My Favorite Oil Pastels (Updated 2026)

Let’s talk oil pastels!

In this post, I share what oil pastel sets have been my favorite lately.

There are many oil pastel brands out there. I will admit up front that I don’t use the most expensive, professional ones you can buy, and that’s okay. I love oil pastels, but sorry, I don’t love them that much to drop hundreds of dollars on them.

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My Favorite Oil Pastel Sets

My two favorite oil pastel sets are Meeden Oil Pastels and the Mungyo Gallery Oil Pastels.

Meeden Oil Pastels

I started using Meeden Oil Pastels in May 2025. It took me a few drawing sessions to get used to them. They are so creamy! If I want to build up texture in a painting, I grab this set.

Honestly, I’ve been using these oil pastels a lot over the past couple of months. I’ve really fallen in love with them! My favorite way to use them is by adding them on top of a watercolor painting to suggest florals.

The colors are extremely vibrant, and the texture they create is to die for.

The only con that some may not like about Meeden’s oil pastels is that they are a bit waxy. It doesn’t bother me very much. 🙂

Overall, I really love the Meeden Oil Pastel Set. They are soft and great for expressive textures.

Check out the Meeden Oil Pastel Set here!

Mungyo Gallery Oil Pastels

I’ve been using Gallery Oil Pastels for years. They are excellent quality and also very affordable. In terms of quality, most will probably agree that these are of better quality than the Meeden set because of their pigmentation, smooth blending, and painterly finish.

If anyone wants to try out oil pastels, I 100% recommend this set to them. The flowers below were created with Mungyo Gallery Oil Pastels. 🙂

The pastel is harder than Meeden, and it makes them a bit easier to blend if that is your goal with using oil pastels.

Check out the Gallery Oil Pastel Set here!

@greenartistdesigns

This painting came about so randomly and I love how it turned out! 😍 I painted the watercolor layer with my toddler in my lap and was just throwing blobs of color down while he destroyed my desk 😅 I didn’t have a plan I just wanted to move my paintbrush. Added oil pastel details after it dried and it’s magical ✨✨ these little watercolor and oil pastel paintings have all I’ve been making lately! #mixedmedia #watercolorpainting #oilpastelart #oilpastels #oilpasteldrawing

♬ teatime at the cottage – Ophelia Wilde

Oil Pastels

If you prefer blendable, paint-like results, Mungyo is often the favorite. If you enjoy super soft pastels for quick color and texture, Meeden can be a fun option.

These sets I use are great, and they get me the results I want, so I’m sticking with that. Let this be your reminder that you don’t need the most expensive art supplies to be an artist. 🙂

Do you have a favorite oil pastel set? Share it below!

Thanks for reading!

-Amanda