Hello and welcome!

In this introduction lecture we will discuss the materials and components to this course.

Materials

Pencils

There are just 4 pencils that produce these stunning effects, you do not have to use the exact same colours as me :-) The colours are as follows

Faber-Castell PITT Pastel Pencils

• 101 White
• 270 Warm Grey I

Cretacolor Pastel Pencils

• 229 Brown Gray
• 250 Ivory Black

The white and black pencils can be easily substituted out for other white and black pastel pencils. The Brown Gray and Warm Grey are slightly harder to substitute out. You could use 175 Dark Sepia (Faber-Castell in place of Brown Gray).

Note: I do begin to use Cretacolor’s 234 Pearl Grey for a short time before realising this pencil was no longer required so if you have it then you can use it but no problem if not, you can use the 270 Warm Grey from Faber-Castell in place.

Pastel Paper

The paper is a Dark Grey Coloured Pastelmat sheet around A4 size (US Letter). This paper has a rough sandpaper type texture which is brilliant for pastel pencil work. A good alternative if you can't find this is UART 800 Grade Paper.

Outline Drawing

I provide you with an outline drawing for each portrait so that you do not have to draw the subject free hand. Trace this through to your paper using preferably a white transfer sheet like tracedown. This is so you can see the lines on the light grey paper.

Other Materials

I use a safety razor blade to sharpen my pencils, it is difficult to use an ordinary pencil sharpener for the pastel pencils because they are harder and will likely blunt the blade. You can also use a craft knife instead.

I recommend taping your pastel paper to a piece of hardboard so that you have something sturdy to press against.

Blending Tools

I use Colour Shaper blending tools now in all my pictures. These have a rubber tip and can achieve some incredible effects. They blend and manipulate the pastel almost like a paint brush and are very easy to use.

I would recommend getting the Grey Chisel Size 2 shaper. An ideal set is the bundle of 4 shapers that we sell on our art store "ColinBradleyArtStore".

The difference between the ivory and grey shapers is that the grey has a slightly firmer tip. The ivory shapers give a slightly softer blend which is ideal in certain circumstances.

References

In the resources section of each subject's part 1 you will find the outline, reference photograph and my finished picture that accompany the videos.

Basics Videos

We have also included a series of Pastel Pencil basics videos if you are new to the medium. These take you through the fundamentals of working with pastel pencils and materials that I use.

If you have any questions on anything we've not covered here please just get in touch with us. Our email is [email protected]