Oil pastel painting techniques for beginners. Oil pastel tutorial

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.

Do not choose white paper, because the work on colored paper 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 number of 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. Over the course of several months, the oil pastels will dry out and darken slightly. 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

Sometimes it is very difficult to depict the surrounding beauty so that the picture evokes the same feelings as the original. It is difficult to compete with a Great Artist, so many masters resort to cunning. They use different materials that make ordinary things extraordinary. One such artistic medium is dry pastel. How to draw and what do novice artists need to know about it? Let's try to answer these questions.

What is dry pastel

Once upon a time in the Soviet pioneer years, children's drawing competitions on asphalt were very popular. In those years, funny faces on fences and sidewalks were often the first artistic experience of many children. What could be easier: take a white block and draw some kind of squiggle on the first hard, dark surface. It’s just as easy to get rid of a piece you don’t like by wiping it all off with a wet rag.

Such possibilities of chalk have long attracted artists. By adding colored pigments and binding agents to chalk, they invented an amazing material - pastel. Many great people fell into childhood and created amazing paintings with pastels. There are three main types of art pastels. Their classification depends on the binding agent, that is, on what the chalk and color additives are mixed with.

These three groups are:

• Dry. It is divided into hard and soft. This is where acquaintance with pastels usually begins.
• Oily. From the name it is clear that the components are oil-based. This pastel is not for kids. It is very difficult to wash them later after creativity.
• Wax. Yes, wax acts as a mixer here. An interesting material, but very rarely used by artists. They prefer the first two more.

What else do you need to know before you start working with our heroine? Not every surface is suitable for working with pastels. Here, rough surfaces are held in high esteem, and preferably those that are harder. Cardboard, sandpaper, canvas, watercolor sheets of whatman paper - these are the surfaces on which it will be comfortable to work.

Sometimes it is easier to draw with pastels than to save the drawing later. The flowability of this material does not allow it to be stored like ordinary paintings. Pastel works must be fixed with varnish or a special fixative. If you want your descendants to admire your pastel creations, then place the fixed drawing in a frame under glass. Then there is a chance to convey your works to future generations.

Drawing with pastels step by step

So, you bought a pack of wonderful crayons called “Pastel” and prepared thick, pimply paper. Everything is ready for drawing. What will you do if you don’t draw what you need? For corrections, you need a knob or an eraser, and also a large soft brush. After all, by tilting the sheet, you can easily use it to sweep away excess layers of pastel from your work.

Well, shall we get started? What are we going to draw? Our heroine can portray anything. However, pastel landscapes fascinate with impressionism, mystery and unusual airiness. Let's try going out into the open air or looking out the window. Choose the appropriate type, attach the paper to an easel or sketchbook, and then follow the centuries-old scheme:

• Making a sketch of the composition and main lines. Beginners here prefer the tried and true pencil. Real masters immediately use pastel crayons for this purpose.
• Drawing the main details of the picture. Using shading, the main color spots of the future work are immediately applied.
• Formation of volume and depth. To do this, contrasts in the foreground are highlighted, and the lines and tones of the background are blurred.

• Drawing small details. You can use pastels to shade like a pencil. Many masters skillfully use this ability and draw even small parts in great detail.
• Fastening the finished drawing. Here it is important not to overdo it with varnish, otherwise you can ruin all your work.

Having tried pastels in action once, it is unlikely that you will not want to repeat this experience. There is something attractive about this material. The more often you draw with it, the more you will fall in love with it. Let this love give birth to a new great author.

I'm going to paint this still life with oil pastels. I work in the style of realism and use mixed media. This still life was installed in my studio, I also photograph my still lifes because... Drawing often takes too long. This tutorial will show you my approach and hopefully help.

I use dark blue paper with a warm tone, as well as a pastel pencil, a palette knife to remove excess pastel from the paper, and paper feathers of different sizes. This is the color of the paper I use. I like to take colors that harmonize and complement the still life, and the effect of colored paper helps the colors of oil pastels to open up. For those using dry pastels, I recommend primed paper, and for oil pastels I need a surface that absorbs particles and has no texture (I don’t like the recesses of textured paper)
I use Holbein and Sennelier pastels.

