Great thread Sarah. There is so much variety amongst all the different OP brand, that it’s definitely confusing for someone starting out. Hopefully this can be a sticky so people can find it easier.

I think also the support or surface you use OP on is equally important, but maybe that would be a different thread.

Sennelier

-Best brand out there (imo).
-Softest and creamy which makes them easy to blend/move color.
-Senneliers perform well on every surface I’ve tried (various papers, canvas, hardboard, sanded board, cork)
-Vast color range.
-pigmentation of color is best (compared to other brands)
-I like how the papers are perforated making it easy to tear it back and expose more OP stick.
-A good mix of transparent and opaque colors.
-good for all styles , but best for impressionist or expressionist, and impasto or heavy texture.
-They make a “grand” size sticks.
-The sennelier white is best white out there. Brightest and best opaque coverage
-The colorless blender stick is a must have and works great with all brands of OP.

Caran d’Ache Neopastel

-soft and covers well (not as good as Sennelier, but pretty good)
-Sticks are smaller and papers are not the easiest to remove.
-Nice range of colors. I especially like their peaches, pinks, salmons and various greys. The pale yellow is also a favorite.
-Good variety of colors
-wonderful for landscapes or scenery. I use a neopastel set just for plein aire work and they do a great job at that.

Mungyo Artist Soft Oil Pastel

-Larger sticks compared to other brands.
-Awesome range of colors, especially for landscapes.
-Fairly soft, but not as soft as neopastels or Senns.
-Good quality brand but easier on the budget
-finding replacement sticks can be difficult. I find the open stock at Jerrysartarama.com. But sometimes it can be hard to find that exact match
-I found the 72ct set for $60 on jerrysaratarama.com. Not sure if that is still the price, but that is an excellent deal.

Cray-Pas Expressionist

-Excellent “hard” oil pastel. But still ok to blend
-low cost. I can buy a 36ct set at dickblicks for $20 USD
-size of sticks are close or same as mungyo
-Great for first layers.
-I actually like their greens –
-Also like their browns

I agree that the paper or other support used is an important consideration. But here, we’re focusing on the OP’s themselves. Here are my experiences:

Sennelier:

Likely the best brand out there, but you’ll pay dearly for them. Beautiful, smooth and lush – a wonderful experience after using other brands. Artist grade OP’s.
– Useful for any subject, really, but especially strong for portraits or anytime a large portion of flesh tones need to be considered.
– For impasto, Senns are the brand to beat. Thick and luscious, and will give exceptional texture. This is especially true for a final top layer.
– They are the most expensive brand out there, but the quality is exceptional. They go smoothly over the various surfaces I’ve tried (paper only), which includes smooth, rough textured, sanded, or slightly “pitted” papers like Canson’s Mi Teintes. They will glide over any other OP, but some are more transparent than others, so they don’t all offer the same coverage.
– The colorless blending stick is the best one out there, can be used with any other OP.
– Their Sap Green is the coolest black/green I’ve ever seen.
– Their range of grays is excellent.

Caran d’Ache Neopastel:

It took me a long time to get familiar with these, and now I would love to be able to afford the whole set. They are almost as creamy as Senns, glide like a dream.
– Artist grade OP’s.
– The sticks are slender/smallish, so I can’t call them a great value.
– I think the Neopastel white outdoes the (legendary) Senns white in some instances. It grips a little better and is slightly more opaque, and will cover almost as well as the Senns.
– Like Sennelier, they are available in single open stock, so I can load up on the white and some of the other amazing colors.
– Great browns, beiges and other neutrals, so landscapes suit them well.

Mungyo Gallery Artist Soft Oil Pastels:

The best value of OP’s available right now, IMO. A fabulous range of colors, and when a full set goes on sale online, there’s little reason to hold off. They are the same size as Senns, maybe slightly larger.
– It remains a mystery why Mungyo doesn’t publish their lightfast quality, but they don’t.
– I consider them worthy of an “artist grade” designation, but again, Mungyo remains cagey about their lightfast info or anything that could land them squarely with the others.
– I have been unable to find them as open stock, except in a few colors sold as a 6-pack. Not particularly helpful.
– I count on them to be my workhorse OP’s. They blend well, and respond to solvents and the Senns blending stick medium well.
– A joy to use on any surface.
– They are suitable for any subject, since the color range is wide.
– Their range in the ochres is worth mentioning – it’s wonderful. Their range of grays is also very good. I do wish they offered more browns.
– I find them comparable to the Neopastels, though not as soft. No lightfast info, and no open stock are my main dings.
– My daily, go-to OP’s. Can’t do without them!

