Find the Perfect Colored Pencil Gift for an Artist
We’ve all been there, shopping for a Christmas or Birthday present in a department you know nothing about. It’s frustrating.
You’re not the artist, your loved one is. You don’t know much about colored pencils, markers, paint, paper, and art supplies…
But whoa! There are a lot of junky gift suggestion articles out there, full of ads and annoying pop-ups. And the actual gifts? Ugh.
Sick of wasting time looking for great art-supply gifts?
Tired of wasting money on presents which gather dust?
We’re here to help!
It’s hard to buy art supplies for creative friends and family if you don’t know anything about art. Professional Illustrator Amy Shulke provides practical gift ideas & advice. Make your colored pencil artist happy by giving smart tools and products guaranteed to be useful and provide inspiration.
Hi, my name is Amy; I’m a professional freelance illustrator and art instructor. I’ve been doing artsy stuff for forty-umph years.
My family has always given me art supplies for birthdays and Christmas.
Can I share a secret?
Here’s what the artist in your life is afraid to say:
I love that you want to please me, and I really appreciate this set of colored pencils and paper… but the pencils are brittle, the color is weak, and the paper is too smooth to accept the pencil well. I wish I could ask if you saved the receipt but I really don’t want to hurt your feelings…
Over the years, I’ve been given a lot of art supplies which I simply can’t use.
There are a lot of bad art supplies out there. Many are packaged in trendy, eye catching kits which seem like a great gift.
But a gift unused is money wasted.
Let’s start buying gifts which your artist can use and appreciate.
I’ve created this Creative’s Gift Guide series to provide honest advice to non-artists.
You’ll notice, there are no ads along the side of this article. I didn’t lure you here for the traffic or clicks. No blinking pop-up bonuses; no limited time offers.
I’m simply sharing practical and frank information here.
I’ve gathered a list of reasonably priced art supplies for colored pencil artists.
Then I’ll give you a blurb about why it MAY OR MAY NOT be a good gift for your special person.
If you want more information, there’s a link to the product description. The links are part of a few affiliate programs but relax, my link does not affect your purchase price.
I strongly encourage you to shop around for the best price or for something similar but more suitable. And please, be sure to check out local independently owned art stores in your area! They’re full of great ideas.
Remember, in this article, I’m just giving you a starting point.
Now let’s find your special artist a really good gift!
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Vanilla Arts Co. LLC also participates in affiliate programs with Dick Blick, Ranger Inc, Sarah Renae Clark, and other sites. Vanilla Arts Co. LLC and Marker Novice are compensated for referring traffic and business to these companies.
We absolutely do not link to products or services which we have not tested. Recommended products are all used in our studio frequently.
Gift Ideas for Colored Pencil Artists
More Pencils!
No colored pencil person will ever turn down the offer of more pencils.
The problem is, you don’t know what they like or want.
Stick with a gift certificate. Call it a shopping spree. This way they can get a set or a bunch of single replacement pencils.
Blick.com is my favorite online resource for single colored pencils but I’ve found some really amazing prices on pencil sets on Amazon. Luckily, you can use an Amazon Gift Certificate at Amazon AND Blick! Your special person can shop around for the best deal on the brand they want.
An Excellent Pencil Sharpener:
If there’s one thing all pencil people need (besides pencils) it’s a high quality pencil sharpener.
I’ve got a whole article on recommended pencil sharpeners here.
The sharpener that I use far more than any other is a heavy duty sharpener which accepts all my pencils from fat to super slim. It gives a wonderfully long point and there’s a stop guard to prevent over-sharpening (which wastes pencil lead).
The Ultimate Eraser Kit:
Are you ready to assemble the best gift ever?
We use a wide variety of erasers with colored pencils, matching the type to the task. Your artist will love the thoughtfulness of fresh erasers plus a few they’ve never tried before.
Erasers are fairly inexpensive, so I’ve linked to some really cute pencil tins. Okay, now I want an eraser kit!
White Eraser Black Eraser Handy Eraser
Excellent Artist Grade Paper:
Colored pencil artists can always use more paper. We’re pretty picky about what we’ll work on but we’re also always searching for the most perfect paper ever created.
I’ll list my favorites here because you can’t go wrong with any of them.
Warning: Our favorite papers rarely say “for colored pencils” on the label and usually when they do, it’s terrible paper. Some of these links below are pastel or watercolor paper. That’s fine, don’t panic. We work on both kinds.
The Authoritative Guides:
Hands down, my top two book recommendations are both by the same author.
