Thank you SO MUCH Betina for explaining what it's like in other parts of the world. So often we think that the rest of the world has the same luxuries we do, all because we have access to so much "cheap stuff" here. I don't feel bad for spending my money on things, or even for having the money to buy the things I have, because I work really hard to have that money. You should never feel bad because you can afford to buy something. Treat yourself if you can, and use what you have when you can't. That should be everyone's mantra. :D

Simple Art for Adults As I'm a student and don't work, I'm pretty sure that's the reason why I feel guilty! If I worked, I'd never feel it and I completely agree with you on that!

I live in Canada and prices here can be crazy high for certain things as well! The 24 set of prismacolors here is almost $50 most of the time so $16 for that set is super cheap to me!

I agree! It's about the journey - not the destination.

I just use the pencils and markers that I can afford. I am not trying to compete with other colorists.

Daisy Kelly you can order amazon color pencils kind of Black widows I love it it’s smooth

Daisy Kelly - I totally agree. I wish an artist would do a KZfaq channel on nothing but Crayola with an emphasis on the classic yellow box pencils. Jenna Turin has some videos up that are a great starting point using the Crayola classic 50 set. I purchased the Crayola 💯 set of absolutely beautiful colors. After using Jenna’s technique for awhile I began holding the pencil tip at a 45 degree angle and with medium to light pressure color in an area or object, then change the direction of my coloring strokes and going over the area again. I may do this several times to build up the coverage and intensity of the color. the results are absolutely beautiful. Using this method achieves great blending results as well with Crayola. Since I color for the enjoyment and relaxation, I am not in a rush any way. Also, the classic broad tip markers by Crayola are vibrant and long lasting. I get them on clearance sales after the return to school rush. They come in sets of 40 or so colors now, not just the basic 12 colors.

That's a really good idea if you have a scanner/printer that's good quality! Mine wouldn't do it... they turned out smudgy and strange because of the ink. :) Thank you for your reply!

I don't want to buy a book and then have to print the pictures to colour them. That's why I buy the book and not PDFs etc. I also no longer have a printer because I kept having trouble with it and it took up so much room in my small house ad just made my whole computer area look ugly. Personally, I'd be doubtful about it actually saving money. You can get a book from Creative Haven for 5 so even if it did save money, I wouldn't want to take that time and put up with a space stealing printer again. Plus, unless you have a super high quality one (meaning expensive), printed stuff always looks like shit compared to a good colouring book. I would print colouring sheets at work, with a decent printer, and most of the time, they just didn't look as good as a colouring book.

Hi Rebecca! What kind were they? Maybe I should give them another chance. :)

I agree with Rebecca. I have bought really nice art supplies from them.

I love the art supplies I get from the Dollar Tree, they're not the best, but with the right patience and skill you can get just as good of a result. They have a sturdy mechanical pencil with colored leads and a built-in sharpener, which to me was genius. Why has no coloring pencil manufacturer thought of doing this and just selling us their leads for future replacements? It would drop the cost of pencils SO much.

+Patti Hanson loooove pretty tape! I'll have to show you my sketchbook cover sometime. :)

I use tall cookie tins...

I didn't use artist grade anything for a very long time either. I saved and saved to get my first set! You can do a LOT with very little if you're patient and you keep practicing. :)

Trudy Anderson - Jenna Turin has some great videos up as a starting point. I like using a 45 degree angle method with a light touch with the classic Crayola 100 set . I can build up multiple layers and get an excellent blend without destroying the tooth of the paper. Crayola classic broad stroke markers have vibrant colors and are great for the coloring and faux calligraphy. The colors are vibrant, the markers are well saturated and lasting. I found varying my techniques and being patient allow for spectacular results without having to spend a lot of $$$.

I won't buy anything at Dollar Tree or $0.99 Stores much anymore. I have some metallic permanent markers I found there that I like, but I've literally thrown all the rest away. The little sponge brushes you can get there are wonderful, but the paint brushes I've found are awful. The bristles flay and fall out... doesn't make for pretty painting. My stores like that don't sell canvases or coloring books worth buying, either. Just the ones on the equivalent of newsprint. I do use lots of stuff when I color, though! Some artist-quality... some not!

