How to use PASTEL PENCILS // My TOP TIPS for beginners!

I’m Kirsty Rebecca and I create easy-to-follow, realistic art tutorials so you can relax and enjoy creating professional fine art that you feel proud of!
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How to sharpen pastels video:
• BEST WAY TO SHARPEN PA...
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▶Surface - Clairefontaine Pastelmat
AU Pads amzn.to/3rDevgo
AU Single sheets amzn.to/3MbDhOd
US Pads amzn.to/3dQVynp
US Single sheets amzn.to/3RxBYKI
UK Pads amzn.to/3rDvf7m
UK Single sheets amzn.to/3EocAE5
▶Faber Castell Pitt Pastel Pencils
AU amzn.to/3EkfABr
US amzn.to/3rh25uv
UK amzn.to/3Eoz7Ri
▶Stabilo Carbothello Pastel Pencils
AU amzn.to/3EpIYGr
US amzn.to/3rgLKpE
UK amzn.to/3CFu7qb
▶Kneaded eraser/Putty Eraser (to help lift up mistakes)
AU amzn.to/3Ceet3p
US amzn.to/3frNHwS
UK amzn.to/3e802WU
▶Craft knife/Stanley Knife/Blade (for sharpening pastel pencils)
AU amzn.to/3fSK9nm
US amzn.to/3StluV2
▶Sandpaper (for sharpening pastel pencils)
AU amzn.to/3VmdsPR
US amzn.to/3fzmhoE
UK amzn.to/3fOUQrk
▶Cotton tips/Q-tips/Earbuds (for blending)
AU amzn.to/3VaClxt
US amzn.to/3y3H3Ds
UK amzn.to/3SKzk5o
▶Pencil Extenders
AU amzn.to/3SLMWgM
US amzn.to/3y03WaH
UK amzn.to/3SHoKMA
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[@KirstyRebeccaFineArt]

Do you have any tips that weren't mentioned that other artists might find useful? Leave a comment below to help other artists :)

[@stefandavion4505]

You prolly dont give a shit but if you are stoned like me during the covid times you can stream pretty much all the latest movies and series on InstaFlixxer. Been streaming with my brother for the last few months =)

[@deangelolangston199]

@Stefan Davion yup, I've been watching on instaflixxer for years myself :)

[@bradeneaston3515]

@Stefan Davion yea, I've been watching on instaflixxer for since november myself :)

[@artsyattack]

When I noticed a dislike on this video, I immediately liked it to compensate for it. You and your art both r lovely. Don't ever feel bad for dislikes! Hi from Sydney :)

[@KirstyRebeccaFineArt]

Thank you so much 😀

[@grannieannie1371]

Wow I've never used pastels but looking at this I think should try them. I love coloured pencils and drawing so I think pastels would work well for me. They look gorgeous.

[@KirstyRebeccaFineArt]

You should try them 😊

[@mixedmedialife7916]

I watch a *lot* of art tutorials (🙄) but this is one of the best ones I've ever seen. So much well explained info that I'm going to watch again and take real notes. Right now I'm even letting an obnoxious 5 min ad run, which I never do (it was at the end of the video so thank you for that!). I bought my first set of pastel pencils yesterday and, tx to your vid, I'm now an expert 🤣🤣🤣. But honestly, thank you. I'm so impressed. Will chk out your other vids now. 🤓👏🦝

[@KirstyRebeccaFineArt]

Wow, thank you! I'm so glad it was helpful! I had so many questions when I first started so I try to answer those questions and give any tips that I would have found useful as well! :) Yeah, I hate ads in the middle of videos, so I choose to put them at the beginning/end - it gives me less revenue but I think it's worth it! Haha I hope you enjoy your pastels!

[@maggiem6209]

I just bought my mom some pastel pencils and this is a great bit of advice for her! Plus, we love raccoons. ❤️ 🤟🦝

[@KirstyRebeccaFineArt]

Glad it was helpful! 😊

[@TrueLoveX1027]

Kirsty, this tutorial was just jammed packed with helpful tips. Thanks so much for sharing your time and talent. Beautiful painting, too! Blessings!

[@KirstyRebeccaFineArt]

Glad it was helpful!

[@jewelgoss8005]

Your work is so relaxing to look at!

[@KirstyRebeccaFineArt]

Thank you so much!

[@mik20241]

Beautiful work! Thank you for your clear explanation on how to use pastel pencils.

