Why Are Pan Pastels So Expensive? // Are They Worth It?

[@juststartingover2735]

I purchased the whole darn set…one time big gift to myself and….totally worth it!! I originally was going to get a couple sets, but after seeing the overlap in colors etc I decided to just get the complete set of 80 and the metallics & pastels. Amaziing, These will last forever! I am using them on variety of papers, using pastel strategies as well as strategies learned from watercolor etc. Its hard to create bad work because these blend out so easily. I may start a work with one thing in mind and then it evolves into something totally different because Im inspired by a color or a mark or made a “mistake” but end up fixing it by creating something new. So much fun. These layer on each other easily, blend and can erase! Best investment ever. And no, I dont work for PanPastels . I bought 3 basic colors red blue yellow at an art store to see if I would like them and I was hooked. And Im a beginner and makes me feel like a pro, no kidding! Thank you Pan Pastels!

[@KirstyRebeccaFineArt]

Haha but you should work for Pan Pastels! You sell it better than I do 🤣 I also bought the entire set for myself ( but I bought individual colours over time when I could afford it to build it up) and you're right, they last forever and I definitely don't regret it 😊 PS: I don't work for Pan Pastels, I just collaborated with them for my set because I also love them!

[@TsukabuNosoratori2]

I have had my pan pastels for a couple years. I love using them on top of acrylic paint (once dried obviously) for soft glowy effects, or even use colored pencils on top of pan pastel for detail. These pan pastels work really well with various mediums.

[@KirstyRebeccaFineArt]

Yes, they're so versatile! 😊

[@dijosephine9556]

This was a great tutorial. Very informative.👍

[@KirstyRebeccaFineArt]

Thank you 😊

[@AllIsWellaus]

Firstly, I loved this video because I've never heard of them but it's something for the future. It's the second video I've seen where you're sharing a product with us, along with some good tips and advice. The first video I watched was you drawing and exotic bird with blurred background. You were using pastel pencils which sold me buying a heap, which I don't regret. I'm sure you mentioned how that the pencils were a favourite preference due to the way you can layer up your work. You spoke how the paper has teeth or hills and valleys.

[@KirstyRebeccaFineArt]

Thank you, I I'm glad you are finding the tutorials helpful! I definitely reccomend Pan Pastels (they're my favourite art supply!) 😊

[@JudeandherPencil]

This was great! Thanks you ❤️🙌 you’re work is fantastic!!

[@KirstyRebeccaFineArt]

Thank you so much!

[@melisabenet]

thank you so much for the video! and pdf! . finally i found a place in Argentina where i can buy this . it is toooo expensive but after watching this i think it worth to pay for them ... gonna try once i get them! cheers!

[@KirstyRebeccaFineArt]

You're welcome 😊 They are quite expensive, but it's definitely worth it in my opinion! You can always just start out with the 5 base colours and build up your set over time - you won't regret getting them 😊

[@faizariazart5490]

Hello so beautiful and very so nice pastel color

[@KirstyRebeccaFineArt]

Thank you so much 😀

[@AlexisCassandraArt]

Pan pastel looks like dry paint! This may be my dream come true lol. I’ve slowly but surely been convinced by multiple artists to try these out and I think they’re going to make my Christmas wish list👀 I’m a fan of using pastel and colored pencils but hate getting a stiff hand (and pastel dust mania!) after using a pencil to cover such large surface area. Seems like this would be a great solution! Thanks for the informative video👍

[@KirstyRebeccaFineArt]

You're welcome! Pan Pastel actually advertise themselves by saying "apply pastel colour just like paint" They are way less messy/dusty than regular soft pastel sticks and definitely speed up the process of coloured pencil drawings 😊

[@gabbywilliamson76]

Wow amazing work!

[@KirstyRebeccaFineArt]

Thanks a lot! 😊

[@miklosnemeth8566]

It is always a joy to watch Your videos. I have been thinking to jump soft pastels for a while, I have watched a hell lot of videos, most of them are on Your excellent channel. I am coming from watercolor pan paint and watercolor pencil arena, and my understanding is that soft pastel art making is (a lot) more expensive: pastelmat paper prices are annoyingly high, pastel pencils are not inexpensive at all, either, and pan pastels prices are brutal. Even if you just want to give a try to the medium, pastel art making, you need the best quality tools, otherwise you risk being disappointed. A 20 color pan pastel box is $100 - 120 EUR (complete 80 set is $500 EUR), Stabilo Carbothello 60 is $80 EUR, 12 sheets of 30 x 40 cm pastelmat is $47 EUR. So, pastel art making is not for the faint hearted. On the other hand a roll of Kodak Ektachrome slide film (135) is $30 EUR, in this context pastelmat is not that expensive. A Sony SEL1018 10-18mm f/4.0 lens is $670, so, again a 80-color panpastel set price is okish. Just thinking ... :)

