If you're new to painting with pastels, congratulations on choosing one of the easiest and most fun artistic mediums in existence.
You'll find that pastels combine the speed and convenience of drawing (no chemicals or liquids required), with the beautiful colors of painting.
So what's the art of using them effectively? Here are some broad hints that will help you to get the most out of painting with pastels.
1.
Start with a little planning Planning? I thought pastels were all about diving in! Yes, there's a contradiction here.
You can just dive into a new pastel artwork without doing any planning beforehand.
This is a fun way to work, and it can produce great results.
However, sometimes you'll ruin an artwork because it's so easy to just keep adding pigment.
A little planning will help you to avoid this, so before you begin, do a little thumbnail sketch of your idea and get your composition right first.
2.
Shadows are more complicated that you think Ask a non-artist what color shadows are, and you'll inevitably hear "black, of course.
" But in reality, shadows are almost never pure black, and making the shadows in your artworks pure black will look very unnatural.
Pay closer attention to shadows around you, and you'll see that they all have a little brown in them, or a little blue in them, or a little green in them.
Color your shadows the same and the difference will speak for itself.
3.
Pay attention to your tonal range Contrast is so important.
A range of values from light to dark in your artworks will give them 'punch' that will help to capture and hold the attention of the viewer.
It's not necessary to include a pure white and a pure black and everything between, but 95% of the time you'll want a healthy range of values.
To check whether you've done this, photograph your artwork and convert it to grayscale on your computer.
Do you see a range of different values of gray...
or just a few? If there are just a few, add some lighter highlights and darker darks to it.
4.
Taking breaks will help you to assess your own work Every artist gets caught up in their work and loses the ability to be objective.
To combat this, get up and walk away from your artwork periodically.
Looking at it again after a short break and from a different angle will immediately help you to see what needs doing to it, or indeed whether it's time to stop (always try to avoid overworking your artworks).
5.
Practicing drawing will improve your pastels immeasurably Pastels are a very quick and transportable medium, but that doesn't mean you're going to want to carry them with you everywhere you go.
However, carrying a sketchpad and an ordinary graphite pencil is manageable for anyone, and will allow you to practice drawing whenever you have a spare minute.
This will pay big dividends for your pastels.
You'll find that pastels combine the speed and convenience of drawing (no chemicals or liquids required), with the beautiful colors of painting.
So what's the art of using them effectively? Here are some broad hints that will help you to get the most out of painting with pastels.
1.
Start with a little planning Planning? I thought pastels were all about diving in! Yes, there's a contradiction here.
You can just dive into a new pastel artwork without doing any planning beforehand.
This is a fun way to work, and it can produce great results.
However, sometimes you'll ruin an artwork because it's so easy to just keep adding pigment.
A little planning will help you to avoid this, so before you begin, do a little thumbnail sketch of your idea and get your composition right first.
2.
Shadows are more complicated that you think Ask a non-artist what color shadows are, and you'll inevitably hear "black, of course.
" But in reality, shadows are almost never pure black, and making the shadows in your artworks pure black will look very unnatural.
Pay closer attention to shadows around you, and you'll see that they all have a little brown in them, or a little blue in them, or a little green in them.
Color your shadows the same and the difference will speak for itself.
3.
Pay attention to your tonal range Contrast is so important.
A range of values from light to dark in your artworks will give them 'punch' that will help to capture and hold the attention of the viewer.
It's not necessary to include a pure white and a pure black and everything between, but 95% of the time you'll want a healthy range of values.
To check whether you've done this, photograph your artwork and convert it to grayscale on your computer.
Do you see a range of different values of gray...
or just a few? If there are just a few, add some lighter highlights and darker darks to it.
4.
Taking breaks will help you to assess your own work Every artist gets caught up in their work and loses the ability to be objective.
To combat this, get up and walk away from your artwork periodically.
Looking at it again after a short break and from a different angle will immediately help you to see what needs doing to it, or indeed whether it's time to stop (always try to avoid overworking your artworks).
5.
Practicing drawing will improve your pastels immeasurably Pastels are a very quick and transportable medium, but that doesn't mean you're going to want to carry them with you everywhere you go.
However, carrying a sketchpad and an ordinary graphite pencil is manageable for anyone, and will allow you to practice drawing whenever you have a spare minute.
This will pay big dividends for your pastels.
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