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Battle of the Markers: Bic Marking vs. Sharpie

ScriboCreative.com

The first two sets of markers I bought for adult coloring books were Bic Markings and Sharpies. These two are probably the most popular marker brands among colorists but which one is better? I’ve included my two cents at the end of the article but we’ve also asked the talented Jan Adams to share her views about this battle of the markers. Here’s what she has to say…

In a world filled with different types of coloring mediums, I’m sure most people have a favorite coloring tool. My go-to coloring medium is markers and, within that, Sharpies and Bic Markings are probably my favorites.

There are many similarities between the two brands:
1. Both are alcohol-based markers. They color very smoothly, but will bleed. They are not suitable for use in double-sided coloring books and may require a piece of card stock placed under the coloring page if the paper is thin. Both types work very well on card stock and in books with thicker paper.
2. They are also both relatively inexpensive. I typically purchase my Sharpies at Staples because they normally have sets of 24 for about ten dollars. Wal-Mart is generally a little more expensive except during back-to-school sales. That’s when they have a set of 21 for 10 dollars. The remainder of the year the Sharpies will be around fourteen to seventeen dollars there. Bics are usually cheaper to order from Amazon. A good percentage of the year the 36 packs will be around twelve dollars. I have never seen them higher than twenty-three dollars at Amazon. I have not seen the 36 set in store at Wal-Mart, but it is possible some stores may carry it.
3. Both are also available in both fine and ultra-fine versions. This is very helpful when an image has both large spaces as well as smaller, intricate areas in the same design. It is possible to match the colors with the varying tip sizes.
4. One last commonality is the ability to buy single replacement markers. I personally haven’t bought them this way, but it is nice that this is an option. Individual Sharpies are available at most hobby stores, such as Hobby Lobby, and office supply stores like Staples. Bics can be ordered from the Bic website https://www.shopbic.com.

Now for the differences:
1. I suspect the most important difference for a number of people would be smell. While Bics have a slight odor, Sharpies have a very strong smell. If you are worried about the odor I would recommend buying a single black Sharpie (sold almost everywhere) and making sure that the odor is not offensive before buying a set. Singles of Bics are not readily available in-store, but Wal-Mart sells a set of twelve for a reasonable price.
2. The only other difference that I see between them is the variety of colors. Bics come in thirty-six colors, although you can buy smaller sets, and include quite a few pastels in that collection. Sharpies generally come in sets of twenty-four or less and do have limited release sets of five colors from time to time. They do not have much in the way of lighter colors.

Coloring book by Maria Castro of ScriboCreative.com

To sum up, I don’t see one set as preferable to another.
If you can afford it, my recommendations would be to buy both brands of markers. If not, I would think the deciding factor might come down to which colors you prefer to use. Either way you will get a great set of markers for the money.

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Jan’s correct–the strong odor of Sharpies makes me more partial to Bic Marking. I’m sensitive to odors in general and when I color with Sharpies, I’m not able to do so for a long time without getting dizzy from the smell. But I also know of some colorists who actually like the smell of Sharpies. So take Jan’s advice and see or rather, smell for yourself. ?

Shopping list:

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Maria Castro of ScriboCreative.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

12 Adult Coloring Background Tips

Not sure what to do with adult coloring book backgrounds? We came up with 12 creative ideas to add interest to your coloring pages using the background.

1. Starry Night/Galaxy background

One of the most dramatic background effects that looks intimidating at first but is easier than it looks. Vermaleine Barrios shows us how in a step-by-step tutorial here.
https://www.scribocreative.com/2016/09/01/starry-night-tutorial/

The result is amazing!

2. Black background
If you want to start slow, an all black background can also give a dramatic effect. The coloring page is from Color My Moods Simple Floral Patterns Coloring Pack. You can use your black medium — marker, colored pencil, combination of the two, acrylic paint, or in this case, I’ve used Maped Color’Peps Gel Crayons.

3. Stippling
Mara Lula colored this lovely piece from Blessings in Bloom and did stippling (using several dots to create effect of varying depth/shade) on the background. The closer the dots are to each other, the darker the area appears. The farther apart they are, the lighter the area appears.

Mara likes to use either a pencil sharpened to a fine point or a fine-tipped marker like the Papermate Flair pen she used on this piece.