I start the drawing on another piece of paper, and later I’ll transfer it to my working sheet. I like to start painting with pastels with an accurate drawing, so I start on paper where I can erase, refining the lines.
I make a drawing on a piece of paper with an HB pencil, clarify it with an H pencil and delete all the extra lines.

I turn the paper over, and on the back side I draw all the lines with white chalk, then I place the sheet on the blue paper and go over the lines with an H pencil, without pressing too hard so as not to damage the paper. Chalk imprinted on paper

I followed the crayon marks with a white pastel pencil so as not to lose the image. I didn't put all the lines of the tablecloth and seeds, deciding to do it later (which turned out to be a mistake and made it difficult to work) When I start drawing with pastels, I put a piece of the same paper under my hand to test how the colors will look on the paper

To start, I put the base colors of the local objects. I like to work with the whole drawing at once rather than in pieces. I start with Sennelier n18, brilliant yellow in the foreground, Holbein cadmium orange in the back melon. I sketched the plums in 4 shades of red and started the tablecloth.

Now I started to clarify the melon. Here I use my finger for grouting. I also put cadmium orange on the yellow part.

I rub the front melon with my finger (it’s hard to take photos with my left hand)
I start the seeds from the top of the front melon. The color between the melons (dark orange) is Holbein Sennelier n 200 mandarin, nuance 1. I add more red to the back plum and rub it in with my finger. I'm also working on the edges of the plate.

I continue to work on the melons by adding yellow and tangerine to the front melon, rubbing it with my finger. I add color to the second melon using Sennelier Mandarin. Moving on to the seeds, the main thing is to think of them as three-dimensional shapes with light and shadow falling on them.
I continue to apply Sen.Yellow n 18 and Cadm. orange n 4 in the center. I'm starting to work on the color of the peel - the base layer is Sen. N 94, I add a little sen. 99 and a little sen n 28.

then I rub the border between the peel and the pulp

I add a little white to this area.
(author's note - for tangerine, ordinary orange is also suitable)

Here I worked on the back melon and the tablecloth behind it, also the back plum - I added red tones and white highlights, and rubbed the edges of the plum with a blender. I put Sennelier bluish-gray on the dark parts of the plum because they seemed too bright. Sometimes when working with the shading, it takes a lot of color onto itself, so I put a little burgundy on the shading itself and work it along the plum. I added orange to the back melon and darkened the skin near the flesh.

I rub the edges, transferring a little dark green onto the flesh by mixing so that the cut does not seem so sharp.

I put a little more color in the back melon seed area without using any new colors. Next I work on grouting the plums and shadows on the tablecloth around them.

Mostly here I rub it in with my finger.

Today I'm working on the background. Using the same colors of orange and yellow to finish off the seed area, I rubbed in small areas with paper blending paper.

I put the Senn N84 under the cymbal and rub it in the shape of the cymbal's arc. I move on to working on the seeds of the first piece, removing the excess pastel with a palette knife.

I use the same yellow and orange. I rub it mostly with my finger.

I was trying to pinpoint the seeds falling from the front piece of the melon. I also darkened the front piece. I used orange, yellow and white.
I rub it under the seeds.

I move to the shadow under the melon and work on the inner arc of the plate.
Right under the melon I put Sennelier N8 Holbein and indigo N1. I mixed them together by rubbing with my finger and cleaned up the arc of the plate with a paper blender.

If I make a mistake, I scrape off the first layer of pastel with a palette knife, then dip a cloth in mineral solvent and wipe off the residue. When it dries, I redo the failed area.

I'm working on the squares and this photo shows what color I used.

At this stage I erase the edges of the cells with a feather brush

I put highlights on a plate so that it is glass

Here I have refined the tablecloth and the shadow of the front plum.

I'm working on the shadows under the melon and the seeds lying on the plate. I decided to try a solid color mixer.

I use the flat one to soften the squares and the sharp one to blend the color of the seeds on the plate.

I work on the edge of the plate and the tablecloth in this place, adding shadows from the seeds to the plate.

