PASTEL DRAWING
I've titled this section 'Pastel Drawing' but with pastels, even more so than with colored pencils, the result looks more like painting than drawing in many ways. There are two basic types of pastel - oil pastel and chalk pastel. Oil pastels are smoother, more vivid, and creamier in consistency.
I like oil pastels. They're often fairly cheap - I've used the Pentel pastels and they come in boxes of 50 for about $8. That's very reasonable.
So oil pastels are cheap, vibrant, soft... but chalk pastels have one really big advantage. They're denser - and can be made into cores for pencils. Pastel pencils allow for meticulous detailing that isn't typically possible with oil pastels, and my pastel pencil works have been very nearly as detailed as my colored pencil stuff, in my experience. Unfortunately, pastel pencils are expensive; a pastel pencil is nearly ten times as costly as an oil pastel stick.
A word of warning: pastels can smear. I personally advise that you start your art at the top of the paper and work down - because if you start at the bottom you run the risk of smudging it with your hand by accident when moving upwards. Maybe that's just me, though - my form (in terms of drawing and painting) has never been too conventional. I tend to get my fingers pretty darn close to the tip of the brush, pencil, etc - because I think it gives me a bit more accuracy in guiding the application of the materials onto the surface. This has the side effect of raising the odds of smudging. If this is an issue for you too, then start at the top and maybe also consider left or right-handedness as well. While drawing, look at where your arm is pointing relative to the pastel. Start with the corner in the opposite direction, and work your way down from there.
For a view of my work, you may wish to look at my Pinterest galleries.
I've titled this section 'Pastel Drawing' but with pastels, even more so than with colored pencils, the result looks more like painting than drawing in many ways. There are two basic types of pastel - oil pastel and chalk pastel. Oil pastels are smoother, more vivid, and creamier in consistency.
I like oil pastels. They're often fairly cheap - I've used the Pentel pastels and they come in boxes of 50 for about $8. That's very reasonable.
So oil pastels are cheap, vibrant, soft... but chalk pastels have one really big advantage. They're denser - and can be made into cores for pencils. Pastel pencils allow for meticulous detailing that isn't typically possible with oil pastels, and my pastel pencil works have been very nearly as detailed as my colored pencil stuff, in my experience. Unfortunately, pastel pencils are expensive; a pastel pencil is nearly ten times as costly as an oil pastel stick.
A word of warning: pastels can smear. I personally advise that you start your art at the top of the paper and work down - because if you start at the bottom you run the risk of smudging it with your hand by accident when moving upwards. Maybe that's just me, though - my form (in terms of drawing and painting) has never been too conventional. I tend to get my fingers pretty darn close to the tip of the brush, pencil, etc - because I think it gives me a bit more accuracy in guiding the application of the materials onto the surface. This has the side effect of raising the odds of smudging. If this is an issue for you too, then start at the top and maybe also consider left or right-handedness as well. While drawing, look at where your arm is pointing relative to the pastel. Start with the corner in the opposite direction, and work your way down from there.
For a view of my work, you may wish to look at my Pinterest galleries.
Ads on TriumphantArtists.com and other websites run by Matthew Hornbostel, include banner ads from several networks that allow my sites to generate at least a little income:
Top slot: ComicAd.Net - banner network, focused mostly on various comic and art sites. Unfiltered and unvetted but usually harmless.
Bottom Slot: My own banner network. Mostly my own assorted sites, shops, social feeds. Occasional affiliate links for vendors and cashback programs I've personally used, and confirmed are good.
Top slot: ComicAd.Net - banner network, focused mostly on various comic and art sites. Unfiltered and unvetted but usually harmless.
Bottom Slot: My own banner network. Mostly my own assorted sites, shops, social feeds. Occasional affiliate links for vendors and cashback programs I've personally used, and confirmed are good.
