Faber-Castell Creativity for life: Enriching lives through creativity and self-expression

Creativity for Life / Pastels

Pastel Art 101: Comparing Pastel Materials

Pastel Art 101: Comparing Pencil, Soft, and Oil Pastels

Pastels are an artistic media unlike any other bringing artists access to vibrant pigments right at their fingertips in the form of sticks or pencils. Pastel artwork can be intimidating when first approached but learning what kind of pastel is right for your artwork is the first step in achieving your artistic goals and mastering the medium. Faber-Castell offers pastels in soft, oil, hard, and pencil form.
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Oil pastel drawing

Oil Pastel Techniques - Oil Pastel Drawing Beyond the Basics

Oil pastels are a unique medium with a world of creative possibilities. Faber-Castell Oil Pastels are perfect for students and beginning artists. In this article, we will discuss tips and techniques for artists that are familiar with oil pastels. If you are new to oil pastels, we recommend that you check out our article “How to Draw with Oil Pastels for Beginners."
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Oil Pastels and pastel drawings

How to Draw with Oil Pastels for Beginners

Oil Pastels are a unique medium with features unlike any other artistic tool. Pick up oil pastels and you have the ability create with vibrant highly pigmented colors with a smooth creamy laydown. Faber-Castell Oil Pastels were specifically created for students and aspiring artists. High-quality and easy to use, oil pastels inspire artists to push their creative boundaries and explore the different styles of art that they have to offer. New to using oil pastels? Here are some tips and tricks to get you started.
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Oil pastels and soft pastels

Oil Pastels vs Soft Pastels

Pastels are a unique medium. Pigment packed, pastels deliver vibrant colors to a blank art paper or canvas. They are widely loved because they are an independent art medium. Feeling inspired? All you need is your creativity, your pastels, and a surface to create on. (Although we do know some great oil pastel and soft pastel techniques.) While all pastels are used for drawing and painting artwork full of vivid pigment, they have qualities that make them very different from each other. Learn the difference between oil and soft pastels and what makes each one unique.
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Watercolor and pastel boats

Monet's Boats Watercolor Art Lesson for Kids

An art lesson for kids with mixed media! Background Info: Growing up outside the port of Le Havre, France, Monet was familiar with boats. His father earned his living servicing larger ships at his small shop. Monet never owned his own boat until the age of thirty-three, but as a youth he had painted them in all shapes and sizes.
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Soft pastel beach landscape

Soft Pastel Beach Landscape Tutorial

Soft pastels are a unique medium, unlike any other. Their incredible color, texture, and ease of use offer an opportunity to expand your artistic abilities like you never thought possible. In this lesson plan, we explore a landscape in soft pastel, and the basic steps to creating your own pastel painting.
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Pastel portrait of dog

Pitt Pastel Puppy Tutorial

Pitt Pastel Pencils offer the artist the best of both worlds, combining the confidence and control of a pencil with the soft, looser mark of pastel. The colors can be blended and layered just as they would in a soft pastel painting. Their pencil form also allows the pastel to be easily sharpened to a point and be used for developing details in artwork.
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Coneflower Soft Pastel landscape

Coneflower Landscape Soft Pastel Tutorial

Soft pastels are a unique medium unlike any other. Their incredible color, texture and ease of use offer an opportunity to expand your artistic abilities like you never thought possible. In this lesson plan, we learn the steps for creating a floral landscape in soft pastel.
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Cat pastel portrait

Pet Portrait Pitt Pastel Tutorial - Maine Coon Cat

This Pitt Pastel Pencil tutorial is full of tips and tricks to become a better artist. Learn how to become a fierce artist, Pitt Pastel techniques, and how to create a pastel portrait of your ferocious furry friend.
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Apple orchard painting

Vincent Van Gogh Inspired Art Lesson - Apple Orchard

An art lesson for kids inspired by Vincent Van Gogh's Almond Blossom with oil pastels and Connector Paint.
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Draw & Color Chalk Sunflower

