The term crayon can be applied to any drawing medium in stick appearance including wax, plastic, chalk, pastel, charcoal or other material used for drawing, colouring, writing or other art forms, amongst children as well as fine artists.
Anatomy of a Crayon
1. Composition
A crayon is generally composed mostly of kaolin (white clay), wax, fatty acids or dyes. Our range of crayons is popular amongst children, students and artists. In our children’s range, we make crayons from beeswax, wax and plastic.
Beeswax Crayons
Our Triangle Beeswax Crayons are easy to lay down onto paper so are ideal for children learning to draw. They are also non-toxic and safe to use.
Wax Crayons
Wax crayons are very popular with children and are neither permanent nor lightfast. They are non-toxic and have a bright colour selection, like our Triangle Wax Crayons.
Plastic Crayons
Plastic crayons are easy to use and are completely mess free. Plastic crayons like our Clean Hand Crayons won’t leave kids’ hands sticky or coloured and can be sharpened just like a pencil.
Watersoluble Crayons
For students and artists we make wax aquarelle crayons that are watersoluble and easily blend with water for beautiful watercolour effects.
Watersoluble crayons enable you to put down more colour faster than a watersoluble pencil because they’re softer and broader, but similarly achieve watercolour effects when water is added.
Watersoluble crayons are made with a binder that essentially dissolves in water.
You draw the same way you would with a regular crayon, but then once water is painted over the top, the colour is dispersed into a beautiful, fluid watercolour wash. Mungyo Gallery Aquarell Crayons glide beautifully onto the page and can easily be transformed with a brush into amazing watercolours.
2. Shape
We make a range of crayons in various shapes, all with a particular purpose, including round, triangle, hexagonal and octagonal.
Triangle shaped crayons, like our Triangle Beeswax Crayons or Triangle Wax Crayons are designed to encourage children to use the correct trip grip. Many children develop an awkward grasp or tight gripping habits, which leads to poor fine motor skills and hinders proper handwriting later in life. The tripod grip is the frequently recommended grip where thumb, index and middle fingers form a tripod or triangle to perform well co-ordinated movements together. Fingers are relaxed and bent slightly with equal pressure between the thumb, the side of the middle finger and the tip of the index finger.
Hexagonal shaped crayons are more comfortable for children to hold and the shape prevents the crayons from rolling off the desk like a round crayon would. This shape also allows the user to rotate the crayon during use so that the point stays sharper for longer.
Octagonal shaped crayons, like our Giant Octagonal Crayons also provide an easy grip in small hands and are comfortable to hold.
3. Casing
Crayons are a mess-free drawing instrument, in comparison to markers or paint, so most of our crayons are individually wrapped for simple protection of the product.
Micador Twistaz Retractable Jumbo Wax Crayons have a plastic casing and a mechanism that allows the crayon to be retracted or extended with ease.
The crayons can be wound all the way out and still retract easily. The protective casing keeps hands extra clean and makes this product sturdy and suitable for all types of art projects.