What Are Map Pencils? Is It Different From Colored Pencils?

This blog will guide you on map colored pencils as well as its history, price, and how to buy them. Let’s jump right into this guide without wasting any more time.

What Are Map Pencils?

Before buying this, you need to know what are map colored pencils. map coloring pencils are the regular coloring pencils that are majorly used by kids in schools. Like other pencils, these coloring tools exist in varying designs, sizes, and brands. Research shows that these pencils were first created in 1883.

History Of Map Pencils

John Callow first invented map coloring pencils back in 1883 to help artists better their accuracy. John devised these coloring tools to enable artists to enhance their work. Over the years, colored pencils improved both in design, color, and size.

Customers have more map pencil brands to choose from based on their interests. Additionally, an increase in these manufacturers led to a relative drop in their prices.

Price

Map pencil’s prices differ depending on the total pencils in a pack and the brand. For example, a 36-pack pencil will cost you $6.99.That suggests that each of these pencils will cost each customer $0.19.On the other hand, a PRANG map pencil pack with 12 counts will cost you $3.48.

What Are Colored Pencils?

Colored pencils are special kinds of coloring tools that artists used during painting. Manufacturers make these tools from pigments, additives, and wax. Multiple companies such as Derwent and Blick Studio have been manufacturing these pencils from the 1930s onward.

Price

As most customers would expect, colored pencil prices vary depending on the total pencils in the pack. For instance, you can get an 18-pack at Walmart for $11.58.Honestly, the more the number of pencils per pack, the higher the overall cost.

How To Buy Good Quality Map Pencils?

Any artist that values their artwork doesn’t just pick any map pencil they see from the bookshop shelf. Instead, they pick out the pencils that will improve their artwork and elevate their career big time. I hope you’ll learn a lot from the below considerations.

1. Price

It’s absurd to buy map pencils without first confirming the current price. Ordinarily, the prices vary slightly depending on the total number of these pencils in the package. For example, a package with 100 pencils will cost you $16.99.

On the other hand, a package containing 24 marked pencils will cost between $ 6.44 to $7.00. That said, I encourage you to check out the prices first to make an informed decision.

2. Brand

Like other products, there are multiple manufacturers of these high-quality map pencils. I’d like to burst your bubble; not all brands manufacture good quality products. For this reason, it’s good that you go to the company with outstanding colored pencils.

3. Sizes

Regularly, these pencils measure between 3 to 3.5 inches in length. Therefore, it’s entirely upon you as the customer to choose the pencil that best suits you. However, I am of the opinion that you consider a relatively large map pencil.

You don’t want to strain your hand muscles with a tiny map pencil. Experts always recommend standard colored pencils for a reason.

4. Quality

Nowadays, manufacturers create both soft as well as hard map colored pencils for their clients. Personally, I highly recommend that you opt for soft pencils for your artwork. The good thing about these pencils is that they blend much more effortlessly.

5. Total Count

Customers can’t afford to ignore this factor to get value for their money. Again, and again the overall price principally relies on the total count of these map pencils. The more the number of colored pencils in the pack, the higher the total price.

6. Material

Fascinatingly different manufacturers use either wood or plastic to make map coloring pencils. However, I will always recommend a wooden colored pencil for sharpening reasons. More often than not, manufacturers use either cedar or basswood trees. That’s why these pencils are relatively soft, hence easy to sharpen whenever necessary.

7. Recommended Age

Please note that most of these colored pencils suit kids of a stipulated age. For instance, Crayola coloring pencils are suitable for kids above 5 years. Unfortunately, some of these coloring tools can be toxic and hence not suitable for young kids.

Differences Between Map Pencils And Colored Pencils

Map Pencils	Colored Pencils
1. Strictly used for coloring maps2. Highly fade resistant 3. Only available in wooden 4. Can last 2 to 3 years 5. It is sharp-pointed	Used for any art-related projectsColored pencils fade easily Can either be wooden or plastic Mainly last between 3 to 5 years May or May not be sharp-pointed

FAQs

1. How many color varieties are there on a map?

Technically, there are 5 different colors on a map. Therefore, you’ll need five different varieties of pencils. Here are these colors and what they denote.