4. Crosshatching
Crosshatching is another drawing technique you can apply to backgrounds by drawing intersecting sets of parallel lines. As with stippling, the closer your lines are, the darker the area will appear, the farther apart they are, the lighter the area appears.

Mara used crosshatching for the “grass” on this inspirational coloring page from our Gumroad store.

5. Clouds
On the same piece, Mara created beautiful cloud effects using cloud templates she cut out of cardstock. She held them in place on the coloring page and used a blue chalk pastel over the top. The final step was rubbing the page to smooth out the pastel.

6. Pastels
If you like to keep it simple and just want to use pastels to create a border, that works too as Cindy Nation shows us on this piece from Healthy Hue Coloring Health & Fitness Journal.

You can use light short strokes with pastels and blend them using makeup cotton pads if you don’t like getting your fingers messy.

You can also use PanPastel like what Cindy did on #7. They work best using the sponges and applicator tools that come with the PanPastels.

7. Stencils
Stencils are a great way to add just enough interest to your coloring page as Cindy shows here with the “border” she added.

8. Texture plates
You can also use texture or rubbing plates (also referred to as embossing folders) on backgrounds. Cindy prefers using Faber Castell Classic pencils (oil based) for texture plates because she likes the pigment and finds the result much better.

You can also use woodless colored pencils or even crayons (on its side) to cover bigger coloring areas.

Here’s a video where we used rubbing plate to add texture to the cross but you can as easily do this for the background.

9. Sponging
Natural and man-made sponges can add interest on your colored page by using it to apply color on the background.

Vermaleine Barrios used it towards the end of this tutorial:
https://www.scribocreative.com/2016/10/13/black-pencils-ov…markers-tutorial/

Cindy Nation created a unique galaxy effect by layering acrylic paint using sponges on this coloring page from Healthy Hue Coloring Health & Fitness Journal.

Cindy used Marco Renoir colored pencils and fineliners for the mandala. She started on the background by mixing a small amount of Jo Sonja Payne’s gray and a bit of titanium white and a bit of water. She used the man-made sponge for this layer, pinching it to form a small point.

The first layer can be quite daunting but Cindy advises not to worry as this will lighten up with the addition of lighter colors in the next steps.

You need to work fairly quickly as the paint will dry out on your palette. Dab and lift and fill your sponge with extra paint as necessary.

When the first layer is dry, choose and apply your next color. Cindy used Jo Sonja’s deep yellow and again added a drop of water and mix. She used the natural sponge this time around (test first with paint applied on another page until you find a section of sponge you are happy with). Let this layer dry.

For the final layer, Cindy used Jo Sonja’s titanium white. Again add a drop of water and mix. Sparingly apply to page where you feel it needs it.

10. Bokeh
Another cool background effect is the Bokeh. Here’s a step-by-step video tutorial that Vermaleine Barrios shared using a coloring page from Healthy Hue.

11. Rhinestone sticker
Sometimes adding just the right embellishment makes a colored page looks more finished as Robin Petersen Wilson showed on this cool colored page from Healthy Hue Coloring Health & Fitness Journal. Less is more so start with a few and add as needed.

12. Washi tape
Lastly, if you’re a crafter (or even if you’re not), you may want to pull out your washi tapes. Similar to masking tape but so much cuter, you can get creative with it and use it as background on your coloring page as Robin did here on the Valentine’s coloring page from our Gumroad store.

Apply the tape lightly over the whole area you want to cover, then use a sharp X-acto knife to cut around your edge. Be careful not to cut very deep. This may take some practice, so you cut only the tape and not cut through your page.

On the tape for this page to cover the whole page, Robin laid strips of tape side by side, covered the whole page and cut out the squares after she colored them. You can do this step before or after you color, but you don’t want to stick the tape down hard or it will lift your work.

We hope that these background coloring tips sparked your imagination. Thank you to our talented colorists who shared their ideas with us — Vermailene Barrios, Mara Lula, Cindy Nation and Robin Petersen Wilson.

Which of these have you tried or are excited to try? Do you have other favorite background techniques? We’d love to hear your comments.

If you find this article helpful, sign up for our enews to be the first to get the scoop: https://www.scribocreative.com/enews/. You can also pin this article or share on social media.

Top 10 Color Palettes for Summer

The warmer weather is here along with vacations, beaches, flip flops and ice cream! Comment below and let us know which of these you want to see featured on our Color Palette Inspiration swatches where we show you how to use these color inspirations on actual coloring using different brands and media showing specific colors.

