Want to give your coloring an extra boost? Try using gel pens on your next coloring page! In this article we look at the best 5 gel pens for coloring. From neon gel pens to ice cream swirls we take a look at the different gel pen finishes and even share a couple of our favorite brands.
Why Are Gel Pens Great For Coloring?
Gel pens have nibs similar to a ball point pen, this means that you can produce extra fine coloring details and color tight spaces with ease. The smaller nibs give you extra control making gel pens particularly good for applying texture and embellishments to your coloring pages.
The high pigment inks used in gel pens apply smoothly to the paper providing a thick, opaque finish similar to paint. This means that coloring with gel pens produce a vibrant color with much less effort than using coloring pencils.
Thanks to the thickness of the ink and the rollerball style with which it is applied, gel pens produce a smoother and brighter color finish than traditional felt tip pens with virtually no bleed through even the thinnest paper.
Finally, gel pens come in a range of styles that produce different finishes, some that simply can’t be achieved using coloring pencils or felt tipped pens. So, let’s take a look at our best 5 gel pens to use for coloring!
Glow Neon!
Thanks to those high pigment inks you will find many brands of gel pen offer a range of neon colors.
Expect punchy pinks and glowing greens, perfect for creating a psychedelic look on your coloring page or applying a popping candy 1980s style to your design.
Must Have Metallics
Metallic gel pens offer a shiny effect to the ink that is difficult to capture on camera, but really does lend itself well to your coloring page.
The silvers and gold have the most obvious metallic finish, but even the pinks and blues have a pleasing shine when they are applied to the page. Metallic colors really catch the eye and can draw attention to your coloring page.
Gorgeous Glitters
Perfect for adding highlights, glitter pens should definitely be on your list…
Because of the jelly like thickness of the ink you can even get gel pens that have glitter as an ingredient. Glitter pens not only produce bold colors but also add a little sparkle to your coloring page.
Perfect for adding highlights, glitter pens should definitely be on your list if you are looking to start off your gel pen collection.
Wonderful White
Imagine correction fluid that you can apply with a pen and you have one of my favorite gel pens – simple, plain but wonderful white!
White gel pens, like the Uniball Signio (pictured left) have such smooth and thick ink that you can draw on black paper. White gel pens are also perfect for adding on top of your colored page to create highlights or embellishments to your finished design.
Brilliant Black
This is a little cheat as far as gel pens go, but for number 5 on my list I have to add a simple black gel pen. The way the ink applies so smoothly to the paper means you can add to your coloring page easily by creating lovely sweeping black lines or opaque stippling.
You can even use the black gel pen to try your hand at creating your own little doodle coloring page!
Gel Pens in Action
I used the glitter, neon and metallic gel pens to color in my little bumble bee doodle coloring page.
Those neon greens really pop from the page and the glittery purple is wonderful. I used the black glitter gel pen to add some impact to the lines on the bee and finished the wings with the metallic silver pen. I love the finished result!
Best Gel Pen Brand?
If you search gel pen on Amazon you will be scrolling through results for days! There are so many brands available that it is impossible to try each brand. What I can do is recommend a budget and premium brand that I have experience of, both of which were used in this article.
Gel Pens on a Budget
The neon, glitter, metallic and black gel pens used in the pictures above are all from the Fiskars 48 piece Gel Pen Pack.
Fiskars are a well know brand for craft products and these pens produce great colors. The ink applies smoothly with very little skipping. These pens are a great start for using on white paper and standard coloring pages, but if you were hoping to use these pens on dark paper then the pigment and thickness of the ink is not suitable to cover dark paper. See the white ink picture above for an example of how the Fiskars pen compares to the Uniball Signo.
Premium Gel Pens
Probably the best known brand for gel pens is Gelly Roll. These pens originate from Japan and come with the tag line “Ice Cream Smooth” and they really are!
Gelly Roll have all sorts of different finishes, from glitter to metallic and glaze (which finishes with a hard shiny gloss finish) to souffl’e (which puffs up leaving a slightly raised effect when dry).
