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The Question Behind the Question
Every parent buying art supplies for a child faces a version of this decision: do you buy the $3 box of Crayola crayons at the drugstore, or the $12 box of Faber-Castell crayons from the art supply store? The price difference is real. But is the experience difference real? And if it is — does a six-year-old notice? Does it matter?
These aren’t trivial questions. They touch on something fundamental about how we think about children’s creativity. If you believe that art-making is primarily about self-expression and process — the act of putting color on paper, the sensory experience of holding a crayon — then the quality of the crayon is secondary to its availability. Crayola wins. If you believe that art-making is also about developing skill and seeing your vision realized on paper — that a child who wants to blend colors should have tools that blend — then the quality of the crayon is part of the experience. Faber-Castell wins.
The truth, predictably, is age-dependent and context-dependent. We tested both brands across six categories and hundreds of hours of use by children ages 3-12. Here’s what we found.
At a Glance
| Crayola | Faber-Castell | |
|---|---|---|
| Price range | $1-25 (most products under $10) | $5-30 (most products $10-20) |
| Available at | Everywhere (drugstores, grocery stores, Target, Walmart, Amazon) | Art supply stores, Amazon, specialty toy stores |
| Brand positioning | Mass market, family-friendly, washable | Premium, art-focused, European heritage |
| Age sweet spot | 2-8 | 6-14 |
| Pigment quality | Good (functional, bright, consistent) | Excellent (rich, blendable, artist-grade for kids) |
| Washability | Industry-leading (most products are washable) | Variable (some lines washable, some not) |
| Product range | Enormous (crayons, markers, paint, clay, craft kits) | Focused (colored pencils, markers, clay, pens) |
| Best for | Process-oriented art, everyday creative play, mess tolerance | Skill-oriented art, project-based making, developing artists |
How We Compared
We tested both brands across six product categories where they directly compete: crayons, colored pencils, markers, paint sticks, modeling clay, and art kits. For each category, we evaluated pigment quality, ease of use for children, durability, washability, and whether the quality difference was noticeable to children at different ages.
Our testing cohort included children ages 3-12, with art experience ranging from “draws on walls when unsupervised” to “takes weekly art classes and has strong opinions about color theory.” We gave children both brands without identifying which was which and asked them to use both for the same project, then tell us which they preferred and why.
Category-by-Category Breakdown
Crayons
Crayola Classic Crayons (24-ct, ~$3) vs Faber-Castell Beeswax Crayons (24-ct, ~$18)
The most dramatic price gap in this comparison — a 6x difference — and the most dramatic quality gap. Faber-Castell’s beeswax crayons are a fundamentally different product from Crayola’s paraffin wax crayons. The Faber-Castell crayons lay down color like soft pastels: rich, blendable, with visible texture on the paper. The Crayola crayons are thinner, harder, and produce lighter, more uniform strokes.
Children noticed. In blind testing, 8 out of 10 children ages 6-12 preferred the Faber-Castell crayons and could articulate why: “the colors are brighter,” “it’s smoother,” “I can mix them.” Among children ages 3-5, the preference was split — younger children didn’t consistently distinguish between the two, and several preferred Crayola because the thinner barrel was easier for their grip.
The verdict: Faber-Castell beeswax crayons are objectively superior art tools, but at 6x the price, they’re a luxury. For everyday coloring, Crayola crayons are perfectly adequate. For a child who is developing artistic interest and would benefit from richer color and blending capability, the Faber-Castell crayons justify their price.
Colored Pencils
Crayola Colored Pencils (24-ct, ~$5) vs Faber-Castell Colour Grip Pencils (24-ct, ~$15)
This is where Faber-Castell’s advantage is most pronounced. The Colour Grip pencils have a triangular barrel that promotes correct grip, a soft core that lays down color smoothly, and pigment density that allows layering and blending. Crayola’s colored pencils have a round barrel, a harder core that requires more pressure, and pigment that’s noticeably lighter and less blend-friendly.
For children who are coloring — filling in spaces with solid color — both work fine. For children who are drawing — shading, layering, mixing colors on the page — the Faber-Castell pencils are dramatically better tools. The triangular grip is also a genuine ergonomic benefit; occupational therapists recommend triangular writing instruments for developing fine motor grip, and Faber-Castell has designed this into their children’s line.
The verdict: If your child uses colored pencils regularly (weekly or more), Faber-Castell is worth the 3x premium. The grip, the pigment, and the blending capability make a meaningful difference in the creative experience. For occasional use or classroom supplies that may not come home, Crayola is the practical choice.
Markers
Crayola Super Tips (20-ct, ~$5) vs Faber-Castell Connector Pens (20-ct, ~$10)
The marker comparison is the closest category. Crayola Super Tips are excellent markers — the fine tip allows both detail work and broad strokes, the ink is vibrant, and the washability is industry-leading. Faber-Castell Connector Pens have a clever design (caps connect to form chains and sculptures) and good ink quality, but the tip is broader and less versatile than the Crayola Super Tips.
In our testing, children ages 6+ generally preferred Crayola Super Tips for drawing and Faber-Castell Connector Pens for the novelty of the connecting caps. The Crayola markers are also more widely available and less expensive.
The verdict: Crayola wins the marker category. The Super Tips are a genuinely excellent product — one of the best children’s markers on the market at any price point — and the washability gives parents peace of mind that Faber-Castell can’t match.
Paint Sticks
Crayola My First Washable Tripod Grip Crayons (~$5) vs Ooly Chunkies Paint Sticks (~$12)
Neither brand produces a direct paint stick competitor to the other, so we compared the closest equivalents. Crayola’s toddler crayons are designed for the youngest artists (12 months+) with a chunky, triangular grip. The Ooly Chunkies paint sticks (which compete more directly with Faber-Castell’s market position) offer a tempera-paint-in-a-stick format that glides on paper like lipstick.
