Easy Way to Select Colored Pencils

I have several hundred colored pencils. I keep them in tubes sorted into 12 families of hues in various  tints and shades. The pencils are painted with a shiny enamel that only approximates the actual color of the pencils. The small part of color visible on the end helps somewhat but a better method is to use a paper punch which pops out 1/4 " circles. These circles can be colored with the pencil point and using Elmer's Glue you can glue the dot on the end of the pencil. I use hot glue if the pencil has a metal cap on the end. This assures me that the exact tint or shade of color can be quickly selected and the dot on paper looks like it will on drawing paper.

The colored lead in Prismacolor or other colored pencils does not match exactly as the pencils are painted with shiny enamel paint.

Punch out with a paper punch a 1/4 inch circle from a piece of drawing paper. Color this circle with a pencil and using Elmer"s Glue Stick glue the circle to the end of the pencil. Notice the difference in the color painted on the pencil and the actual color on the circle of paper.

Elmer's Glue Stick

In this example, the colored circle is more saturated than the enamel paint on the pencil.

Some in this box have added circles of actual pencil on paper. Some do not.

Can you find the ones that do?

Yes, The three tubes on the bottom have circles of paper colored with the actual pencil color.

Some are lighter and some more saturated than the paint on the pencils.

This makes selection very accurate when choosing from hundreds of pencils.