Pastel pencils are very handy, especially when it comes to making fine lines in pastel artworks.
I love using them for portraits. I got the idea from the Place du Tertre Artists in Montmartre, Paris and Sir Romeo Montes, one of my mentors in 2Q Artists Philippines.
There are a number of drawbacks though:
1. The pencil cores are very fragile. Drop it once and the entire core may shatter.
2. Sharpening ain’t easy especially if there’s too much glue, but can be cathartic once you get the hang of it. Sharpeners won’t work well on these babies, but sharp blades like X-acto knives will.
3. Some can be quite chalky. Seems like more binder is used than the regular pastels. I would not recommend smudging.
4. Some pigments seem a bit too hard, thus reducing the pastel core’s covering strength.
5. The cores get consumed quickly. Better keep a number of your most used colors.
I highly recommend getting different brands since each has its own set of hues that differ in lightfastness. These are the brands I use and my thoughts about them:
1. Koh-i-Noor Gioconda. My go-to brand. Has a wide range of lightfast colors, just the right texture, a bit chalky but has good covering strength. Very much affordable.
2. Stabilo CarbOthellos. Softer than Koh-i-noor, except for some colors that seem too hard. Has a nice range of lightfast colors. Only sold in sets here in the PH.
3. Caran d’Ache. Very creamy, colors are intense and nearly all have excellent lightfastness, has thick cores. Some pigments (earth colors) seem to make the cores a bit too hard, though. Very expensive.
4. Derwent. Thick cores, creamy texture, has unique tints. Good lightfastness except for some reds, purples, and flesh tones. Large sets are hard to find in the PH.
5. Conté a Paris. Large cores but are very chalky. Has a limited range of colors with some pigments only being moderately lightfast. Very affordable and highly recommended for beginners.
6. Faber Castell. Intense colors, with medium-sized cores. Much harder than the other pastel pencils brands. Expensive but many colors are only reasonably lightfast unlike its Polychromos pastel counterpart.
Sining ni Sing 