Supplies Has anyone used pastel pencils?

I tried some a while ago on vinyl faceups, but it didn't turn out great. It's could just be the brand I was using, which was a cheaper one, but I found the leads, in order to be firm enough to encase in wood and be able to sharpen, were too hard and it scratched the sealant. They also didn't soften as much as I would've liked, but again, that's probably due to whatever fillers were used and the fact they were cheaper and had less pigment load to begin with.

 

I have not used pastel pencils but I use a combination of pastels and cosmetic q tips similar to these ones.

https://www.amazon.ca/800pcs-Precision-Cotton-Double-Pointed/dp/B07LB4GPX2/

You can just rub the tip over whatever colour pastel you want (or dab shavings) and then use the q tip like a soft pencil. I've used this method for doing faceups on my 13.5cm circumference doll heads and it works pretty well for getting into eye crevices and adding colour around the nose. It still can be a little bit messy if you pick up too much pastel dust though, but it could be an option if the pencils aren't suitable.

 

This may or may not be helpful to you, as I haven't used pastel pencils in an eternity. I first got them when I was still in college, for my graphic design courses, that focused on the basics of traditional art. So, I own a small, inexpensive eight pencil set from General's pastel pencils. I don't know if General's is a brand that is available everywhere, but it is a decent student grade art supplies brand here, in the USA. The pencils worked well for my earlier face upping needs, which were very basic and mostly only needed them for guidelines. Like mapping brows, or other features I would be blending or fading, eventually.

I kind of stopped using guides as I grew more comfortable doing face ups, so I haven't used pastel pencils in over fifteen years. However, I do recall them being easy to blend, remove (with a kneading eraser or even included rubber one), they were easy to use and sharpen, but I prefer sharpening pencils with a knife instead of a pencil sharpener. It helps to get a better point and fragile lead from breaking too much. I would say the pastel pencils I mentiobed are good.

I prefer acrylic paint for shading now. I have extremely shaky hands, but not due to old age (I am an old fart, but) I have always had shaky hands. I find acrylics easier to manipulate, blend and even wipe off. Plus I don't have to seal every four seconds to build up color. I actually need to desaturate the paint most of the time (would probably benefit from trying hobby grade acrylics, instead of artist grade ones, since those appear to be less saturated, but I'm stubborn as the dickens).

I definitely feel like you don't need a steady hand to get precise shading with acrylic paint, I once again suffer from extremely shaky hands, and I am able to paint true to scale 1:6 action figure head sculpts. Not anything professional, or decent but good enough for me. You might struggle with fine lines, but shading is easy to do with paint, more so on tiny areas were pastels might just be a dust cloud waiting to happen. Of course, paint might not be the look you"re going for, but it can't hurt to try. Good luck! (:


Here's the only BJD I've painted so far using mostly acrylic paint. I grew a bit impatient (a bit different than on a pvc head sculpt!). So, I added a bit of pastel on the cheeks, and nose but it's a 90-95-percent acrylics face up. He is a 28cm doll: