Watercolour vs Coloured Pencils
for Nature Journaling?

A gentle guide to choosing what feels right for you...

A thoughtful look at watercolour vs coloured pencils for nature journaling - choosing tools that feel kind, calm, and right for you.

One of the questions I’m asked most often about nature journaling is which materials to use - and especially whether coloured pencils or watercolour are ‘better’. The short answer is that there isn’t a single right choice...

Different tools and materials invite different ways of noticing, and each can support a beautiful, meaningful nature journaling practice as long as you choose the materials that feel right for you.

I’ve always loved coloured pencils for their ease and familiarity, and they remain my first recommendation for beginners. Recently, though, I’ve also been gently exploring travel watercolours in my own nature journal, and noticing how differently they allow me to respond to light, colour, and mood.

Coloured pencils and watercolours for nature journaling

This page isn’t about choosing sides or upgrading your supplies - it’s about understanding how each medium feels to use, what it offers, and how you might decide what suits you, your season of life, and the moments you want to record in your journal.

Why Coloured Pencils Are Still My Go-To for Nature Journaling

Coloured Pencils - Familiar, Grounding, and Kind

Coloured pencils have so far always been my steady companion in my nature journal. They’re familiar, forgiving, and quietly reliable - the sort of tool that doesn’t demand anything of you before you begin. You can simply open your journal, pick up a pencil, and start.

I often recommend coloured pencils, especially for beginner nature journaling, because they remove so many barriers. There’s no preparation, no water to spill, no waiting for pages to dry. They’re easy to carry, easy to pause and return to, and they allow you to build colour slowly, gently, layer by layer, reaching really wonderful depths of colour.

Rowan branch drawn in coloured pencils in my nature journal

Rowan branch drawn in coloured pencils (and pen outline) in my nature journal

Coloured pencils are wonderfully suited to careful noticing - the shape of a leaf, the pattern on a feather, the structure of a twig. They encourage patience and observation, and they give you a reassuring sense of control.

If you enjoy working slowly, refining details, or returning to a page over several sessions, pencils are a beautiful choice. Equally, they're also great if you just want to scribble in a bit of colour quickly, if that's your style - I love to do this!

Even now, with other materials finding their way into my journal, coloured pencils remain my default - the place I return to again and again just because they feel nice in my hand to use and I enjoy using them.

Coloured pencils nature journal shore scene - used with pen for outlines/detail

Using Watercolours in a Nature Journal

Watercolour brings something quite different to a nature journal. Where pencils feel precise and steady, watercolour feels fluid, responsive, and a little unpredictable - in a way that can be surprisingly freeing – perfect for a nature journal that’s designed to be a safe place to explore and allow imperfections.

Travel watercolour sets can be a gentle way to start exploring watercolour for nature journaling. Using a small travel watercolour set has allowed me to explore colour and light in a looser way, while keeping my journaling simple and easy to use in a small space or on the move...

You can also, equally, use a full watercolour set with separate jar of water if that's what you have or what you prefer.

Watercolours are perfect for capturing the soft colours of winter skies like this scene

Watercolour sketch of Egyptian Goose in nature journal

Soft skies, muted landscapes, the gentle wash of colour on bare branches or feathers - watercolour seems particularly well suited to capturing softness and atmosphere rather than detail.

The smoothness and softness of the watercolour paint on paper is a beautiful texture and I found that adding just a touch of colour to my pen and ink drawings with watercolour makes them look just a little more beautiful with a sketched looseness that is really appealing.

Rabbit with watercolour in my nature journal

What Feels Different When You Use Watercolour

Marsh tit drawn in my nature journal with my tiny watercolour kit

The watercolour encourages you to let go just a little. The paint moves where it wants to move, and rather than correcting it, you learn to work with it. That can feel daunting at first, but it’s also a quiet invitation to accept imperfection and trust the process.

Using watercolour can also be a little quicker, too, adding colour to larger areas more easily and swiftly - or adding dabs of colour to represent feathers or texture - the colour can build up more quickly even with an average-sized brush compared to a tiny pencil tip.

Watercolour does need a fairly sturdy paper not to crinkle up too much – so if your nature journal pages are on the thin side, just test a little to start with to see what your paper can cope with and don’t add too much watery paint at once until you get a feel for it.

And there is more of a learning curve for watercolours, even travel watercolours that make it easier to start. You do need to get used to how much water to add, and how to make the colours flow and look something how you intended. It's fun to practice and learn though, and all part of the process of nature journaling in that perfectly imperfect way.

Overall, I think watercolour is lovely for a softness of style, touch and feeling – something I feel like I’m leaning into more these days.

I’ve found watercolour especially lovely for:

Winter skies and soft light
Feathers and birds with subtle colouring
Quick impressions rather than careful studies
Adding mood and season to a page
Softness and 'loose' style
Smooth colour washes

It’s not about 'painting properly' - it’s simply colour, water, and noticing.

Buzzard painted with travel watercolour kit

Which Might Suit You for Nature Journaling?

Watercolours and Coloured pencils comparison - bracken drawing

Watercolours (left) and coloured pencils (right) - drawing the same bracken leaf in my nature journal using both watercolours and coloured pencils

There’s no single ‘best’ choice when it comes to nature journaling materials and watercolours vs coloured pencils...

If you like structure, control, and the comfort of familiar tools, coloured pencils may feel like home. They’re ideal if you want something dependable, portable, and easy to return to in short pockets of time.

If you’re drawn to softness, atmosphere, and a more expressive approach, watercolour might feel exciting - especially if you enjoy capturing light, weather, or seasonal mood.

You might also enjoy using both together:

Pencil or pen for structure, watercolour for gentle colour?
Watercolour first, pencil added later for detail?
One medium indoors, another outdoors?

Chaffinch sketch using watercolours plus coloured pencils

If you're unsure which to start with, take a look at my own drawings - above and below - and see which sort of look appeals to you most, and maybe try that first...

Please note that I've also used pen for the outline drawing for each as that's my own personal preference - you can choose to use both watercolours and coloured pencils with or without a pen or pencil drawing, as you prefer.

Watercolour fungi drawing in my nature journal

Fungi created with pen and watercolour

Inkcap mushrooms in pen and coloured pencils

Fungi in pen and coloured pencils

A gentle note on watercolour pencils

Watercolour pencils often feel like they should be the best of both worlds - the familiarity of a pencil, with the option to add water for softness and flow.

I’ve spent a little time exploring them in my own nature journals and sketches, and while I love the idea of them, I’ve personally found them a little harder to settle into. When activated with water, I sometimes struggle to achieve the kind of soft, natural texture that I love in traditional watercolour, and the marks can feel a little heavier or less fluid than I was hoping for.

That said, many people absolutely adore watercolour pencils, and they can be a wonderful option if you enjoy drawing first and adding just a hint of water afterwards. As with all nature journaling tools and materials, it’s less about what should work and more about what feels good in your hands and supports your way of noticing and journaling.

Jackdaw in watercolour pencils - large areas of colour feel less successful

Watercolour pencil bracken drawing - smaller areas of colour seem to work much better

Who knows, with a bit more practice, I may come to love watercolour pencils too!

Nature journaling isn’t about the tools - it’s about attention, connection, and allowing yourself to respond to the natural world in a way that feels kind and supportive.

Whichever medium you choose - or if you switch between them - let it serve you. Let it feel easy. Let it feel like an invitation, not an obligation.

Sometimes, a different tool is simply a different way of connecting. And sometimes, that’s exactly what a season asks of us.

Watercolour vs Coloured Pencils - A Gentle Comparison

Coloured Pencils

Bracken drawn with coloured pencils

Familiar and comforting – many of us grew up using them

Very controlled – colour goes exactly where you place it

Easy to use anywhere, anytime

No water needed

Ideal for detail, texture and layering

Forgiving and easy to correct or work over

Great for beginners and confidence-building

Works well for feathers, markings, fine lines and patterns

Easy to dip into using them for just five minutes then come back later

My long-time, trusted drawing companion

Watercolour

Watercolour bracken drawing in my nature journal (using my travel set)

Slightly more experimental and fluid

Less predictable - colour moves and blends on its own

Best when you can pause and let pages dry

Needs a little water (though travel sets make this simple)

Ideal for mood, light and skies, softness and atmosphere

Teaches acceptance of imperfection

Lovely for loosening up and letting go

Works beautifully for skies, washes, shadows and soft forms

A gentle new addition to my nature journal toolkit

A Quiet Reflection on Choosing Your Tools

Nature journaling with coloured pencils - seaweed and shells

In the end, nature journaling isn’t about choosing the 'right' materials, but about choosing what’s right for you and what helps you slow down and notice - and which materials you most enjoy using.

Some days I reach for coloured pencils, enjoying their steadiness and familiarity - other days I welcome the softness and surprise of watercolour. Both invite me into the same place of attention and presence in my nature journal, just by slightly different paths.

Nature journaling isn’t about the tools we use, but how they help us notice the natural world around us. The tools are simply companions on the journey - what matters most is the quiet moment you give yourself to sit with nature, to observe, to feel, and to record something that might otherwise slip past unnoticed.

Let your materials support you, not direct you, and allow your nature journal to remain what it’s meant to be - a place of gentleness, curiosity, and connection with nature.

Don't overthink it - pick the materials that you instinctively feel you might enjoy and just give it a go...

Have fun, whichever you choose!

If you’re just getting started, find out what nature journal supplies I recommend in my gentle guide to starting a nature journal here…

Explore more nature journaling ideas here…

Read about trying my new watercolour travel set in my nature journal, here…

Deepen Your Nature Journaling Practice

Nature Journal Course 'Imperfect Nature Journaling'

Deepen your nature journaling practice with me...

If you’ve enjoyed this seasonal reflection, you might also like my 20-lesson course, Imperfect Nature Journaling.

It’s a gently structured, self-paced journey designed to help you:

• Slow down and notice more deeply
• Build confidence in drawing and observing
• Create a calming journaling ritual you can return to
• Feel more connected to the seasons and the natural world

No perfection required. Just curiosity and a notebook.

You can explore the course here whenever you’re ready...

Shall we stay in touch..?

Each month, I share stories from my own nature journal, new art from my studio, and simple seasonal inspiration to help you feel more connected with the turning year - if you'd like to stay updated, please sign up with your email address below...