How to Sketch With Pastels
Pastel crayons are soft and blendable sticks of oil paint pigments, designed to use in drawing, sketching and coloring. Pastels can be used on various surfaces including paper, canvas, masonite and artboard. They can also be used in mixed media works with oil paints. Pastels do not dry, but instead cure through oxidation like oil paints. They are often sprayed with a fixative to prevent smearing and transferring of color once the sketch is complete.
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Instructions
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Hold the pastel in your hand as you would a pencil. Put the tip of the pastel against the paper, and pull toward you. Lift the pastel, then replace it and pull toward you again. Repeat until your outline is drawn.
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Turn the pastel in your hand until it is at a 45-degree angle to the paper. Use this angle to fill in any opaque areas of the sketch.
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Hold the pastel perpendicular to the surface and press it against the paper. Slide it back and forth to shade the sketch.
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Mix and blend the colors on the paper left by the pastels, using your fingers. Rub the hard lines and pull toward the shaded areas to blend the lines.
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Shake the can of pastel fixative for approximately 30 seconds to mix well. Hold it 12 to 18 inches from the paper and spray in a sweeping motion. Apply a light coat to the entire sketch.
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References
- Photo Credit George Doyle/Stockbyte/Getty Images
