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How to Sharpen Your Coloured Pencils (Without Breaking Them!)

You've got your lovely new coloured pencils – fantastic! But before you dive into creating beautiful art, let's talk about something simple but crucial: sharpening. Keeping a good point on your pencils makes a huge difference to your drawing experience. It gives you:

  • Better Control: Essential for fine lines and details.
  • Easier Layering: Helps you apply those light, even layers needed for smooth colour.
  • Less Frustration: Honestly, trying to work with a blunt or constantly breaking pencil is just no fun!

Learning to sharpen effectively from the start will save you time and help you get the best from your pencils.

Choosing the Right Sharpener (For Beginners)

Now, not all sharpeners are created equal, especially when it comes to coloured pencils which can have softer, more delicate cores than standard graphite pencils.

You might have experienced those very cheap plastic sharpeners that tend to chew the wood or snap the leads – very frustrating!

While there are fancy electric and helical sharpeners available (which we can talk about another time!), for starting out, I highly recommend investing just a little in a good quality manual sharpener designed for artists' pencils.

  • Why? They typically have sharper, better-angled blades that cut the wood cleanly rather than tearing it, putting less stress on the pencil core.
  • Look for: Brands known for quality like Kum or M&R (Mobius + Ruppert) are excellent choices readily available from UK art suppliers. Many good models also feature replaceable blades, making them great value in the long run.
  • Bonus: Some manual sharpeners, like the popular Kum Long Point, have a clever two-step system – one hole shaves the wood back first, and the second sharpens just the pigment point.

How to Sharpen (Step-by-Step with a Manual Sharpener)

It sounds simple, but a gentle approach makes all the difference:

  1. Insert Gently: Place your pencil into the sharpener hole. Don't jam it in forcefully.
  2. Turn Smoothly and Gently: Hold the sharpener body steady in one hand. With the other hand, grip the pencil comfortably and turn it smoothly inside the sharpener. Use even, gentle pressure. Let the blade do the work – don't force it. (Tip: Turning the pencil, rather than twisting the sharpener around the pencil, often gives more control).
  3. Listen and Feel: Pay attention as you sharpen. You'll often feel a slight change or hear a different sound when the pencil reaches a good point. Avoid the temptation to keep grinding away just to make it needle-sharp, as over-sharpening can weaken the very tip.
  4. Remove Carefully: Gently pull the sharpened pencil straight out.

Top Tips to Avoid Broken Leads!

Snapped points are a common coloured pencil frustration, but you can minimise them:

  • Use a Quality Sharpener: This is the biggest factor! A sharp, well-made blade cuts cleanly. Blunt or poorly angled blades put stress on the core.
  • Be Gentle: Don't apply too much inward pressure when sharpening. Let the rotation and the blade do the work.
  • Avoid Dropping Pencils: This is a major cause of internal core breakage! Even if the pencil looks fine on the outside, a drop can shatter the pigment core inside, leading it to break repeatedly during sharpening later. Treat your pencils with care!

Keep Your Sharpener Clean!

Over time, the wax or oil from coloured pencils can build up on the sharpener's blade, making it less effective.

Quick Tip: Every so often, simply sharpen a regular graphite (lead) pencil in the same sharpener. The graphite helps to clean and lubricate the blade, removing some of that coloured pencil residue.

Enjoy Those Sharp Points!

Great! Your pencils are sharp and ready for action.

With sharp points you'll have more control, achieve better results, and find the whole coloured pencil process much more enjoyable!

Before you learn techniques like layering and blending, let's make sure you have a great outline drawing to work with. Getting the basic shapes and proportions right first means you can relax and focus purely on your colouring later on.

If freehand drawing feels a bit daunting right now, here are two popular and reliable ways to transfer your outline accurately from a reference:

Have a look at both methods and see which one you'd like to try for your first proper drawing!


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