Whether it’s been several years since you last colored or are a seasoned colorist, the fact remains that gel pens are a requirement for any artist or hobbyist’s toolbox.
Unique and charming medium—gel pens fill a niche where crayons, markers, and colored pencils can’t quite satisfy. Color gradients that pop out from the page and smoothly settle into the paper.
The best gel pens for adult coloring are:
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- Sakura Gelly Roll 74 Pack
- Shuttle Art Set 120 Pack
- ColorIt Premium Gel Pens Set
- Tanmit Gel Pens 240 Pack
- Reaeon Long-Lasting Gel Pens 200 Pack
- Castle Art Supplies 100 Pack
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Not all art supplies are created equally, unfortunately, and the case of gel pens is no different. Many products didn’t make our list, but the ones that did are for a reason.
Sakura Gelly Roll 74 Pack
The Sakura Gelly Roll 74 pack includes five different styles of gel pens:
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- 6 fine-tip classic pens (0.3mm)
- 11 medium-point classic pens (0.4mm).
- 14 metallic pens
- 5 gold dual-color
- 5 silver shadow dual-color iridescent pens
- 13 Stardust pens for extra glittery punch
- 10 Moonlight 06 pens
- 10 Moonlight 10 pens for a variety of gleaming colors that beam through a dark paper background.
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Sakura invented gel ink, a combination of pigment powder and water-gel solution, in 1984 and continues to be the best in the industry. Their Gelly Roll series best showcases their dedication to high-quality pens that artists and hobbyists repeatedly fall in love with. The expressive colors and creamy smooth experience of the gel make the strongest argument for why the Gelly Roll 74 pack is the best.
That said, the best doesn’t always come cheap, be prepared to shell out $80.00 to $90.00 depending on the seller. Rest assured, however, every Gelly Roll owner I’ve talked to would buy again in a heartbeat. Need more convincing? Check out their Instagram @gellyrollph.
Shuttle Art 120 Pack
The Shuttle Art 120 Pack comes with a lot of pens to cover every base on the color wheel:
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- 41 Pens of all different colors, no duplicates, and all of them ready for page appreciation.
- 24 Metallic dazzling pens
- 18 Pastel pens
- 17 Neon pens
- 13 Standard pens that many other pen packs simply don’t have.
- 4 Fun swirl pens
- 3 Eye-catching rainbow pens
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The Shuttle Art 120 pack comes with more than enough colors in more than enough variations to satisfy any colorist’s first time or fiftieth time on the page. These pens stand out with a quality product build as seen in the long-lasting tip and durable casing that houses magnetic metallics, and satisfactory standard gel pens in all the necessary colors, unlike many other packs that tend to skimp the essential classic no-frills gel pens. These pens come with mileage as well with refills for every pen included in the box!
So where does the Shuttle Art 120 drop off? Unfortunately, these pens suffer from a slight dull discoloration when dried, a common problem among gel pens due to the nature of pigment powder and gel solution when oxidized. The dry discoloration is especially noticeable in their pastel pens, which is unfortunate given there are 18 of them in the pack.
ColorIt Premium Gel Ink
The ColorIt Premium Gel Ink pens come in an amazing carrying case to keep everything neatly organized and ready for on-the-go options with:
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- 24 Glitter pens
- 12 Metallic pens
- 12 Neon pens
- 1 Amazing carrying case
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Another great option that showcases brilliant shades of gel and bright glitters to add a pop to any hobbyist’s page. Though the selections of pens may be limited, the ink of these pens stands out for their sheeting luster and comfortable pen design opting for a rubber grip and wide-diameter pen casing.
That said, ColorIt’s gel solution is a little more watery than the previously mentioned competitors, and while ColorIt has gracefully avoided drying discoloration, the higher water content means these pens will most likely bleed through pages and over the coloring lines from time to time.
Tanmit Gel Pens 240 Pack
The Tanmit Gel Pens 240 pack is fully loaded with 120 pens, and 120 refills for:
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- 28 Selections of glitter pens
- 20 Metallic pens with a great variety of options
- 19 Bright neon pens
- 16 Pastel pens
- 16 Florescent pens that other gel pen packs do not have
- 11 Dye pens that can be used on nails or skin safely (but please read the product description and safety guidelines if buying).
