Tutorial on drawing with pastels. How to draw with pastels step by step for beginners - dry and oil pastels

1. The versatility of drawing with pastels.

Pastels can be used in a variety of ways, any of the ones listed here. Each of these methods can be used independently, or combined with others to obtain new and interesting results.

There is no absolutely right or wrong way.

As with so many things in painting, painting with pastels comes down to what you love and want to do with it.

Don't forget what to try various techniques should be used with different pastels - hard, semi-soft and soft - since each gives a different result from the others, as will different brands of pastels.

2. Drawing with the tip of a pastel.

The easiest way to use a pastel is to draw with the end, holding the crayon like a pencil or pen. The resulting line conveys the gesture you made.

Change the thickness of the line by varying the pressure on the chalk. The harder you press, the more pastel will remain on the sheet. For more fine lines, press more gently or use the edge of the pestle.

Use your whole hand when drawing, not just your wrist, then the drawing will be freer.

3. Using the edges of pastels.

If you want to work quickly to create large blocks of color, use the crayon side. For optimal results, break the pastel (yes, I said break) in the middle and draw, remember - even a small piece of pastel is still usable.
Changing the pressure will create a different texture on the pastel paper. When the side of the pastel has worn away, leaving two sharp edges, use it to create lovely fine lines.

This method is best used with semi-soft or soft pastels.

4. Hatching and intersecting hatching.

If you have done any drawing before, then this technique will be familiar to you - in fact, it is best suited for pastel pencils or hard pastel sticks. Hatching is simply a series of parallel lines, preferably regular lines (hence pencil), drawn close together. Cross hatching is the next step, drawing a second row of lines at an angle (most often at right angles to the first row).

This method allows you to experiment freely with color and tone.
Use this technique to create a sense of shape and volume by varying the direction of your shading.

5. Mixing pastels (shading).

Unlike other drawing media, pastels cannot be mixed before being placed on paper. There are two ways to create color and tonal smooth transitions- optical mixing, which is achieved when there are colors in close proximity(see shading), and mixing, where the pastel is mixed already on paper.

You can use a wide variety of blending tools, but the traditional one is your finger (you can do this with gloves to protect your hands or just use your finger to blend). Also available tool: hand side - useful for blending large areas, but not suitable for precise results; They also use cotton wool, pieces of paper, an eraser, etc.

1. Using your finger (or hand), be sure to clean it regularly to avoid contaminating your work with other colors. I always keep a box of wet wipes.

2. Tortillons can be washed for further use by removing the dirty layer at the end with a sharpener.

6. paint coating.

One of the big advantages of pastels over other mediums is the variation of color. Maybe best method in order to get it - paint coating. Once the pastel layer has been applied, lightly brush a layer of paint over the top. This will create a coating of new color.

The result is visually stimulating, careful choice of colors will produce amazing results.

This method works best with the softest pastels.

7. Decoration with pastels.

Decoration is a finely tuned form of shading using short strokes. The result is more like scumbling - it can give a vibration to the painting. Decoration will also work for optical color mixing (as with pointillist paintings), where the eye mixes colors together instead of mixing them on paper.

Tip: This method is especially good for giving the appearance of iridescence to fabric, feathers, and scales, or for creating atmospheric effects with light.

8. Sprinkling with pastels.

Among the many techniques and tools that are used contemporary artists, pastel stands out for its unusual texture and brightness of color. It’s not easy to draw a portrait with pastels, but if you become interested in this direction, improving your own skills and making efforts to obtain desired result, you can achieve what you want. Moreover, the process itself brings pleasure and draws you into the work headlong.

Before you start drawing with pastels, it is important to understand the features of this technique, as well as acquire necessary materials for the creative process. The same set of tools is not suitable for beginners and professionals, so preparation for the creative process will be different. Only after this can you begin to figure out how to draw a portrait with pastels.

Benefits of painting with pastels

Many artists different levels For professionalism, pastel painting is preferred to all other techniques. A portrait using this technique looks unusual and allows you to convey the slightest features of the artist’s mood. Other benefits of pastels include:

simplicity of the process - pastel lays down easily, especially if you select all the materials and tools correctly;
variety of colors - pastel is known for its soft transitions and combination of different shades;
light fastness - unlike many other paints, it does not fade in the sun;
velvety surface.

These advantages contribute to the popularity and love among artists who happily use pastels: the portrait technique with this tool allows you to make a beautiful and unusual image of a person. Although it is not as easy as novice artists would like.

Drawing tools for beginners

Drawing with pastels must begin with the preparation of materials and a place for future creativity. This artist's tool comes in several types: dry, oil and wax pastels. Dry, in turn, can be soft and hard.

In addition, you will need:

special paper;
brushes;
a drawing board or any other flat surface on which you can attach a drawing sheet;
an eraser that can be used to carefully remove excess lines;
regular sandpaper, with which you can sharpen the chalk if necessary.

