Six Budget Colored Pencil Sets Compared: How Similar Are They Really?

Introduction

Budget colored pencil sets all promise a lot: big color counts, low prices, and cores that behave like far more expensive pencils. Six sets in roughly the same price bracket get asked about constantly, and the most common question is whether they are essentially the same pencil with different packaging. To answer that properly, this comparison puts Brutfuner, Kalour, Castle Arts, Artex, Naoni, and Cin Essence side by side with identical tests on identical paper.

How the Comparison Was Done

Rather than producing six finished artworks, the same sphere exercise was drawn with each set using five or six different colors per set, mixing colors so no single sphere was dominated by one hue. Spheres are an efficient way to judge blending and layering behavior. The paper for every test was Fabriano Artistico extra white hot press 100% cotton, a high-quality surface, and notes were written down throughout each test to capture how every core felt in hand.

One important caveat applies throughout: nobody can state with absolute certainty that two pencils share an identical core. What these tests can establish is how closely the pencils match in how they layer, blend, and feel on paper.

Odorless Mineral Spirits Blending Test

After the spheres were drawn, odorless mineral spirits were worked into each one to see how well each core dissolved and blended. Every sphere was built up with a light touch over five or six colors, leaving plenty of pigment on the paper for the solvent to move.

The mineral spirits worked well across all six sets, largely because the light-touch layering left enough core material on the surface to blend down. Differences showed up more in feel than in the final look.

Layer Count Test

Next came a straightforward endurance test: how many layers could each core accept before the paper stopped taking pigment? Results were close but not identical:

• Brutfuner: about 16 layers before no more color was accepted
• Kalour: about 16 layers, matching Brutfuner
• Castle Arts: about 13 layers before the surface stopped changing
• Artex: about 15 layers with no serious resistance
• Naoni: about 15 layers, after which the surface turned slightly slick with a sheen-like film
• Cin Essence: about 17 layers, the highest of the group

None of the six showed tackiness or significant resistance while layering, which is impressive for pencils in this price range.

Core Hardness and Feel on Paper

The feel tests told the most interesting story. Brutfuner’s core felt medium, neither Prismacolor-soft nor Derwent Artist-hard, held a point well under a light hand, and went down with a soft, buttery texture. Kalour felt almost identical in every single test performed, with the same medium hardness and buttery application.

Castle Arts layered well and blended acceptably, but felt a touch drier on the paper. Not scratchy, just drier, with the paper fibers more perceptible under the core, while its firmness remained very close to Brutfuner and Kalour. All three sharpened very well. Artex also felt drier, similar to Castle Arts, but appeared slightly less pigmented, with blues in particular looking less vibrant than the rest.

Naoni felt slightly softer than all four pencils above it, with a notably high pigment level and that same buttery glide over the cotton paper. Cin Essence was the outlier: clearly the hardest and driest core of the six, which is exactly why it kept accepting layer after layer without resistance and produced the smoothest dark-to-light transition after solvent blending.

Brutfuner Colored Pencils

Brutfuner delivered a medium core with a soft, buttery feel on hot press cotton paper, held its point well with a light hand, and accepted around 16 layers. Its sphere blended beautifully with odorless mineral spirits, and in every feel test it tracked Kalour almost stroke for stroke.

Kalour Colored Pencils

Kalour was, in practical terms, the closest match to Brutfuner of anything tested. Medium hardness, buttery application, about 16 layers, and near-identical notes across the sphere work and line tests. If you already own one, the other will feel immediately familiar.

Castle Arts Colored Pencils

Castle Arts sits in the same medium-firmness family but with a drier, more textured stroke where the paper fibers come through a little more. It accepted around 13 layers, the lowest count of the group, though still with no scratchiness or resistance. A solid set with slightly different character.

Artex Colored Pencils

Artex matched Castle Arts closely in feel and layering, at around 15 layers, but came across as less pigmented, especially in the blue pencils, which looked noticeably less vibrant than the other sets on the same paper.

Naoni Colored Pencils

Naoni was slightly softer than the other four medium cores, with high pigment saturation and that pleasant buttery glide. Despite similarities, its differences were real enough that it stands as its own pencil rather than a clone of anything tested here. After about 15 layers the surface turned slick as the paper’s tooth filled completely.

Cin Essence Colored Pencils

Cin Essence was wildly different from everything else in the group: the hardest and driest core, accepting around 17 layers with no resistance, and producing the smoothest gradient once mineral spirits were applied. Before testing it looked like a near-twin of Naoni on paper; in hand it proved to be a completely different pencil.

Overall Buying Advice

The headline findings: Brutfuner and Kalour have very similar, almost identical characteristics in every test. Castle Arts and Artex share traits but are not as tightly matched as that first pair, with Artex trailing slightly on pigment. Naoni is its own pencil, and Cin Essence is definitely its own pencil too. Expecting Cin Essence and Naoni to be near-identical turned out to be wrong.

It is also worth remembering that pencils coming from the same factories do not automatically perform the same, as Derwent’s own UK factory demonstrates by producing very different pencil lines. And those tempting 520-pencil sets at low prices are often overkill; you rarely need that many colors, and the palette choice matters more than the count.

View more details for Naoni Colored Pencils

Conclusion

For a soft, buttery budget core, Brutfuner and Kalour are the standouts and feel practically interchangeable. Castle Arts and Artex suit anyone happy with a slightly drier stroke, with Castle Arts the stronger pick on pigment. Naoni offers the softest feel with high saturation, and Cin Essence rewards patient layering and solvent blending with the smoothest finish of the six. Matching the core character to how you actually color matters far more than the number on the box.