POPPY FIELD
A tutorial for Soft Pastel artists

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This is a tutorial created for the soft pastel artist. You may be a complete novice, unsure where to begin on your journey, or an intermediate looking for more knowledge. You may just wish to pass the time with a box of pastel and a cuppa simply because you like the composition. Wherever you are in the process, we encourage you to embellish as much as you want, or keep it as simple as we have.

​Pastels are a quick and easy medium, making them ideal for the absolute beginner.  We provide a simple breakdown of how to create an eye catching landscape of these sun-kissed poppies. We show you how to build the foundations and offer practical techniques. By providing both images with descriptions, we offer an easy to follow guide for any artist.

We hope you enjoy the process and feel free to share your piece with us so we can add it to a gallery on this page.

The products you will need

We use the student grade 'Inscribe' soft pastels throughout this tutorial. They are the half stick size found in the 48 set. We chose the black surface from the Art Spectrum Colourfix range. Although it is favourable, your own products do not have to match, just be aware that different papers and pastels will produce a different outcome to ours. This will add further character. Select colours from your own palette that closely resemble the colours used in this tutorial and choose a dark, textured surface. 
As pastels can be messy, we recommend that you have a damp cloth handy, as well as a clean, dry towel. This will allow you to wipe any excess dust from your fingers if you use your hands to blend. Ensure you dry them before mixing other colours. Always do this between blending, unless you are mixing similar colours together.

* Textured paper   *Soft/Hard pastels
* Protective paper   * Damp Hand cloth & Dry towel
​Optional: Blending sponge and ruler

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​Paper Used: Art Spectrum Colourfix Black
Pastel range used: Inscribe

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Inscribe soft pastels are ideal for those new to this medium. They are also sold under the names Mungyo and Hashi. The box set used in this tutorial contain 48 colours. We use 15 hues, carefully selected from the set, allowing us to keep the composition rather loose.

A textured paper is ideal for pastels. Available options are pastel paper or an abrasive paper. A toothy paper grabs and holds pigment far easier, whilst still allowing you to blend smoothly. When covering large areas, use the side of the pastel and the hard edges for the fine detail.

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The reference image
​& colour chart

find the large format image on pxhere.com

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​​IMPORTANT TIPS:  
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*  If working on an upright easel, start from the top and work down. Any pastel drop can be removed easily and will not 'damage' any applications previously applied below.
*  Avoid contamination by wiping your pastels and pastel pencils on a clean tissue between applications. Useful to keep pale colours clean after having applied over dark ones.
*  If you are working on a flat surface, pastels can be easily smudged by your hand. It is recommended that you keep a piece of clean paper beneath your working hand to avoid this. Glassine paper is the best option for this as it minimises any smudging accidents. Replace if/when it becomes too saturated.
* If you have full length pastels, you may prefer to break them in half. This also allows you to keep one side for fine lines and the other for applying base layers.
* To shape your pastel blocks, run the edge of your pastel over a sheet of fine sandpaper to create a thin edge for applying fine lines. This is highly recommended if you do not have pastel pencils when you need to create fine detail.​

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IMPORTANT NOTE:
Soft pastels create dust so you may wish to wear a face mask whilst you work, which will protect you from inhaling dust particles. We highly recommend this for those who suffer with asthma or other respiratory issues. Soft pastels may not be suitable for everyone for this reason.
If you work with soft pastels on a regular basis, we recommend that you invest in a HEPA air filter. We have written an article for those who require more information on soft pastels as a medium. You can read it here.

Using your own pastels? You can match the colours from the brand(s) you own using our colour chart, or study the reference and pick out each corresponding shade. To keep it simple, we use no more than 15. This is just enough to achieve efficacy, whilst not being too excessive. We use masking tape to attach our paper to a hard board during the process. This will provide neat edges once you have finished your piece and removed the tape. It also makes it easier for framing purposes as you have a clean edge you can hold on to whilst adding mounts and placing in a frame.

We use a ruler to mark the horizon line before putting pastel to paper. No outline is necessary as you can easily personalise the detail as you advance. You don't need to be heavy handed when using textured paper, the aim is to avoid over-saturating the surface too soon. Skim the pastel over the paper, ensuring flecks of the paper can still be seen. These gaps will be filled during the blending process and minimises the possibility of oversaturation. This will also decrease the possibility of colours dominating others and dull the original tone. If you prefer to do a trial first,  practice on a separate piece of paper. 

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Applying your INITIAL base tones

Step 1. sky - Cadmium yellow, light blue & cerulean

Establish your base layers first. Keep the application light and loose. Draw a line across the paper where the horizon line falls. Using a ruler will help you create a nice, straight line. Once established, use the flat surface of the Cadmium Yellow pastel and apply upwards. For the sky, apply the Light Blue first before adding touches of Cerulean Blue. Follow up with another, softer layer of ​Light Blue. 

Step 2. SKY - LEMON YELLOW
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Apply a layer of Lemon Yellow above the Cadmium Yellow application. Avoid fusing the two section together at this stage. If you applied your pastels moderately, flecks of paper should still be visible. This provides space for the pastel to settle during the blending process. Limiting the amount of pastel applied at this stage, will limit saturation levels. It will also minimise a dominant pigment overpowering others, causing accidental mixing.

