Tilda Moss
People keep asking which pencils I use, so here they are — along with the ones I'd skip. Nothing here is essential. A biro and one of my free pages is a perfectly good evening.
I don't sell any of this. Every link takes you to Amazon, and that's where you'd buy it. If you do, I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you — that's what keeps the free pages free.
The honest truth about pencils: the cheap ones are fine until you try to layer two colours on top of each other, and then they go chalky and grey. If you only ever colour a page now and then, don't spend the money. If you colour most evenings, better pencils are the one upgrade you'll actually feel.
Faber-CastellPremium
The classic oil-based artist coloured pencil. Hardly breaks, covers extremely well and layers cleanly. For cosy colouring books it's almost 'too good' — but that's exactly why experienced colourers eventually buy it, once budget pencils start turning grey from over-layering. No bleed-through risk on normal paper, since it's wax and oil based and applied dry.
View on AmazonFaber-CastellMid-range
The little sister to the Polychromos from the same brand — a softer, highly pigmented oil-based lead, smudge- and water-resistant. A sensible middle ground if you want more than a starter pencil but aren't ready to invest in Polychromos yet.
View on AmazonFaber-CastellBudget
A water-soluble starter coloured pencil with a triangular grip zone and raised dots. It's really from the school and hobby range, but for adults new to colouring it's an honest, comfortable place to start. Softer than basic school pencils, though not as pigment-rich as Polychromos or Goldfaber.
View on AmazonPrismacolorPremium
The US standard among artist coloured pencils. Very soft core, creamy application, extremely common in the English-speaking colouring community. The downside is that the soft core breaks more easily and wears down faster than Polychromos.
Soft cores snap if you press hard — sharpen gently.
View on AmazonCaran d'AchePremium
A Swiss precision pencil with a very hard but colour-intense lead. Ideal for detail and fine lines, less so for large, soft shaded areas. Better suited to people who already know they prefer precision over softness.
Better for detail work than for large areas.
View on AmazonMarkers are faster and bolder than pencils, and they are also the easiest way to ruin a page. Alcohol markers bleed straight through most colouring-book paper — lovely colour, ruined next page. Water-based pens are the safer choice on book paper. Where a product bleeds, it says so below.
STABILOMid-range
A water-based fibre-tip pen, not an alcohol marker. Colours strongly but dries without the bleed-through risk of Copic and similar. For thinner paper — the sort many colouring books use — it's the safer choice.
Far less bleed-through than alcohol markers, but still worth testing on very thin paper first.
View on AmazonFaber-CastellMid-range
Pigmented, waterproof fineliner pens with a variable brush tip. Designed more for outlines, detail and lettering than for large areas, but the pigment ink is very lightfast and doesn't spread into the paper. A good companion to pencils rather than a replacement.
View on AmazonCopicPremium
The best-known alcohol marker, familiar to many from manga and illustration communities. Ciao is Copic's beginner line with a smaller ink tank, and it still costs noticeably more than STABILO or Ohuhu.
Alcohol ink will reliably bleed through thin paper — only usable with a backing sheet or thicker paper.
View on AmazonOhuhuBudget
A budget alcohol marker, known in the colouring community as a solid Copic alternative to try out. Not quite as finely blendable as Copic, but a fair compromise for getting started.
Same bleed-through issue as any alcohol marker.
View on AmazonTombowMid-range
A water-based brush pen with a brush tip at one end and a fine tip at the other. Very popular for blending and creating gradients. Less bleed-through risk than alcohol markers, but also less opaque and bold.
Moderate bleed-through; noticeable on very thin paper.
View on AmazonThe finishing touch rather than the main event. Gel and metallic pens sit on top of finished colour and catch the light — good for windows, water, fairy lights, anything that should glow. They need a moment to dry, so work from left to right if you're right-handed.
SakuraMid-range
The standard metallic gel pen in the colouring scene. Covers well even on dark backgrounds, though it usually needs a few scribbles to get going the first time. Great for highlights and accents, not intended for large areas.
View on AmazonSTABILOBudget
A thicker XL tip than the Sakura gel pens, so quicker for larger metallic areas but less precise for detail. A cheap way to test whether metallic accents are your thing at all.
View on AmazonSpectrum NoirMid-range
A glitter overlay pen that you drag over already-coloured areas to add texture — not a standalone colour. A niche product, but exactly the kind of small extra that fits a slow evening.
Only works over colour that's already there and dry.
View on AmazonTwo different jobs. A sheet slipped behind the page you're working on stops anything bleeding onto the next drawing — the cheapest insurance there is. And if you print my free pages at home, decent paper makes a bigger difference than any pen you'll buy.
ClairefontaineMid-range
Smooth, acid-free drawing paper. Useful for testing colour combinations and marker blends on a spare sheet before committing to them in your book.
Practice paper, not printing paper for the free pages.
View on AmazonNo particular brandBudget
Noticeably sturdier than standard office paper. For anyone printing the free page at home who wants markers or watercolour pencils not to bleed straight through or make the sheet buckle.
Still won't fully stop alcohol markers — use a backing sheet as well.
View on AmazonCanson (Guarro Canson)Budget
A large quantity of affordable drawing paper from an established paper maker. Practical for anyone who wants to experiment and practise a lot without using up specialist paper on every failed attempt.
Thin enough that alcohol markers will still bleed through.
View on AmazonNothing here is essential, and that's rather the point. A sharpener that doesn't eat your pencils, somewhere to put them down that isn't the floor. Small irritations removed.
Faber-CastellBudget
Two sharpening holes, for standard and for thicker pencils, in a closed container that catches the shavings. Practical because many artist pencils are thicker than ordinary graphite pencils and won't fit a normal sharpener.
View on AmazonTaotreeBudget
A simple canvas roll for storing and carrying pencils. Not a luxury item, but decent if you'd rather your growing collection didn't rattle around loose in a drawer.
Pencils not included.
View on AmazonJIAHGMid-range
A slim LED light pad, originally made for tracing and sketching. For colouring it's useful for transferring a design onto thicker paper if you'd rather not colour the original sheet with markers.
More of a niche tip than standard kit.
View on AmazonNo particular brandBudget
Made for craft and cutting work, but it does the plain job just as well: a mat under your page so markers don't bleed through onto the table underneath. A pragmatic second use.
View on AmazonColouring is sitting still under a light for half an hour, so the light and the sitting matter more than people expect. Bad light is why your neck aches and why the colours look different in the morning.
No particular brandMid-range
A classic cushion for longer sessions at a desk or in an armchair. Fits the cosy-evening idea, though it isn't a colouring product as such — just ordinary kit that happens to help.
View on AmazonLUXULAMid-range
Adjustable colour temperature from warm white to daylight. Useful because the colours you pick under poor or yellow light can look quite different in the morning. Not a certified daylight product, but the adjustable range covers the practical need.
View on AmazonROCCYBudget
A small, flexible clip-on light for books in bed or on the sofa. Made more for cosy reading than for precise colouring — the beam is too narrow for that — but a nice little thing all the same.
For judging colours accurately, use a desk lamp instead.
View on AmazonNone of this matters if there's nothing to colour. Grab a free page first, colour it with whatever you already own, and buy something only if you find yourself reaching for it again next week.
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