Mother’s Day Challenge

Celebrate motherhood with us and win some fun coloring goodies, including a 12 color pen set of Luna Jayne glitter gel pens and a personalized coloring pack, while you’re at it: https://www.facebook.com/events/170283746831361/?ti=ia. Click “Going” to get all the updates.

Mom/mum and loved one can choose the same coloring page to color together or separately. Entries must be posted By Saturday, March 13th, 11 pm Eastern. Three prizes will be awarded along with daily random winners from our posts. You can color any of Maria’s artwork or use the free coloring pages provided exclusively to event goers. See the event’s pinned post for complete details.

Or check out our paperback coloring books and journals on Amazon plus our amazing PDF journal and mandala coloring bundles — all on sale as our special Mother’s Day gift to you. Sale good through May 15th.

***SPECIAL Live Tutorial with Luna Jayne’s owner/artist/colorist Deborah Kramer Thursday, May 11th, 8-9 pm Eastern (New York time)/7-8 pm Central/5-6 Pacific, to show us how easy and fun it is to mix Luna Jayne glitter gel pens using one of our Mommyism coloring pages. We’ll also have a sweet surprise for a lucky guest at the end of the presentation. See you there!

Battle of the Pencils: Polychromos vs. Prismacolor Premier

“Poly or Prisma?” is probably one of the most asked colored pencil questions in Facebook coloring groups and for a good reason. Both Faber Castell Polychromos and Prismacolor Premier are popular artist-grade colored pencils that can be considered as investments. They are high quality colored pencils but are more expensive than other brands. So what’s the difference between the two? Which should you buy?

To help us with this week’s Battle of the Pencils article is the talented colorist Donna Pecoraro. The lovely coloring page is from Maria Castro’s upcoming book MIDNIGHT Doilies, Doodles & Daydreams (also available as a Personalize It page here: https://gum.co/DNwIw).

As with other coloring tools, a lot of it has to do with personal preference. Chime in and let us know in the comments section below what you think of the review.
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The Ultimate Colored Pencil Controversy

If you’ve been in the coloring world for long, one of the topics you’ll be sure to see lots of comments about are the preferences for “Polys” vs. “Prismas”. Ultimately, it really is a matter of personal preference, although each colorist probably has lots of reasons for their choice of a favorite, and many will switch between them.
The main difference is composition of the pencil. Faber Castell Polychromos have been made by a Germany company in existence since 1761 and are oil based. Prismacolor Premier pencils are made by an American company and are wax based.

Since oil is a more fluid medium than wax, you will find that the Polys will have more ability to absorb into the paper while the Prismas will have less ability to do that. The result of this is that the Prismas will have less ability to blend multiple layers before the paper will no longer allow an additional layer to adhere. In comparison, Polys will blend and blend having the more fluid medium of oil.

The largest set of Prismas is 150 colors, including a large selection of 18 greys, which are divided into French Grey, Cool Grey, and Warm Grey, each with a percentage gradation of 10%, 20%, 30%, 50%, 70%, and 90%. In Polys the largest set is 120, and the grey selection of 12 pencils is divided into Warm and Cold, and numbered with Roman numerals from I to VI (1-6) to indicate gradation from pale to dark.

Polys also include 3 metallics, Gold, Silver, and Copper, while Prismas have Gold and Silver, and 3 “Neon” colors (Note that if you scan your work, neons do not show up well).

Color range of the pencils differ greatly, the strong point of Prismas is having some extraordinarily subtle and lovely colors, such as Nectar, Jasmine, Seashell Pink, and Pale Sage to name a few. There are also many pencils useful for skin tones in Prismas, in fact, they sell a subset of pencils for portraiture that are included in the 132 set. Both brands are available as open stock in better art supply stores and can always be replenished.

As far as pencil quality, we would be comparing two different price points, so the comparison is not entirely fair. Polys are priced at approximately $170-190 US for the 120 tin, while Prismas are priced at approximately $80-100 US for the 150 tin. Polys are an extremely well made and beautiful pencil. They are slightly wider in width and have a harder, well centered core of pigment. They sharpen very well and rarely break, but do require a sharpener that can accommodate their width.