[@KirstyRebeccaFineArt]

My pleasure 😊

[@melsgalleria]

Another great tutorial Kirsty. This came out really nice, which I knew it would. I love how the raccoon turned out especially the details in the face. Also I still love those greens and blues in that background. I love how you include some real time footage, it always helps to see the real time things as well as the sped up sections. Almost makes me want to go out and get pastels lol. Though I am pretty sure I have plenty of mediums to work with right now lol.

[@KirstyRebeccaFineArt]

Thankyou, I'm glad you like it! You can always add another medium 😂 ... I need to stop adding more mediums as well! Haha

[@maryaunt09]

Thank you so much for all your tips, so helpful👍

[@KirstyRebeccaFineArt]

You are so welcome!

[@acatinthecradle]

New subscriber! Great video! Thank you so much for showing your techniques. This is super helpful.

[@KirstyRebeccaFineArt]

Thankyou, I'm glad you found it useful 😊

[@choco12325]

this was incredibly useful, thank you!!

[@KirstyRebeccaFineArt]

You're welcome 😊

[@virginialopez7877]

Thank you so much for this!! It was very useful!!

[@KirstyRebeccaFineArt]

You're so welcome! 😊

[@SBClaude]

After doing a fair amount of work with soft pastel sticks, I have now gravitated toward pan pastel and pastel crayons (hand sharpened also), as you suggest in your excellent video. Your technical skills are spectacular. So thank you and bravo!

[@KirstyRebeccaFineArt]

Thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed the tutorial 😊

[@jonmorgan-parker4209]

May I please 🙏 say how absolutely amazing your videos are? Totally priceless 👌. Thank you so much ❤

[@KirstyRebeccaFineArt]

Glad you like them!

[@Jana-wz7dr]

I am new to pastels. I have watched a few videos by other artists and have done a few paintings. I want to tell you THANK YOU. I am 3 minutes into this video and already learned 2 things. Amazing. I will be watching the rest and more. You give me confidence that I can learn this!

[@KirstyRebeccaFineArt]

I'm glad it has helped you! 😊

[@elliegreen872]

Beautiful, thank you for info.

[@KirstyRebeccaFineArt]

You're welcome 😊

[@Mehzeb]

Brilliant tutorial!

[@KirstyRebeccaFineArt]

Thankyou 😊

[@ArtAdventurewithTasha]

Your artwork looks amazing

[@KirstyRebeccaFineArt]

Thank you so much 😀

[@jekaterinanemeth3052]

Fantastic! Bravo! 😄🤣🤩♥️💐🍀🕊️

[@KirstyRebeccaFineArt]

Thank you! 😃

[@mandarintomato9205]

Wow! This is gorgeous! New subscriber :)

[@KirstyRebeccaFineArt]

Thankyou 😊

[@ArtAdventurewithTasha]

Beautiful

[@KirstyRebeccaFineArt]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@taunusspatz]

Great tutorial and fantastic result! I will review the video before I start out with pastels :-))

[@KirstyRebeccaFineArt]

Thankyou, I hope you find it useful when you start out with pastels :)

[@taunusspatz]

@@KirstyRebeccaFineArt sure, it contains all information I always longed for :-)) I am addicted to watercolors but for furry animals pastelsseem to be the better choice. Wow- if I look at the effect the whiskers had on the depth. Thanks a lot, Kirsty :-))

[@KirstyRebeccaFineArt]

@@taunusspatz exactly, that's why I work in so many mediums! Some subjects seem like they would be better with some mediums 😊

[@nicolejulien4545]

So pretty;

[@nathantom5644]

Wow superbe 💞

[@KirstyRebeccaFineArt]

Thankyou 😊

[@usparkleart1504]

I love your videos, I was wondering if you could do a review on the Monte Mart 36 pastel pencils? I'm just getting into pastel pencils and I'm an Australian artist.

[@KirstyRebeccaFineArt]

Thank you 😊 Unfortunately, the Monte Mart pastels are not lightfast which is a priority for me because I sell my work! If lightfastness is not a concern for you, then it might be worth a shot, but I won't be reviewing them because of that 😊

[@usparkleart1504]

@@KirstyRebeccaFineArt Ah thank you so much for your insight!! 😁😁 Absolutely love your work and it's incredibly inspiring to me. Please keep up with your amazing work! Gorgeous 💖🥺☺️

[@TheCharlotteMoore]

Hello! These are such Beautiful colours and the composition of the picture is so mesmerising! I’m having issues with the grain showing through the pastel layers, regardless of how much I put on top. I used your layering technique and then blended with cotton ear buds but it’s still really grainy. In some areas it’s smooth and it seems to me that it also depends on the colour of the pencil too? I’m trying to make darker areas by using dark blues and blacks. Any tips?

