- Today, we are testing out an art supply
that I've never tried before.
They are the Faber-Castell Pitt Pastel Pencils.
This is the 36 count set.
And I wanna dive in and do a full art piece with these
and really put them to the test.
When I was first getting into art,
I actually used like pastel chalk pencils,
and it was like a little beginner set.
I think there are maybe like 8 or 10 pencils
but I've never actually used
like professional quality pastel pencils before.
So I'm not really sure what to expect.
Hopefully, they're fun to use.
That's what we're here for.
We're here for the experience today.
(bright music)
So I'm shooting for something moody today
so we're gonna attempt this portrait.
All the art supplies are at the ready.
Let's go.
I kind of wanna do a border around the edges with this tape.
(bright music)
All right.
We're gonna have some crisp lines when we lift this tape
after this drawing is finished.
Let me walk you through how I'm gonna approach this.
So right now I'm sketching
and I'm doing a bit of like a grid pattern.
You can't really see the grid on my paper,
and it's not like a very specific grid.
There's like, I don't know,
four lines or something, five lines.
So I want to make sure the proportions are right.
I don't wanna spend a lot of time
having a headache over that.
So I did the grid approach.
Pretty glad I did it. Sped things up a lot.
And I already showed you my reference photo.
I got that from, I believe, Pexels.
I always use Pixabay and Pexels for royalty free photos.
They do not sponsor me.
I just like to tell you folks that
because I think it's a helpful resource
for a lot of artists,
especially if you are worried about copyright.
It is a royalty free place
and you are welcome to use their images.
So take advantage of it.
It's a really good place to get a lot of references
and bump up your skillsets
if you want photos to practice from.
Anyway, I really like to just go off the picture
when I'm testing an art supply
because my point here is not to like imagine up
some crazy composition in my head.
It's like, I'm testing this art supply.
I don't wanna think about planning out a big piece.
So I'm doing this.
(bright music)
So if any of you folks are curious
about what this art supply feels like,
it kind of feels like chalk,
if you've ever used chalk before,
believe it or not. (laughs)
But the chalk is like a little bit harder
and it's in pencil form.
Like it doesn't break as easily.
And this stuff also blends very beautifully.
I find it's a little less messy than chalk, too.
Like the powder residue doesn't really come off
with each stroke as easily as a stick of chalk would.
So that's kind of nice.
So I'm gonna share something with you
that I've also probably mentioned
in like a ton of videos in the past.
But if you're new here, I will tell you about it.
I have sensory issues, like really bad, with textures.
And so there are like certain art supplies out there
that I really, really have trouble using,
and the pastel family is definitely that.
And a lot of it comes from blending
and also just the feel of it like against the paper.
Ugh. Anyway.
I am using this apparatus to blend everything.
You can see it here, this blue thing.
It is called a Sofft Knife.
S-O-F-F-T. That's the brand name.
And I wanted to share it in case anybody else out there
has sensory issues and you find it hard to use
like a Q-tip, a blending stamp, a cotton ball,
a paper towel, your finger, whatever.
I have found that this thing
is really great for blending (chuckles)
and it doesn't really trigger my sensory issues.
So yeah, if anybody out there has that,
and you are looking for something to blend with
and you haven't found it,
I suggest this product to you.
Not sponsored again.
This video was not sponsored. (laughs)
I'm just trying to help you, folks.
But yeah, I really like this thing.
So. I found it in the pastel aisle at Blick's.
Let's talk about this drawing though.
I haven't really touched on that.
So right now, I am blending everything out
with the base layers, and I will build up detail later.
Basically, I chose a paper that has a bit of a tooth to it
so that I could layer in layer,
and it's actually for pastels so it really works out.
(laughs) And I'm using this little Sofft Knife
to really blend things down into the grooves of the paper,
so that later, I can come back, I can do all my details.
It'll be a good time.
(gentle music)
I really loved this photo
of this person that I chose to draw
because it's at an interesting angle.
Like she's turning her head
but you're viewing it from slightly below.
I always just think portraits from slightly different angles
are a lot more captivating than just head on shots.
And so, yeah, I like to pick ones like this quite a bit
because I get bored otherwise.
But yeah, I really enjoyed just playing around
with a different angle, and having fun with it.
(lively music)
It is a new week. I took a break for the weekend.
And we're back with a fresh set of eyes.
So let me show you what this looks like so far.
We pretty much have most of the color blocked in.
I have to finish blocking in the hair,
and then we're gonna start to add value, some contrast,
and really bring this to life, hopefully.
This is the part of the process
that's always the most interesting to me
because once everything gets mapped out
and you can start adding those fine details,
it just gets more exciting.
And I think that's when artwork really comes to life.