These tools are essential for drawing pastel portraits for beginners. To learn and comprehend the wisdom of this technique, such a set will be enough. And in the future you will have to expand your arsenal of materials and tools.

Tools for professionals

Simple and available materials are used by beginners, but as they learn and develop professionalism, their range will grow and expand. In the future you can also use:

fixatives - substances that are sprayed onto a sheet of paper before starting work to fix the future drawing;
turpentine or other pastel thinner, which will allow you to even out and generalize the layers of paint;
work mask to minimize the entry of chalk dust into the respiratory tract;
canvas - used instead of paper.

Careful preparation and selection of all materials will make the process more comfortable and easier. In the process of work, each artist will be able to evaluate the usefulness and appropriateness of each tool.

Features of choosing pastels

For beginning artists, dry pastels in the form of crayons are best. It can be soft or hard, you need to purchase both types and try to draw with both. When choosing paints, you must initially understand what will be painted and what color scheme will be needed for this.

When purchasing pastels, you need to pay attention to the quality of the paints and the manufacturer. It’s better to pay a little more initially, but buy suitable materials, which will be comfortable to draw with. Having mastered the subtleties and nuances of drawing with pastels and honing your skills, you can try painting with oil and wax pastels. They differ in application technique, but with some effort they are not particularly difficult.

What paper do you need for pastels?

You can’t paint with such paints on regular paper, because the pastel portrait will blur and soak thin sheet and lubricate. Therefore, it is better to take special paper. The following varieties are suitable for pastels:

paper with a coarse surface that comes in a variety of colors;
cold pressed watercolor paper;
paper for charcoal pencil- withstands pastels, but is more suitable for rough sketches and short-term sketches;
paper with an “emery” coating - has a fine abrasive coating, so it holds pastels well.

Paper selection - important stage preparation for drawing, since not only the comfort of the process, but also the final result will depend on this.

Rules for drawing with pastels

In order for a pastel portrait to turn out beautiful and authentic, it is important to follow some rules for its depiction. And even if the first time the result is not what you would like, as you gain skill and professionalism it will turn out to be realistic.

When creating a portrait using pastels, you need to remember the following recommendations:

To begin with, it is important to imagine the general image of the upcoming drawing and highlight the main features that will distinguish this person from all others. Each person's face has something unique, different from others.
Before you start drawing you need to determine color scheme upcoming image. What shades predominate in a person’s face and image, how do they combine with each other?
When starting to draw, you first need to make weak sketches and an outline, on which the entire portrait will then lie.
Although human face, as a rule, appears warm and requires appropriate colors; it will also contain cold shades.
For layered drawings, it is better to choose soft pastels, then the layers will easily lay on top of each other.

There are many more rules for drawing with pastels, but from these simple recommendations you can start learning, and understand and apply the remaining nuances in the process of practice.

Sequence of drawing a portrait

To draw a beautiful and believable portrait, you need to follow a certain sequence of drawing lines and layers of pastels.

Image stages include:

Performance general image face, separation of light and dark areas.
Light drawing of lines, sketch of the general concept of the drawing.
Detailing the contour, drawing eyes, nose, lips according to the proportions of the human face.
Applying layers of nude pastels with a combination of warm and cool shades.
Guiding the main parts of the face, detailing.
Final touches, giving the face a natural expression, drawing small elements.

Drawing a portrait is not an easy process, and at first it may seem to the artist that there are too many mistakes and flaws. But diligence and the desire to learn how to draw with pastels are worth the result that you get in the end. It is important to enjoy the drawing process and not despair after the first unsuccessful attempt.

Pastel - it is almost pure pigment. It allows you to create bright and rich images. It is used to create sketches and drawings. The advantage of pastels is that you don’t need a lot of supplies to draw. Enough paper and the pastel itself.

Dry pastel

1. It is very important to buy quality paper. Savings are inappropriate here. Otherwise, the beginner runs the risk of not making progress in learning. The pastel painting technique requires the use of special grained paper, whose surface is similar to suede and is capable of holding dye particles.

Pastel paper comes in a variety of colors. Choose the one you like, but keep in mind that the color should contrast with the depicted object. The shade should not be too dark or very light so that light and dark tones look good on paper.

Don't choose white paper, because work in color will look more impressive. A colorless sheet will require light spots to be completely filled.

2. A wide line is drawn with the end of the pastel, and a thin line with the edge. You can adjust the thickness of the stroke using the pressure and angle of the pencil. If you need to paint over a large surface, place the crayon on its side and cover and paint over the paper.

3. Pastel sets may include up to six dozen colors. But not all artists use a huge amount shades. Many people only use a few. Choose the way you like.

4. The sheet can be placed horizontally or on an easel. The vertical position allows crumbs to fall and not remain in the design.

5. Pastel allows for great variety application of techniques. There is no universal recipe and you can develop your own ways of working with it.

6. Start with a sketch using charcoal or a faint crayon that stands out against the tone of the paper. A simple pencil is not suitable because the pastel does not stick well to it.

