Beginners guide to Oil Pastels

In my previous post I wrote about how oil pastels are for everyone and some benefits of using oil pastels. In this post I will be writing about some basics to follow as beginners. 

Lets start with the basics.....

What do you need to know?

Artists new to oil pastels should strongly consider beginning with the best quality oil pastels you can afford. As the quality of oil pastels can really make a difference in the final work as there are number of factors like shades, quality, price. There are many different quality pastels available in the market that are broadly divided into "Artistic quality" and "Student quality". If an entire set of high-quality oil pastels isn’t possible, the subsequent best thing is to get some individual sticks of oil pastels from an artist-quality brand. You could mix the two together as you work, and it also helps to draw comparisons between artist-quality and student-quality.

I have seen beginners getting frustrated with using oil pastels when they first start out, and it’s often due to the cheaper quality medium. It’s a drag because cheap oil pastels don’t blend well together, and that they have a feel and look of something like kids crayons. This discourages artists new to oil pastels and they often move on to something else, without ever really discovering how great the medium is.

What makes oil pastels great for beginners?

There is no need for setting up various mediums and solutions, or brushes or much of anything else. All you need is a sheet of paper and you are ready to get started. Yes, you have alternative solutions like brushes and other artists tools for working with oil pastels. But it isn’t required.

Keep the Mess Under Control

One thing you would like to have with you when first starting any new oil pastels piece, is paper towels.

Paper towels are always by my side when working in oil pastels, because the medium quickly gets on my fingers and sometimes clothing if I’m not being careful. If not paper towels, at least keep an old rag or old article of clothing available. Not only are these good for wiping off yourself, but very often when working with oil pastels, you would want to clean off the sticks of oil pastels too. Plus paper towels/tissue papers are one of the medium for blending...we will come across this in my next post.

What to start out painting first?

My recommendation for beginning working with oil pastels is still life. Grab some fruit or a flower or plant nearby, maybe set it up with some good lighting, and start drawing with oil pastels. Again, don’t expect greatness directly, just use this first time to start out experimenting and understanding how oil pastels work, how they react to your marks on the surface, how they blend with other colors, etc.

Oil pastels actually blend very well, in my opinion (again, the better quality brands tend to blend better than the cheaper ones, keep that in mind). And, depending on the softness of the brand, you will find that making marks on the surface and getting a nice layer of colors doesn’t take as much time as other drawing-like mediums (as in colored pencils which can take a lot of work to cover a surface). If you don’t have fruit or a plant handy to start painting, one of the easiest idea would be to grab a photo reference from a website(this is what I do).

In my next post I will show 6 different ways to blend oil pastels that will give you the option to explore the method that you are comfortable with to make your experience even more fun..