One of the things on my list of things to learn is pencil drawing. I haven't been able to find any affordable local classes, but did find many You Tube instructional videos.
Lee Hammond's book People and Portraits gives a good overview of types of colored pencils and what to expect from them. For instance, Prismacolor provides a heavy application of color whereas Col Erase will achieve lighter colors but can be erased. Watercolor pencils have varied uses. You can color with them, color and then use water and brush to blend/smooth the colors or wet a brush and swipe it across the pencil tip to "paint."
What are your goals for 2014?