The Prismas have had issues with breakage, although not all have this complaint, their core is softer, their pigment is often off center, and wood barrels have been known to split. Both brands are considered to be artist grade pencils. Being a softer pencil, Prismas require more sharpening to keep a point, and are depleted faster, so although initially a cheaper investment in the long run the more expensive Polys may be more cost effective. Both pencil brands require careful handling to ensure best performance.

Lastly, we each will have our opinions on the “best “pencil. Much of this depends on what we use them for, if we use solvents, such as blender markers, Gamsol, mineral spirits, or Vaseline, how much time we want to spend on a picture, what type of pictures we like to color, and even if we need a softer pencil for issues of hand strength. Most importantly, enjoy your premium pencils if you are lucky enough to have been able to purchase them, they are truly a luxury.

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Thank you to Donna for a comprehensive review. Both Polychromos and Prismacolor Premier are available in smaller sets if you like to try a set of each (as of today, several of the Prisma Premier sets including the 150-piece, have the lowest price we’ve seen recently):

Battle of the Pencils: Oil-based Colored Pencils Comparison

Have you been wondering why many rave about Faber Castell Polychromos? It’s one of the more expensive brands of colored pencils but is it worth the investment? Are there cheaper alternatives that are just as good?

If you’re a fan of oil-based colored pencils, you’ll find Cindy Nation’s review informative and interesting.

Cindy owns four brands of oil-based colored pencils and has generously reviewed all four for us — Faber Castell Polychromos, Faber Castell Classic, Marco Renoir and Marco Raffine. Cindy lives in Australia as you’ll notice on her price quotes but we’ve added Amazon.com links within the article for your convenience.

She chose one of the motivational full-size pages from HEALTHY HUE — A Coloring Health & Fitness Journal with Positive Affirmations, to color in and show the differences.

Let us know if you’ve had similar experiences by leaving a comment at the end of the article below. Enjoy the review!

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Healthy Hue

This beautiful image is from Maria’s new coloring journal HEALTHY HUE. I have coloured this using four brands of oil-based pencils: Faber Castell Polychromos, Faber Castell Classic, Marco Renoir and Marco Raffine. The wording at the top “I can reach my goal” double section is coloured using Polychromos. Then each double section following that in a clockwise direction are: Classic, Renoir and Raffine. The “goal” is coloured using Polychromos. I tried my best to colour match across the four brands of pencils.

Here is my comparison and personal opinion of these four brands of pencils: The core in oil-based pencils is harder making them less likely to break and helps keep a sharper point for longer. I use a good quality sharpener and haven’t had issues with breakage of leads. They all have rich pigment, although the Marco Raffines aren’t quite as good as the other three.

I prefer the Polychromos colored pencils but you will pay more for them. They blend and shade beautifully without much effort. Available in sets of 12, 24, 36, 60 and 120 or as individuals in some art shops and Ebay. As I’m from Australia, I bought my set at my local Riot store when they had a sale. A set of 12 is available for $27.50 AUD ($19.35 US) or a set of 120 $273.50 AUD ($193.50 US) + shipping.

However, the Faber Castell Classic colored pencils are a budget pencil which still shade and blend nicely but you do have to work a bit harder to get a good result. Available in sets of 12, 24, 36 and 48. A set of 12 is available for only $3.50 AUD at my local Kmart store. These pencils are available in most department stores at a very good price but not individually as far as I can tell.

Marco Renoir colored pencils are artist grade and better quality than their less expensive counterpart Marco Raffine. They blend and layer well, are much creamier and give a vibrant colour. I bought mine from Ebay but recently bought a larger set from Wish. Available in sets of 24, 36, 48, 72, 100. A set of 24 is approximately $21 US or set 100 $60 available from Ebay (be careful of are extra shipping charges). As far as I can tell these are not available as individuals.

Marco Raffine colored pencils are a student grade pencil. I found that you can still blend and shade but they are not as smooth as the other three brands. I bought mine from Ebay. Available in sets of 24, 36, 48, 72. 24 pencils are $6.99 US on Ebay (shipping charges extra). No individual pencils are available.

If you are starting out with pencils, I would recommend an oil-based pencil for ease of sharpening and excellent pigment. Overall, I am happy with all the brands I’ve mentioned. My budget recommendation would be Faber Castell Classic colored pencils and top-priced Polychromos if you can afford them. Renoir is good if you can’t afford Polychromos. I started with medium set and was very impressed! Renoir is equal to Polychromos in pigment.

