I picked the Crayolas over the Berol Prismacolor (to save some money) to color an Anatomy coloring book for school. Big mistake. The Crayolas are made of a harder substance and thus the colors do not easily glide onto the paper as is the case with Berols. This is important when you need to be precise in coloring small detail. Thus it took a lot longer to color a page, not mention the higher difficulty level and frustrations that accompany the coloring experience.
Now if the coloring objective is for small children's coloring books, then these Crayolas are fine for these needs. But if you're an adult or need to color something more sophisticated, go with the Berols! Crayola 24ct Long Colored Pencils
**Since the representational photo for this product seems to have been changed from the 50-count box (wrong) to the 24-count box (correct), my original complaint about the miscue is no longer salient. What follows is an amended review of Crayola's two-dozen box of colored pencils posted September 1, 2011 - al smalling, chicago**
The kid-oriented box of 12 or 24 colored seven-inch pencils has practically become a staple product. Crayola color pencils, while bold, run to vivid colors rather than deep colors, and exude a child-friendly optimism. The "lead" inside them is strong by the standards of color pencils. In the absence of bells and whistles like an eraser tip or a built-in sharpener, you can safely buy by price unless your child's school says otherwise. Use a handheld sharpener.
For literally just few dollars more, though, there are many brands in the under-nine dollar range to which the child who is more tween than primary-grade can be introduced: Sanford's "Col-Erase" in boxes of either 12 or 24 comes to mind because they sharpen well and have ferrule-tipped erasers attached, just like any standard black #2. Also (Dixon) Ticonderoga's "Erasable Checking Pencils" (make sure you buy the multicolored dozen). Still very much in the "colored pencil" genre, but a step up in sophistication and product count are Sargent's "50 Colored Pencils." For older or highly motivated kids and adults, at above twenty dollars, particularly the budding artist who shows a desire for blending hues and shading color laydown, there's a brand (Prismacolor's "Scholar" line) specifically designed to fill the gap between the kind of product under review here and the pricier, pro-level "art stick" that can be bought individually or in sets here, or at places like Dick Blick and Michael's. Buyers today have tons of options.
NOTE: As of this emendation (September 6, 2011), Amazon (and not a third-party vendor) offers this 2-dozen pack of Crayola Colored Pencils at a very good price: <$3-.
They are the branded color pencils that you have been using since preschool... what could be more said. Presharpened, basic color pencils with great quality and firm grip, I would recommend it even for AP art classes for they work like a charm.
For some reason although these are on all the school supply lists, nobody around here actually sells the 24-pack. But they are good items. I'd rather have my kids use good colored pencils like Prismacolor or Polychromos, but these are pretty cheap and since they're for school I don't mind buying them.'
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