[@KirstyRebeccaFineArt]

Thank you 😊 What paper are you using? Clairefontaine Pastelmat is the only surface I recommend for pastels because it makes a huge difference! If you are using that surface, then you may just need more pastel/layers before you blend Some of the pencils are inconsistent and sometimes you can find some scratchy bits in your pencils (or an entire pencil like that) so it could also be partly to blame.. but if you just keep layering on top of those areas, it will become softer and fill the tooth of the paper anyway 😊

[@jenniferhosmer9180]

Great work! Do you find that you have more control with pastel pencils? I tried regular pastels and could not do it.

[@KirstyRebeccaFineArt]

Yes, definitely!

[@StellaAlpina74]

Thank you for all your tutorial. It helps me a lot. What is the the best pastel pencils brand for beginners : Carbothello or Pitt Pastel ? Carbothello seems to be softer than the Pitt Pastel, and also more easy to putt over several layers. Thank your for your answer. Amitiés de la France

[@KirstyRebeccaFineArt]

I'm glad it helps 😊 They're honestly very similar to work with! I have both and use them equally, depending on the colour I need (they both have different colours in their sets) You'll be happy with either! I'd recommend getting whichever is cheaper or more easily accessible in your country 😊

[@StellaAlpina74]

@@KirstyRebeccaFineArt Thank a lot ! I will tried the Pitt Pastel first. They are both almost the same price. I hope you're doing well and I wish you a lot of sucess in your artwork. I really appreciate all what you are doing. Big talent !

[@KirstyRebeccaFineArt]

Thankyou, I really appreciate it 😊

[@leeclarkartist9525]

Thanks for sharing Kirsty, can I ask do you wet your ear bud when blending or is it just the force of your hand? Many Thanks!

[@KirstyRebeccaFineArt]

You're welcome 😊 It's dry, and I don't push too hard with it, I'd say a medium pressure (just enough to soften the strokes and blend colours together etc)

[@fuzzydragons]

Really great use of colour 😁 pastel pencils just break for me, too heavy handed I think lol

[@KirstyRebeccaFineArt]

Haha they're a bit fragile! If you drop one, it will probably shatter all the way through the core and then you're screwed 😂 But there's lots of positives to using them so I think it outweighs their fragility! 😊

[@fuzzydragons]

When i see people tap them on a counter at a store I cringe lol

[@KirstyRebeccaFineArt]

@@fuzzydragons I know! Especially where you're buying some and they drop it on the counter then throw it in the bottom of your bag! They've obviously never used them before 🤣

[@fuzzydragons]

when they do that when I am buying coloured pencils I stop them and say I don't want those pencils you just broke them and go get some new ones. yes the new ones also might have been rough handled but possibly not as much (and it might get them to stop doing it, maybe lol)

[@KirstyRebeccaFineArt]

@@fuzzydragons haha I'm too shy to do that! 😂

[@EduardoGarcia-tj2qp]

Nice job. What kind of paper do you use ? Thanks

[@KirstyRebeccaFineArt]

It's Clairefontaine Pastelmat 😊

[@luckydesu]

Are Derwent pastel pencils good for portrait?

[@KirstyRebeccaFineArt]

I use the Faber Castell and Carbothello pastel pencils more often than my Derwent but they are still a great pastel pencil in my opinion, so whatever brand you can get your hands on will be fine for portraits! 😊

[@LittleMissSquiggles]

I hope this doesn't come off as an odd question but as someone who uses these pastel pencils, how do you feel about the warning label about these pencils containing a chemical that's been known to cause cancer in the State of California? I recently bought a set of these pastel pencils for myself after hearing good praises about it from other artists. When I received my set, I noticed a little lable on ths package that mentioned the warning and I was surprised since no artist who I watched review the Carbothello Pastel Pencils mention this at all despite it being on the package?

[@KirstyRebeccaFineArt]

I honestly don't know a lot about the chemicals involved in art supplies that are linked to cancer, but I try to work in a well ventilated area, try not to blow the pastel dust into the air - just tap off the dust into a bin instead (so you avoid breathing it in) etc If you are worried, you could potentially contact the company and ask them how to safely use the product? Sorry I couldn't be more help there!

[@DANI-nx2ey]

if I dont use a pastelmat, will i have a hard time to blend it with qtips?

