Getting Started with Oil Pastels

🎨 What Are Oil Pastels?

Oil pastels are a type of crayon made with pigment, wax, and oil. They’re smooth, vibrant, and versatile—great for layering, blending, and bold mark-making.

🧰 What You’ll Need:

• Oil pastels 
• Paper (thicker, textured paper like sketchbook or pastel paper works best)
• Optional:
  • Blending tools (cotton swabs, tissue, fingers)
  • Fixative spray (to prevent smudging)

✏️ Basic Techniques:

1. Layering
   Start with light colors and layer darker colors on top. Oil pastels are opaque, so you can build up rich color.
2. Blending
   Use your fingers, a tissue, or a blending stump to smooth colors together. You can also blend with a small amount of baby oil on a cotton swab for a painterly effect.
3. Sgraffito (Scratch Art)
   Layer one color over another, then use a toothpick or paperclip to scratch through the top layer and reveal the color underneath.
4. Scumbling
   Use short, broken strokes to build texture and mix colors directly on the paper.
5. Gradients
   Blend two colors together gradually for a smooth transition (great for skies and shading).

🌟 Tips for Success:

• Work from light to dark.
• Clean your pastels with a tissue if the tips get messy.
• Use fixative spray if you'd like to preserve your artwork without smudging.

🧑🎨 Fun Starter Projects:

• Draw a vibrant fruit bowl or sunset.
• Recreate a famous painting like Van Gogh’s “Starry Night.”
• Make an abstract piece focusing on color and texture.

Shop eeBoo Oil Pastels