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Most artists – and children – have amassed huge collections of colouring pencils and pens only to find that they are lacking the exact shade to colour a particular subject.

But now there's a pen lets you draw using 16 million colours so you'll always find the perfect shade.

The Scribble Pen will let users 'pick up' any colour around them and instantly draw in the same shade either on a piece of paper using real ink – or on their phone.

First multicolour pen: The Scribble Pen (pictured) will let users 'pick up' any colour around them and instantly draw in the same shade either on a piece of paper using real ink - or on their phone

The device, which is yet to go on sale, can hold 100,000 unique colours in its internal memory and can reproduce over 16 million unique colours.

Its California developers describe it as 'the world's first colour picking pen' and claim the writing instrument is 'on the verge of becoming a household gadget'.

The device works by using a colour sensor and microprocessor to detect colours.

Point to select: The device works by using a colour sensor embedded in the end of the pen and a microprocessor to detect colours, demonstrated here using a tangerine

New remix: One version of the pen mixes the required ink for drawing, using small refillable ink cartridges that fit inside its body, while the stylus version (pictured) allows people to draw in a specific colour within a smartphone app

It then mixes the required ink for drawing, using small refillable ink cartridges that fit inside its body.

A Scribble Stylus will also be released which connects with an app bringing all the captured colours to an artist's smartphone or tablet using a Bluetooth connection. It will allow for instant doodling on the screen of a mobile device using any captured colour.

'For the colour blind, kids, interior decorators, homeowners, teachers, artists, photographers, designers and students, the Scribble colour picker pen will make copying an exact colour, any colour from any object, an absolute breeze,' a company spokesman said.

'With Scribble you can scan, match or compare colours, draw on paper or your mobile device. We know people are going to love it.'

Scribble Pen creators Mark Barker and Robert Hoffman are set to launch a Kickstarter campaign in the near future to take the pen into production. The company plan to sell the Ink Pen for $149.95 (£89.55) and the Stylus for $79.95 (£47.75).

Coming soon: The Scribble Pen will be available to buy via a Kickstarter campaign in the near future and the company plan to sell the ink pen, pictured left, for $149.95 (£89.55) and the stylus, right, for $79.95 (£47.75)