[@KirstyRebeccaFineArt]

I think it depends on the paper you're using but you could do a test first on a separate piece to find out! I don't see why it wouldn't work though! The only problem you might have on another paper is that you may not be able to get as many layers (which is a separate issue) 😊

[@DANI-nx2ey]

@@KirstyRebeccaFineArt omg ty so much!

[@KirstyRebeccaFineArt]

@@DANI-nx2ey no worries 😊

[@ChristinaTodd1970]

I want to buy a pastel pencil SET. Which brand would you recommend?

[@KirstyRebeccaFineArt]

I like the Faber Castell Pitt Pastels, or the Stabilo Carbothello! They're both very similar 😊

[@stevenharris4106]

Do you have to use a certain type of paper to use these?

[@KirstyRebeccaFineArt]

I prefer using Clairefontaine Pastelmat for my pastel artwork 😊

[@deetee-uk]

Do you show how to pick the colours in your patreon tutorials?

[@KirstyRebeccaFineArt]

I've moved from Patreon to my own KR Fine Art Academy (it has all the same content plus more) but yes, I have a specific beginner's tutorial talking about how to choose colours, but I also talk about my colour choices throughout each tutorial as well - so the more you watch, the more it will start to become clearer 😊 You're welcome to try out the Academy and see if you like it - I have a 30 day money back guarantee! www.kirstyrebeccafineart.com/krfineartacademy

[@manumohan217]

How you preserve your pastel drawing?

[@KirstyRebeccaFineArt]

I keep them in between some acid free tracing paper pads until they are sold or go into frames I don't use fixative or anything because I don't want the colours to change and it's not essential for the way I work There's not a lot of pastel dust falling off with my technique so having it behind a UV protective glass in a frame is the best way 😊

[@manumohan217]

@@KirstyRebeccaFineArt thank you for the reply ♥️

[@mixedmedialife7916]

I watch a *lot* of art tutorials (🙄) but this is one of the best ones I've ever seen. So much well explained info that I'm going to watch again and take real notes. And right now I'm letting an obnoxious 5 min ad run, sound off (it was at the end of the video so thank you for that!). I bought my first set of pastel pencils yesterday and, tx to your vid, I'm now an expert 🤣🤣🤣. But honestly, thank you. Will chk out your other vids now. 🤓👏🦝

[@sajjad_alsakr]

😘😘😘😘😘😘😘🍬

[@swadt1]

Hoe maak jij uw achtergrond tekening? (de omtrek)

[@KirstyRebeccaFineArt]

Sorry, ik spreek geen nederlands, dus ik gebruik Google translate! Ik weet niet of ik de vragen begrijp! De achtergrond is gemaakt met pastelpotloden (je kunt het proces zien in de tutorial) 😊

[@Shiroandthecats]

Hi,I tried to pay for the animal tutorial by credit card but the Field of the password was not active

[@KirstyRebeccaFineArt]

Hi there, Sorry to hear you're having trouble with the website! I'm not sure why that happened because I've had other people purchase the course after your comment was made! Would you be able to send a screenshot of what it says to my email address so I can contact IT and hopefully figure this out 😊 [e-mail]

[@miklosnemeth8566]

5:33 interesting, however, what you are talking about is how cameras work, so your goal is to mimic photographs with heavy background blur. Before cameras old masters never painted anything with background blur, since human eye can instantaneously refocus on anything we are looking at, cameras are so dumb that they can only focus on one point at a time, while human eye is adapting dynamically constantly, so in our brain every part of the image of a scene is sharp and clear. Now, I understand why your paintings are photo realistic and not human realistic. Don’t misunderstand me, you are absolutely brilliant in what you are doing.

[@KirstyRebeccaFineArt]

I agree with what you're saying as well, but I think the idea can be applied to artwork to draw people's attention to specific areas This particular piece has a very dramatic difference in the focal area (very blurred background) just like a photo would be... but in general, when I create a piece with a background that isn't as blurred out, I still subtly use this idea where I add more detail to the focal area, and slightly less to the background... but subtle enough so it's not obvious when you're looking at the artwork, but it draws your eye to the focal area (if that makes sense) This technique is actually used by a lot of famous artists in a subtle way to attract attention to the focal point (there are other ways to do this like using the rule of thirds, having higher contrast in the focal area, brighter colours etc) but this is one of the ways that is used quite often by realism artists (subtly) Like I said earlier, this piece specifically is a very dramatic version of that idea but it can also be applied subtly to make it less obvious 😊

[@armygirlbtsforever.5221]

Please drawing bts member