Crayola Colored Pencils 36-Count Review: Solid Starter Set?
Crayola Colored Pencils (36ct), Kids Pencil Set, Pre-Sharpened Coloring Book Pencils for Kids & Adults, Arts & Crafts Supplies, Coloring Gift, Ages 3+
Crayola
- 36 CRAYOLA COLORED PENCILS: Explore a spectrum of color with 36 distinct colored pencils that transform artwork into vibrant masterpieces.
- KIDS ART SUPPLIES: Ignite your child’s artistic potential with this vibrant set of Crayola Colored Pencils. Perfect for nurturing creativity and self-expression.
- BACK TO SCHOOL SUPPLIES: Enhance educational and creative activities with these essential kids' pencils for school.
- IDEAL FOR COLORING BOOKS: Designed to glide smoothly across the page, these pencils bring coloring books to life.
Quick Verdict
Pros
- Pre-sharpened tips ready to use straight from the box — no prep time
- 36 distinct colors offer a wide spectrum for detailed coloring
- Soft cores glide smoothly across paper without excessive pressure
- Durable cores resist breaking better than budget alternatives
- Versatile enough for kids, classrooms, and adult coloring hobbyists
- Crayola brand name means consistent quality and easy replacements
Cons
- Core diameter is thinner than professional-grade pencils — less area coverage per stroke
- Colors blend less smoothly than wax-based artist pencils without additional tools
- Packaging is not resealable — storage can become messy over time
- Repeated heavy shading may cause some cores to wear down faster than expected
Quick Verdict
After spending a solid three hours with the Crayola colored pencils 36-count set — working through a floral mandala and letting my niece go to town on a dinosaur scene — I can say these pencils do exactly what they promise. They are pre-sharpened, colorful, and durable enough for daily use by kids and casual adult colorists. The set earns a solid 4.6 out of 5. If you need professional-grade blending performance, look elsewhere. For everything else, this is the set to beat at this price point.
What Is the Crayola Colored Pencils 36-Count Set?
The Crayola colored pencils 36-count set is a mid-sized pencil collection featuring 36 distinct hues ranging from primary reds and blues to earth tones and pastels. Each pencil arrives pre-sharpened with a soft wax core encased in cedar wood — ready to use the moment you tear open the packaging. The set targets a wide age range, officially listed for ages 3 and up, which makes it a common sight in school supply lists, art classrooms, and birthday gift bags.
I picked up my own set on a Tuesday afternoon, partly because I needed something to test against a competitor brand I was reviewing, and partly because I have a standing Thursday tradition with my 8-year-old neighbor involving snacks and coloring books. The packaging is simple cardboard — functional, recyclable, and entirely unpretentious. No fancy metal tin, no plastic case with click-shut latches. Just a cardboard sleeve holding the pencils together. That is worth noting because if you are buying this as a gift and presentation matters, you will want to add a separate box or bag.
Key Features
- 36 distinct colors covering a wide spectrum from brights to naturals
- Pre-sharpened tips eliminate the need for manual sharpening before first use
- Soft wax cores provide smooth laydown and reduce hand fatigue
- Durable cores resist breakage under normal coloring pressure
- Suitable for ages 3 and up, meeting standard classroom safety requirements
- Cedar wood casing takes standard pencil sharpeners without splintering
- Consistent color matching across batches — the red in your set matches the red in mine
Hands-On Review
Let me start with the pre-sharpening, because that is the feature Crayola leans on hardest in the product listing. On my first coloring session, I literally opened the box and started drawing. No hunting for a sharpener, no frustration with a blunt tip dragging across the paper. That convenience alone saved me about ten minutes, which sounds trivial until you are sitting with an impatient eight-year-old who wants to start now.
The color payoff surprised me more than I expected. I have used budget colored pencils before — the ones you find in dollar-store multi-packs — and the difference is immediately noticeable. Crayola's cores deposit pigment evenly without needing to press hard. The cyan and magenta in particular have a vibrancy that holds up well under the fluorescent light in my home office. On a warm-toned paper, the oranges and yellows looked especially rich.
After about ninety minutes of continuous use — mostly small detailed sections and some broader shading — none of the cores broke, even when I pressed harder to deepen a shadow. That durability held through my niece's session too, where the pressure control is, let us say, enthusiastic rather than precise. What did not hold up as well was the packaging. The cardboard sleeve does not reseal, so once you open it, you either need a pencil cup, a zippered pouch, or you accept that the pencils will slowly migrate across your desk drawer. After a week of daily use, I ended up transferring them to an old pencil case I had lying around.
Where these pencils show their limits is in blending. If you try to layer colors heavily or blend two adjacent hues together with a blending stump, you will see streaking rather than the smooth gradients you get from artist-grade wax pencils. For simple color blocking and basic layering — the kind of work most coloring book projects call for — this is not an issue. For advanced techniques like burnishing or wet blending, you will feel the constraint.
Who Should Buy It?
This set is a strong fit if you are a parent stocking up on art supplies before the school year. The price per pencil is reasonable, the colors cover what most classroom projects need, and the pre-sharpened tips mean you are not spending your Sunday evening with a hand sharpener before Monday morning.
- Parents and guardians filling a school supply list or replacing worn-out pencils from last year
- Teachers and educators looking for a cost-effective bulk option for classroom art activities
- Adult coloring hobbyists who want a dependable set for basic coloring book projects without investing in professional-grade supplies
- Gift buyers searching for a creative, affordable birthday or holiday gift for kids ages 3 and up
Skip this set if you are serious about colored pencil art and need professional-grade blending performance, or if you are an adult colorist who regularly works with advanced techniques like burnishing, solvent blending, or wet media. For those use cases, the Prismacolor Premier or Faber-Castell Polychromos lines are worth the upgrade. Also skip it if you need a resealable storage case included — this set ships in cardboard only.
Alternatives Worth Considering
If the Crayola 36-count set is not quite the right fit, here are two alternatives worth evaluating:
Prismacolor Premier Colored Pencils (72-Count) — This is the step up for serious adult colorists. The cores are thicker, the pigment concentration is higher, and the blending performance is in a different league. The trade-off is price — expect to pay roughly three times as much per pencil. But if you are investing in a hobby you practice weekly, the difference in finished work is noticeable.
Arteza Colored Pencils (72-Count) — Arteza offers a comparable color range to Prismacolor at a mid-range price point. The cores are soft and blend reasonably well, making this a popular middle-ground choice for adult colorists who want more than Crayola without committing to premium pricing. The set also typically includes a zippered case, which solves the storage issue I mentioned earlier.
FAQ
Yes, they work well for adult coloring books, especially for broad fills and basic layering. However, for advanced blending and fine detail work, artist-grade pencils offer better performance.
Final Verdict
The Crayola colored pencils 36-count set delivers on its core promises: good color range, pre-sharpened convenience, and cores that can take a beating. It is not the set for an experienced artist pushing technical boundaries, but it is exactly the set for a household that colors regularly, a teacher equipping a classroom, or an adult who wants a dependable, no-fuss coloring experience. After two weeks of real use — including one accidental drop onto a hardwood floor — none of the cores chipped. That alone says something about durability.