Animal textures

Why use pastel pencils? I chose pastel pencils, because I was already using pastel sticks and couldn’t achieve the fine detail I wanted with the sticks on their own.I’d already had a trial run with oils, acrylics and watercolour, and I was still using coloured pencils for any sharp details. What I’ve always loved about the pencil medium is their immediacy, and the lack of drying time and preparation needed. You can start something and walk away when you have had enough with no washing of brushes or cleaning up of any sort. What’s not to like?

Choose your pencils

There is an extensive range of pastel pencils to choose from so where do you begin? I recommend purchasing singles in different brands so you can feel what it is like to use them firsthand on your chosen paper or card. My favourite brand is Faber-Castell Pitt Pastel, which offers a good price for a good-quality pencil. The pencils work well when sharpened with cheap plastic or metal pencil sharpeners, but I don’t recommend using