#how_to

Thank you so much! The initial planing is quite unintelligible, made fast to capture the thought. Then goes the long process of drawing and figuring out the details and references to try and preserve the original idea of the scribble. Usually the drawing itself is very messy and not “instagram-worthy” process. I use many odd materials (x) that don’t look well until all is finished. Then I set the mess with the hairspray and add all the tiny details with gouache.

Hello! I do not work with pastels often, since I prefer the media that is easy to control, but here are some basics/impressions from what I remember:

Choosing: If you haven’t found the ones that work best for you — try out the samples — some harder sticks annoyingly scratch the paper, and the softer ones are easy to crush and hard to get used to. Buying separately is costly, so I would look for sets that have more variety in earths and cold tones and then add some bright colors if I need to (though that of course depends on what you draw, I described what worked best for me for the pleinair)

Paper: Pastel does not work well with the smooth paper. It needs a “tooth“ for it to hold on to. So it’s best for the paper to have at least some texture (or a lot, or a craft paper, go wild). Also, there is a perfect opportunity to experiment with the colored ground!

Techniques: Soft pastel is an incredibly soft material (s u r p r i s e), so all the action is happening directly on the paper — mostly it is about how you apply and how you blend.Apply: Tons of techniques. You can set the tone with using the entire length of the stick, color variations by crosshatching, you can create textures by laying something under the paper, you can mask the pieces of paper to create hard edges. Lots of stuff. Blend: People recommend brush of cloth, but I believe finger is your best tool. Except for when you want to create a perfect gradient, because oils. Eraser easily lifts the pigment, so you can also use that. Its very easy to smudge such soft media, so it’s important not to make everything extra blurry. 

Some other things: ∆ Pastel pencils are great for when you want fine lines. ∆ It’s cool to mix pastel with other media (for example fixate it and draw on top). ∆ Pastel is hard to preserve, and some people only use special fixatives or none at all (because it can darken the color). But I drown mine in gallons of the cheapest hairspray, because I am not hanging it in Tretyakovskaya Gallery any time soon and frankly it still looks fiiiine, and does not stain everything around it. ∆ And the last sidenote. Don’t keep your pastel like I did o the left. It will be dirty and messy. Sacrifice the space in the bag and keep it nice and separate)

Thank you very much!) As an apology for not answering for such a long time, I’ve decided to write about mediums as fully as I can. Hope you’ll forgive me)

First, I have to say that I tend to hoard mediums like a dragon, whether I use them often or not. I occasionally post some things done in acrylic/watercolor /oils/ink, but I tried to select my favorites which I have with me all the time.

Colored pencils:  I’ve tried many brands, but find this kid’s set ideal. Many (most) “professional” pencils are either specific (watercolor/pastel pencils) or hard, which is infuriating for me to use. Kids sets tend to have a nice soft-hard balance, write on many mediums, and those have more pigment than binder. And cheeeeaper. Additionaly, I like Derwent Coloursoft ones, they are also rich in color, and can write over the paint.

Markers: once upon a time I’ve received a ginormous set of copics, but I’m trying my best to minimize the use of markers in my art because they cost a kidney and I like to eat. Now I use copics as a base for pencils, and for small soft-edged details. I also use Molotow acrylic markers for details on top of the drawing (they have a cool palette, but once I finish those, I’ll switch to gouache)

Gouache: My new №1 medium, along with oil pastels. Cheap, fast, all the colors in the world. I’ve had some “proper” “professional” sets, but my current one is the cheapest line — all the natural pigments are anything but, the rest is rather acidic — but since I’m an illustrator and not a painter, that is not much of a problem. I just pair it up with earths from other sets.

Oil pastels: My newly discovered treasure. I use them either over gouache on lightly-textured paper, or as a base for gouache details. Now, oil and water-based should not work together, but with some practice they live peacefully on one list, plus those two mediums make some wonderful textures. Almost all my drawings this year are done with gouache+oil pastel (and a generous amount of hairspray on top).

Thank you very much, especially for the “story book” - it’s what I dream to do :3Sorry to disappoint, but my works look like a traditional media because they are made with traditional media XD It’s about 80% Tr/m and 20% photoshop, I usually just layer up several scans and clean them up. As for the brushes, I only work with the basic round ones on different sets of pressure, so, alas, there is not much I could recommend)Best of luck to you too!

@Saint-EebyDeeby this for u queen