Juicy Strawberry
A 10 minute tutorial for oil pastel artists

This tutorial provides you with a simple step by step guide on how to work with oil pastels. You may be entirely new to the medium, or a relative beginner and want to give this tutorial a try. We show you how to build up your layers using our tried and tested layering process, as well as showing you a great way of blending oil pastels for best results and to minimise mess. apply achieve realism in your pencil work by means of the layering process and correct application. Regardless of skill level, you can achieve great results as oil pastels are easy to manipulate and a good medium for the absolute beginner due to the ease of application. To keep it simple, we picked out just 8 colours to get started, although you can add in extra tones shoud you wish to extend your colour palette and achieve more depth. 

We used the student grade, 'Gallery' oil pastels on the Clairfontaine Pastelmat in Buttercup for this tutorial. Your products do not need to match ours, simply select colours from your own palette that closely resemble the colours we use and choose a textured surface, as the pastels are easier to manipulate. The tone of your paper is not important, however, the outcome will vary upon the base tone you do select.

The reference image can be found below, which you can screen grab and print out or view on a tablet whilst reading the instructions on a smartphone or computer.

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We hope you enjoy this tutorial and should you wish to request a subject that you would like to see in a future mini tutorial, please get in touch!

The products you will need

We only used 8 colours for this tutorial, just to keep it simplistic. We used the Gallery oil pastel range, but you can use any brand you own. Select your colours that match the colours in the image below, they do not need to be precise.

* Textured paper   *Oil pastels
* Blending tool   * Protective paper   * ​F pencil
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​Paper Used: Clairfontaine Pastelmat Buttercup
Oil pastel range used: Gallery

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Gallery oil pastels are soft and creamy, suitable for those new to oil pastels. They are also sold under the names Mungyo and Hashi. The box set used in this tutorial is the 48 set, but we only used 8 colours as we wanted to keep this tutorial as simple as possible.

A textured paper is most suited to oil pastels. You can use a standard pastel paper or an abrasive paper. The tooth helps to grab and hold the pigment, whilst allowing you to blend your colours together. We used the Pastelmat paper from Clairfontaine, in the Buttercup tone.

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The reference image

Colour chart

Replace colour chart

Use a transparent oil pastel instead of the paper blender.

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IMPORTANT TIPS:  
* Dark pigments will overpower light ones when mixing and blending so, apply a lesser amount of dark pigment to the ratio of the light ones. You can always add more should you need to.
* You can purchase a transparent medium, which will replace the paper blender. This blends the pigments together without changing the colour.
*  To avoid smudging your drawing, always have a clean sheet of paper between your paper and your hand. Rogue smudges can be easily removed with a putty rubber.
*  more tips here......
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Before you put pastel to paper, study your reference. How many colours can you see? Compare the colours in your image to the colours in your palette. If you are new to a medium, we would recommend that you do not use too many colours. To keep this tutorial as simple as possible for those of you who have never used oil pastels before, we have selected just 8 colours. This is just enough to teach you the importance of layering  pull out all the colours that you can see in the reference. As we have already done this for you, we recommend that you begin to draw out the shapes of the clouds with a mid-tone pastel, which in this instance is the Violet Ochre. You do not need to be precise with the outline, in our sample, the shape of the paper is more square than panoramic shaped, so the clouds look more compact than those in the photo.
If you are using a textured paper like us, you do not need to press the colour into the paper. The intention is to apply a light layer to the paper, leaving spaces where further layers will fill and blending can be pushed into the peaks of your paper.[

Applying your base tones

The intention is to fill the majority of the paper with colour before introducing additional colours and layers. We will get into blending in the next stages, but it is best to apply more than one colour before you blend.

 Step 1. Outer edge - Ruby Red (No. 208)

Continue with the Violet Ochre, filling in all the areas where you see this colour. This will act as a mid base for other tones to be built upon.

Step 2. Inner edge - Poppy Red (No. 207)

Begin to build up the deeper shadows using the Blue Violet. Avoid overlapping as oil pastels are highly pigmented and applying too heavy an application will flood the lighter tones when blending begins.

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Applying your base tones

Step 3: Centre - Orange (No.206)

The Luminous Yellow tone is used to create the bright highlights. Using white is going to be far too bright and should only be used to lighten pigments.

Step 4: Light tone - Tangerine (no. 205)

Begin to build up the warmer, pink tones, first with the Coral tone. These applications will help to fill in the flecks of the black still noticeable under the pastels. Compare this image with the previous one for a guide as to where to place this tone.

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Blending techniques

Step 5: Blending the outer edges

The Luminous Yellow tone is used to create the bright highlights. Using white is going to be far too bright and should only be used to lighten pigments.

Clean your blender with a tissue between blending

Step 6: Blending the centre

Begin to build up the warmer, pink tones, first with the Coral tone. These applications will help to fill in the flecks of the black still noticeable under the pastels. Compare this image with the previous one for a guide as to where to place this tone.

Applying the white detail

Step 7: Detail - White (No.244)

The Luminous Yellow tone is used to create the bright highlights. Using white is going to be far too bright and should only be used to lighten pigments.

Step 8: Light tone - Blend

Begin to build up the warmer, pink tones, first with the Coral tone. These applications will help to fill in the flecks of the black still noticeable under the pastels. Compare this image with the previous one for a guide as to where to place this tone.

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Green stalk

Step 9: Detail - Dark Fern Green  (No.232)

The Luminous Yellow tone is used to create the bright highlights. Using white is going to be far too bright and should only be used to lighten pigments.

Step 10: Stalk - Mid Green (no. 228)

Begin to build up the warmer, pink tones, first with the Coral tone. These applications will help to fill in the flecks of the black still noticeable under the pastels. Compare this image with the previous one for a guide as to where to place this tone.

Step 11: Top layering - Spring Green (No.241)

The Luminous Yellow tone is used to create the bright highlights. Using white is going to be far too bright and should only be used to lighten pigments.

Step 12: Create highlights - White (no. 244)

Begin to build up the warmer, pink tones, first with the Coral tone. These applications will help to fill in the flecks of the black still noticeable under the pastels. Compare this image with the previous one for a guide as to where to place this tone.

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Completed

The time and effort you put into your drawing will help you improve your skills using coloured pencils, especially if you are new to them. The more detail you add to your portrait and the time you spend adding the right balance of light and dark values, will add more character to your subject. Our own drawing was created purely for this tutorial and is quite loose. The necessity of showing technique rather than skill was more important, but the overall effects offer a good example of how to execute your own piece for an authentic finish. 
It is far better to learn the techniques and implement your work in your own style, using the images purely as a guide. Your art will be more expressive and interesting than a carbon copy of the reference photo. Please do email us if you would like to add your drawing to our on-page art gallery.​

You do not have to apply every strand of fur to achieve a realistic drawing. Study your subject and by applying the tonal values in the correct areas ensure you achieve depth, and this is as important as the detail you add.

When applying the detail to your own drawing, always ensure you apply the fur following the same direction as you see in the reference. This will help to establish shape and improve realism.

The process used in this tutorial can be used as a guide for others subjects too.

I hope you have enjoyed this tutorial. Please get in touch if there is a subject you would like us to cover in a future tutorial.

​If you would like to try another of our tutorials, click HERE.