Four brands ranked according to Blending Quality, with 1 being the best:
1. Faber Castell Polychromos
2. Marco Renoir
3. Faber Castell Classic
4. Marco Raffine

Colour Variety (per set) Ranking:
This refers to how varied the color choices are for any given set provided. Note that this a tricky category to compare. For example, Marco Raffine’s smallest set has 24 colored pencils whereas Faber Castell Classic come in 12.
1. Faber Castell Classic
2. Marco Renoir
3. Marco Raffine
4. Faber Castell Polychromos
Polychromos colored pencils have no pink in the small set and they are ranked last. Classic colored pencils are ranked first because they have pink and gold in their small set. A great small set with great variety of colours.

Colour Variety (overall) Ranking:

1. Faber Castell Polychromos
2. Marco Renoir
3. Faber Castell Classic
4. Marco Raffine
120 Polychromos colored pencils are ranked first. It’s the biggest set with great variety of colours. Faber Castell Classic colored pencils are not available in a big set and therefore aren’t ranked as highly.

Cost Ranking:

1. Faber Castell Classic (most affordable)
2. Marco Raffine
3. Marco Renoir
4. Faber Castell Polychromos
I always recommend buying the biggest set of what you can afford. Faber Castell Classic colored pencils are a great low cost, all-rounder that blend and shade well and have good pigment.

Overall ranking taking cost and performance into account:
1. Marco Renoir
2. Faber Castell Classic
3. Faber Castell Polychromos
4. Marco Raffine
Marco Renoir colored pencils are a good price for a great product that have good pigment that blend and shade well.

I always do a price comparison before I buy online and in-store. I like to get the best price particularly if I’m paying more for a better-quality product. I recommend buying the biggest set you can afford as you get more colour variety within the set.

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We hope Cindy’s oil-based colored pencil review helped you decide on the best brand to get. However, as with many coloring activities, the choice of coloring medium is a personal choice and a matter of preference. If you’re not as adventurous as Cindy, try a smaller set of the brand before investing in a bigger set. Or, like Cindy, maybe you can have a bit of everything :).

Do you like this article? Connect with us and be among the first to know about exclusive deals and coloring tips. Sign up for our enews and even get an instant sample pack printables of Color My Moods Day and Night (Volumes 1-3).

Bokeh Background Tutorial

You’ve probably seen photographs where the main subject is sharp and the background is out-of-focus or blurry which creates a dramatic effect. Dictionary.com defines bokeh as “a Japanese term for the subjective aesthetic quality of out-of-focus areas of a photographic image.”

On this tutorial, the talented Vermailene Barrios shows us how to create these round circles of different colors and use as a background for coloring pages.

Vermailene used this lovely I Heart Me page from HEALTHY HUE, a Coloring Health & Fitness Journal with Positive Affirmations.

She achieves a bokeh effect by creating layers of colors similar to the galaxy background except for the last part where she creates different circles instead of adding stars.

Here are the materials she used:

I Heart Me (Simple version) from HEALTHY HUE by Maria Castro- http://amzn.to/2kagB2m

Or get the single page here – https://gum.co/eKMtk/

Maped Helix USA Color’Peps Smoothie Gel Crayons, Pack of 12 – http://amzn.to/2kOzjOP

Caran D’ache Museum Aquarelle Watercolour Pencils – White – http://amzn.to/2kapV6n or any white watercolor pencil

Prima Marketing Watercolor Confections: The Classics – http://amzn.to/2kOvw44 or any white water color pencil

Uni-ball Signo – http://amzn.to/2lxqLf2

Zig Detailer Watercolor Brush – http://amzn.to/2kOlakF

Enjoy the full tutorial here: https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1699124640384802&id=1526876080942993

HEALTHY HUE is here!

Color My Moods Adult Coloring Books and Journals presents HEALTHY HUE, A Coloring Health & Fitness Journal with Positive Affirmations, a motivational tool for health and wellness, weight loss, stress relief, management of diabetes, multiple sclerosis, fibromyalgia, allergies, cancer, chronic pain, migraine, anxiety, and other illnesses, using coloring.
Coloring has been known to have therapeutic effects and health benefits. Journaling and coloring are two of the most relaxing activities for stress relief and meditation. Combined with the functionality of tracking your vitals, nutrition, exercise, diet, medicine, and other health information, HEALTHY HUE is an ideal tool to a healthy and fit life with the help of coloring.

