In this section I have mentioned all of my favourite materials that I like to use and those I think you might like to try if you want to start drawing with pastels.
Clairefontain Pastelmat
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Clairefontain Pastelmat is acid free, lightfast and age resistant. The unique card combines velvet and pumice and the result finish means fixatives are not required. The expression, freshness and delicacy of pastel colours will be displayed to full advantage on Clairefontain Pastelmat paper.
Clairefontain Pastelmat paper is available in various formats and colours. I personally prefer buying the large 50x70cm sheets and cutting them down to size.
Most pastel artists recommend Clairefontain Pastelmat and I certainly agree that it is the best pastel surface out there.
Stabilo Carbothello Pastel Pencils
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The Stabilo Carbothello pastel pencils are said to be one of the the best pastel pencil brands out there. and I certainly agree. They are not too hard and not too soft, making them easy to sharpen.
They have a lightfast rating 0-5 stars on the barrel with 0 being the lowest lightfast rating and 5 being the highest, 22 pencils have five stars, 9 have four stars, 17 have three stars, 4 have two stars, 5 have only one star and 3 pencils have no stars.
They are sold in tins of 12, 24, 36, 48 and 60 pencils. They are also sold individually too.
Pan Pastels
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Pan pastels are basically soft pastels compressed into a small pan and can be applied with Sofft Tools. Sofft Tools are sponges used to controllingly apply the pastel pigment to the paper. There are so many different shapes and sizes of sponges, so it is easy to find something that suits your style of art.
Pan Pastels also have the colour name and lightfast rating on the bottom of the pan, they rate 1 to 3 stars with 1 being durable, 2 being lightfast and 3 being extremely lightfast.
I usually use Pan Pastels for my base layers and then build up the details with pastel pencils on top.
Pan Pastels are low dust which means a clean work space which is great for those who don't like a lot of mess.
Unison Colour Soft Pastels
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Unison Colour soft pastels are very high quality and lightfast pastel sticks that are handmade in the UK.
Sometimes I like to work a bit looser with my pet portraits and I find Unison Colour soft pastels so smooth and buttery which allows me to get a beautifully soft effect.
They are also very good for background work too.
Canson Mi-Teintes Pastel Paper
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The Canson Mi-Teintes pastel paper is a paper I use when I'm doing landscapes. I wouldn't really recommend it for detailed pet portrait work though, as it is quite hard to achieve the details that I'd want in a portrait. Having said that, it was actually the paper I used for my first ever pastel portrait.
Canson Mi-Teites pastel paper comes in lots of different colours including a pad with earth tones and a pad with grey tones. It comes at a very reasonable price too, which is useful for those on a budget.