Which pastel pencils should I use?
This is a question I get asked a lot by new artists, so I thought I’d share my views here.
You may have noticed that a large majority of my work involves using pastel pencils. They give you the benefits of using a soft pastel, but with the scope for fine detail; while using traditional soft pastel sticks for base layers and shadows/highlights. All pastel pencils all have their merits, so which ones are the best?
Stabilo Carbothello Pastel Pencils
This range is an amazing all rounder. Softer than some of the other brands, they are great for creating layers, as they will nicely go on top of each other and still leave their mark.
They are easier to sharpen than some, and Stabilo make a little hand held sharpener specifically for them. But like all pastel pencils they make sharpeners go blunt pretty quickly, so these sharpeners can end up being expensive as you work your way through them. I tend to use a desk crank sharpener for them, but again, they will wear this down much quicker than graphite or coloured pencils would. So you may want to invest in a Hovel, or similar tool for traditional sharpening methods if you don’t want to constantly buy new blades.
They have a decent colour range and I find I often grab the Stabilo’s before most of my other ranges when starting out on a pet portrait. I like to do my initial layers with them and then move onto a pencil with a harder pastel core to do the top details with. These are also great pencils for blending other colours together by creating gentle blends over the top.
Faber-Castell Pitt Pastels
A great artist grade pastel pencil, with vibrant colours and a harder pastel core than the Stabilo; meaning that these are great for fine details. I love the 199 black and will often grab for this before any other brand.
Sharpening can be worse with these, as they are harder than other pencils, so will blunt blades even quicker! I do use the crank desk top sharpener for them, but the blade does go quickly. The great thing about them is you can sharpen them into a very fine point for details without it snapping too quickly. You can’t use too much pressure when it’s too sharp though, otherwise you’ll waste a lot of pastel every time it snaps off!
The colour range is lovely, offering most of the same colours as the Stabilo’s, but with the option of lovely fine detail. Overall these are great pencils which you could have as a standalone, or to compliment the other ranges.
Caran D’ache Pastel Pencils
These pencils are absolutely beautiful! The colour range is stunning and they are buttery smooth; they have all of the benefits of soft pastel sticks, without the mess of using a larger stick! But, (and this is a massive but) they are extremely expensive in comparison to the other brands and they have one other massive draw back, which puts a lot of artists off of using them.
They often have hard nuggets within the pastel core. If you use the pencil without realising there is a hard nugget there, you can scratch your work, leaving marks you don’t want. They can also indent the paper, or even worse scratch it to the point of making a hole in it. So that is one big reason to stay away from them!
However if you’re happy with the price tag and are happy to continuously test the pencil before using it then the lovely vibrant buttery soft colours do create amazing results. I love their peach creamy tones. You may want to just purchase a few colours, but if you’re going to go for it you might be able to find a whole set cheaper to begin with and then just replace the colours you like/use the most. Their whites are lovely and vibrant, but I don’t find them the easiest to sharpen and I end up with massive lumps of pastel snapping off. So in this sense they really aren’t economical and as much as I love the colours, I’m not sure I’d be happy recommending for anyone to purchase them!
Derwent Pastel Pencils
These are a great all rounder, similar to the Stabilo range. For a long time I stayed away from these pencils. I think that was because I grew up buying artist Derwent sets, so I associated them with cheap student supplies. But I have to say; I love their colour range.
They have some great colours which I can’t find a perfect equivalent of elsewhere. Their purples, greens and cream tones are wonderful. Sometimes I find very specific colours for my pet portraits and wildlife art only within their range.
They sharpen well. I’ve always put them into the desk crank sharpener and they don’t seem to blunt it too quickly. So from that point of view I find them slightly more economical (though if the blade is going it will chew up the wood on them!). They cost a similar amount to the other ranges; you might save about 20p per pencil (September 2023). Which when you’re buying lots of supplies can soon add up and actually be quite a saving!
I would definitely recommend this range. Though I definitely don’t use all of the colours in it. Some have sat in my drawer completely untouched. But I suppose if I was drawing something different like landscapes or flowers they would come in handy. So they can’t be taken out of the running based on that alone!
There are other ranges out there. I also use the Conte pencils, though I don’t use them enough to be able to bring them into this list.
In conclusion, I couldn’t pick just one brand as I use them all - I love them all for different reasons! But I do hope this gives you an insight into the qualities of the different brands and helps you make a decision about which one you would like to try!
I’d love to hear if this has been helpful, please do leave a comment and let me know!
Felicity x