Pastels (oil or chalk)

What it is

Pure pigment, barely any binder, pressed into a stick you hold in your hand. Pastels are the most direct route from colour to surface in all of painting, which is why their colour is so startlingly intense and why they crumble so easily.

Pastels come in two very different families that share a name and almost nothing else. Soft (chalk) pastels are dry, dusty, and blendable with a fingertip, producing the velvety, atmospheric look of an Impressionist sky. Oil pastels are waxy and buttery, they do not smudge into dust, and they layer like a cross between crayon and oil paint. Choosing between them shapes the entire experience, because the techniques barely transfer.

The immediacy is the draw. There is no brush, no water, no drying time, no medium between your hand and the mark. You draw and paint in the same gesture. For people who find brushwork frustrating, the directness of a stick of colour can be a revelation. A starter set of either type costs €10 to €20, though artist-grade soft pastels can climb steeply because they are nearly all pigment.

The mess is non-negotiable with soft pastels. They shed fine coloured dust that gets on hands, clothes, and lungs, so working in a ventilated space and not blowing the dust around matters. Finished soft-pastel work also needs a spray fixative or a sheet of glassine over it, because the surface stays loose and smudgeable forever otherwise.

Oil pastels avoid the dust entirely but bring their own quirk. They never fully dry, staying slightly soft and vulnerable to smudging, which is why oil-pastel pieces are usually framed under glass with a spacer so nothing touches the surface.

How it works

The surface is the decision that determines whether pastel work succeeds or slides off, so choose paper with tooth. Pastels need a textured surface to grip the pigment, and smooth printer paper simply cannot hold more than a thin layer. Proper pastel paper like Canson Mi-Teintes, or sanded paper for serious layering, has a grit that catches and holds pigment through many layers. The textured side of the sheet is the one you want.

Oil and chalk pastels behave like different mediums despite the shared name. Chalk (soft) pastels are powdery and blend with a finger or blending stump into soft, painterly transitions, but they smudge forever unless fixed. Oil pastels are waxy and buttery, blend with a little solvent or firm pressure, and resist smudging once down. Beginners often buy one expecting the other, so know which you want before spending.

Working dark to light gives the best results because the lighter colours laid on top stay clean and bright. Block in large areas with the side of the stick, blend, then add crisp detail and highlights with the tip last. The classic beginner error is over-blending until everything turns to mud, when the strongest pastel work keeps some raw, unblended strokes for energy and texture.

Benefits

Creativity Focus Training Relaxation Self-Expression Enjoyment / Fun

What you need

Here's what to gather before you start. The essentials are marked.

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Soft or oil pastel set (starter or pro)

Pastel-friendly paper (textured or smooth, depending on type)

Blending tools (fingers, stumps, sponges, cotton swabs)

Fixative spray (for chalk pastels)

Gloves or wipes, pencil for sketch, solvent (for oil blending) Optional

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Pencil

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FAQs

What is the difference between oil pastels and soft (chalk) pastels?

Binder and feel. Soft pastels are nearly pure pigment held with a little gum, so they blend like dust and produce that velvety matte chalk look, but they smudge endlessly and need fixing and framing under glass. Oil pastels are bound with oil and wax, so they go on like thick crayon, blend with a finger or solvent, and never fully dry, staying slightly tacky forever. They behave like genuinely different mediums despite the shared name.

Which should a beginner start with?

Oil pastels, usually. They are cheaper, less messy than the dust of soft pastels, harder to accidentally smear across a whole drawing, and they grip ordinary paper. Soft pastels give more sophisticated results but demand special textured paper, a fixative spray, and a tolerance for coloured dust on your hands and table. Start with a basic oil pastel set (Sennelier if you can stretch to it, otherwise any student set) and move to soft pastels later if the look pulls you in.

How do I stop the colours turning to mud when I blend?

Blend less, and layer light over dark. Overworking pastels mixes too many pigments into grey-brown sludge. Lay colours side by side and let the eye blend them, blend only where you truly want a smooth transition, and build from dark base tones up to light highlights rather than mixing everything together. A clean finger or a paper stump for blending, wiped often, keeps colours separate.

Does pastel work need special paper?

For soft pastels, yes. They need a paper with tooth (a slightly rough surface like Canson Mi-Teintes) to catch and hold the pigment, because smooth paper fills up after one layer and stops accepting colour. Oil pastels are more relaxed and work on most papers, though heavier stock handles the pressure and the solvent blending better. The tooth of the paper is what lets soft pastels build up depth.