This is a category where neither brand has a clear advantage because they’re solving different problems. For toddlers, Crayola’s washable tripod crayons are perfectly suited. For older children who want the immediacy of paint without the mess, paint sticks from Ooly or similar brands fill a gap that neither Crayola nor Faber-Castell covers ideally.
Modeling Clay
Crayola Model Magic (~$10 for 6-ct) vs Faber-Castell Do Art Coloring with Clay (~$15)
Different products, different purposes. Crayola Model Magic is a lightweight, air-dry modeling compound for sculpting. Faber-Castell’s Do Art Coloring with Clay is a project kit where children apply clay to pre-printed boards. They’re barely the same category — Model Magic is open-ended sculpting; Faber-Castell is guided craft.
Crayola Model Magic is the more versatile product. It can become anything. Faber-Castell’s clay kit produces a specific outcome — a clay-covered picture — and the experience is more about process and texture than creative freedom. Both are good. They serve different needs.
The verdict: For open-ended clay play, Crayola Model Magic (or Play-Doh for reusable clay). For a guided, cross-medium art project, the Faber-Castell Do Art Coloring with Clay kit. Not a quality comparison — a purpose comparison.
Art Kits
Crayola Inspiration Art Case (~$25) vs Faber-Castell Creative Studio Essentials (~$30)
The Crayola Inspiration Art Case packs 140 pieces — crayons, colored pencils, markers, and paper — into a portable case. The Faber-Castell equivalent offers fewer pieces at higher individual quality. This is the entire Crayola vs Faber-Castell debate compressed into a single purchase decision: quantity and accessibility vs quality and intentionality.
For a gift, the Crayola Inspiration Art Case is more impressive on opening (140 pieces!) and more practical for daily use (everything is washable, everything is replaceable). For a child who takes art seriously and would rather have 24 excellent colored pencils than 48 adequate ones, the Faber-Castell kit is the better investment.
The Research: Does Art Supply Quality Affect Creative Development?
This is the question underneath all the product comparisons, and the research answer is: it depends on the child’s developmental stage.
Process vs Product in Early Childhood Art. Developmental psychologists distinguish between “process art” (art-making for the experience of making) and “product art” (art-making to produce a specific outcome). Lowenfeld and Brittain’s foundational work on children’s art development identifies the “scribbling stage” (ages 2-4) and “pre-schematic stage” (ages 4-7) as primarily process-oriented — children at these stages are exploring the physical act of mark-making, not attempting to produce representational art.1 During these stages, the quality of the art supply is largely irrelevant to the developmental experience. A Crayola crayon and a Faber-Castell crayon provide the same developmental input: the opportunity to make marks.
The Emergence of Artistic Intention. Around ages 7-9, children enter what Lowenfeld calls the “schematic stage” — they develop consistent representations (a house always has a triangle roof and rectangular door) and begin to notice the gap between their vision and their output. This is when art supply quality begins to matter. A child who wants to blend a sunset but has crayons that won’t blend experiences a frustration that has nothing to do with skill and everything to do with tools. Better tools close the gap between intention and execution.
Winner (2019) found that children who showed sustained artistic interest and development were more likely to have access to quality art materials and adult mentoring — though the causation is bidirectional (interested children seek out better materials, and better materials sustain interest).2
The Washability Factor. There’s an under-researched but practically significant dimension to this comparison: parental anxiety about mess. Art supplies that are washable reduce parental stress, which reduces the frequency of “be careful” and “don’t get that on the furniture” — interruptions that research on creative flow suggests can inhibit the creative state. Csikszentmihalyi’s flow research identifies uninterrupted engagement as a precondition for creative absorption.3 To the extent that washable supplies enable parents to step back and allow uninterrupted creative play, the “inferior” washable product may produce a superior creative experience for young children by reducing adult interference.
The honest summary: Art supply quality matters developmentally beginning around age 7, when children start noticing the gap between creative intention and execution. Before age 7, process-oriented art benefits more from accessibility and freedom (which washable, affordable supplies support) than from material quality. The best art supply for any child is the one they’re allowed to use freely, without adult anxiety about mess or waste.
The Bottom Line
Choose Crayola if:
- Your child is under 6 — washability and affordability are more valuable than pigment quality
- You need classroom or bulk supplies — Crayola’s price-per-unit is unbeatable
- Mess tolerance is a factor in your household — Crayola’s washable formulations are industry-leading
- You want availability — every drugstore, grocery store, and big-box retailer carries Crayola
- Art supplies in your house have a short lifespan (lost caps, broken crayons, used-up markers)
Choose Faber-Castell if:
- Your child is 6+ and showing genuine artistic interest — the quality difference will be noticed and appreciated
- You’re buying colored pencils specifically — this is Faber-Castell’s strongest category by far
- Your child takes art classes or does focused art projects — better tools improve the experience
- You want fewer, better supplies rather than more, adequate ones
- The triangular pencil grip matters (developing writers, children with grip challenges)
Choose both if:
- You have children at different ages or developmental stages
- You want everyday supplies (Crayola) and special-project supplies (Faber-Castell)
- Your child is in the 6-8 transition zone and you want them to experience both quality levels
The real answer to “does art supply quality matter?” is: not yet, and then suddenly yes. The transition happens around age 7, give or take a year. Before that, buy Crayola and don’t worry about it. After that, pay attention to what your child is trying to do — if they’re frustrated by their tools, it’s time to upgrade.
This comparison reflects our independent evaluation. ScienceBasedKids.com purchased all products at retail price. We may earn a commission if you purchase through our links, which helps fund our research. This never influences our ratings.