I love my white colored pencils! I not only use them for adding highlights to my colored pages, but also for creating beautiful, creamy blends, and for toning down bold colors when needed. They are one of the most versatile coloring tools we have, so which brands are best and worth your money and time?
To find out I pulled out all of the white pencils from my colored pencil sets–28 in total, and put them through a coloring test on black paper to see which ones get the brightest, most even gradient blends. While some turned out as expected, there were several exciting surprises and a few disappointments.
So watch my video below to see the best and worst white pencils, and then scroll down the page for sample photos and even links to purchase the open-stock pencils you want to try.
The Best White Colored Pencils
My top 3 favorites are:
- Caran d’Ache Luminance – White
- Derwent Coloursoft – White (this one surprised me)
- Prismacolor Premier – PC938
My 3 honorable mentions are:
- Faber-Castell Polychromos – 101
- Bruynzeel
- Caran d’Ache Pablo – White
Where to purchase:
I have found that generally speaking Blick Art (aka Dick Blick) has the best selection and lower prices. But I will also put Amazon links below for you to compare.
The Worst White Colored Pencils
Most of the white colored pencils I tested were mediocre; however, there were a few that were particularly bad. It didn’t seem to matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t get bright colors or gradients. They just look kind of dull and gray.
- Cra-Z-Art – White
- Crayola Twistables – White
- Spectrum Colour Blend – White (this one surprised me.)
Chart Photos
Please note that it’s difficult for my camera to capture and represent what I was seeing during the test–so don’t make any decisions based on what you see here. It’s best to either take my word for it or do your own tests to see what you discover. 😉
Thank you for this comparison!!! Saves me time, money and aggravation of trying too find the best white pencils.
You’re welcome!
Dear Jennifer,
I too, like to use white pencils for a creamy blend. Sometimes, however, I would prefer one that while still giving a great blend would not have a significant affect on the original color. I find the Prismacolor Premier gives too milky a finish for my liking. After all your hard work testing those pencils, can you suggest something? Many thanks!
You may want to try the Faber-Castell Polychromos. They’re all stars at blending and layering. 🙂
I don’t use the white pencils in any of my sets> I never understood why a white pencil was included. White paper/white pencil whats the point? now that I’ve seen some of your videos I understand Oh! That’s what white pencils are for…Revelation! Thank you for the info
Yay! You’re welcome 🙂
Teena, those of us do need white pencils when drawing on black or colored paper. And having the best white for the underpainting is very important. I’m very grateful for this review. Thank you Jennifer! =oD
Currently I prefer Pablo white – I love Luminance, but usually like to use the Luminance pencils for my last couple of layers. Not sure how well it will do with several layers of other colors put on top of it.
The stencil you used while making this informative video seems to have a great variety of shapes and sizes. Where may this be purchased? Thank you for your helpful video.
I would also like to know where you got your stencil..
BTW, Have you tried the Derwent Drawing Chinese White? Have not tested it against the Luminance, but I bet it would do well.
I’ve heard a lot of good things about Derwent’s Chinese White. I would also love to see it tested against Luminance & Pablo.
Thank you for this great overview. I fully agree, the Caran c’Ache Luminance highlight pencil is the best and most vibrant one. Great article!