- 6 Rainbow pens
- 4 Standard pens
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Yeah… That’s a lot of pens, and if you’re thinking a lot of pens means poor quality. Well, you’d only be a little right. The Tanmit gel ink is more than proficient and each of them is distinct from the other. Combined with a full 240 pens with refills, these pens are popular for school art supplies due to their combination of quality and economy.
However, there’s a reason teachers stressfully tell students to be careful with them. The plastic is flimsy, and the ink cartridge can rattle a little. The tips of the pens are also known to get stuck on the metal sides. But ya know what, if they can survive the onslaught of wild art-crazed eight-year-olds, I’m sure it can’t be that big of a deal.
Reaeon Long-Lasting Gel Pens Pack
The Reaeon Long-Lasting gel pens pack, similar to the Tanmit pack, includes 100 colors and 100 refills for each pen option including:
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- 28 Glitter pens
- 18 Metallic pens
- 16 Neon pens
- 15 Pastel pens
- 14 Distinct neon glitter pens
- 6 Impressive swirl Ink pens
- 3 Standard pens
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Reaeon, pronounced “rē-un” with the stress at the beginning of the word, and a relaxed low “un” at the end is a Japanese company that makes a wonderful gel for a great number of pens. Their neon glitter gel and swirl ink colors have high-range gradients for warmer colors that stand out from competitors. Not to mention the pack comes with refills in the rare case you would need it. These pens have ink that lasts.
The plastic around the ink, however, is not so much. These pens are no stranger to fickle breaking with the bottoms or tops of the pens falling out if a pen drops from the table. Accidents happen. Regardless, I still really like these pens and they have a good feeling to their ink visually and physically as you color.
Check out our gel pen tips HERE!
Castle Art Supplies 100-Pack Gel Pens
Finally, a shout-out that had to be included, the Castle Art Supplies 100-pack gel pens that feature:
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- 28 Glitter pens
- 17 Metallic pens
- 16 Neon pens
- 15 Pastel pens
- 14 Neon Glitter pens
- 6 Swirl Ink pens
- 4 Standard pens
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These Castle Art Supply pens have superb dense colors that settle into the page. The ink is pretty heavy on the pigment side of the gel solution and it pays off for them. The colors are gripping and can produce some impressive contrast for a deeper visual of the page. Not only that but coloring with these pens is smooth like rain on glass.
Castle Art even built an ink-stopper into the caps of the pens because that ink is so much so that it’s a bit of a problem. These are also popular picks for elementary school supplies, and if your kids or you at their age came home with ink and glitter “mysteriously” marked all over your hands, well it wasn’t completely your fault. The leaky pen also causes more bleed through the page. Rest assured those colors will look stunning and settle in, really settle in.
Frequently Asked Questions
I’ve Got The Gear… Now, How Do I Use It?
Though it can be done, scribbling isn’t always the best method of coloring with gel pens. Colorists and hobbyists alike agree that techniques such as hatching, cross-hatching, stippling, and blending are some of the best methods for creating high-quality color art!
What is Hatching?
Hatching is done when the colorist fills a space with repeating parallel lines all in the same direction. This gives a natural uniform movement to the page and showcases glitters and gradients. Similarly, cross-hatching is done by adding perpendicular lines to the already parallel lines, thus crossing each hatch mark with another for a more dense pattern.
What is Stippling?
Stippling is similar to hatching as a pattern style of coloring but differs by using dots instead of lines. The dots allow a more static density that moves with less uniformity on the page.
How Do I Blend Colors?
Blending is done by a “wet” and “dry” combination where the first layer of color purposefully bleeds into the page. Then lightly smeared and colored over with a “dry” pen with as little ink bleed as possible. A “dry” on the “dry” pen option also works but produces slightly different results with less heavy pigment use.
Though we strongly recommend the Sakura Gelly Roll pens, the reality is, as long as you have a set of pens you love with the features and ink you need then that’s all that matters. You can’t control what industry pen makers do, but you can produce astonishing gel pen art with some practice. Just keep this list in mind for when you’re ready to buy.
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