Home Forums Explore Media Pastels Soft Pastel Talk Help with Choosing Darks and Lights

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  • #479165
    Misspris
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        As a newbie, I have a nice little assortment of brands and colors but noticed while painting I don’t have enough really good darks or lights so I’m off to purchase some. I’m on a budget (aren’t we all, well most, lol), so want to spend $60. Jackson’s has Art Spectrum Extra Soft Squares Set of 10 for $30 which is like $25 cheap then in the US. They have a set of darks and highlight colors. I’ve never tired this brand before, but they are in my cart and I’m so close to hitting the button on them. Anyone have experience with these, as I never hear them mentioned.

        They also have Unisons and Blue Earths, at $3.00 a stick, so I could also just buy individual colors. I’ve tried both these brands. Blue earths are softer then unisons. Since usually you want to get darks down first, maybe some Unison darks, and then some Blue Earth for lights, or does it not really matter that much?

        I like doing mostly portraits along with some landscapes. What are your favorite darks or highlight colors? I’m open to suggestions?

        I lied, for real now, one more thing just to make it more confusing for anybody willing to help. Jackson’s house brand also has a set of 14 darks for $30, though I never hear anyone talking about these either, the price is right, but not sure they’re up to par quality wise, never tried them. Thanks for any advice.

        #895162

        Hello! So what is your pastel specialty? I mean, what kind of art do you do, primarily, and also what kind of ground do you use? I can only tell you that for working on sanded paper like I use, you can’t beat the Terry Ludwig darks. Even if you order just a few of them open stock through their website, the darks they have are the best, in my opinion. Make sure to get some TL dark violets, like the V100. I also really like the Unison A43, which is a very dark green. I like the type of pastel you can lay down in the early stages and work it into the background, and then come back later and fill in the super dark shadows, towards the end, and the TL dark violets can’t be beat for that. They also have other dark colors which work similarly. In my experience, the super soft pastels don’t really work as well in the dark colors. Save those for those bright colors and brilliant highlights. Unison also makes the midnight set of 8 which is available from Dakota for $42.95. Although it does not include that wonderful A43, it has some dynamite dark colors.

        There’s my two cents worth! Good luck

        #895159
        Misspris
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            Thanks Richard, you always seems willing to offer your advice. I’ve been asking a million questions lately, being a newbie and all.
            I went ahead and ordered art spectrums extra soft squares, and Jackson’s 14 set of darks and a few lighter colors. It’s hard looking at computerized color swatches, I wish they had real swatches on real paper to show.
            I would love to buy a stick of Terry Ludwig V100 that everyone talks about, but can only find sets available, no single sticks. And the price tag for the set of darks, ouch!
            Im into portraits and still life work usually, but got into pastels to loosen up so have been doing landscapes. And this is my biggest problem with choosing colors. In watercolors I know the pigments, how to mix so can paint with relatively few colors, Pastels I don’t know the pigments in the sticks, and being new to landscapes, I’m clueless.
            I will check out the colors you listed as well to get an idea, but hoping what I’ve selected will fit the bill.

            #895157

            Miss,

            If you look through the openstock of Jackson’s house brand, pigment composition and ratings are listed for each color. Let us know how you like them. Given their price, they could be hard to resist.

            It’s not always easy offering suggestions as nearly all of the pastels I’ve encountered have their own peculiar handling characteristics. Still, as you’ve expressed an inclination to portraits and landscape, at some point you may want to investigate Girault. Dakota carries a number of sets that may appeal to you. And Richard’s comments on them in his “Pastel descriptions” thread closely match my own experience using them.

            That’s the thing about getting into pastels: it’s hard not to want to give all of them a try! Why not take out that second mortgage?

            John

            Life is but a Dream

            #895160
            Misspris
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                Opps double post, my 4 yr old just loves to push those buttons.

                #895161
                Misspris
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                    John, I keep thinking what have I gotten myself into. I was so content painting with my 12 little pans of watercolor, now I’m surrounded on all sides with boxes of pastels.
                    Since I needed those colors anyway I didn’t want to get more pastels in a brand I already owned, and it was the perfect opportunity to try a new brand, but it’s also a little scary not knowing if your hard earned cash would have been better spent elsewhere. And I hardly found any mention on either Jackson’s or Art spectrums squares. I’ve been iffy on getting Jackson’s housebrand cause nobody talks about them and the low price point are usually indications of quality, but man that price point is on point, lol. And right now they are giving 15% off their house brand products.

                    I would love to try out some of the expensive brands like Terry Ludwig and Girault. I’m hoping for some sales around Black Friday or the holidays, though it seems like Pastels don’t really go on sale much like other paints.

                    #895158

                    Given that you already have watercolors, you may want to try mixing them or starting with watercolor underpaintings. That would give your paintings a wider range of color. Just a thought

                    And, yeah, I remind myself that the point is drawing and painting, not collecting!
                    John

                    Life is but a Dream

                    #895163

                    Let us know what you think of both the Jackson’s brand and the AS softies, please. I’m anxious to find out what people think of those!

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