Most Common Pastel Questions + Answers

Question – Beginner Pastel supplies What supplies do I need to get started?

Answer The Absolute basics Supplies is usually the 1st problem area that new artists face with pastels. With other mediums you usually only have one thing to get, pencils or paints (there might be different manufacturers)

But with Pastels we have pastel pencils, pastel sticks and also PanPastels. So what do you really need? Well the answer is simple, if you want to draw realistic animals or other subjects similar to me then you will need pastel pencils.

Don’t get me wrong, you can do realistic work with pastel sticks and PanPastels on their own. But if we are talking about fine hair / fur details etc then pastel pencils are best.

So which Pastel pencils should you buy?

Now many artists might have their own personal favourite pencil brand which might differ from my preference, so please keep that in mind. But if I am recommending just one brand it would be Stabilo Carbothello. Stabilo Carbothello are neither too hard or too soft, they are just right. If a pencil is very hard like Faber Castell PITT then it can be more difficult to blend and do smooth backgrounds. Alternatively, if a pencil is very soft it can be difficult to sharpen and also to get details as the point wears down fast.

So to keep it simple I would buy >

1 Carbothello pastel pencils (the more colours you buy the more choice you have). Pencils in order of my preference 1 Carbothello

2 PITT (Little harder than Carbothello – still goo though)

3 Derwent (Simar to 1 and 2 – good pencils) could buy before PITT.

4 Caran D Ache (expensive and difficult to sharpen and gritty bit sin them sometimes)

5 Gioconda (not many colours available)

Question – Best Pastel paper What paper do I need to buy?

Answer Pastelmat light blue – my new favourite colour (brown and dark grey also good) – see this video

If you use a paper that does not hold the pastel well then it will all just smudge. I prefer Pastelmat light blue paper. I use light blue because its midtone, so lights and darks show up on it right away and the texture is great, not too rough and not too smooth. With pastelmat the darker the paper the rougher the texture and the lighter the smoother the texture. Canson velvet a new paper is also OK , but recently I have found some issues with it taking PITT pastel pencils on the surface

SEE THIS VIDEO

Question – Storing pastel pencils I’ve bought all my pencils, how do I store them?

Answer You can leave them in their tins, put them in mugs or similar holders if you prefer, but I like to put mine in drawers and sort them in order of colour – Video HERE

Question – Sharpening pastel pencils How do you sharpen pastel pencils?

Answer Various ways, you can use a blade or stanley knife etc (especially useful on soft pencils like Caran D Ache) or use a sharpener. Over the years I have tested many and still prefer Swordfish IKON crank sharpener – you are also able to change the blade on it. See VIDEO

Question - PanPastels Do I need to buy PanPastels?

Answer Absolutely not, as mentioned above, just pencils are fine. Especially to get started with. The advantage of PanPastels really comes if you are drawing on a larger scale. As you can imagine pencils would wear down fast if you were putting in a large background, especially of one colour. Pans can help to save your pencils. They are also great for saving time, once again on large drawings as you can block in large underlayers fast. See THIS VIDEO

Question – Pencils skip on panpastels I bought PanPastels but now my PITT pencils don’t go on top properly, what’s happening?

Answer I have done a video on this issue HERE

Question - PanPastel tools wearing out

My PanPastel tools keep wearing out fast, why?

Answer I have a video showing what is happening HERE

Question – Pastel sticks - Do you need to buy pastel sticks

Answer Once again, no you don’t need to have them. But for the same reasons as Pans they can save time and your pencils too. Pastel sticks are especially useful for blurry backgrounds as they are super opaque (much more than PanPastels) and blend easily. If you want to buy some sticks my Favourite brand are Rembrandt and I would suggest getting the half stick size as you then get more colours for your money. VIDEO HERE

Question – How do I transfer my reference photo to the pastelmat paper? Answer You don’t want to be using an erase etc on your pastelmat paper, so I advise against drawing directly on to it. If you want to draw freehand then I would do that on spare paper then trace that on to your pastelmat paper to avoid any potential for mistakes. VIDEO HERE

I use Royal Langnickel transfer paper but there are many other types available. You do not want to use carbon paper, use graphite transfer paper. TRANSFER VIDEO HERE

Question – Pastelmat Grainy surface My drawing always looks grainy, why is that?

Answer This is due to the application of the pastel – see this video

Question - My drawing is finished, should I spray a fixative on it?

Answer NO - I NEVER spray a fixative on my finished drawing. No matter what anyone tells you ALL the fixatives I have tested thoroughly darken colours to some degree and some colours darken much more than others. Its also worth noting that virtually every spray fixative barely fixes the pastel at all and you can still rub it off with your finger after fixing! So virtually every good pastel artist never sprays a fixative at all. VIDEO HERE

Question – Storing drawings So what do I use to fix the pastel drawing if fixatives are no good? Answer When using pastelmat paper the pastel stays on the paper surface quite well, so the best thing to do is if you are just storing your drawing in a drawer etc place it between 1 – 2 sheets of glassine paper. Glassine paper is the separator that comes between your pastelmat sheets when you buy them, it looks like greaseproof paper. Storage video

Question - Framing Pastel Painting - How do I frame a pastel drawing?

Answer You always need to frame a pastel drawing behind glass. And I personally use a double mountboard to keep the drawing away from the glass surface. If you take your artwork to a framer shop and they say that you need to fix your artwork before they will frame it then they are wrong and you should take your artwork elsewhere to a framer than knows how to frame pastels correctly. VIDEO HERE

Question – Ruined drawing / remove pastel I’ve ruined my drawing, can I get the pastel off? Answer Yes you can, I have a video HERE

Question (Pulling out colours on ref photo) I’ve seen you pull colours out on your lessons, how do I do that?

Answer Virtually all editing software allow this, here is a video on a free program – VIDEO HERE

Question – Pencil Numbers not listed You don’t list pencil numbers on all your lessons, why not? Answer My complete beginner lessons have the pencil numbers and all supplies needed listed on the lesson, but novice lessons don’t because you need to be able to select colours from your own supplies so you can draw anything that interests you personally, or you will ALWAYS be stuck copying lessons – please see this IMPORTANT VIDEO

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