Simple Art for Adults. Erin, Oh that is unfortunate. I honestly buy most my art supplies at Walmart and what I can't get I get at Michaels. I buy beginner stuff at our Dollorama, like I bought a big package of brushes to start me off (YES! Some are horrible) However I do buy canvases there and have found Bienfang artist paper for sketching. I found tracing paper and some pretty nifty acrylic tube paint. I don't buy much for my art there. Even my sketching journals I got at Walmart during the back to school sale. I bought a AWESOME x-acto old school style crank metal sharpener, for my good artist pencils. It is not set up though so I am not using this yet until my craft area is set up. I found water colour paints, acrylic paint and some really nice sketch books. I will buy pens and pencils at the Dollar stores. I did find a pack of 10 Staedtler HB#2 at our local DOllorama. I had to take them home. LOL I have a Hilroy Artist Kit with graphites, charcoal pencils and graphite and charcoal sticks, sharpener, kneadable eraser, tortilon and sand paper block. I had to learn how to use most of it. Hahaha! I use Staedtler graphite's and retractable pencils. LOL

Ty love them

Absolutely Tracey!

Exactly. It's all different based on where you live, the time of year, the product you want, etc. It always, always pays to research and try the products out before you make a big investment. :) There are no rules.. you're right! Do what you like with what you like! I know a few who watercolor in their books exclusively and don't even touch pencils for the most part, so it's all about how you get your enjoyment.

Aww thanks Toni! You're doing brilliant things with products that most of us would never think to use! I should have added another bit of advice in this video - using what you already have, and what you already know!

The ones at my Dollar Tree are all... smudgy. Does that make sense? Like the line art is great, the art is beautiful, but the lines themselves are all... just bad.

Yes. They definitely aren't great! I still find a few I like though

They're awesome!

Aww! Merry Christmas, Brenda! I'm sorry to hear about your surgery going wrong, and I know that being stuck in the house can be a real bummer. Coloring is a great way to relieve stress and take your mind off things, and there's something beautiful to enjoy at the end of it all, too.

Not anymore...

@@adelinenicholas922 lol well yea that was made 3 years ago 😂

@@ABIXWEEZY yeah I know lol but they're still hella expensive. I'd rather use pencils that don't cost a lot to replace. Plus prismas break easily. Who needs that? : ;

Yes! I didn't mention used books, so thank you for pointing it out!

Yes! I think you can even sign up for email notifications, as well.

Hi Nightfeare! I know that some Dollar Trees have them, but I've been to three locally and NONE of them carry those books. All they have are the cheapie ones that are printed on newsprint. Crafting stuff isn't bad - the sponge paintbrushes, glue, etc. Those all work as they should.

+Michelle Banaszak Thank you Michelle

I've had zero luck with things from the Dollar Tree. Nothing ever works like it should, with the exception of some metallic markers I got. I'd much rather go to Walmart and get Crayola or something that I know will work well.

Haha it's hard. My Blick is an hour and a half from me so I don't go often, but I usually try to save up at least $100 or so to get something good... or lots of little somethings that are good. Hehe.

Yep, I know what you mean. LOL! I'd be like a little kid in a candy store in a place like Blick. I'm telling you, if I ever won the lotto, it would be Katie bar the door. Hehehe!

I'm trying to find the time to get that one recorded, and I need to make a few little cutouts before I do it. :) I'll get it done in the next day or two.

Hi Brenda! It's just lots of practice, dear. I had ZERO talent all my life until I decided I really, really liked coloring. I just keep improving little by little, and you will too! Just stick with it and ENJOY yourself along the way.

Thanks for taking the time to watch, Jill

I put hairspray on eyeshadow backgrounds.

Thanks, Diane!

I keep checking them but I haven't seen any good books at Dollar Tree. I'm also going to get a set of the oil pencils as soon as I can - likely right after the holidays. Thank you!

Lol! Check back often because it can change from one day to the next.

Thanks for watching, Linda!

Hi Terry! You just sign up at their website and check your email, or put the Hobby Lobby app on your phone. They'll scan the coupon right off a smartphone if you have one.

In terms of gel pens or are you looking for something else? Pencils, maybe? I can try my best to help.

Thank you for the quick response. I think I'm going to go with pencils for now. When I was younger I used to use the crayola pencils on their sides and then used my finger to rub/blend and then erase anything outside of the lines. So I'm thinking pencils would be better at the beginning for me since I've already used them on and off over the years.

justmeinflorida You can get a set of 72 prisma colors on Amazon for $24. And if you watch the lightning deals and warehouse deals sometimes cheaper than that. I got a set of 132 prisma colors for $39 that way.

Thank you for the reply. I wound up gifting myself a set of 48 ColorIt pencils with case and sharpener and a set of ColorIt 96 gel pens with case and refills for $47.34. I've read and youtube watched good things about these...so I'm hoping they'll be OK.

