INTRODUCTION TO PASTEL TYPES

Many manuals on pastel painting take for granted the use of traditional soft pastels, a dry medium that provides the richness and variety of paint colours. Soft pastel is certainly the most versatile and widely used kind of pastel, but the modern range of materials includes other pastel types that have their own specific characteristics as drawing and painting media, and also function as useful supplements to soft pastels. The techniques described in this encyclopedia are related to the full pastel range ‑ soft pastels, hard pastels, pastel pencils, oil pastels and water‑soluble pastels.

The exact characteristics of all of these media vary slightly between different manufacturers' ranges. You may find a
particular brand that you prefer for its ease of handling or colour qualities, but it is quite possible to mix and match from different selections, so trying out the ranges is unlikely to involve acquiring anything you cannot use. Because the colours are so attractive, it is tempting to keep picking out mor and more hues when you are buying. However, until you are familiar with a particular product, and have tried out its properties for colour mixing and textural variation, it is probably best to start with just a few basic colours, gradually adding to your stock as appropriate. Most manufacturers produce boxed sets of selected colour ranges, but the pastel sticks are usually sold individually as well.

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