Detailed Zenacolor Colored Pencils Review and related article resources.
Adult coloring can be enjoyable if you are beginning or becoming an experienced colorist. Using colored pencils you like can be the difference between a satisfying or unpleasant experience.
This article is about my personal experience with Zenacolor Colored Pencils, and I have written the article from a colorist’s perspective on adult coloring. The review is subjective, based on my experience, research, and the performance of colored pencils in activities like coloring books, pages, and sheets. My review seeks to provide as much information as possible to ask the right questions, evaluate the information, and make better decisions about the colored pencils you choose and use. I will update this article as new information becomes available.
Zenacolor Colored Pencils
Table of Contents
Additional Resources. The following are additional resources you can find on ColoringButterfly.com to assist you in learning more about colored pencils.
- Buying A Coloring Book: Everything You Need to Know (Guide)
- Buying Colored Pencils? Everything You Need Know (Guide)
- How to Find Colored Pencil Reviews (50+ ColoringButterfly.com)
- Guide to Amazon Colored Pencil Reviews (Fake vs. Trustworthy)
- Guide to Using Colored Pencil Set Reviews (Step-by-Step)
Zenacolor Colored Pencils Descriptions and First Impressions
This section provides the facts, descriptions, and my first impressions of colored pencils. I am going to provide my subjective/personal review based on my experience, research, and the performance of colored pencils in activities like coloring books, pages, and sheets and answer the question; I am focused on answering the questions for the colored pencils, “What are the basic facts for Zenacolor Colored Pencils?”; “What did you experience during the first inspection of Zenacolor Colored Pencils?.” Let’s get started.
Go to ColoringButterfly.com YouTube Channel for more videos about coloring pencils, coloring books, and more. [Return to TOC]
Colored Pencil Facts
The following are some basic facts about the Zenacolor Colored Pencils.
- Best for: Student/Hobbyist
- Size of sets: 72, 120
- Available in open stock: No, you cannot order replacement pencils.
- Lightfastness rating: No, the pencils do not have a lightfast rating.
- Cost range: Low-end/budget (Under .50 cents)
- Barrel size: 7.4 mm
- Core size: 3.3 mm
- Type of pencil core: Oil-based
- Barrel type: Round
- Wood: Cedar
- Where to buy online: Amazon, Aliexpress
- Made by: Zenacolor/ BMS International
- Where manufactured: China
- Company URL: https://zenacolor.com/en/products/120-crayons-de-couleur
- Google search term: zenacolor colored OR coloured pencil review [Return to TOC]
Barrel Description
The Zenacolor pencil shaft is round, and the color of the pencil shaft is the color of the pencil core, which is not a close match. The pencils have a cheap feel when you hold them. On one side of the barrel, you will find written in English “Zenacolor II,” followed by the color name and pigment identification code (letters/numbers). [Return to TOC]
Lightfast Rating
No rating. Lightfastness is a property of a colorant such as dye or pigment that describes how resistant to fading it is when exposed to light. Lightfast rating is essential to artists, especially when they spend long hours creating art; they will want the work of art to keep its vibrancy for years to come. The lightfastness has a lot to do with the higher cost of the pencils. [Return to TOC]
Range of Colors
The Zenacolor Colored Pencils (3 plastic trays of 40 pencils) are oil-based, and made in China. I think it is easy to say; that you will find that the range of pigment
colors is rich, bright, and inviting. The colors are presented in the order of their coloring families. The color names can be rather odd, but all I want is the color. Overall, this set of 120 colors is broad enough to color any scene in any coloring book (e.g., from deserts to jungle and mythical to portraits). Before using the colors on a project, I highly recommend swatching the colors for the set (and for every pencil you own) rather than relying on the color printed on the pencil barrel. [Return to TOC]
Container Description
The colored pencil sets come in a tin, and the pencils are in 3 brittle plastic trays of 40 pencils each. The plastic trays have pinch grooves on each side of the tray for easy removal. [Return to TOC]
First Inspection
As a habit, when I first open the box of pencils, I like first to check pencil duplications and missing pencils. Check to make sure the cores are centered. Next, I will check them for pencils for imperfections (e.g., shaft spits, broken cores, light printing). The pencils are low-budget pencils; you get what you pay for and can’t ask for much more than what you get with these pencils. When I inspected the cores, a number of them seemed to be off-center. Compared to other budget pencils I have inspected, Zenacolor was a nice presentation. [Return to TOC]
Zenacolor Colored Pencils Review and Summary
In this section, I move beyond the description and facts of the colored pencils. I am going to provide my subjective/personal review based on my experience, research, and the performance of colored pencils in activities like coloring books, pages and sheets and answer the question; I am focused on answering the questions like
- What do you think about Zenacolor Colored Pencils?
- Are the Zenacolor Colored Pencils better than other colored pencils?
- What are the Zenacolor Colored Pencils’ pros and cons?
- What are some tips on making the best purchase decision?”.
