How to Pick Chalk Pastels

Chalk pastels combine pigment with a binder. They are generally found in a stick form to create an opaque drawing tool. When misted or added to water, chalk pastels have the potential to achieve a painted effect instead of a pencil-drawn effect. There are many different types of chalk pastels to choose from. Keep a few things in mind when selecting chalk pastels so you create the effect you want.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

1. Choose pastel pencils if you are interested in portability, less dust, less mess and more convenience. Pastel pencils are chalk pastels encased in wood. They are easily blended with your finger, a tortillion, a tissue or a gum eraser. The pencils have less of the range of line that is possible with pastel sticks but they do achieve finer details that are not possible with softer pastels.
2. Select soft pastels if you desire more vibrant, rich colors. Soft pastels use more pigment and less binder. They are easily blended but require an application of fixative to prevent smudging.
3. Explore soft pastel pencils. These work well if you want the convenience and cleanliness of wood-encased pastels along with the rich, vibrant colors and smoothness of the heavily pigmented, soft pastels.
4. Choose semi-hard pastels to experiment with a less fragile, slightly more maneuverable pastel. Semi-hard pastels produce less dust than soft pastels but also contain less pigment so their colors are not quite as vibrant.
5. Experiment with hard pastels. Hard pastels are good for adding detail and for initial sketches. They do not blend as easily as softer pastels, and because they are manufactured with less pigment, they are neither as bright nor as vibrant as soft pastels.

Tips & Warnings

• While pastels are often layered and blended to some degree, they cannot be blended on a palette the same way paint can. Purchase the largest palette possible when considering colors.

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