How to Work With Pastels

Pastels come in more than one variety. There are soft pastels, hard pastels, pastel pencils, water soluble wax pastels and oil pastels. There are student grade and professional grade pastels. Student grade pastels are for students who are trying out the medium and are less expensive and may have less quality than the professional grade. The professional grade of pastels are made from the finest ingredients and are high in quality. Papers for pastel use is as important as the pastels themselves. A paper with "tooth" or texture is best. If you are curious about experimenting with this art element, then follow the steps below.

Things You'll Need

• Pastels (your choice)
• Soft paint brush (optional)
• Cotton swabs (optional)
• Eye make-up sponge (optional)
• Paper
• Tissue (unscented and lotion free)
• Tray (wood, glass, plastic or Styrofoam)
• Damp cloth

Instructions

1. Understand that a clean work area is necessary. Place a tray to the side and use it to collect the pastels as they are used. You won't have to hunt for them again by keeping them together. Keep a damp cloth nearby to wipe your hands as you use the chalks. The pastel dust will collect on your hands and smudge onto other areas of your work.

2. Hold stick pastels in a gentle grip since they will break easily if held tightly. Soft pastels have a buttery texture when applied to the paper and can crumble easily when pressure is applied to the chalk. They also blend very well. They produce dust, so shake the paper free when dust collects. Don't try to wipe or brush the dust away, it will only smear into the surface you are working on.

3. Keep in mind that hard pastels create less dust and are sturdier when working with them. They don't have a buttery or soft feel to them when applying color to the surface, but they blend well. It may take a heavier application of color to achieve the same look the soft pastels offer.

4. Know that pastel pencils are usually soft in nature and work well for fine detail. They can be sharpened with a knife or a small pencil sharpener. Be careful not to drop them or the chalk inside the wood pencil coating will break.

5. Understand that oil pastels come in stick form and can be worked over one another just like chalk pastels can. They can be blended using a cotton swab. Chalk pastels can be blended with your fingertip, a Styrofoam peanut, a sponge swab or a soft brush.

6. Know that you can use a variety of drawing methods when using any type of pastel. Tick marks, broad strokes, coloring style, crosshatch marks, swirls, applied layers, blending methods, stippling and dot method (pointillism) are some of the ways to achieve a good drawing with pastels.

Tips & Warnings

• Play with a variety of pastels to get a feel for each type.

• Cold press watercolor paper works as a great surface for pastels of any type.

• Always spray the finished work with fixative in an open and well ventilated area.

• Read the packaging for toxic or non-toxic values when purchasing pastels.