Hard or Soft

This post is about some of the pencils and hard pastel brands that I frequently use in my paintings. I’ll focus on what’s captured in the photos—otherwise, the article would stretch for miles!

Even though my works are mostly colorful, I have a deep appreciation for monochrome, restrained graphics. Sometimes, I work with charcoal, and other times, I mix it with a subtle hint of sause or pastel to add a touch of mood to a black-and-white image.

The German brand Lira offers small sets that are perfect for such sketches.

For this etude, I used two of these sets.

In the photo, you can see sets containing charcoal, carbon, and sanguine pencils, charcoal sticks, and one with hard pastel sticks in gray shades. Each of these sets is very convenient for plein air and studio sketches. They are easy to store and carry.

The top set—"Art Specials"—consists of 12 pencils: sepia, sanguine, pastel, charcoal, carbon, watercolor graphite, and graphite. I won’t describe each in detail—there are plenty of possibilities.

The middle box—"Charcoal Set"—is the one I use most often.

Charcoal pencils are made of compressed charcoal in different tones, ranging from dusty gray to deep black.

Charcoal sticks—some consist of compressed charcoal and have a rich, dark tone, while others are real birch charcoal, which has a soft, silvery-gray hue. Both types are included in this set in various forms, allowing for interesting variations in lines and shading.

A dark pastel stick is also included.

Carbon (carbonized) pencils—these are typically made from a mixture of clay and lamp black, though some manufacturers blend them with charcoal or graphite depending on the desired blackness.

They leave a deeper mark on the paper than regular graphite pencils but are smoother than charcoal. The stroke has a slight sheen, though much less than graphite.

Such a pencil can even be used for an underpainting before applying charcoal or pastel if the line is kept thin. However, graphite often prevents soft materials from adhering properly. The best option for an underpainting under charcoal or pastel is to use the same material, such as a pastel or charcoal pencil.

The charcoal set also includes an eraser for soft materials and a sharpener.

The bottom set—"Gray Tones Set"—contains colors that are close to neutral grays but vary slightly in warmth.

The sticks in this box are hard pastels. They are usually labeled Hard, meaning they are not very powdery and do not smudge as easily as soft pastels. These pastels are particularly useful for working on abrasive papers or primed surfaces, where blending is not as important, and layering colors is the main focus.

The foundation of my materials consists of soft pastels, as smooth and rich in complex, vibrant colors as possible. However, there are times when a hard and not particularly bright pastel stick is needed for layering work, where colors shouldn’t blend too much. Hard pastels can also be useful for finishing touches in any pastel or charcoal artwork when precise details, fine dry lines, or strong accents are required.

In this photo, you can see hard pastel sticks from Faber-Castell. This is the only product I use from this brand. Sennelier is also included for comparison—this is a very powdery, soft pastel that is excellent for blending. The sample swatches are made on Canson Mi-Teintes Touch paper, so the difference isn’t particularly visible, but it becomes apparent when layering colors.

Another dry pastel brand I like is Caran d’Ache. I absolutely love their pastel pencils, and their pastel sticks are extremely hard, making them perfect for layering on abrasive surfaces. The color range is stunning. Nearby, for contrast, are soft Great American pastels, which are fantastic for more painterly work.

For now, that’s everything that caught my eye from the material photo sessions on this topic. All these boxes are no longer as ideal as in the pictures.

PS:

The subject of the study from the first photo has been included in a new online landscape course, which we filmed for Lectoroom in January and are currently editing. The launch is coming soon! Stay tuned for updates on the events page.