So my encouragement to you
is if you are stuck in an awkward stage of your artwork
and you feel like it's just not getting there,
it doesn't feel like it's really looking like much yet,
give it time, block in your stuff,
and eventually, when you get to the point
of being able to add all those little details,
it really comes together.
And it's a really rewarding thing to see happen.
Also, for any of you folks who live in the Midwest,
we got hit with a major snowstorm.
I like it.
It's kind of nice and cheery outside.
Right outside my window is like, really,
oh, let me just show you.
See all the snow out there? Makes me so happy.
My little work area right now.
Yep. Behind the scenes.
There you go.
All right. Let's hop back into this.
Hopefully, we can finish this portrait today.
I'm going to listen to an audio book on Audible
because that's just what I've been doing.
That's what I like to do
when I do longer projects like this.
Yeah. Enjoy the voiceover. (chuckles)
(bright music)
I was really excited to work on this chunk of hair
just because I love drawing hair.
And I don't know, something about drawing the strands
and choosing like the flow and the movement of hair.
It's really therapeutic to me.
And I always enjoy the process of that.
So this part was, yeah, was really enjoyable.
Now, the colors are blocked in,
so you can see here I'm going in and I'm doing some detail,
and I'm adding different colors within these layers.
So you can see, I just did blue and I'm blending that out.
And it's adding a little bit of a colder tone
to the shadows of her face.
I really love adding blues and purples to skin tones
to convey those shadows.
I feel like I never really walked you guys
through my process of drawing.
And today, I'm kind of talking about it more.
Do you guys prefer this? Let me know.
Let me know in the comments.
I am not a tutorial person.
I will not do tutorials on my YouTube channel.
That is not what I'm about.
But if you like hearing me describe my process
here and there, let me know.
But I will not be doing tutorials.
Just kind of put that out there (laughs) very firmly.
(bright music)
I feel like the skin took a lot more layering
than I anticipated, but at the same time,
it was a lot easier than I thought it would be
just because of how beautifully
and easily pastels blend together.
Like it's a lot more easy than colored pencil.
However, I still prefer a colored pencil over this. (laughs)
I will tell you my thoughts about this at the end.
But aside from my feelings about pastels,
I will rate this very highly,
this supply is very good quality.
And I'm always very impressed
with Faber-Castell's supplies in general.
So yeah, I would say like 9 outta 10, maybe 8 outta 10,
as far as my rating goes for this supply.
But my liking for pastels has not changed
and I still don't really like them that much.
So yeah.
(bright music)
So another thing I wanted to be intentional about
was not to overwork the details
because with her picture, the details in the hair
were not like super, super crazy, you know.
And I wanted to keep that simplistic
and that's something that's really hard for me.
So I'm kind of proud of how I didn't add
like tons of detail to the hair,
and I just tried to keep it simple.
Sometimes less is more. Yeah.
But this was really fun.
(upbeat music)
All right, folks, we finished the drawing.
Let's peel the tape off together, and then see how it looks
with its little border and stuff, okay?
Ooh, look how crisp that is.
Yes.
So satisfying.
All right. This is how it turned out.
I'm really happy with how this came out
because first of all, I am not a fan of pastels.
I don't really like them.
But every now and then, I like to dip back into them
and see if, you know, maybe I've changed my mind. (laughs)
And usually, I feel that way about oil pastels,
but I don't really like chalk that much either.
And I gave chalk pastels a try
because, you know, it just looked fun.
And I don't know about you guys,
but like if there's a food I don't like,
every now and then, I just like to try it again, you know,
just to see if my mind changed.
I just, I like to keep an open mind.
But all that to say,
pastels are still not my favorite art supply.
They're like on the very bottom of the list. (laughs)
But I like to be honest with you, folks,
because, you know, I know I'm a really positive person
but there are art supplies in this world
that I don't particularly like.
And yeah, the pastel family is that group.
And if there's anybody out there
who really loves using pastels
and you just watched this video,
and I just said, I don't really care for them,
I am not trying to offend anybody or insult anybody.
If anything, I think it's really cool
that we, as artists and creative people,
have different interests and we all like different things.
So I celebrate that and I honor that.
And yeah, anyway, it was really fun
just to hang out with you folks with this video.
I hope you enjoyed it.
And I hope you're all having a really good week.
I will see you when I see you.
That's becoming the outro thing these days.
But if you made it this far, I have a question. (laughs)
Since I told you my least favorite art supply,
the pastel family,
I wanna know what your least favorite art supply is.
It's kind of funny
because one of my favorite art supplies is oil paints.
And I see a lot of people say that is their least favorite.
So I don't know,
maybe a lot of people really like pastels. (laughs)
I just think it's so fun
to see the different interests that are out there.
I'm gonna go now. (chuckles)
Bye.