Pastel artists: What brand of pastels and papers should I purchase to do quality professional portraits?

Posted by admin on December 30th, 2009 and filed under pastel artist | 3 Comments »


There are many types of pastels that are considered high quality but it isn’t just quality but detail as well. For that nothing beats a pastel pencil. Some of the best are made by Conte and they are a bit expensive. You will also need a board with a clamp to put your art sheets to. Many quality pastel sets have portraiture pastel sets, like Grumbacher, that come with the right colors for portraits but that may be too limiting. You need to experiment with hard and soft pastels because that is just as important as who makes them. I recommend a medium soft because you will usually need it to not be too soft. Hope that helps.

3 Responses

  1. Sam Says:

    Nupastels by prismacolor work well, and make sure the paper has a tooth.
    References :

  2. jobees Says:

    Rembrandt is a good brand
    paper Aches is top of the range but not cheap
    or a paper with some rag content
    References :

  3. zeroartmac Says:

    There are many types of pastels that are considered high quality but it isn’t just quality but detail as well. For that nothing beats a pastel pencil. Some of the best are made by Conte and they are a bit expensive. You will also need a board with a clamp to put your art sheets to. Many quality pastel sets have portraiture pastel sets, like Grumbacher, that come with the right colors for portraits but that may be too limiting. You need to experiment with hard and soft pastels because that is just as important as who makes them. I recommend a medium soft because you will usually need it to not be too soft. Hope that helps.
    References :
    Art teacher – 25 years experience.

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