How the Colored Pencils Performed
The Zenacolor Colored Pencils are oil-based, medium-core, with a round barrel, made in China. I considered these pencils to be low-end cost pencils, and I reviewed them based on the category and my experiences with other pencils. I
recently reviewed several low-budget pencils from China, and they all seem to perform about the same.
When I was coloring, the pencils had a consistent, smooth application, good color saturation and coverage of large areas. I consistently had issues with the tips breaking and was not pressing hard. With some of the colors, I did experience a scratchy feeling, and I felt the coloring experience satisfactory. I liked the feel of the pencils in my hand.
As I tested the layering, I purposely was heavy-handed and had a thick application on one coloring page, and I applied a lighter touch and gently applied the layers I wanted. For fun, I kept layering, the pencils performed nicely without clumping, and I did not experience crumbling during use.
When sharpening, I could bring these pencils to an excellent point but did have issues with cores breaking and splitting, which was frustrating. Tip, right after sharpening, focus on your detailed work before your point breaks.
Regarding paper, the pencil performance seemed exceptional on the basic Amazon coloring book paper, and they did not perform well on the more expensive artist edition coloring books. The pencils did surprisingly well on tooth/textured paper.
Because the cores are soft, you will lose your point quickly, preventing you from doing detailed work.
The pencils are low-budget pencils; you get what you pay for and can’t ask for much more than what you get with these pencils.
I think there are various ways to determine how you gain the most from the Zenacolor colored pencil. You can use the Zenacolor coloring pencil
- As your sole source of a coloring pencil.
- For practice, before you use more expensive pencils (e.g., Pablo’s, Polychromos)
- For sharing with others in family projects.
- For non-permanent work
Review Summary and Rating
The Zenacolor Pencils are good pencils for the budget-range price point for the adult coloring community. I like how the pencils are layered. Blending was just ok. You have a good range of colors that will allow you to color any themed coloring
book. I think I would be more inclined to use these pencils on the cheaper Amazon paper coloring books. If you are going to do adult coloring in all levels of coloring books, spend more, do yourself a favor, and buy pencils that will give you hours of joy and satisfaction. But if this is all you can afford, you will have a satisfactory experience. I recently reviewed several low-budget pencils from China (e.g., Kalour, Markart, Nyoni, Cezanne, and Soucolor). They all seem to perform about the same. Pick any one of them, and you should be satisfied. Overall, the coloring experience was good. The important takeaways are as follows:
User Experience (Pros & Cons) Considerations
- Recommend for adult coloring (+)
- Budget-friendly colored pencils (+)
- Best for student/hobbyist (+)
- Oil-based, firm, and durable core (+)
- Color application is smooth (+)
- Pencils respond well to light and heavy pressure (+)
- Good layering and blending for coloring books (+)
- Can sharpen pencils to an excellent point (+)
- Good quality for the price (+)
- Lovely adult coloring experience (+)
- Pencils performed well on low-quality paper but struggled on more expensive paper (+/-)
- Pencils are not open stock (+/-)
- Pencils do not have a lightfast rating (+/-)
- When sharping, there were issues with cores breaking and splitting (-)
Tips for Purchasing
Zenacolor Colored Pencils are considered low-end/budget (Under .50 cents) and come in set sizes of 72, and 120 pencils. Usually, before purchasing, it is advisable to get a feel of the pencils by either purchasing a small set or individual pencils when you can buy open-stock or if you know someone who has the pencils can try theirs. Because Zenacolor Colored Pencils are so inexpensive, I don’t mind just purchasing a 120-pencil set. I would encourage you to read or view other reviews.
An excellent way to learn about the performance is to read reviews like this, view YouTube reviews, and read Amazon reviews. In the long run, I feel like I save the most, and I especially look for special promotions during the holiday seasons and put out price watches on my favorite eCommerce sites.
Other Valuable Resources
The following are a few more resources to support your review of Zenacolor Colored Pencils.
Free Zenacolor Colored Pencils Swatch Downloads
To give back to the adult coloring community, I have developed color pencil swatches for all the colored pencil sets I own and have reviewed. Note below two listings for each swatch, “Blank” and “Filled-in.” These terms mean. “Blank” is a swatch version you can download and fill in yourself, and “Filled-in” refers to a version of the swatch I filled in when I reviewed the pencils. You can also use these as a reference to see what the colors will look like before purchasing. Also, see the article “Free Color Pencil Swatch Charts for Adult Coloring (Detailed).”
Suggested Zenacolor Colored Pencils YouTube Reviews
I encourage you to seek other written evaluations, YouTube discussions, and Amazon-like reviews. I want to suggest the following a few YouTube reviews/opinions.
If you would like to find other reviews, do a Google search query on “zenacolor colored OR coloured pencil review.”
Thank you for taking a moment to view and read the article. Feel free to provide your comments.
Don’t forget to share the post. [Return to TOC]