[@KirstyRebeccaFineArt]

Yeah it can definitely get expensive! You can start out with a set of 5 Pans (the painting/pure set) which you can use to mix your colours like paint! Then you can start with a smaller set of Carbothellos or Faber Castell Pitt pastel pencils (12 or 24) and learn to layer and mix that way! The Pastelmat is the most important (and expensive) part, but you can buy smaller pads with a variety of colours to try out first! I built up my sets over time, so I saved to buy individual pans and pencils until the sets were complete, but it took a few years! If you don't have the correct supplies, it's a totally different experience and you just won't be able to achieve the same results, unfortunately! It can be very frustrating with the wrong paper! It's not like that for the other mediums I work in (coloured pencil, graphite, charcoal, watercolour, oil, acrylic etc) because you can get away with buying cheaper supplies for most of them and you'll be able to try it out without spending a lot of money - but definitely don't do that with pastel 😊

[@Andarsia]

Does putting your pastel sticks on a different kind of paper and then using the sponges for Panpastel to pick the pigments from there work?

[@KirstyRebeccaFineArt]

Honestly, I haven't tried it but I could imagine it wouldn't be as smooth/easy to control as the Pan Pastels because they have different binders etc The Pans have a lot of pigment and not a lot of binder in comparison to some pastel sticks, and the way that they are created means they behave differently It's worth a shot! I think you may have slightly different results but it could be another technique to use for certain situations 😊

[@christinehanisch6851]

I bought your set. It was expensive, but it's worth every penny. Thank you for creating it. Are you currently active on the fine art academy? Since there are no new tutorials anymore, unfortunately. You are doing a great job as a teacher. I love your videos 😀

[@KirstyRebeccaFineArt]

I'm glad you liked the set! I spent a lot of time perfecting the colour choices and I think they are perfect (but I am bias) There has been a bit of a gap in tutorials on Patreon and the Academy due to a newly diagnosed chronic illness but I am slowly getting better and once I am able to, I plan to upload extra tutorials every month to make up for all of the tutorials I have missed 😊

[@christinehanisch6851]

@@KirstyRebeccaFineArt Then I wish you a lot of strength for your healing and look forward to new videos. Another question about the academy. Do i have to pay a monthly fee or an annual fee? I have not found the information. Kind regards Christine

[@KirstyRebeccaFineArt]

@@christinehanisch6851 Thank you for your support! You can choose to pay monthly or annually (it's up to you) but you will receive two months free if you choose the annual option 😊 www.kirstyrebeccafineart.com/krfineartacademy This link explains everything you need to know about the KR Fine Art Academy if you are interested! 😊

[@ChristinaTodd1970]

In your last video you recommended using sanded paper but that was for pan pastel and colored pencil. Do you still recommend Pastelmat paper if it's just pastel pencils with pan pastels?

[@KirstyRebeccaFineArt]

Yes, I definitely still recommend Pastelmat for Pan Pastels with pastel pencils! You can also use Luxarchival with this combination but it's more expensive 😊

[@ChristinaTodd1970]

@@KirstyRebeccaFineArt Luxarchival! That's the product I couldn't remember. I kept thinking Uart, but I know Uart isn't acid free.

[@ChristinaTodd1970]

I forgot to ask, can you put a link to the brochure we saw in the video? Thanks.

[@KirstyRebeccaFineArt]

Yes, I forgot to add that! It's al fixed now 😊

[@nyslor1982]

I have tremors in my hands and usually use color pencils because I can rest my hands on the paper without it smudging. Can I do the same with the pan pastels and if not what can I use to keep my hands still and not smudge the paper?

[@KirstyRebeccaFineArt]

I usually rest my hand on a sheet of glassine or tracing paper (you could use a normal piece of printer paper etc) just make sure you don't drag it along your artwork when you need to move it - just pick it up and place it back down so you're not smudging it 😊 Also, 95% of my pastel pieces have backgrounds which helps cover up anything that you may have accidentally smudged! The Pan Pastels are great for this because it's very quick to add a background with them! Hope that helps!

