If you have downloaded and printed any of my FREE Coloring Pages, you might be wondering, what are the best tools or coloring supplies to use to make your coloring pages beautiful. Or to help you enjoy your coloring time the most.

Are you one of the ones who is stuck on the details because you want to know:

• What exactly should I use to color with?
• Are colored pencils or markers better?
• What brand of pencils or markers are best/cheapest/most economical/prettiest, etc.?
• What kind of paper should I print the coloring pages on?

There are hundreds of products to choose from, and it can be a bit overwhelming. I have been practicing coloring pages from my NEW, soon-to-be released Scripture Coloring Book and I’ve found certain pens, tools and supplies I prefer over others. (Get a SNEAK PEEK inside my Delight in the Word of God coloring book HERE!) 

So I’m gonna help you out here by sharing with you my 5 Favorite Adult Coloring Supplies.

*This post may contain affiliate links. Your cost is the same, but it helps support the site and keep my freebies FREE! See my full disclosures here. Thanks for your support!

First of all, let me just say that, as you may have noticed, most of my coloring pages and other items that I create are centered around The Word of God, or principles from God’s Word to encourage you in your walk with Christ, draw you closer to Him, and help you delight in Him.  That’s because…

my mission is to help Marthas (servant-hearted women) connect with Jesus like Mary (who anointed Jesus’ feet with oil, and sat at his feet, hanging on his every word.)

Marthas love the LORD with all their heart and have a passion for serving Him and other people. That is a good thing! However, they have a tendency to get distracted by all the details of what needs to be done, causing them to become anxious and worried.

Marthas have a hard time being still long enough to really connect with Jesus and hear what He is longing to say to them, and to receive the love He is longing to pour into them. I get that. And that’s why coloring is perfect for Marthas.

Coloring gives your hands something to do, and your mind something to focus on, so you are not constantly and repeatedly going over and over your To-Do List in your mind, wondering if you have forgotten something, and worrying about disappointing the people you love if you don’t get everything done and get it done perfectly.

That’s why I am creating created my own Scripture Coloring Book! Want a SNEAK PEEK?

Therefore, the most important thing about coloring is that you are spending time with God and with The Word of God. I truly believe that can be done using any type of coloring supplies, whether that be crayons or markers, colored pencils, watercolors or whatever. So, if you can do that and thoroughly enjoy it using a box of your children’s broken crayons, go for it.

However, for me, I don’t enjoy coloring with crayons because they are impossible to get a sharp enough point on them, and therefore I am unable to color as precisely as I would like to.

So, here are my 5 Favorite Adult Coloring Supplies:

Crayola Twistables Colored Pencils

If I could only recommend one item to use for coloring my Scripture coloring pages or in coloring books for adults, it would be Crayola Twistables Colored Pencils. (NOT twistable crayons!)

Here is why I recommend them:

1. I like the way they feel and the colors apply smoothly.
2. They come in a nice range of colors.
3. My favorite feature – they never need sharpened! Just twist them up.
4. They are relatively inexpensive.
5. They are readily available. (Wal-Mart, Staples, other craft stores and office supply stores, as well as on Amazon)
6. They work great on any paper, no matter how heavy or thin the paper is.
7. I like how you can vary the intensity and saturation, depending on how hard you press, or how many strokes you use. These colored pencils create a very soft look, which I like.

Faber-Castell Art Grip Aquarelle Watercolor Pencils

Why buy just regular colored pencils, when you can get watercolor pencils? Watercolor pencils can be used dry, just like regular colored pencils, or they can also be used with water, so it’s like getting 2 for 1.

Many people like PrismaColor Watercolor Pencils, and I like them too.

However, I prefer Art GRIP Aquarelle Watercolor Pencils.

Here’s why I like them:

• The colors apply very smoothly, they are almost creamy.
• I have not had any trouble with the leads breaking.
• They have an ergonomic triangular shape and a soft-GRIP-zone for comfort.
• As you can see in the picture below (fearfully & wonderfully made page,) I am able to achieve great contrast and beautiful ombre effects using these pencils. I can create lighter lights and brighter, more intense brights.

• They are fade resistant, water-soluble, and acid-free, so they also work great for Bible journaling and coloring in my Bible.
• I also like that, besides your normal tin of 12 or 36 count sets, they also come in small packs of a single color family. I love pinks and find that most colored pencil sets or watercolor pencil sets don’t have but maybe one or two pinks. So when I found this  Red Art Grip Aquarelles 9 Ct Set, well, I just had to have it. It has several different very lovely shades of pinks and purples. I use pencils from this set on almost every page I color.
• My next purchase will be either the Blue Art Grip Aquarelles Set or the Green Art Grip Aquarelles Set.