Colorful Sunflower Craft for Kids with Glue and Chalk

These lovely sunflowers are created using white school glue, soft chalk pastels and black paper.
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Van Gogh Lesson Plan Pastel Flowers

Vincent Van Gogh Art Lesson Plan for Kids

A lesson plan in oil pastels for kids in grades 6-8, completed in two 45 minute class periods. Students learn about the life of the famous artist Vincent Van Gogh, and create an original still life image of flowers in his style.
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Soft Pastel Image

How to Draw with Soft Pastels - Art Tutorial

Soft pastel techniques and tips. Learn how to draw and create with soft pastels. This tutorial includes techniques such as blending, layering and hatching. Learn helpful tips on using soft pastels. Faber-Castell Soft Pastels can be used with other mediums such as Pitt Artist Pens and Goldfaber Colored Pencils.
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Mixed media Chagall lesson plan for kids

Marc Chagall Mixed Media Art Lesson for Kids

A mixed media art lesson for kids celebrating the art of Marc Chagall. In this lesson plan, students will learn some exciting and effective art techniques with a variety of materials to create a very unique piece of art–
a portrayal of themselves, including images of meaningful things in their life, all inspired by Marc Chagall of course.
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Oil Pastels. Learn how to draw with Oil Pastels!

Oil Pastels for Beginners

Learn how to draw with Oil Pastels! Oil pastels are a crayon-like art medium with unique qualities that set them apart from other tools. With their vibrant bright colors, versatile components, and creamy consistency, oil pastels inspire artists to push their creative boundaries and explore the different styles of art that they have to offer.
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Soft Pastels. Learn how to draw with Soft Pastels!

Soft Pastels for Beginners

Soft pastels are favored by artists looking for a media that is easily blendable, and the quality of our Soft Pastels is unmatchable. With a multi-angled shape and multipurpose powdery components, creating with pastels gives artists a unique and versatile approach to their artwork. Capture your various artistic visions in rich detail with Faber-Castell Creative Studio’s Soft Pastels. 
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Charcoal Sketch Set. Learn how to sketch with vine & charcoal pencils!

Sketching with Faber-Castell's Charcoal Sketch Set

Sketching with charcoal can be daunting to an artist who is unfamiliar with the style. The rich dark hues of the organic material are what make charcoal both fascinating and intimidating. Faber-Castell’s Charcoal Sketch Set was created to aid aspiring artists in finding ease in learning how to sketch with charcoal and discovering its value. Working with charcoal gives an artist depth and is often used when the artist desires to create a quick sketch or art that is rich in value.
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Classic Sketch Set. Learn how to sketch with pastel pencils & graphite!

Sketching with Faber-Castell's Classic Sketch Set

Simultaneously simple yet dynamic, sketching is an art style that can be achieved with just a few quality products you can trust to carry out your vision. Faber-Castell Creative Studio’s Classic Sketch Set provides that experience. One of three Faber-Castell sketch sets, the Classic Sketch Set is assembled ideally for beginners and art students with various media and monochrome hues; all that is you need to get started.
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Haunted House Lesson Plan

Halloween Art Lesson - Draw a Haunted House

This lesson is offered in the spirit of Halloween fun! Halloween Art Lesson Objective: Students become acquainted with Hundertwasser’s art and architecture, then create a Hundertwasser-inspired haunted house in the spirit of Halloween.
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Lesson Plan: Charley Harper & Van Gogh Mash Up

Lesson Plan: Charley Harper & Van Gogh Mash Up

Hey, friends! I’m excited to share this fun lesson that I’ve started with my sweet second grade kiddos. I decided to introduce them to Charley Harper (a fave of mine) and a little guided drawing. THEY LOVED IT! They were so excited about their wee raccoons that I decided to create a lesson from their drawings. Feel free to use this lesson in your art teacherin’ and creating world...all I ask is that you give me a shout out when you share on your favorite social media. This helps folks find their way back here to enjoy the lesson as well.
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