72 Prismas for $24??? Seriously? Until now, I never understood why someone would buy these, but that cheap price explains a lot to me. One problem is, that most of the videos (over 90%?) about adult coloring are from the US and around and many of them use or recommend Prismas very often. I know that for a long time Prismas where the only quality pencils out in the US. Polys, Lumis, Lyra etc are known in the meantime but still aren't around anywhere in the US. I live in germany and you get Prismas here since a few years, but just in sets, no single ones (and only from the internet). Ok I've to say these just aren't my fav. type of pencils but they have or had the quality issues for a very long time, aren't lightfast in any way (there where lightfast ones years ago but got sortet out), they smear and crumle, build up a waxbloom very fast if you are a beginner and therefore aren't worth the money, compared to other pencils you can buy here. To be honest, they are even one of the most inferior, based only on the facts and price, completely without my personal preference. Also things like Gamsol don't exist in Germany and the use of things like that is even for artists here very uncommon, also the results are not seen as a quality painting at all. We have a very different way to layer and colour to achieve these results. You experience it if you take Polys or Lyras and try to use them like Prismas, it will end up as a disaster (that's why some people review them so bad or are dissapointed about them, they are used to Prismas and don't know how to use other, especially oilbased ones) Also blender pencils don't really exist here, Lyra is the only company that offers one, so also not as common, but much more than mineral spirits. But usually we still don't use these, because of the different way/style of colouring, there is no need. We have access to nearly all artist quality pencils and most in the middle range, but Prismas are the ones that are hard to find. Only people that do looooove this very smooth wax sooooo much, will buy them. But because of the videos etc beginners often want them and spend a big amount of money (up to $250-300 for 150 Prismas) and end up really dissapointed. Sometimes, out of nowhere Amazon has a price for $100 or less for this set for a few days. But you need to stalk them maybe for month and then be very fast to buy. If you buy Prismas online in Germany, certainly you can't have a look at them before and will still very likely end up with a "bad" set with quality issues. You can return them of course, but you know then that there is no big chance to get a "good" set by simply exchange them. You would end up with the same bad quality. The bad ones are still very present here, because the Prismas aren't as common. Maybe in the next year the better ones finally will come through here too. I know that some people who love Prismas import them from Amazon US, because of the price (but I never looked it up). But if you do so as a private person and the import comes simply through mail, you can imagine that even with a set of the now good ones there is a high rist that they don't arrive still "alive" and you still end up with non usable ones. You can return them of course, but it's not the easiest thing to do and you will need to pay the shipping costs, because of the export. So you paid import and export and end up with nothing. So you could have spend the same amount of money, buying the set of 24 for $25 and end up with bad quality ones, but at least you have some, instead of the import/export option. BUT if I only had to spend $24 for 72 Prismas? I would use them too, at least for some things or additional to my other pencils, because quality and price seems balanced. I also won't mind the quality issues in this case. For compaison: You pay here in Germany 20€ ($25) for the set of 24 Prismas or you spend 26€ for a set of 24 Polychromos. Simple decision, isn't it? Of course we have also others like Lyra etc, that are not as expensive as the Polys, so you can still spend less money for very good quality pencils and if you are on a very tight budget, or simply don't want or don't need such high quality, you will find some good priced ones in the middle range. For me, Prismas aren't artis quality pencils in any way, they are not even lightfast. They are a good pencil for school kids or for a bit of colouring fun at home. If they where priced like this, I'm sure they would be more common here. Also a very commong thing you hear in video from US, just use a coupon on these etc.... nope, things like that don't exist in Germany. You can buy it for the price that is shown or not. Sometimes things can be on sale here, maybe for a week or a day and are more affordable then, but the amount in stock is always limited and you have to be fast enough to buy it. But that is maybe one or two times per year per item.

Hi Kris! I'm sorry you had this experience. Are the pencils visibly damaged? If not, then you might try the "heat trick". Some folks will turn their ovens on to warm, put the pencils on baking trays, then turn the oven off, let it cool to about 100 degrees, and pop the pencils in for a couple hours while the oven cools. After the pencils cool completely, the cores are fused back together and the pencils are as good as new. If you don't feel comfortable doing that (and I would totally understand), then you could try to put them on a heating pad for about 5-10 minutes each side as you have problems with them. Personally, I put my WHOLE set in the trunk of my car this summer for about an hour, then brought them back inside the house and let them cool down. I've had minimal breakage with mine, and our UPS guys are notorious for being rough with our packages. I really hope this helps! The fact that they won't pay return shipping really stinks. I ordered from Walmart.com once, and I had a bad experience too. Amazon is usually better about helping you when you receive a damaged or defective product, in my opinion.

Kris Lair Call prisma color directly. I hear that they are very very helpful.

Yes, Kathy. This page was done entirely in the Polychromos. Thank you so much for watching.

Unfortunately my closest local shop is about 65 miles away.