This post is about the best oil pastels for beginners. Oil pastels are such a fun medium that I have loved since childhood.
If you’re a beginner artist, you may wonder if oil pastels are good for beginners, and the answer is yes!
In this list, I cover all the best oil pastels for absolute beginners. Whether you are a new artist, dabbling in a new medium, an art student, or just curious about oil pastels, this list is for you!
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Best Oil Pastels For Beginners
Below are the best oil pastel sets for beginners. If you want to know how to succeed with this awesome medium, read to the end for some tips and tricks on using oil pastels.
I recommend this set to anyone who doesn’t want to spend a lot. This set is also good as a test pack to see if you even like using oil pastels.
Even though they are labeled as “junior artist” don’t let that throw you off! They are good beginner quality and come with a nice array of colors. This is a great set for students to emerge in the oil pastel world. I started with this set many many moons ago. 🙂
This set is great for many reasons, you get a wide range of colors, they’re super affordable, and are great quality for beginners. The expressionist set is a step up from the junior set but is still excellent for oil pastel beginners. They blend well and the colors are so rich. Trust me, they’ll make you obsessed with oil pastels!
Pentel Arts makes great oil pastels. As with any beginner set, you will learn a lot with them before you invest in higher-quality oil pastels. This set is another option when looking for the best oil pastels for beginners.
Related: Watercolor And Oil Pastel Mixed Media Floral Painting
How To Choose An Oil Pastel Set
You may be thinking, well how do I choose a set? Start with how much you want to spend, then how many colors you want in your set.
The Sakura Cray-Pas brand is my go-to recommendation for beginners. I still use the expressionist set often!
Oil Pastel Tips For Beginners
Test blending techniques
Before you use oil pastels, I suggest opening up a sketchbook and testing some blending techniques to see how oil pastels function. There are many ways to blend oil pastels together. You can do this with 2 colors together, using your finger, a Q-tip, and layering.
Once you get a feel for how to blend and work with the pastels, you’ll feel a lot more confident when starting a project.
Swatch your colors & create new colors
Swatch out your colors from your oil pastel set on paper. Use another sheet to see what new colors you could create by mixing them! Oil pastels are very easy to blend and you can make some awesome shades by mixing pastels.
Use different pressures
You can use oil pastels with light pressure or heavy pressure. Light pressure will create great texture on the paper and heavy pressure will create a more “painted” and full coverage effect.
Experiment with shadows and highlights
Since oil pastels are smooth and easy to blend, you can easily add shadows and highlights to your work. You can do this with similar colors or with black or white. It’s good to experiment with your set to see how you can create shadows and highlights easily. Once you have it figured out, you’re on your way to succeeding with this fun medium!
Oil Pastels For Beginners
Once you start creating with oil pastels you’ll quickly catch on. Experiment with them and see how you like them!
Let me know in the comments if you have any questions or comments! Thanks for reading. 🙂
-Amanda
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