Skip to Main Content
  • Featured in this set are Crayola Write Start Colored Pencils in 8 classic colours. The hexagonal shape and extra thick 5.3mm tips on Crayola Write Start Colored Pencils make them easy for young children to use. Give the kids a great start on the road to artistic proficiency with Crayola Write Start Colored Pencils. They're pre-sharpened and ready to go when children want to practice their letters or start colouring. Pair this set with a Crayola colouring book (sold separately) for a wonderful birthday or holiday gift idea. The pencils are made from reforested wood - something today's eco-conscious families will love.
  • INCLUDES: 8 coloured pencils with fun designs.

    DURABLE: Strong leads, less breakage and long lasting.

    SCHOOL SUPPLIES: A popular item for school projects, homework, and crafts.

    GIFT FOR CHILDREN & TEACHERS: A birthday or Christmas gift you can rely on for big smiles and hours at a time of imaginative fun! It is also makes a creative gift for teachers, to help stock up on classroom supplies.SAFE: Safe school supplies for children. Nontoxic and child friendly. Suitable for children ages 3 & up.

FAQ

  • Introduced in 1998, Crayola® offers a variety of colored pencil assortments that are the essential creative tool for kids or the art enthusiast. Crayola colored pencils are manufactured in Brazil, Costa Rica or Vietnam due to their high-volume manufacturing capabilities.


    The process of making Crayola Colored Pencils begins in the forest. Seedlings, which are young trees, are planted in fields much like a farmer plants a crop. Seedling crops grow into trees which are eventually used to make wood casings for the pencils. After several years, the trees are harvested, cut into even lengths, stacked onto trucks and shipped to the sawmill. Then, a new crop of seedlings is planted to replace those which have been harvested.


    At the sawmill, lumber arriving by the truckload is stacked in large piles and allowed to dry. Once dry, the lumber is fed into a bark stripping machine which removes all the bark from each piece of lumber. Next, the lumber goes through a series of milling machines which cuts the lumber into rectangular slats. These slats are about as long as a colored pencil and about three inches wide. The slats are the building blocks for the production of colored pencils.


    The slats are then transported to the pencil making plant. Here they are fed into another milling machine which cuts small semicircular grooves at regular intervals down the length of each slat. These grooved slats are now ready to accept a colored pencil core.


    To make a Crayola Colored Pencil core, you need four raw materials:

    1. Extenders - which make up the body of the lead.
    2. Binders - to hold the ingredients together.
    3. Pigment - which gives each type of colored pencil its unique color.
    4. Water – to mix all the ingredients.

    First, the extenders, binders, pigments and water are placed in a large mixer which gently kneads them together into a uniform doughy substance. When the mixing is complete, the contents of the mixer are rolled into flat sheets. Finally, these sheets are machine-pressed into large, long solid cylinder shapes. These shapes are called cartridges.


    Each cartridge, while still damp and pliable, is inserted into another machine called an extrusion press, where it is forced through a small tube. The tube has a diameter equal to that of a colored pencil core. As the long rope of wet colored core comes out, an automatic slicer cuts it into equal lengths approximately as long as a colored pencil. Since the leads are still quite moist, they must be dried in large ovens before they become hard enough to insert into the slats.


    To assemble the pencils, half of the grooved slats are fed into a machine which carefully lays a colored pencil core into each groove. Then a layer of glue is applied, and a second grooved slat is placed on top of the slat holding the lead. Think of this as a pencil sandwich, with each slat acting like a piece of bread and the color cores acting like the filling.


    These pencil sandwiches are then bound very tightly together and placed into storage to give the glue time to dry. Once the glue is dry, they are fed into another milling machine which cuts them into individual colored pencils. Depending on the design of colored pencils, they are cut into either round or hexagonal shapes.


    Next, the pencils are fed into a machine to be painted with the same color paint as the colored core. The pencils run down a conveyor belt to allow the paint to dry. The painted pencils are then sent to a machine to be automatically sharpened.


    Finally, brightly colored finished pencils are packed into boxes, which are shipped to neighborhood stores.