HEALTHY HUE combines beautiful, original artwork with positive affirmations to keep you motivated in your health and wellness journey. Full-size pages showing simple and intricate versions of each design are combined with college-ruled journaling pages for a total of seventy-two coloring pages to help track your health. Each page has something special to color. Designs suit your coloring mood on any given day — simple designs when you just want to relax, or intricate designs to focus on and keep your mind off pain on some days.

The Table of Contents describe each section. You may want to visit some every day, like the Food Tracker, Sleep Tracker, Water Intake, and Activity Tracker journaling pages. There are some that you’ll use as the need arises, like Vitals, Hooray, Appointment, and Directory. There are also Notes pages you can use as diary, planner, or for other health and fitness information.

Single-sided coloring and journaling pages make it suitable for different media, including colored pencils, markers, gel pens, pastels, crayons, and more. We recommend using the extra blank sheets provided as blotter pages to minimize bleed through.

Post your colored pages on social media with #scribocreative #colormymoods #healthyhue and you might just get a surprise from us. To connect with us, visit: https://www.scribocreative.com/about/.

If you love HEALTHY HUE, check out our other coloring journals and coloring books on Amazon and other fine online retailers: https://www.scribocreative.com/products/.  For more coloring inspiration, freebies, and exclusive discounts, subscribe to our enews: https://www.scribocreative.com/enews/.

Join Our 1st Birthday Party!

We’re turning one and we invite you to join the fun! Click “Going” to RSVP: https://www.facebook.com/events/1903600629872542/?ti=icl.

We’ll have a week-long party starting on Monday, January 23rd and will culminate on January 28th — the exact day we published our first three Color My Moods Day and Night adult coloring books.

We kick off on Monday, January 23rd and if we have 100 who have clicked on “Going” by then, we’ll have some coloring surprises to give away.

Visit our Facebook daily the whole week for more chances to win a variety of prizes ranging from personalized coloring pages, to PDF coloring books discounts to coloring media, and coloring tools and accessories.

If we have 200 “Going” by the Saturday, January 28th our grand birthday package will be unlocked!

You might even have a sneak peak of our newest book “Healthy Hue” — a Coloring Book and Health Journal.

RSVP now and tell all your family and friends all about it: https://www.facebook.com/events/1903600629872542/?ti=icl

See you!

Sharpener Review

I had a traumatic colored pencil experience trying to sharpen a pack of Verithins. Sharpening pencils is my least favorite coloring task. I’m already tired before I even start coloring. Maybe that’s why I’m partial to markers. I do like the look of colored pencils especially when blending, so I’m not ready to give up on them yet.

When Brittany Stephenson mentioned she has seven sharpeners, I asked her if she can compare them and let us know what she recommends.

Here’s what she has to share…

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As any colorist who uses colored pencils knows, pencil sharpeners are very important tools of the trade – but with so many choices out there, how do you choose the “right” sharpener? Well, here’s a review of all of the sharpeners I currently own to help you out.

Faber Castell Single Barrel: This sharpener came with a set of Faber Castell Classic pencils. There’s literally nothing fancy about this sharpener. It’s a tiny, black sharpener with no receptacle to catch shavings. The single barrel fits ‘standard’-sized pencils but will not fit larger pencils such as Derwent Inktense.

Although slightly messy, it does sharpen both soft core pencils (such as Prismacolors) and harder leaded pencils (Prang, Crayola, and Faber Castell Classics, etc.) but the blades dull easily. This is probably because there is nothing to protect them from outside elements/dust/debris. I still like this though because they are SO small and easy to carry around inside even the smallest pencil cases for travelling/on the go.

Good Point Single Barrel: I bought this sharpener from a local dollar store. I’ve had many of these sharpeners over the years. The blades dull VERY easily and they don’t last long at all but they do okay when they are new.

This sharpener fits ‘standard’-sized pencils but will not fit larger pencils, like Derwent Inktense. Honestly, I would only recommend these sharpeners only if you’re “in a pinch” – say if you’ve left your sharpener at home and this one is the only one available to you for some reason.

Dollar General Double Barrel: You can find these at pretty much any Dollar General store (a popular chain of dollar stores in my area). This is another brand of sharpener that dulls easily and will start “chewing” your pencils, if you aren’t careful.

