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Top Tips for Using Oil Pastels

Level
Beginner
Time
1/2 day
Budget
10 - 30

Oil pastels are a fantastically versatile medium that can be used to create all kinds of beautiful masterpieces.

Using your fingertips to blend your work as you go along, the process of creating with oil pastels is incredibly tactile and relaxing.

Check out these top tips from Akeisha Walters.

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Top Tips for Using Oil Pastels

Tip 1

Before you begin your pastel drawing, prepare some swatches of your chosen colours to use as a reference whilst creating your piece of art.

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Tip 2

Begin your drawing with the darker tones and make your way out to the lighter tones.

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Tip 3

Once you have drawn your base layer, warm up your fingertips and begin blending.

Make sure you have some wet wipes handy to clean your hands when blending through the layers, and avoid blending dark and light tones too much.

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Tip 4

Once the base layers are blended smoothly, start adding highlights to your work.

In the example pictured, highlights have been added to the clouds, sea and sand.

Tip 5

To build up the texture of your artwork, continue adding layers until you are happy with it.

Most importantly, have fun!!

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Do they dry and stop smudging after a little while, how long does that take? Or do they never dry? Some oil sticks do and some don't.

Asked by: You kg it
They will remain permanently soft and blendable, so a fixative would be advised to preserve the finished art piece.
Answered by: Hobbycraft
Date published: 2025-11-28
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