I received an interesting question from a blog reader. She asked about upgrading student grade colored pencils. Let me let her explain.
What’s the best way to upgrade from 24 Crayola pencils used for coloring books? Start w/Prismacolor Scholar & transition to Premier Soft Core & eventually Verithin?
Of all the questions readers ask, this is the first time I’ve been asked this question. Since I’m a firm believer in the idea that if one person asks a question, other people are looking for the same answer, I’m expanding on the answer I gave the reader.
Upgrading Student Grade Colored Pencils
To be perfectly honest, there’s no reason to step up slowly. Why not just go directly to Prismacolor Soft Core?
I’ve used Crayola and Prismacolor. Prismacolor Soft Core are the pencils I started out with, but when I was given Crayola’s a couple of years ago, I tried them, and they were more like Prismacolor Soft Core than I expected.
For more information, check out the comparison I posted here.
There’s nothing wrong with upgrading a step at a time, but I do need to warn you that Prismacolor Verithin pencils are not a step above Prismacolor Soft Core. They’re just a different formulation and are harder and drier than the softer Soft Core pencils.
They are also available in only 36 colors and only in full sets. There are two sets from which to choose, 24 and 36, but only four colors are available in open stock.
In other words, they’re a nice specialty pencil to have, but they are not a replacement for Crayola unless you prefer working with a limited palette.
So What is the Best Way to Upgrade?
You could take a couple of routes. The first is to do as this reader suggested and step up one grade of pencil at a time. But I’ll be honest and tell you that in my opinion, Prismacolor Scholar is probably a step down from Crayola. They are both student grade pencils, but I really enjoyed working with the Crayola pencils.
So I don’t recommend this step-up approach.
Full Set Replacement
The most cost effective way to upgrade is to buy a full set of Prismacolor Soft Core pencils. The cost per pencil is less than buying open stock pencils, and you get 150 lovely colors to play with. You can then compare similar colors in each brand (Crayola and Prismacolor) and also compare how they perform.
There are smaller sets also, but the price per pencil increases slightly as you reduce the number of pencils in the set. For example, as I write these words, Dick Blick has the 150-color set available for $139.80 (.93 cents per pencil). The cost per pencil hovers around $1.04 per pencil in the smaller sets, but you get the idea.
To buy open stock, pencils are $1.23 each.
But Full Sets are So Expensive
It can certainly seem that way when it comes time to check out, whether you’re buying at a local retailer or online. If you just don’t have the resources to buy sets of pencils, even smaller sets, the solution is to replace the colors one at a time. Yes, it is more expensive per pencil, but you have the advantage of purchasing only the colors you use most. Even if you buy half a dozen colors at the same time, you’ve still spent far less than the cost of all but the smallest sets.
You also have the advantage of discovering whether or not these pencils really are the pencils you want to invest in before you purchase a full set.
Bonus Suggestion
Prismacolor pencils aren’t the only way to upgrade from student grade to professional pencils. Blick Studio colored pencils are a very good option. They are available in 72 colors, and the full set of 72 is about $20 less than the 72-color set of Prismacolor. I don’t have a lot of experience with them, but know they are comparable to Prismacolor Soft Core.
My Recommendation
My preference is to buy a few pencils open stock instead of full sets. Here’s why.
I have a certain number of colors that I use a lot. Earth tones, greens, blues, and grays. Landscape and animal colors, in other words.
So when I want to try a new brand of pencil, I buy a few of these favorite colors and try them out. If they don’t work for me, I don’t have a lot of extra pencils lying around, going to waste.
But if they do work and I like working with them, then I can buy sets with more confidence.
Win-win!
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