Step 3. SKY - MID GREY

Lets add in a neutral tone alongside the yellow hues. With the Mid Grey tone, add in some contrasts to the outer edges, both at the top and bottom. This will neutralise the vibrancy of the yellow tone and create a sense of depth. An accurate application will ensure the sun, when placed, becomes the focal point.

Step 4. BLENDING

We then use our fingers to blend the colours and soften the applications. Note the dark patches can no longer been seen. To avoid mixing the two colours together, we blend the yellow with one finger and the blue with a different one. If you prefer to use a blending tool, use separate ones.

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Applying a SECOND base layer

Step 5: secondary layer - light blue & lemon yellow

Infuse some Lemon Yellow hues into the sunlit section and add more Light Blue into the sky. This adds further structure and definition whilst softening the pastel ground further. This will create the ideal surface to add the detail to that will be applied later on in the process.

Step 6: blending

Repeat the blending procedure again with clean fingers to soften each area. As before, wipe any excess pastel off with a damp cloth (and dry hands) to avoid mixing the colours together, before blending further, or use each digit in turn until you have the ideal blend. 

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Related articles that may be of interest​

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Read our article if you want to find out about the Inscribe pastels.

Discover why this paper is a popular choice for pastel artists in our article.

Follow our kofi community page for free and premium content

Poppy field

Step 7: stalks - first shade - forest green

As the sun is low in the sky, the ground is very dark, hence the reason we chose a black tone for the base. To create the first stage of the poppy stalks, begin with the Forest Green tone.  Apply vertical marks, leaving bare patches in some areas to represent the natural growth of the field. Always avoid uniformity.

Step 8: stalks - second shade - mid green

The second stage is building on previous layers and adding a brighter green tone to the top of the stalks using the Mid Green tone. Also add in any oval 'orbs' to depict the budding poppies. Once again, avoid uniformity and leave gaps in certain areas.

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Step 9: progress so far

This is the progress so far. We recommend that you leave some open spaces without any green tones at all, as this will be concealed with the rich reds and oranges of the poppies in the distance. Other blank areas will be filled by the larger poppy heads in the foreground.

Step 10: highLights - light green

The third stage is to add in some highlights to the tips of the stalks using the Light Green hue. Ensure that the concentration of highlights is centred on the areas where the sun hits the field the most.  

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adding the poppies

Step 11: poppy heads - red

Now is the time to mark out the poppies. We do not recommend that you attempt to place every poppy you see, just use the photo for reference. Placing the poppies in the distance, can be achieved by applying simple dots, just below the horizon line. The poppies should become slightly larger in the foreground.

Step 12: poppy heads continued

Note how we create more of an outline for the initial stage of the petals. We will be adding extra colours to build on the petals, so avoid oversaturation. Also note how the mixture of green hues help to lift the red pigment.

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Step 13: contrasts - terracotta & india yellow

We will begin to add in the dark and light values now. The Terracotta tone is ideal for adding shadow and the India Yellow helps to create the warmth of the sun on some of the petals. For more depth, use a deeper brown and a paler yellow. The closer to the sun, the brighter this will need to be.

Step 14: contrasts

This is progress so far. Note how the highlights are focused around the central section of the picture. If you wish to deepen the red tones in your poppies, now is the time to do so before we move onto the next stage.

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sky - clouds and contrails

Step 15: sky detail - cream

Begin to build the detail in the sky. We have both clouds and contrails to add, one is less focused than the other so we will explain the technique to achieve this. Start with the cream tone and build up the highlights in the sky and around the area that the sun will be placed at the end.

Step 16: sky line - india yellow

The India Yellow is used along the yellow skyline to add more warmth to the  area where the sun will sit. This colour is very strong and you should not need to apply very much at all. Blend carefully, avoid spreading too far that it overlaps into the blue area. 

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Step 17: trails - white

Focus on the brightest highlights in the sky and create the contrails using the corner/edge of your pastel. Instead of blending, simply press your finger gently over the newly applied pastel simply to tone down the vibrancy of the white pigment. This helps to soften the edges without blending. Repeat as many times as needed until you get the correct amount of colour.

Step 18: add the sun - White

Finally add in the sun. You may find that the white pastel creates excessive amounts of pastel drop around the edges. Very gently blow the dust away, blending in any excess drops. If your pastel is of a good quality, you may not have this issue as the application is far more opaque and covers easier. Finalise the horizon line by adding the trees using the dark grey tone.

The completed piece

We hope you enjoyed this tutorial. We hope you found it easier than you expected, maybe you challenged yourself by tightening up the detail or by adding more tones than was suggested. The Inscribe pastels we used are student quality pastels and pigments are somewhat translucent. If you used an artist quality pastel such as Unison or Sennelier, you will notice that the colours are far more opaque and vibrant. We always recommend that you use a quality brand in your work rather than a cheaper version as the results speak for themselves. 

The most important thing about this tutorial is that we have provided you with some useful techniques that you can apply in future pastel portraits. The secret is not to oversaturate in the lower layers and to learn the importance of always having something between your hand and the paper as you work. If you look closely at the bottom right hand section of the poppy field below, you may notice some smudging. Our attempts to fix it look rather poor.

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 you need to apply without saturating the other, lighter colours. You can easily apply light colours over dark, but always 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 the tonal values in the right areas, will ensure you achieve 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.​

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

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!

View Our Other Soft Pastel Tutorials

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​Tutorial created: February 2018