7. On light paper, it is good to mark out the tones with gray or black pastels. To correctly determine tonal relationships, determine what should be the darkest and what should be the lightest. From basic forms, move on to refinement and work with volumes. Use strokes, lines and dots. Rub the pastel where you need to summarize the image. If you rub everything, then subsequent layers will not adhere well to the paper.

8. Secure the finished drawing with a special solution. It can be bought in a specialized store in the form of a spray. Apply the sealer carefully. A thick layer will affect the color of the design. Universal fixatives and hairspray are not very suitable. Dry pastel, due to the chalk content, is not very saturated, and after fixing it becomes more contrasting. This needs to be taken into account.

9. Finished works, especially loose ones, must be stored carefully. It is advisable to place it under glass and use a mat. If the drawings will be stored in a folder, then line them with smooth paper.

Oil pastel

1. Oil pastel It does not shade and rubs worse than dry. Therefore, it should be diluted with pinene.

2. Perform the preliminary drawing with oil pastels. If you prefer charcoal, remove almost all of it before using the pastel to avoid staining the pastel.

3. After applying the base tones, wash them out with pinene.

4. Refine the drawing and, if necessary, blur it. But don’t get carried away, because work that is too blurry will look washed out. The drawn areas, the most important in the artist’s opinion, should remain.

5. For several months oil pastel It will dry out and darken a little. Take this effect into account as you work.

6. There is no need to fix the work done with such pastels. But you still need to store it carefully. The paint layer may stick to the surface in contact with the design. It is best to store the work under glass, but it should not touch the drawing.

How to draw with pastels? - video

Most beginning artists tend to choose oil or watercolor paints. But among art materials There is another option - pastel paints, they are quite soft and easy to paint with.

Pastels are crayons, which are applied step by step on a sheet of paper, then all the strokes are shaded using your fingers with a strong pressure on, this way you can get a certain texture and shades of the image.

James Whistler a little started later use pastel drawing popular atmospheric landscapes. For the period of the 19th-20th centuries, such material was famous among the master artists of the “Nabi” group. Pastel colors were also used by artists: Edouard Manet, Pierre Bonnard, Edgar Degas, Jean Edouard Vuillard and Alfred Sisley.

There is one Parisian alley in France that has not changed since the beginning of the 19th century, there is famous store entitled La Maison du Pastel. Henri Rochat invented this technology, and his heirs are still engaged in production to this day. This small pastel factory uses antique tools to make the material by hand. In terms of price, the chalk costs an average of 15 euros, and the full palette has 567 colors. Popular work Degas's ballerinas and some of Sisley's series were painted with this very material, which is produced in the store.

There are 3 types of pastel chalk:

The work done, the delicate and fragile crayons - require careful handling. With the help of crayons you can make a sketch or sketch a drawing in a short time. If you slog through the work for a long time, repeating the detailing many times and step by step, you can paint the work to a realistic photographic level. Such crayons can be used not only by beginners, but also experienced artists for detailed work.

Pastels are excellent for creating landscapes, so during a walk you can take compact crayons with you and draw a landscape step by step, sitting by the river, while it is easy to use them to show the texture of the sky and the angle of light and shade.

Pastel has a number of minor disadvantages, the waxy appearance of pastels also has these shortcomings. Closer to the point:

Necessary drawing supplies

Pastel

It is not advisable to use budget pastels. High-quality crayons will last a long time if used rationally. Also, beginning artists should not purchase a large assortment of colors; 15 pieces of primary colors will be enough. To check the quality, you need to run the pastel over a sheet of paper, it should leave a velvety mark, and if small crumbs appear, then such a pastel is not of high quality.

Art paper

To unlock all the possibilities of pastels, it is recommended to buy embossed tinted paper. You can also purchase pastel albums, they contain a minimum set of sheets: terracotta color, pale brown, gray and other soft colors. Using this material you can create professional drawing.

Easel or tablet

The vertical or inclined arrangement of the sheet will provide maximum convenience when drawing a picture; with this arrangement it will be easier to evaluate general form Images. This accessory can be placed on a chair at an angle and drawn.

Fixing varnish

Sponge and brush

You can use a sponge or brush for shading, but this option is suitable for fine shading. Initially, this action is done with your fingers.

Pastel drawing lessons: the principle of technique

Pastel is more related to graphics, but the technique is also applicable to the painting genre. In drawing, the ability to see colors is important; you need to learn this. For example, when drawing from life, you need not just apply a monochromatic color, but distinguish between chiaroscuro reflexes, starting to disassemble the general shadow area into details, and find shades in them.

Oil pastel look creates high image contrast. The material has greasy and soft properties. But such oil technology It is better to use regular dry pastels after training.

A novice artist will quickly master the technique of drawing with pastels. The process allows for instant correction of defects. There is no single drawing style here, so you can come up with your own personal technique and create a beautiful and a bright picture, which will look great on the wall in the house.