Cray-Pas Expressionist:

My very first set of OP’s. (sniffle) It was an easy choice for me as a beginner, as I got a nice range of colors for a very low price.
– They are student grade, but a darn good student grade. Harder than the Mungyos, but still quite manageable. Lay them on their sides, cover large areas on your paper and blend with solvents for great, fast underpainting or undercoatings.
– They are easily covered by anything softer, but leave a nice, opaque undertone to any painting when used in this way.
– Very bright, strong colors.
– Nice opacity.
– Great for underpaintings, sketchbook work, or quick, full bright paintings. I can’t imagine not keeping a good-sized set around.

Cray-Pas Specialist
Artist grade OP’s, and not cheap.
– I have not worked extensively with my set, as I found them to feel almost slimy, with some pigment separation on long lines.
– My set of 50 was actually a set of 48, as they arrived with 2 blender sticks. I was disappointed in the grays in this set: a light gray, a medium gray, and a green gray. Huh?!?
– The square shape is definitely a plus for strong, thin lines – always a challenge with OP’s.

Pentel:
A student grade brand. Very affordable. They are soft, but I have had a tough time getting them to blend well with each other, though it’s hard to ding a student grade brand for not performing particularly well!
– I have used them mainly for undercoating or touch-up areas, because they have a nice color range.
– Tiny sticks!
– Nice range of blues, and I’ve found a decent flesh combo, too. But I wouldn’t use them for any serious work because they don’t blend smoothly for me.

Mungyo Oil Pastels:

I am referring to the bottom of the student grade Mungyo line. These are sold in a bright blue box with the colorful circled ends of the OP’s in the photo.
– Hard as bricks. Barely blendable. They crumble in hard waxy bits.
– The usual color range from Mungyo, but did I mention they’re hard as bricks?
– They are not much good for anything beyond broad strokes for an undercoating, followed by a blend with Turpenoid. I have a 12-piece set that I bought for 2USD and, when they’re fairly used up, I won’t replace them.
– I wouldn’t recommend them to a beginner. The hard wax is not satisfying to work with, on any surface, and could turn away a willing student of the medium. Go for the Cray-Pas Expressionist sets, and graduate from there.

Other idle thoughts:
– Best white OP: the Sennelier and the Neopastel. Both the Mungyo and Cray-Pas whites ares too hard to cover well for final highlight touches.
– Best black OP: surprisingly, the Cray-Pas Expressionist black goes on smoothly and cleanly. I can easily get a hard edge by rubbing the bottom end on paper to *sharpen* it, and get clean edges or lines this way.
– In my experience, the Mungyo Gallery Artist Soft and the Neopastels play beautifully together on all surfaces I’ve used.
– Senns are the top dog for the final layer, or any flourishing touches in a painting. Since they are available in open stock, I heartily recommend that even a beginner purchase a few, just to get the feel of the quality and be able to add those finishing touches.

I’ve seen those van goghs and always wondered about them. They are open stock at my art store too, which makes them more interesting. I always thought they were student grade though.

Sarah, thanks for starting an important and intersting thread!

First off, I’d like to comment on the difference between Van Gogh OPs and Mungyo Gallery. I only own a few Van Gogh sticks, but I’ve asked many owners of Van Gogh sets about comparison of those to Mungyo Gallery.

Interestingly, foreigners (for me that’s Americans and Europeans) often are unhappy with Van Goghs blaming them for being “way too hard and waxy”. While many (but not all) Russians love Van Goghs. Especially for the price: the full set (60 pcs) is a surprisingly good deal, but I’m not sure it is the same price abroad. I know that Van Goghs are insanely expensive in Canada and not really worth that price…

Some Russians claim open stock Van Goghs are softer than the sticks from the full set. The Royal Talens company disagrees.

