I’ve used pan-pastels for the background on a few of my paintings. It was a little difficult at first trying to cover the paper smoothly but I think I wasn’t using enough product. I also discovered that adding white on top of another color helps blend it on the paper.
One problem I was having in using colored pencils over pan-pastels was coverage, it was difficult to get some lighter colors to show up. I found that in colored pencils I had to focus on the negative space to add contrast. So I did a little research and decided to purchase some pastel pencils.
The pastels stand out better, but it is a little difficult to be precise. I sharpen the pencils but they dull just after one swipe.
Here you can see the white whiskers against the blue background and the white reflection in the eyes very well. This makes me happy. They also blend very well, for this piece I used “Sofft Tools”, Q-tips, my fingers, and even the old paper stump to blend.
Lachri Fine Art has a great tutorial on this very same bunny using colored pencils over pan-pastels. She creates the most beautiful artwork tutorials online, I’ve learned a lot from her. I’d share her link but I am not sure that is allowed. If you search her name though, it will pop right up.
♥tootles♥
Reference photo by Corey Oconnell on Unsplash