Gelly Roll produce beautifully smooth pens and the ink is so thick that it even applies to black paper allowing you to create coloring pages and doodles with startling colors!
If you are looking for a great finish, wide range of styles and a respected brand name then Gelly Roll gel pens should definitely be on your list for consideration.
Final Flourish
In this article we have introduced you to the world of gel pens, we have covered what are gel pens, why gel pens are great for coloring and we told you our best 5 gel pens for coloring. Hopefully you have enjoyed reading about gel pens and will be eager to let them loose on your coloring pages!
Over to you!
Are you a fan of gel pens for coloring? Do you have a favorite brand to recommend or maybe there is a gel pen finish that really makes your coloring pages pop? Let us know below.
Hi.
I was somewhat surprised that you hadn’t included Pastel gel pens in your review. Though I detest them and will use them to get rid of them so I have better gel pens to save, I wondered if you could assess these, too?
Thanks and great review on the best type of pens to use for colouring!
Armand
Pastel gel pens are made more for using on dark paper like black.
I love love Tek writer gel pens. They truly are the best and I’ve tried a bunch. I am a very very picky gel pen user and my top choice for sure. Have fun fellow colorists
I love Colorit jel pens because they glide across the paper and the coverage are awesome!
My first and only set of gel pens are Fiskars. I love them!
A really helpful article – thanks.
Can you tell us which of these are refillable? I want to buy a really good set of pens, but it’s essential that I don’t have to throw them into landfill when they run out. I’ve seen plenty of refills on the market, but I can’t tell which pens have an unscrew-able bottom end to enable easy refilling that won’t wreck the pen!
thanks so much
As long as the refill is the same size as the pen that ran out, you can use just about ANY brand to refill the plastic holder. If you look up the original brand of pens on Amazon or anywhere else and search “Tanmit Gel Pen refills” (that’s one of the many brands I personally use ☺) and find the refills then the top of the pen at the top, or the metal part of the pen (down by the tip), can be removed. I’ve put Artilicious gel pen refills into my Tanmit ones and had zero issues, as well as the other way around. I’ve also been in a pinch and used the cheapest refills I could find and put them in whichever color I needed at the time.
Oh! And alot of the pens that are on Amazon that have 240 or more pens actually come with refills and they are just counting the refills as part of the colors. Make sure you read the description and always check the reviews. Anything less then 4 stars is probably a waste. It’s mind boggling just how many different brands that there are. Right at this moment, I have 5 different brands and close to 500 pens, not counting the refills. Since I color alot of detailed books and posters like Johanna Basford and Thomas Kincaid, it uses alot of ink just for one picture. I think it’s worth it though. 😉 I think that Amazon has unbeatable prices when it comes to Johanna Basford though. Her coloring books are $20 or more at a store and on there, they’re only $3 and up. It’s crazy!! I’ll usually buy 2 or more of the same coloring book just so I can color it different ways, many times..
But that’s another story, eh? Lol 😂🤣
Anyways, i know that says alot but I hope it helps! Have fun coloring! I love it!
I’ve used several brands of gel pens. I started using them back in the late 90’s and early 2000’s when they really took off – where I live. Out of all the brands I’ve tried there is just one brand that never one single time failed or stopped working. That brand is the Gelly Roll gel pens. I’m just being completely honest. With that being said, I keep trying other brands. I don’t know why because I continue to get faulty gel pens. One other brand that was really good was Inc. starlightz, but I don’t think they are in business anymore. However, they didn’t have but six colors. There
are a couple of brands above that I haven’t tried that I’m excited about. Also, there are ways of caring for your gels pens that is a must if you want them to continue to work. Oh, and one last thing, gel pens can not be refilled. The ink can not be exposed to air because that is what causes them to dry up even if it’s just for a second. The gel ink has got to be injected in the pen with the gel like material placed in the end of the pen to avoid air exposure. Always replace the cap after use. I know a guy that works (or worked) with trying to produce gel pens. He says he hates them because it is near impossible to get them to not dry out. That’s where I got the limited knowledge I have on the subject. I do love gel pens for everything! Thanks!!