This one fits ‘standard’-sized pencils as well as Derwent Inktense pencils. I do find it hard to get a good point on the Inktense with this sharpener (but that might just be me?). This is yet another “in a pinch” type sharpener. I would not recommend this sharpener for everyday use.

KUM 4-in-1: I bought this sharpener at my local Hobby Lobby store about a year ago (you can also find them on Amazon). It has four different sizes of holes (7, 8, 10, and 11mm) which are marked on the barrel of the sharpener. You can also take off the ‘head’ on each end of the sharpener to dump shavings.

Just be careful when you take off both ends at the same time. You are likely to mix up the hole sizes (which again, are marked on the barrel for some reason.) Aside from that small inconvenience, this sharpener is really nice.

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It works really well for any pencil I’ve ever tried in it, from Crayola to Prismas to Inktense. The blades are still nice and sharp even after having it for about a year now. I also like that this sharpener has little hinged caps for each end, which closes the whole sharpener up, so that even if you throw it in the bottom of your purse or bag full of shavings, it won’t leak shavings all over the place.

My only real complain about this sharpener is that it is a little bit larger/thicker and doesn’t fit well in any of my pencil cases for travelling. I can’t actually keep it WITH my pencils. I usually end up just throwing it in my purse/bag for travel.

Casemates 2-in-1: I bought this sharpener at Walmart for about 50 cents. It doesn’t get much cheaper than that! This sharpener definitely felt “cheaper” when I first took it out of the package. It states on the package that it “sharpens #2 and jumbo pencils and crayons”. I am a little surprised to say that I really like this sharpener!

It sharpens both soft core and harder core pencils very well and even sharpens Inktense pencils beautifully! It’s about the same size as most other cheap sharpeners that come with receptacles. The main difference is this one opens from the bottom of the sharpener instead of the top. Surprisingly, it’s not really messy to dump/clean. Overall, if you are looking for a super cheap sharpener that actually works well, I’d recommend this one, hands down!

T’GAAL Multisharpener: This sharpener fits ALL pencils types that I’ve ever tried in it, including Inktense, and sharpens them all well. The interesting part of this sharpener is that it has adjustable sharpening angles, with five settings from relatively dull (1) to very long and sharp (5).

The sharpener also closes up completely, to contain any debris/shavings and to protect the blades from any foreign debris getting in, which could cause dulling of the blades. I wouldn’t consider this sharpener small, but it is thin enough that it is fairly easy to keep inside a pencil case with your pencils. The ONLY complain I have with this sharpener is that the receptacle is rather small and needs to be emptied frequently. Overall though, this is one of my favorite sharpeners.

Prismacolor Premier Pencil Sharpener: My first impression of this sharpener is that it is SO bulky and odd-shaped. According to the package, it has two barrels for different sharpening angles – wide or narrow. The back of the package states that this sharpener is meant to sharpen Prismacolor pencils specifically but it does fit Inktense pencils as well.

In my experience, this sharpener sharpens ANY pencil beautifully, from Prismacolors to Inktense to cheaper pencils such as Crayola, Prang, CraZart, etc. I also like that this is another sharpener that has a cover on top, allowing it to be completely closed up. I’ve yet to have a single problem with the sharpener other than the odd shape making it unable to fit in any of my pencil cases. Overall, another VERY nice sharpener!

So, which pencil sharpener is my favorite? Honestly, it depends on where I’m at and what I’m coloring. For travel/on the go, I really like the T’Gaal although I’m afraid of losing it so a lot of times I carry my Casemates 2-in-1 instead. I’d rather have to buy another 50 cent pencil sharpener than have to buy another T’Gaal (Replacement will take a while since I can’t find them in stores around here. They’re available on Amazon).

For home use, I tend to reach for the Prismacolor or my good old KUM 4-in-1 most of the time.

Overall, my most favorite sharpener would probably have to be my KUM 4-in-1. I just feel like I could sharpen any pencil I’d ever need to sharpen. It doesn’t leave a mess in the bottom of wherever I end up storing it, whether it be my purse or the bottom of a desk drawer!

I hope this review was helpful and answered some questions you may have about the different sharpeners out there! Happy coloring (and sharpening!). 🙂

Our thanks to Brittany Stephenson for an informative review. Brittany is a co-admin of a fun Facebook coloring group called Adults Only Coloring Bunch.

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