Pastel Drawing Guide: 3 Tips For Drawing With Pastels

A pastel drawing (or painting) refers to any art created using pastels—which are concentrations of colored, powdered pigment held together with a binding agent. Dry pastel pigments are most commonly formed into pastel sticks, which function as a type of soft crayon yielding vibrant colors similar to oil paint. When talking about pastel art, it can be referred to as either a “pastel drawing” or “pastel painting” depending on the preference of the artist. Some artists associate pastels with “drawing” because they’re working with a non-liquid medium, while others associate the fact that pastels are pigments with painting.

There are a few different types of pastels that will show up differently on your canvas, including:

1. 1. Soft pastels: Soft pastels—aka chalk pastels—are the most commonly used type of pastels, consisting of a high ratio of pigment to binder formed into a stick. Though soft pastels yield a vibrant product, they produce a high level of dust and are likely to smudge, which can be prevented through the use of a sealant or fixative.
2. 2. Oil pastels: Oil pastels are a creamy form of pastel producing thick, intense colors. They are denser and more difficult to blend than soft pastels, but usually do not require a protective coating when finished.
3. 3. Hard pastels: Hard pastels have a higher ratio of binder to pigment, and are often used in the sketching phase of a pastel drawing, or to add fine details and accents to a work.
4. 4. Pastel pencils: Pastel pencils are pastels in pencil form, typically used to add detail to compositions. Their consistency falls between soft and hard pastels, producing a color that is more opaque than standard colored pencils.

The look of your pastel work depends on the types of pastel techniques you use. Some common pastel techniques include:

1. 1. Blending: Blending is the process of fusing different colors together by rubbing them where their edges meet to create the effect of a gradient. You can use brushes, a cloth, or your (dry and clean) fingers to blend your pastels. When you’re rubbing your colors together, make sure to work in a consistent direction and apply uniform pressure to your canvas. Over-blending your colors can diminish their vibrancy, so avoid too much rubbing.
2. 2. Smudging: Smudging your pastels allows you to soften any lines of inconsistent color that happened when you drew your pastels onto your canvas. To smudge your pastels, lay out your general composition in blocks of color, then use your fingers or a brush to smear each section of color with consistent strokes. Clean your fingers in between smudging each color to avoid transferring traces of one color to another.
3. 3. Cross-hatching: Cross-hatching is another method of mixing different colors together, and can also be used to soften extra-vibrant colors. Make a series of clean, saturated strokes in one direction—either diagonal or straight up-and-down—with your pastel, then go back over that pattern with lines in the opposite direction to create a crosshatch pattern.
4. 4. Layering: You can layer similar or complementary colors on top of one another to create deeper or more natural effects. Try not to apply too much pressure to your tool to help build color and texture more deliberately. If working with soft pastels, you can apply a protective coating between layers to keep them consistent.

Below are some tips for creating vibrant pastel works:

1. 1. Use the different sides of your pastel. You can use every side of your pastel stick—not just the tip and the end—to yield different effects. For instance, practice making lines with the edge of your pastel stick, or use the sides of your pastel to cover large areas with light color.
2. 2. Experiment with different drawing surfaces. You’ll want to consider the effect you want to achieve in your painting when you choose your working surface, because different surfaces absorb colors differently. Pastel artists often use textured pastel paper, because it absorbs the pigment best. Consider the color of paper you use, because black paper can produce a much different tonal effect than white or cream paper.
3. 3. Mix colors. You can show depth and light in your painting by mixing your pastel colors together to create different shades. Press lightly when using your pastels, because it will make it easier to softly blend your colors together.

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