    Crayola Colored Pencils are used by people of all ages for everything from crafts to professional artwork and school projects. Learn more about Crayola Colored Pencils products.

  • While we don't manufacture a specific sharpener for Crayola® Colored Pencils, hand-held sharpeners are the optimal choice for achieving a precise point. We recommend them over electric or crank-style sharpeners. Hand-held sharpeners with dual holes offer versatility for most standard-size and larger pencils.


    Recommended Sharpeners:

    • Standard-size colored pencils: Brass Bullet Pencil Sharpener and Chubby Pencil Sharpener. You can view these sharpeners on the NASCO website or call 800-558-9595.
    • Large-size Write Start Colored Pencils: Helix Hand-Held Sharpener with two holes. Find this product on Blick Art Materials using product code #21401-0100 or call 1-800-447-8192. Some eye pencil sharpeners from beauty supply stores may also work!

    Note: Crayola Color Sticks don't need sharpening, but you can achieve a fine point with any handheld sharpener that has a 15mm opening.


  • Yes! We offer a complimentary "Color Your Own" colored pencil chart that can be completed with the Crayola Colored Pencils, 100-count box. Access and print the coloring page on Crayola's Colored Pencil Coloring Page.

  • While we don't currently offer our colored pencils in single colors, you might be interested in our Colored Pencil Classpacks! 

    If you are a consumer located in the USA, check Crayola.com to use our product locator tool.

    For schools or businesses, check with any of the suppliers below:


    Art Supply Wholesale (800) 462-2420

    Blick Art Materials (800) 447-8192

    Nasco Arts & Crafts (800) 558-9595


    Our Canadian friends can check Crayola.ca for availability.

     

  • Crayola® Markers are made with six components consisting of: a color solution, a porous plastic nib, a plastic barrel, a cotton filament (ink reservoir), an end plug, and a cap. Although specific ingredient information is proprietary, most of the color solutions in Crayola Markers are made from water and dyes. Below is the process we follow to make Crayola Markers.


    1. Tiny beads of plastic are fed into a molding machine where they are melted and then molded into marker barrels. The liquid plastic becomes solid, white marker barrels in a matter of seconds.
    2. Any extra plastic from the molding process goes back into the molding machine to make new marker barrels.
    3. The marker barrels are screen printed with the Crayola brand name and most with the color name of the marker. The process is like screen printing t-shirts, where the ink colors pass through a pre-made screen onto the printing surface. Up to 6 distinct colors can be used to decorate the marker barrel at one time! The ink dries quickly as the marker barrel passes through a drying tunnel.
    4. The assembly machine lines up the marker barrels in the same direction as they move along a conveyor belt. The end plug and ink reservoir are inserted into the marker barrel, and the color solution is injected into the soft reservoir. The marker nib, or drawing tip, is added to the open end of the marker, followed by the cap. It takes a minute or two for the ink to travel up from the reservoir to color the nib, so the marker is ready to write!
    5. The finished markers are placed in a sorter - a machine with separate sections for the assorted colors. A chute drops one marker of each color onto a conveyor belt, creating the colorful assortment that will fill the marker box.
    6. A robotic arm opens the flat marker boxes and sends them down the conveyor belt. Another robotic arm pushes the markers into the boxes and closes them. After the assembled markers are packed in large cartons, they are ready to be shipped to stores.

    Did you know....

    Crayola makes more than 700 million markers a year!


    • The first box of Crayola Markers was introduced in 1978 and included 8 bright colors.
    • In 2014, Crayola introduced Ultra-Clean Washable Markers. They clean up easily from skin, clothing, and painted walls.
    • Crayola Broad Line Markers are tested to write a minimum of 300 feet - almost the length of a football field!
    • Crayola Fine Line and Super Tips Markers are tested to write a minimum of 600 feet.

    Learn more about Crayola Markers on the Crayola Markers Page.

Crayola® 8 Write Start Colored Pencils (3/4 Length)

Item Number: 684108

Ages: 3+

More Activities & Ideas

Unlock creativity with fun activities, free printables, and seasonal project ideas!