Tutorial on using oil pastels

Lines

You can directly use the edge of the pen tip to draw lines. Such lines are not necessarily uniform, but they are very natural and smooth. Pay attention to keeping the intensity as consistent as possible when drawing the line.

Flat coating

Flat coating means to evenly apply a specific color block on the drawing paper. To achieve better results, one is to outline the edges in advance and then fill in the color inside to avoid painting the edges; the other is to paint in a specific direction, so that the effect will be more uniform and beautiful.

Gradient

Gradient refers to the transition from one color to another in painting. Due to the special thick texture of oil pastels, gradient is one of the most commonly used and most effective techniques among advanced oil pastel techniques. The effect is to avoid strong changes in color transition, making the color transition more natural and creating a three-dimensional effect

Color Mixing

Color mixing refers to mixing multiple colors through repeated application, making the color blocks show a softer and hazy rich effect. In addition to mixing colors by yourself with oil pastels, you need to use other color mixing tools, such as color mixing sticks, when necessary. The matching of mixed colors should also follow the principle of mixing the same or similar colors and avoiding contrasting colors.

Stippling

Stippling refers to arranging dots or short lines of different colors next to each other. Pointillism can be used to express colorful and shimmering dynamic effects such as flowers, feathers, grass, etc. In the order of color stippling, follow the principle of light colors first and then dark colors.

Color stacking

Color stacking refers to covering an already painted layer of color with another layer of color. The characteristic of the performance is that it is not simply mixing or covering colors, but one color reveals another color to achieve a rich layered effect. The matching of stacked colors should also follow the principle that similar or similar colors can be mixed and avoid contrasting colors.

Combining with gouache and watercolor pigments

The combination of oil pastel and gouache or watercolor paint takes advantage of the insoluble property of oil pastel in water to become a natural isolation material. First paint with oil pastels on the drawing paper, and then cover it with gouache to create a water-oil separation effect. It is often used to express starry sky, waves, white clouds and other effects

Scratch painting

Scraping painting refers to first using a lighter-colored oil pastel to apply color on the drawing paper as the base color, then using a darker oil pastel to cover the surface, and then using a sharp tool (such as a toothpick, engraving tool, etc.) Scrape out the pattern on the covered layer. The dark color covered is not limited to the black we usually see, but can also be various other colors.