[@SnowS162]

Thanks Kirsty for great explanation 🙂. Because of your tutorial, i figure i only needed the basic colors but getting 6 colors costed $60 and getting 20 colors cost $113, so even though i have never used pastel, i purchased the 20 for it to be cost effective. My Panpastel 20 set pure colors just arrived and I am anxious to try them. I have the pastel sticks but I regret buying. Not sure when I will ever use them. I noticed most of your beautiful work are on gray or tan or toned pastelmat. Pastelmat is difficult and expensive for me to get. My local store only carried the pastelmat in white color and only one size 9"x12" and quantity of 12 and very expensive. I managed to get the cheapest I could find internationally from the UK but the paper is dark green. Does the color of paper really matter? All the materials were expensive and afraid to start without some directions. Do you have a video using dark green paper? I am so impressed by your work. It's amazing.

[@KirstyRebeccaFineArt]

You're welcome 😊 You wont regret getting the larger set of Pan! I also have a lot of pastel sticks that I don't use often, but they are good for bright highlights/dark shadows/vibrant colours if you need an area to "pop" towards the end of the piece, so I do use them occasionally! Pastelmat is the only paper I recommend, even though it is quite expensive! You really won't get the same results on other papers, unfortunately! The paper colour doesn't really matter that much, although I do tend to stick with the mid-tone colours because some of the darker shades can make the pastel look a little less vibrant (but it really won't be that noticeable) Also, the company who makes Pastelmat will tell you that all the colours are made the same way so the texture is the same throughout the range... but most artists will tell you that the darker colours feel different than the lighter/mid-tone colours I feel like the darker colours don't allow me to add as many layers and are a bit rougher - but honestly, you probably won't notice much of a difference if you are just starting out! Maybe try and get the dark grey, brown or sienna in the future though 😊 I sometimes buy mine from Jacksons in the UK because they are cheaper than a lot of stores in Australia, even with the cost of shipping (I'm not sure if that's an option for you)

[@janemccormick2932]

I live in Canada and just looked at your set of pan pastels on Amazon but they aren’t available. Any idea when they will be Available? Also I didn’t see the price for Canada.

[@KirstyRebeccaFineArt]

Unfortunately, they are sold out in quite a few places at the moment! The Pan Pastel website has a list of online stores that stock Pan Pastels in each country, so you could check to see if they have prices in any of the Canada stores panpastel.com/online-retailers.html You can also purchase directly from their website if you wish! shop.panpastel.com/collections/sets-kits/products/general-realism-kirsty-rebecca-kit-20-colors The best way to find out when/where you can get them in Canada would be to contact Pan Pastel directly panpastel.com/contact.html (They are lovely and friendly people who are very helpful!) Hopefully that helps 😊

[@janemccormick2932]

@@KirstyRebeccaFineArt Thank you so much for your reply🤗

[@gigiartstudiowithartistvir3919]

I have a bunch of high end beautiful pastel sticks. My question is this. Do I need to buy PanPastel or can I achieve the same results with the sticks if I use soft tools to pick up color from the sticks?

[@KirstyRebeccaFineArt]

You can use soft pastel sticks, but it is a lot harder and much more unpredictable You have to apply the sticks very lightly and make sure you really blend the pastel well (so it pushes the pigment into the paper) The Sofft tools don't work as well with the sticks because they're not really designed for that The problem with sticks is that you can't really control how much pastel you're laying down so it can fill up the tooth of the paper too quickly if you're not careful I know I sound like a walking advertisement for Pan Pastel but they're actually not that expensive when you compare how much pastel is in each pan Pan Pastels contain 40% more pastel than an average stick and have 4-5 times more coverage. They last a very long time in comparison to sticks You can actually just buy the basic set of 5 colours (red, yellow, blue, black and white) and mix any colour you need, just like paint! That is something you can't do easily with soft pastel sticks (this is why people usually have hundreds of pastel sticks - which is way more expensive than buying 5 Pan Pastels) I've had my set of pan pastels for about 5 years and haven't run out of any colour yet, and I do a lot of artwork , and if you take care of the Sofft tools, they last a long time as well 😊 There are also many other benefits such as not having to touch the pastel (so it's less mess on your hands/artwork/desk etc), less excess dust in the air, as well as being able to control how much pastel you are applying to your surface which means you don't fill up the tooth of the paper too quickly - allowing for the addition of a few layers of pastel pencils/coloured pencils etc if you wish! You can also use the smaller Sofft tools or brushes to apply into smaller areas, which can be hard to to with a soft pastel stick I honestly recommend Pan Pastels over any other type of pastel because they are actually more cost effective (along with all the other benefits mentioned above) 😊

[@gigiartstudiowithartistvir3919]

@@KirstyRebeccaFineArt Thank you SO much Kirsty for this in depth reply. I've been debating with my mom who is also an artist on buying these. She is of the opinion that the very same thing can be done with the sticks. I was doubting her so that's why I've asked so many pointed questions. Again thank your for your time! I appreciate you VERY MUCH!

