Juicy Strawberry
A 10 minute tutorial for oil pastel artists

Are you new to oil pastels or wish to try the medium, but unsure where to start? Maybe you feel it is too difficult and have never given them a second thought? Oil pastels are so easy to manipulate, which make them an ideal medium for the absolute beginner. We provide a simple step by step guide, allowing you to create a highly effective drawing in just 10 minutes. We show you how to build your layers and how to blend oil pastels for effectiveness. By providing you with images and written descriptions, we break this down into an easy to follow guide for any artist.

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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 things simple. 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.

* 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, and 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 grabs and holds 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

You can 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 small amount of dark pigment to a large ratio of paler ones. Apply loose applications before blending the colours together. 
* Avoid saturating your paper. Oil pastels are highly pigmented, so a small amount may provide all the colour you need. You can always add more should you need to.
* You can purchase a transparent medium, which will replace the paper blender. This will blend 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.
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Prior to putting pastel on paper, study your reference. How many shades do you see? Compare the colours in your image with the colours in your palette and pick each one. If you are new to a medium, we advise you not to use too many colours to start with. So that this tutorial remains as simple as possible for those of you who have never used oil pastel before, we only use 8 colours. That's just enough to teach you about the application and let you familiarise yourself with oil pastels. Create a rough outline. You don't have to be accurate.  If you use textured paper like us, you don't need to apply too much pastel or be too cumbersome. You can practise on a separate piece of paper before applying any pigment on your drawing paper.

Applying your base tones

The intent is to apply loose colour layers before mixing with a paper stump or translucent blender. We will begin to blend into our next steps. The first step is to apply the base layers one by one. 

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

Let's start with the ruby red tone. Draw above the outline, avoiding the area of the stalk, then apply individual lines from the outer edge towards the centre. Look at your reference, which will provide you with a guide in which direction to apply your lines.

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

Proceed on the same course with the Poppy Red. Overlap this application where you ended the Ruby Red layer. Layer the two colours so that they mix harmoniously when mixed. Apply individual strokes towards the centre. Notice the direction of each line on the image. Add a little of this colour at the centre before.

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Applying your base tones

Step 3: Centre - Orange (No.206)

We continue to cover the paper and introduce the orange hues. Once more, overlay the orange on the poppy red layers. A loose layer, applying single lines toward the centre of the fruit as before.  Apply a little on the central zone as well.

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

Continue the application with the tangerine pigment. Straddle the orange edges and leave a gap around the centre. White pastel will be added here, but first we will blend our colours using the blending stump (or the translucent medium).

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Blending techniques

Step 5: Blending the outer edges

During the blending process, always start from lighter tones and blend into darker ones. This ensures that dark pigments will not saturate lighter colours.

Clean your blender with a tissue between blending

When you mix using the blending stump, it will pick up quantities of oil pastel. Keep a tissue close by and wipe the tip of the blender until the tissue has removed as much of the pigment from the tip as possible. 

Step 6: Blending the centre

When mixing the midsection, soften the pigments with the blender, moving it up and down the area. Stop at the border, where the white area sits beneath the stem. It is not necessary to have a tidy edge, as we will be working in this area next.

Applying the white detail

Step 7: Detail - White (No.244)

Cover the upper part of the strawberry with the white pastel. Avoid touching the red/orange pigment at this point. The intent is to keep this white area clean until we start mixing. Apply the white pigment, then mix delicately to soften the hard edges. Gently push the colours of the fruit over the outer line of the white pastel to soften the edges. Wipe the tip of your pastel if it picks up too much colour.

Step 8: Light tone - Blend

Whatever blending tool you are using, make sure the tip is clean before you blend the white section. Softly blend some of the colour tones into the edges of the white areas along the outline. This will help to blend the two areas together without saturating the white with colour. You may need to reapply the white areas and reblend until you have applied all the detail you need.

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Green stalk

Step 9: Detail - Olive Green  (No.232)

This tone serves as a primer for paler ones. As it is dark in colour, you do not need to fill the entire area, or it will engulf the lighter tones, creating a single pigment which will look flat. At this point, we keep it loose, applying only to areas where it is necessary to create deeper contrasts.

Step 10: Stalk - Grass Green (no. 228)

Add a second shade of green with the Grass Green colour. Do not apply too strongly, just fill the fields in your drawing, corresponding to those in ours. 

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

Now fill the remaining stem and leaves, using the spring green tone. Apply the pastel softly to darker tones to soften the lines. Don't saturate the dark tones completely, we need them to blend seamlessly to create depth.

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

Apply white to some areas to lighten the shades of green. As there are warm undertones in the stalk, a cream tone would be a better option. Since we do not have a cream colour, we will use the white pastel.

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Adding the fine detail

Step 13: Fine detail - Tangerine (No.205)

Now we will focus on adding the small detail and create the sparkle in the fruit. With the sharp edge of the pastel, apply some small lines within the flesh of the fruit. You do not need to soften these lines (unless you make an error, as blending will soften them)

Step 12: Create the shine - White (no. 244)

To help create lustre on the strawberry, apply irregular white marks on all areas. For more opaque applications, wipe the point of your pastel with a tissue between layers. Loosely apply detail with extra dots and dashes. 

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Completed

In our opinion, oil pastels are a wonderful medium. Like any medium, using poor quality supplies on your first attempt can ruin the experience. The most popular oil pastels are Sennelier (Pronounced Senn-el-e-a) though they are pricey. Choose simple subjects to begin with, those with few details, and then gradually build. Your technique will improve over time and you can choose to use alternative products to add texture and fine details. Since oil pastels are bulky, it is preferable to create on a larger scale than the small, to avoid the struggle of the smaller details. We put very little effort into this piece, because pastels do a lot of work for you in terms of blending. Our biggest tip is to understand the quantity of pigment to apply without saturating the other lighter colours. Like soft pastels, you can apply light colours over dark, but keep the tip of your pastels clean if you want opaque applications. 

We will be adding more tutorials in the coming months, so tell us if there is a specific subject you would like us to cover.

It is much better to learn the techniques and carry out your work in your own style, using our demonstrations as a guide. Your art will be more expressive and interesting than attempting 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.

Study your topic and by applying tonal values in the right areas, make sure you reach depth, which is as important as the detail you add.

The process used in this tutorial can also be used as guidance for other subjects.

Hopefully you enjoyed the tutorial. We will be adding more in the coming months, so let us know if there is a specific subject you would like us to cover.​

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