Oil Pastels

Oil Pastel Artists & Resource Videos

Quiz

What are oil pastels?

Oil pastel is a drawing medium with characteristics similar to crayons. Unlike chalk pastels, which are made with less binder, oil pastels are different because they consist of pigment mixed with a non-drying oil and wax. The surface of an oil pastel painting is therefore slicker. Oil pastels provide a harder edge than chalk pastels but they are more difficult to blend. They are also brighter in color.

Tools & Materials

Oil Pastels

Best quality

Paper

Use different colored and texture paper to create different looks

Rulers

Used for creating straight lines

Eraser

Best used for erasing colored pencil

Blending Tools:

Q-Tips

Used for blending

Baby Oil

Used for blending

Tortillons

Used for blending

Develop

Techniques- different ways to use the materials

Practice Techniques

Using the technique sheet for chalk pastels, practice the techniques to improve your skills.

Blending Tools: Tortillons, Tissues, Q-tips

Techniques:

Flat Color- a solid block of color.
Value- the gradual shading from light to dark. Value can also be created by adding white and black into a color.
Blending- gradually mixing two or more colors together.
Hatching- texture or value created by drawing parallel lines closer together and further apart.
Crosshatching- texture or value created by drawing intersecting lines closer together and further apart.
Stippling- texture or value created by drawing dots closer together and further apart.
Sgraffito- scratching away.

Mixing Colors

Tint- any color mixed with white.
Tone- any color mixed with gray.
Shade- any color mixed with black.

Create

How to Start

Materials:

Pastel or Drawing Paper
Oil Pastels
Pencils
Sharpie
Blending Materials: tissues, tortillons, q-tips, baby oil
Masking tape
Backboard

Tape all the way around your paper! And put your name and class period on the tape.

Directions:

Tape down your paper to a backboard. Tape it all the way around the paper. Be sure that you have evenly taped your border with the tape halfway on the paper and halfway on the board.
Write your name on the tape in sharpie.
In pencil, lightly sketch out your composition.
Start coloring the background areas first. Be sure to use a variety of techniques!
Then, color the foreground, details areas.
Black should be added VERY LAST because it smears.

Tips:

Color black VERY LAST.
Add your details VERY LAST.
Rotate your paper so that you are not leaning your arm into the chalk. You can also use a scrap piece of paper under your arm so that you do not smear it.
Build layers of color by adding different shades.
Do not blend too much or you will lose your details.
You cannot use sharpie or charcoal pencils on top of oil pastels.

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