Right now I'm mostly working on the shadow under the melon

Finished the shadows under the melon

some improvements

Finished job!

Today we want to show you how to draw a magnolia using dry pastels. This work will be feasible for even the most novice artists. This painting can become a wonderful decoration for your interior or the most expensive and valuable gift for your loved ones! So, are you ready to learn how to draw with dry pastels for beginners?

FOR WORK YOU WILL NEED:

• Dry pastel
• Pastel pencils. We will use them to draw smaller elements
• Pastel white pencil for sketching
• Tinted pastel paper 60 by 50 cm
• Eraser
• Cotton buds

Let's get to work. First we need to draw a vase with a white pastel pencil. Make sure that the axis of symmetry is in the middle of our canvas. Now let's start applying different shades. Let's start with the petals. First we cover it with white, add pink and then draw in the shadows and a little outline with purple.

STEP-BY-STEP DRAWING WITH DRY PASTEL

Now we take yellow and light green colors and draw the core of the magnolia. We outline the contours and some elements with a purple pastel pencil. Using the same principle, we apply color to the rest of the flowers. You can add a little blue here and there. We also cover the unopened bottle with white, and then brown and sand.

DRAWING WITH DRY PASTEL STEP BY STEP

After all the flowers are ready, we will begin to apply the flowers to the vase. We follow the same principle. Cover it with white. Then we take a dark blue color and cover the left edge of the vase with it. Take a light purple color, cover the vase with it in some places, add a little blue and light blue.

DRAWING MAGNOLIA WITH DRY PASTEL

The picture still seems a little empty. Therefore, we will add a few more flowers and unopened buds.

DRAWING SMALL ELEMENTS AND DETAILS

Now let's start drawing and applying color to the branches and smaller details.

LET'S GET TO THE BACKGROUND

Here we will need colors from light purple to dark blue. We cover the main part of the paper with blue or light purple. After this, add a more saturated blue color and shade it. Apply a layer of bright blue color along the edges of the work. We will cover the corners of the right edge of the canvas with black pastel. After applying all the colors, carefully shade the work.

DRAWING WITH DRY PASTELS FOR BEGINNERS

Now let's finish the tabletop using black and brown. The picture is ready! You can also see

WE WISH YOU GREAT SUCCESS IN YOUR WORK!

Using pastels, colorful and vibrant paintings are created. In this article we will learn how to draw with pastels, why you need auxiliary tools and where to best use pastel pencils.

Benefits of pastels

Pastel is a pigment pressed from powder with the addition of a binder. The use of pastels is possible both at home and outdoors. It does not get dirty, does not crumble, dries quickly and does not require special equipment. Only canvas and pastel. Moreover, the color range is amazing, ranging from very light tones to bright and rich shades. Before you draw with pastels for beginners, you need to understand what it is. It's best to start with

what it is not:

• It is often confused with chalk. This is a very serious mistake. Colored crayons, made from lime and dye, are very hard and faded.
• The second most common mistake is oil pastels. The technique of its use differs from dry. You can learn how to draw with oil pastels from our other articles.

Variety of pastels

It is available in several forms: in paper packaging (round and square), in pencils. Each one is great for art. To create a sketch, it is best to use pastel pencils or charcoal. Pastel does not adhere very well to a regular graphite pencil.

So, portioned pastel in paper packaging

It comes in square and round shapes. There is no universal advice on which drawing form is best. Artists use both forms when working; they create different types of strokes.

An example of using round and square crayons (using square corners to create the effect of tangled fur).

Pastel pencils

Using pastel pencils you can draw very fine details. Their composition is no different from the pastel itself, only the appearance is like that of an ordinary pencil. Although they can be a stand-alone fine art tool, they work best when paired with regular crayons. These pencils are great for shading.

Using pastels as an example, we draw step by step for beginners the eyes of a cheetah. First we draw the base with crayons, then the eyes and fur with pencils.

Their disadvantages include fragility. You need to sharpen it very carefully. You can use a sharp sharpener or a small knife.