1. White: it depicts either scarcity or total lack of vegetation in a region.
2. Green: signifies plenty of vegetation in a locality. Apart from that, it signifies that the area receives an adequate amount of rainfall.
3. Black: majorly stands for man-made features such as dams.
4. Blue: This color represents water bodies on a map
5. Brown: this color mainly represents contour lines.

2. I am a renowned artist. What are the most recommendable color pencil brands?

Unlike a decade ago, tens of color pencils manufacturers have come on board. Let’s highlight some of the top brands that you need to budget for to improve your career.

• Magicfly Colored Pencils
• Arteza Colored Pencils
• Derwent Colored Pencils
• Castle Arts pencils

3. Am a beginner in arts. Which colored pencil would you recommend and why?

I would highly recommend Prisma color Premier colored pencils. Firstly, this package consists of over 150 pencils. Most deals sell each of those map pencils for roughly $0.60. That’s not all, these pencils are incredibly soft and guarantee high-quality coloring.

4. I have noticed that colored pencils have grown in popularity. What could be the reason for this?

Colored pencils have become much more popular due to the increased acceptance of art by society. Unlike before, most societies have accorded art the due respect it deserves. You may have realized that artists can earn a living comfortably from their artwork.

A few decades ago, people used to perceive it as a mere pastime activity. That used to discourage art enthusiasts from taking it as seriously as they should.

5. Why do some experts prefer hard map pencils to soft ones?

Soft pencils cannot be sharpened without the risk of crumbling. On the contrary, you can sharpen hard pencils comfortably to guarantee clearer artwork. On the negative side, artists expend more energy when they use hard pencils.

6. Where can I buy high-quality colored pencils?

Any art hobbyist can get new and high-quality colored pencils from a store or a bookshop. Americans are luckier as they can get these pencils from any dollar store close to them. Here’s a better option; feel free to purchase a map pencil from either Amazon or Walmart.

7. I am planning to start working on a watercolor soon. What’s the best watercolor pencil to include in my budget?

I can accurately guess that you want to get a watercolor pencil with a reasonably thin lead. Here are some of the most highly-rated watercolor pencils for you.

• Derwent pencils
• Derwent Inktense watercolor pencils
• Zena color watercolor pencils

8. Why do people sometimes refer to colored pencils as map pencils?

As you may know, the latter is mainly preferred for map work. Different map colors denote varying information.

9. I prefer to use Prisma color pencils for my artwork. Why are they so expensive though?

Nearly all renowned artists prefer to use Prisma color pencils for their artwork, for many reasons. Firstly, these colored pencils are of high quality as the Newell Rubbermaid manufacturer makes them from high-quality wood. Apart from that, the leads of these pencils are relatively strong and hence can’t crumble easily.

I must add that each Prisma color pack has pencils of different colors such as

• Yellow
• Green
• White
• Dark brown
• Violet
• Pink
• Green
• Black

10. Why do Crayola colored pencils have excellent customer reviews?

If you visit Amazon, you’ll be impressed to see Crayola colored pencils’ customer ratings and reviews. First of all, this brand offers the most attractive prices to all its customers. Secondly, the manufacturer offers an irresistible count of 36,50 and 100 to the clients at a fair price.

Additionally, Crayola pre-sharpens their coloring pencils before they pack them for sale. The fact that the cores of these coloring pencils are strong and soft makes them the best for your art projects.

11. How will I gauge the durability of a colored pencil?

I urge you to read the colored pencil pack before you make any purchase. First, find out how thick the cores of these pencils are. The thicker the pencil is the more long-lasting it becomes as it’s resistant to breakage.

12. Are there map pencils for adults?

Yes, there are! Nowadays, most societies accord art the reasonable respect it so deserves. That might elucidate why over 85% of learning institutions offer art courses today. Therefore, there are multiple map coloring pencils for adult coloring purposes.

13. What can I use a colored pencil for?

Artists use coloring pencils for multiple art-related uses. Some of these uses are:

• Drawing portraits
• Designing posters
• Drawing sketches
• Designing caricatures
• Drawing murals

That’s the main reason why these coloring tools suit creatives, designers, and portrait artists.

In Conclusion,

I am sure you used map pencils many years ago when you were in kindergarten. I guess that map coloring projects helped you bond with your classmates, as well as with their parents.

Interestingly, most successful artists first discovered their talent in arts during their kindergarten days. Therefore, it’s of great essence that we take coloring much more seriously.