[@loati94]

@@gigiartstudiowithartistvir3919 After watching several videos about pan pastels I bought some sofft tools to try and use my extra soft pastels as panpastels. I did an underpainting for a color pencil drawing. It was do-able but it was gritty, sometimes I left marks I didn't want and it wasn't too pigmented because you can't apply too much softpastel or the tooth fills and the color pencil doesn't work too well. I can say with no doubt now that I have pan pastels that they are 100% better for that. They are super pigmented with just one thin layer and are incredibly smooth, sometimes it feels like you are flour

[@gigiartstudiowithartistvir3919]

@@loati94 Hi there. I've since bought myself the whole set and I'm in love with them. They really do round out the soft pastel collection nicely! I love the control they offer for many layers with sticks for finishing marks.

[@gigiartstudiowithartistvir3919]

One more question, that color seems to glide so easily on pastelmat. I have luxarchival paper and wonder how well the tools and color will glide over the surface of it. Thanks!

[@KirstyRebeccaFineArt]

I have used Luxarchival with Pans and coloured pencils on top and it works beautifully! I have a couple of tutorials for that as well if you want to see how it works 😊 kzbin.info/www/bejne/iqqkaqtojc5-e8U kzbin.info/www/bejne/m5zCh6CljcmLrqM

[@alfseet]

Is it necessary to buy a set of pastel pencils? Can we use color pencils instead for fine details like fur?

[@KirstyRebeccaFineArt]

You can use coloured pencils! I know a few artists who use coloured pencils over Pan Pastels on Clairefontaine Pastelmat, but I prefer to use Pan Pastels with coloured pencils on the Luxarchival sanded paper - you can get a lot more layers and the coloured pencil is much more opaque on that paper 😊

[@KirstyRebeccaFineArt]

PS: I have replied to your email as well 😊

[@denisapetras1]

Where can i find those links? I can see just comments.thx

[@KirstyRebeccaFineArt]

It depends on the device you are using to watch KZbin but the description is directly below the video (before the comments). There may be a little arrow that you have to press to see it (depending on your device) - if you can't see it, try googling "how to see KZbin description on my iphone/android/windows desktop/ipad/specific device" 😊

[@zerocalvin]

question... how is pan pastel differ from just pigment? wont it be cheaper to just buy pigment and use them as pan pastel?

[@KirstyRebeccaFineArt]

Hi Calvin, I'm not familiar with using pigments so I asked Berni from Pan Pastel and this is what she said; If people are using pigment powder - it is dusty to use, and messy. It is also very difficult to apply and to mix. The solid nature of PanPastel means that the artist will get all the benefits of using pure pigment, but in a way that makes it work like a paint with all the characteristics of a paint Hope that helps!

[@wheelie1207]

You dont need to excuse yourself with the pan pastels!

[@pixilixy]

🦌

[@omdhdk]

I have a set of pastel pencils from Faber Castell. Plus the pencils create kind of a lot of dust which I'm not a fan of 😅 I really like how blendable they are but it takes forever to make a background in colored pencil so you've got me interested in buying a set of pan pastels. What coler pack of Pastelmat paper is best to use? Thanks for your super helpful videos :)

[@KirstyRebeccaFineArt]

It depends on the paper you use as well (in terms of how much dust it creates!) The combination of Pastelmat, pastel pencils, and Pan Pastels don't really have a lot of dust in comparison to traditional soft pastels on other pastel papers 😊 I like any of the mid-tone colours like brown, sienna, dark grey - you can buy the sheets individually if you want specific colours, or you can buy a mixed coloured pad 😊

[@linz.aesthetics]

yeah…i have some faber castell soft pastel pencils and i keep having to blow away the dust. then it gets in the background. you’d also think that with all that dust it would cover the texture of the paper, but it takes like a million layers for it to cover the texture of the paper 😅

[@omdhdk]

​@@linz.aestheticsyeah, I agree. I use Pastelmat but I still think it creates quite of lot of dust 😅