Pastel selection

There is a huge variety of both shades and manufacturers. Professionals advise, especially for beginners, to choose the following manufacturers:

• Inscribe. Low price, large selection of colors and convenient packaging. But, these crayons are not suitable for drawing fine lines.
• Sennelier. Excellent, professional crayons. The price is steep, but they are worth it. With their help you can create excellent paintings. Moreover, they are packaged by color (for example, for painting landscapes, sets of rainbow or metallic colors).

Whatever company you choose, you should avoid sets with a predominance of very bright colors. Oddly enough, but such a number of colors really ties the artist’s hands.

It is best to choose pastel pencils from the following companies:

• Derwent.
• Faber Castell Pitt.
• Stabilo.

Choose sets of 24 colors. Although, for starters, take pencils individually. This way you can assess their need for work.

If you use pencils actively, the original packaging will quickly become damaged. The best option is to put them in a special pencil case (as in the photo above). It will help save them from destruction. You can use a regular school pencil case, but searching for the right shade can take a lot of time.

Auxiliary materials

• Basically, a set of crayons and a canvas are enough for drawing. But, there are several auxiliary tools. Some may find them very useful, and they need to be considered in more detail:
• Fixative. A special product for fixing flowers in a painting. The special product is very expensive. Regular hairspray does the job perfectly. But, do not forget that varnish and fixative make the colors of the work darker.
• Maulstick. It consists of suede fabric and a stick and protects the design from smudging while working. And he needs to lean on his working hand.
• Shading sticks. Replace fingers during operation. Very useful when depicting grass, fur or other small details.
• Sandpaper. Replaces the eraser when drawing with pastels.
• Stencil. It is used very rarely, but it is still worth having in your arsenal.

Canvas for drawing

The canvas for drawing should be textured; pastels will not lie correctly and beautifully on smooth paper. The result depends very much not only on the texture, but also on the color of the canvas.

Sometimes it shows through a layer of paint and can set the main atmosphere.

Now let's look at several options for canvases that are ideal for work:

• Pastel paper. Sold in sets and one sheet at a time. Comes in different colors and sizes.
• Pastelmat. This canvas looks like a cork. Great for small jobs. When using it, hairspray or fixative is not needed.
• Canvas. Ideal for working with pastels: hard, textured, comes in many sizes and colors.
• Cardboard, craft and note paper. A large selection of colors (there is even a shiny one), excellent texture and size chart.
• Sandpaper. It is easy and interesting to work with, but it is better to choose paper with a small grain size.

The best paper suppliers are:

• Winsor
• Derwent;
• Clairefontaine.

You need to be careful when ordering paper online. Be sure to check the colors.

Supports

We have already learned the main points and instructions on how to draw with dry pastels. All that remains is to decide how you will draw. Some prefer to sit, some prefer to stand. It’s up to you to decide, but now we’ll tell you the main points of supports for the canvas

in any position:

• Table. You can draw on the table. Before working, be sure to cover the table surface. Crumbs can stain it.
• Easel. Ideal for standing work. The main thing is to firmly attach the canvas to the base.

• Wall. It is also convenient to draw on the wall while standing, but you need to lay something down. It is better to attach the canvas to the wall with masking tape, at the very edges, so as not to spoil it. The downside is that no matter how carefully you paint, the wall still ends up dirty.

Transportation and storage

If you painted outside the home, for example, in nature, the question arises of how to properly bring the painting home. For this we need thick sliding paper. You can store them at home in the same way, simply transferring the work with this paper.

The most beautiful drawings deserve to be kept in a frame. This storage method has its own characteristics. Even after a painting is completed, dust may fall off over time.

Before applying glass, limit the picture to frames, leaving a small distance from the picture itself.

In this simple way you will protect the painting and maintain its neat appearance.

Let's sum it up

Drawing with pastels is a pleasant, exciting and interesting activity. After finishing the work, there is no need to wait for it to dry. She is immediately ready for exhibition. By following simple rules, you can preserve the painting in its original form for a long time.

Use all possible types of pastels for creativity, experiment with canvases, and you will get very bright and beautiful paintings.