Prismacolor NuPastels

Prismacolor Premier NuPastels® feature rich, creamy pigments that allow for easy blending and shading. Perfect for creating illustrations or drawings, these pastels can be sharpened to a fine point for detailed work or dulled for full coverage. These pastels can be used wet or dry for varying effects.
Prismacolor.com

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​Colours Available: 96
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​Sets Available:
Open stock (Individually) In a box 12, 24, 36, 48 & 96 

Costs: RRP £1.57 Each (Ave)

Product features:

• ​60 colour shades in various ranges
• Charcoal-like feel
• Can be blended and smudged, partially aquarellable
• Highly pigmented colours
• Excellent light-fastness
• Can be used wet or dry
• 4.4 mm diameter lead
• Great results on dark backgrounds and specialist papers
• ​Certified non-toxic
  

Nu pastels are classed as Hard Pastels. Hard pastels are made from powdered pigment, the same ingredients as soft pastels, but will usually contain more binder and less pigment. This means the colours are more muted than a soft pastel range such as Unison.  They are ideal for creating initial sketches and useful for applying finer detail. They create less dust and do not break as easy as the softer brands. 

SETS AVAILABLE

12

24

48

96

The Colour Chart

As far as I can see, pastels do not have an official lightfast grading (ASTM) I have seen discussions online for future plans, but as there are no requirements at the moment, it is unlikely the NuPastels were created to be 100% lightfast. Like many mediums, there are certain colours that will fade much faster. The worst culprits tend to be the pinks, purples, oranges and some blues. The most reliable colours tend to be the greys, white, black and browns, along with many of the earthy greens too. An artist called Rick Petersen, has created his own unscientific, lightfast chart which you can view HERE. This may help you decide which colours to avoid if creating works that will be hung. If you are creating pastel art for print purposes only, lightfastness is not important.

Below is a home made chart of every colour available in the NuPastel range (96 colours) Usually I would include lightfast ratings, but as already discussed, none are available. 

Student or artist grade pastels?

It is highly likely that the NuPastels are a student grade pastel. Student grade pastels are also pigment & binder but some pigments are man made rather than from natural sources to keep costs low. This can affect lightfastness. Prismacolor offers such little information on these pastels, it is difficult to know for sure if any (or all) of their pigments are man made without contacting the company direct. ​ You can always protect your pastel portrait from premature fading by fitting  UV or museum quality glass into your frame. More expensive, but worth it in the long run.

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Other related articles that may be of interest
​

Pastelmat is an ideal paper for Pastellists, find out why!

New to pastels? Need some help deciding where to start?

Unison pastels - probably THE best soft pastel available

Why not try one of our mini pastel art tutorials

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Autumn Leaf Tutorial using NuPastels

This is a section taken from our most popular mini tutorial where I show you how to create an autumn leaf on Pastelmat paper. This type of paper is perfect for all types of pastels, as it grabs pigment well and is easy to blend. The use of fingers or other pastel tools for blending, are not really required. Layering one tone over the top of another aids the blending process alone and due to the firmness, they produce little dust. You will probably note that using a blending sponge can soften the pigments too much, but ideal for base layers as you can avoid sore fingers if blending on heavy grit papers such as Fisher400 or some UArt grades.

Loose base layers

Blended with a make up sponge

Overlaying pastels aid the blending process

Top section was blended by overlaying pastels only

Little pressure is required on gritty papers like Pastelmat and they grab the pigments well, making the colours more vibrant than smooth papers can. The firmness of the NuPastels allow you to create thin lines and very fine detail and the pastels do not wear down as quick or break/crumble easily.

Click here if you wish to try this tutorial yourself

The origins of the Prismacolor NuPastels

NuPastels have been around for many years. Below is a cropped section from an old promotional leaflet (circa 1999) when they were part of the Karisma range - who remembers the Karismacolor pencils?  The two colours shown in this leaflet can still be found in the NuPastel range. These colours are 257-P Deep Cadmium Yellow and 336-P Carnival Red. When part of the Karisma range, there were only 48 colours available.

SAFETY WITH PASTELS

Pastels create dust which can be dangerous to health over a period of time. For protection, ensure you are in a well ventilated area when using Pastels. You may prefer to wear a face mask to avoid breathing in the dust and/or purchase an air purifier. If you have any breathing problems such as asthma, pastels may not be the medium for you, or you could opt to work with hard pastels and pastel pencils which create far less dust.