These books are so good, my students know them as The Old Testament and The New Testament.
If you worry that your pencil artist already has them, I’ve included a link for the latest edition of the annual book we all love plus an Amazon gift certificate.
Watercolor Pencils:
More and more colored pencil artists are mixing media, meaning they add marker or watercolor to their pencil projects.
Watercolor can be a bit intimidating, plus if you don’t know your artist will use paint, it’s a waste of money.
Instead, I’m linking to my favorite brand of watercolor pencils. They’re easy to use and melt better than any other brand I’ve tried.
I’ve linked to two different sets because they’re pricey (but totally worth it!)
Colored Pencil Essentials:
Alyona Nickelsen (who wrote the Old & New Testaments above) has made wonderful contributions to the art of colored pencil.
Colored pencil is often the underdog of the art world. We borrow paper and tools from a variety of other mediums and try to make them work with pencils. Tired of waiting around for someone to invent the kind of products we need, Ms. Nickelsen developed her own.
I use and recommend them all.
Sketching On The Go:
More people are coloring outside or on-the-go, taking just a few key markers to sketch in coffee shops, parks, or other scenic spots.
The inventor of this case is an artist who loves to sketch and color. He designed this leather pouch to be durable and useful for Copics, colored pencils, and many other drawing tools. Pencils slide into loops on the outside leaving room for a variety of tools to fit inside. This is something every artist will use for years in a variety of ways.
I’ve added a link for an excellent drawing journal to go with it. Together, they make a lovely gift.
Best Tutorials, News, & Inspiration:
I look forward to the latest issue of Colored Pencil Magazine each month and this is one of the few magazines I never throw away. I’ve got a nice shelf full of old issues which I occasionally browse through and my students love when I bring a stack to classes or retreats.
Shown here is the July 2020 issue where you’ll find me on page 24! I’ve written a free tutorial plus line drawing and photo reference.
Desktop Drawing Board:
The older I get, the more I appreciate my drawing table with it’s slanted surface.
But I can’t always work at that table and lately, I’ve found myself setting up my portable drawing surface, even when I could be at my real table.
This slant board is great and I love resting my hand or spare pencils on the parallel ruler.
Dusting Brushes:
Every colored pencil person has done it before…
Colored pencils tend to shed dust and sometimes the dust blocks your view of what you’re doing…
So you absentmindedly brush the dust aside with the side of your hand.
Arrrrgggghhhh! It leaves streaks!
No more. Give your artist a few super-soft dusting brushes.
Unusual White Pens:
White colored pencils are never very white. Most pencil artists try to reserve the white of the paper for their white objects but sometimes we forget or the space gets dirty during the coloring process.
White pens come in handy for making small white details and most people use the same couple of gel pens.
Give your colored pencil artist a few whites they haven’t tried. And of course, I had to throw in a link to a cute storage bag.
Easy Decorative Edges:
Deckle edges are a sophisticated edge for paper which allow you to surface mount projects instead of matting them. It looks antique and yet wonderfully modern.
For years, I’ve used a deckle edge ripper with varying degrees of success when working with paper that doesn’t have a deckle edge or comes with only one edge deckled. Sometimes it looks great, sometimes I cry.
I just found a new toy, which knowing me, has been around for years and I just never noticed it.
It makes deckle edges a breeze!
Amazing Color Palette Advice:
Many colored pencil users are self taught.
Free videos and even standard online classes teach students to rely on recommended pencil supply lists and step by step instructions. As a result, even advanced students often have difficulty picking color palettes for projects.
Sarah Renae Clarke has created a wonderful digital resource called the Color Catalog. There are currently 2 editions with areas for notes and recording project details.
I highly recommend this download to anyone who uses colored pencils, either at the student or professional level. It’s jam packed with inspiration and takes the guess work out of creating professional looking art projects.
Copic + Colored Pencil Classes:
I teach realistic and artistic coloring classes using colored pencil mixed with either Copic Markers or watercolor. It’s a fun mixed media technique which makes colored pencil easy and gorgeous.
It’s not your normal kind of coloring class. We do things different.
My goal is to mentor independent, creative artists who use markers to celebrate their own unique voice. I distill years of fine art training and professional experience into focused and intelligent classes. We color like artists, not like kids.
If you think this alternative approach to colored pencils would appeal to your favorite pencil artist, I have gift certificates which can be used on any of my classes.
More Gift Ideas:
We’ve updated all of our older lists with fresh links and current information!
