Painting with pastels is not the same as painting with acrylics, oils or watercolors. Instead, you can use pastel pencils or oil pastels. Oil pastels are pastels that contain wax and inert oils as added aggregating elements. To learn how to paint with pastels, you should learn about the different qualities of materials. The paper used for painting with crayons is rougher than the paper used for painting with acrylic paints or watercolors. Pastels are not chalks - they are like pure pigment powder pencils.
Steps
Method 1 of 2: Traditional
Step 1. Study the characteristics of hard pastels, soft pastels, pastel pencils and oil pastels
This technique is called pastel painting due to the effect obtained by rubbing a pastel pencil on the paper.
- Take a hard crayon and see how it looks like a regular graphite pencil.
- Take a soft crayon in your hand and feel how its texture is more tender.
- Examine a pastel pencil. You will notice that its texture is similar to that of a hard pastel.
- Rub your fingers on an oil pastel. It is hard, but the pigment is mixed together with the binders.
Step 2. Learn about the types of paper you are going to use for pastel painting
There are different types of paper for this type of painting: from rough watercolor paper to paper so smooth that it looks like velvet. Another type of paper is laid paper, which is produced in such a way that the grain is characterized on one side by close parallel lines and on the other by a slightly uneven surface. Yet another type of pastel paint paper is one that looks a lot like sandpaper (such as wet & dry) or sandpaper.
- Study the ability of the paper you have chosen to "cling", that is, to retain a greater or lesser amount of pigment in the pastel. The types of paper that make the pigment "cling" more are those on which the latter remains deposited more easily. Very smooth paper is difficult to use as a base for painting if you are going to paint several layers of color on it.
- Understand how the color of the paper affects the tone of your work. Paper that has a dark red grain gives a warm feeling, while paler colored papers give a softer, more subdued effect.
Step 3. Make a miniature sketch of what you want to create on a sketchbook
Draw the sketch of your work on the album, putting each element in its place and checking the proportions
Step 4. Start drawing with a hard crayon when you are ready to use the crayons and paper
- Paint with a light touch as you sketch the edges and shapes.
- Carry on without caring too much about accuracy for now.
- Once you're done sketching your subject, fill in the space on the paper with heavier strokes of darker colored pastels.
Step 5. Blend the colors by gently running your finger over the paper, creating different layers to achieve the effect you are looking for
You can gently blend using packing polystyrene that you no longer need
Method 2 of 2: Alternative
Step 1. Prepare your work by first drawing it on the sketchbook
- Draw the figures, objects and buildings in your scrapbook.
- Decide where to place each item as you draw the preparatory draft.
Step 2. Apply the colors of the main color fields
Look at the sketch and choose the main color, which will be the one that will characterize most of the area of your work.
- Add the other layers of color, using the oil pastels.
- Mix the colors and define the composition of the work through the strokes of the oil pastel.
- Add small splashes of color, making sure to follow the previous strokes and proceeding in the correct direction.
Step 3. Begin to blend the colors, using your fingers, the wet color shapers (silicone brushes) and a blender, that is a marker that allows you to create shades, with a thin tip
Step 4. Add the finer color details by collecting small amounts of the oil pastel pigment at the tip of the blender
Using a thinner tool allows you to better define the smallest details, such as the light in the eyes or reflections on the water, since for this step it is much more convenient to use the blender instead of an oil pastel.
Advice
- To get a lighter area, create a base with a white oil pastel before applying the color. If it is still too dark, gently remove the color with a scraper and start over.
- To add lines where you have already pasted, wait for the paint to harden for 1 or 2 days and then add the lines. The color of oil pastels never hardens completely.
- Create smoother edges by using a rounded-tipped white eraser to pass over the edges of the paper and drag the color outward in gentle curves. This way, you can make the lines fade smoothly, coming out of the paper.
- Using bits of Styrofoam packaging allows you to protect your fingertips and, at the same time, to gently blend colors, as well as avoiding scratching your fingers on paper types that have a rougher surface.
- To best represent long, flowing hair, use long strokes with oil pastels or pencils. Use shorter, bolder hatches to portray subjects with shorter hair.