Anyway, Van Gogh vs. Mungyo Gallery:

[*]Van Goghs are generally harder and much drier than Mungyo Gallery;
[*]I can only do 5-6 layers with VG, while Mungyo allows LOTS of layers. But like Sarah says, if you use premium surface like Pastelmat, VG will perform very well;
[*]VG is noticeably more transparent than Mungyo. But working with rather transparent Sakura Specialist, I realized transparency isn’t always a problem. Transparency varies depending on the pigments used;
[*]VG is harder than Mungyo Gallery. Some colors are only slightly harder, others are noticeably harder;
[*]And yes, the advantage of VG over the Mungyos is clear info on the pigments used and lightfastness ratings. Btw, one of the WC members carried out a home-made lightfastness testing on Van Gogh and Sakura Expressionist – the results are pretty good and can be found here.

If anyone is puzzled about which Mungyo box is the artist grade one, I’ve attached the pictures and explanations to this thread.

I mostly use Mungyo Gallery and Sakura Specialist now. You guys have said a lot of good and useful things about the famous brands. I’ll just add what’s missing:
I have already written my review of the 15 ct set of Holbein Artists’ Oil Pastels which can be found here (spoiler: ridiculously expensive small sticks; harmonious color range and very good handling characteristics except for being wrapperless).

I have also done a long review of Sakura Specialist – it’s here. In short, if you don’t mind relative dryness and hardness, it’s great OPs and it’s the best way to get the handy square shape! Only three brands of OPs are the square shape (which I love!) – Holbeins (small and expensive!), Pentel Artists’ Oil Pastels (hard to get, small size) and Sakura Specialist – fatter sticks, convenient to use :thumbsup:

I have a 25 ct set of Erengi Oil Pastels – I haven’t used them much yet, but the sticks in my set feel greasy. The color range in this set is 100% identical to the Sakura Specialist set. The full sets of both have a lot in common in terms of colors.
On good but not fancy paper Erengi performs okay, but doesn’t allow many layers. I think it will do great on Pastelmat too, but I prefer Mungyo Gallery which cost about the same, but allows PLENTY of layers on nearly any surface. Btw, Erengi also lists the pigments and LF ratings on the sticks.

Maimeri Classico – I bought four sticks and was glad I didn’t buy a set. They are slightly cheaper than Mungyo Gallery but I was very unhappy with their performance. Only two (!), at best three layers… Very transparent and they go on very thin… NOT a good quality OPs. I know somebody who have used them in maybe 10-15 paintings, and the artist was very unhappy with Maimeri Classico too.

Regular cheap Pentels are very good for their price. Of course, they only allow 3-4 layers (if you don’t paint on sanded papers) but they blend nicely and have a very nice color range, especially in the 50 pcs set. But remember the Pentels are not lightfast.

I have to say that recently somebody gave me an old set of the professional Pentels. I have only done some tests with them, and they are old, dried and a bit used so I am unsure if I should post any kind of review.

Hi Tali – yes, from my experience, the Mungyos are firmer than the Senns. They are very nice and smooth, though, but I wouldn’t call them lipstick-smooth.

My painting buildups are generally using the hardest OP for a base layer, underpainting or sketch – usually Cray Pas Expressionist. Mungyos just glide wonderfully over them, and they feel lipstick-smooth after working with the Expressionist layer.

I can add several layers of Mungyos on top of Expressionists, with no problem. They are wonderful because, the more layers you add, the softer and more pliable they become. But you need a couple of layers to get to that point. Senns lays over anything, of course, and Mungyos are no exception. So, for any final highlights or special touches, I reserve the Senns for that.

I think Neopastels are closer in softness to Senns than Mungyos. As you know, they’re smaller sticks and not cheap, but I do love them dearly! Their white is my fave white, softer than the Mungyo but not too goopy like the Senns can sometimes be.

Thank you Terri and Mira.
I have an onstanding decision to obstain from buying any more art supplies on general and oil pastels in particular, thinking I have more than enough (I’d estimate I own a little over 300 sticks). However, reading posts the past few days has got my palms itchy, and I have a feeling I might fall off the wagon soon.:evil: