For this test, I used Springhill Bristol Vellum paper, which should allow me to add a lot of layers. I tried to keep my pressure light and consistent for each layer. So, if a pencil can’t build up 5 or 6 layers on this paper, it is going to fare even worse on smoother card stock or typical coloring book paper.
Unfortunately, without a robot to color for me, I can’t guarantee that my coloring is 100% consistent between pencils, but I have done my best, and I think the results are still interesting. My hands, however, have become quite sore after all this testing!
Scores for this test were based on how many layers a pencil could build on Bristol vellum paper and on overall user experience.
The Results
So, with 9-10 days spent layering, 90+ brands tested, and very sore hands, here are the results:
Which Colored Pencils Layered the Best?
The highest performing pencils, all achieving 10 layers and an ease of layering score of 5/5, were:
Mitsu-Bishi
With all that testing done (did I mention my sore hands ), I’m confident that these findings will help you make smart investments in great layering pencils that will help you learn layering techniques, and keep your art looking its best.
Layering isn’t the only thing that matters when looking for good-quality colored pencils, which is why I also tested these pencils for blending, durability, water resistance, and more. Check out all my testing here!
I Tested Every Colored Pencil to Find the BEST ONE…
and here are ALL the results!
Of course, taking 90+ pencils through 11+ different tests (along with extra research on other factors) adds up to a LOT of information for one blog post. So I’ve broken this article up into a (hopefully) easy-to-navigate mini website for you, where you can go on your own mini journey to find the best colored pencils for any situation.
Blending
If you can learn to blend pencils, you can color almost anything. But not all pencils blend the same. With the right paper and the right technique, you can blend ANY brand of pencils. But some pencils just make this easier and produce better results for both beginners and advanced artists. Through 2 tests, I identified which colored pencils were the easiest to blend together.
Layering
I tested how many layers each pencil can make. Building up layers allows you to mix colors, create smoother blends, and have a lot more overall control in what you are creating. It’s important if you’re wanting to create realistic textures or draw a photorealistic portrait.
Durability & Strength (coming soon)
If pencils are dropped or damaged, they can break along the entire core, making them crumble. Some pencils are built to be more durable and resist breakage, so I tested which pencils could handle more pressure and would be less likely to break. I also tested which could hold a sharp point for the longest.
Erasability (coming soon)
I want to see which colored pencils can be erased, whether I’ve colored lightly or colored heavily. This can actually be a clever way to create highlights or bring back lighter areas when drawing things like hair or fur. And, of course, erasing is helpful if you’ve made a mistake.
Water-Resistance (coming soon)
I wanted to test if the pencils are water resistant or water soluble. If you’re wanting to use your colored pencils with mixed media or any kind of sealing spray or fixative, you want to be sure that it’s not going to move if it gets wet. Or in some cases, you may prefer a water-soluble pencil.
Pencil Barrel Design (coming soon)
For this test, I looked at whether the pencil barrel matched the color of the actual core, and rated the pencils according to whether they included color names, numbers, and displayed easy-to-read fonts and colors.
Other things tested (coming soon)
I also tested color intensity, opacity on dark paper, performance on markers, along with researching some general information about the pencils. Read about it here.
Lightfastness (coming soon)
I’m planning to do my own proper lightfast testing on every single colored pencil brand from this article. Please subscribe to my email newsletter for updates on when this gets published in 2025!
Sarah,
Really appreciate all the efforts you put in to help us understand and learn about colour pencils. Rather than buying blind.
I’ve started to build my collection. Through all your in put and tubes reviews I’ve found my own niche.
This was very helpful to me. Thank you! I appreciate all the time and energy you expended to do such a thorough and inclusive testing of so many colored pencils. Your poor hands must be painful and cramping up on you after such a huge project. Again, thank you!.
This has to be the best comparison for layering that I have seen on the internet. Thank you, Sarah Renae Clark, for all your hard work.
Hi Sarah, this was fantastic! Such a neat visual of all the brands for sure. Noticed in one of the pictures a pencil eraser and wondered what brand it was?! Thanks xx
Awesome info. Thank you!
Wow, thank you for all this research! It makes me secure knowing I have some of the best pencils in the world. And I’ll bookmark this post, so I can come back again and again. I imagine you had very sore hands, but a happy heart with all those colors? I appreciate all your tutorials and your love for art!