NOTE: They work OK on regular copy paper, if you use only a minimal amount of water. However, if you want to be able to use a little more water, and don’t want your paper to buckle, I recommend using a heavier weight paper like plain white cardstock or linen cardstock.

Water Brush

If you are just using the Crayola Twistables, then you won’t need this. But if you are going to use watercolor pencils, then you need a way to add water. You can do that with a regular small art paint brush. However, I prefer to use a water brush pen. There are many different brands to choose from, but I’ve only tried one. The one I use (pictured right) is a small tip waterbrush pen made by Kuretake. I highly recommend it.

Here’s why:

• Less mess than using a brush and cup of water.
• The small sized tip allows you to get into really small places, and have fine control when coloring very detailed images.
• This brush provides just enough water flow to activate the colors, but not so much that it soaks your paper. You don’t even have to squeeze it–it just flows slowly. Of course you can squeeze it if you want extra water.
• It is very portable. Great for coloring on the go or in your living room. You can even use it when coloring on an airplane trip.

Psst! Want to color your own version of this page? Just fill in the form at the bottom of this post to get access to this and other Scripture coloring pages.

Artist’s Loft Fundamentals Watercolor Pan Set

I also like to use my water brush pen with my watercolor pan set. Coloring with watercolors has a completely different feel to it than coloring with colored pencils or markers. It is really a lot of fun. Plus, I just like to change things up a bit, rather than using the same coloring supplies all the time. My favorite thing to color with watercolors are backgrounds and filling in large areas. It takes less time than using other mediums. Plus, I like the very soft, dreamy effect I can achieve with watercolors, that is hard to achieve with any other coloring supplies.

I also like to do hand lettering with watercolors.

The only drawback to coloring with watercolors is that they don’t work very well on regular paper. But that is easy to fix. I just print out my coloring page on linen cardstock paper, and they work great!

Watercolors and watercolor pencils also work great on some higher end coloring books that are made with thicker paper, like the ArtPlay Coloring Books by ADORNit, and the Premium Edition Beauty in the Bible Coloring Books by Paige Tate & Co.

The watercolor set I use is the Artist’s Loft Watercolor Pan Set (pictured.) I cannot recommend any others because this is the only one I have used. But I like this set very much and do recommend it.

Here’s why I like it:

• It  has a nice range of colors (including several beautiful shades of pink!)
• The colors are very bright and vibrant.
• It fits well in my coloring supplies bag.
• This watercolor pan set is quite inexpensive, yet provides high quality.

When using watercolors I like to print my coloring page on linen cardstock paper.

Glitter Gel Pens

I remember using Sakura Gelly Roll pens years ago to write letters to my friends. They were really cool because they would write on black paper and they were so bright and sparkly. I would have never thought of using them to color in an adult coloring book. However, I saw some posts online of people using them in coloring books, so I dug mine out and gave them a try. Turns out, I love using them for coloring!

Here’s why I like using Sakura Gelly Roll pens

• They flow so nicely, and do not show stroke marks.
• No smears, feathers, or bleed-through on most papers.
• The colors are so bright and sparkly.
• Did I mention how smoothly they glide over your paper?
• Great for adding “pops” of color, or for coloring in your entire design.

Here’s a page from my Delight in the Word of God Scripture Coloring Book. I am coloring using Sakura Gelly Roll Pens. The photo doesn’t really do it justice though. The colors are so bright and sparkly and happy!

I also like these glitter gel pens by SuperDoodle. They come in lots more colors and they are much less expensive than the Gelly Roll pens.

You may have noticed that I did not mention markers. Well, that’s because they are not one of my favorites. I do have some cheap markers that I use sometimes when I color with my granddaughter and niece. However, I don’t like how you can see every stroke. I’ve heard that the higher end markers, like Copic markers are great for coloring and don’t show each stroke, but I have not personally tried them and therefore, cannot recommend them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What about you? What are your favorite Adult Coloring Supplies? Please tell me in the comments below.

Joyfully,

—>>> Want some pages to color that are focused on The Word of God?

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*This post may contain affiliate links. Your cost is the same, but it helps support the site and keep my freebies FREE! See my full disclosures here. Thanks for your support!