Pastels and Pencils: Post photos and reviews of what you use!

What would happen if I got a cheap brand of chalk pastels for a faceup? Walmart is selling a huge kit for like $10. What would happen if I used those? Would they stain or something? Everyone always talks about Rembrandt, and the other expensive pastels. What about cheaper kinds?

Mods: If this is in the wrong place, feel free to move it.

 

Some of the poorer quality pastels don't go on as smoothly and the color might not be as nice. As long as they are the chalk pastels rather than oil and you clear coat first, there shouldn't be a staining problem.

This is my feeling about art supplies -- you don't have to go out and buy the very most expensive of everything. However, poor quality stuff can be hard to work with and frustrating in the end. Unless you are doing a lot of faceups, your pastels should last you a long time, so you might as well invest in a decent set. I have a big set of Rembrandts and it's lasted me for years. I don't remember exactly how much I paid for them, but I don't remember the set being horribly expensive.

 

A lot of the cheaper pastels have a lot of 'filler' in them - that is, gritty stuff that isn't pigment. This stuff makes the pastels hard to use and means that you get less 'useable' pastel out of the same length of stick as a higher end brand.

Generally, what you're looking for is anything of a 'craft' quality or above. 'Artist's' quality is best, but craft or modelling quality also works just as well for face-ups.

 

The cheaper they are, the more layers you'll need!
You don't need to go out and pay over a hundred dollars but you do get what you pay for.

 

I don't know better, but mine were on sale for 16,9 dollars (11.9 €) and well, they work. Better ones may be better, but they work. I might get better ones when I go to Helsinki and get to go to a bigger store though, because I want to be good at face-ups and good supplies would probably help. ^^;
Also, you don't need a set with lots of colors. Get some basic colors and mix, because by mixing you get more natural colors and the cost will be lower.. Like, one piece can be expensive but if you only get 6 instead of 15, you can get better, more expensive ones. (This explanation sucks, but please note that my mother tongue is Finnish ^^; )

 

My favorite set, my Mungyo Gallery pastels, were not expensive at all. I believe they were about $15 for 15 colors and they go on smooth and vibrant. I love my Rembrandts because they have a lot more color options, but the Mungyos are my favorite for how vivid they are and how soft. However, those pastels at Walmart are probably very hard and chalky, meaning they don't have a lot of pigment; they're mostly just chalk filler which means they're probably going to go onto the resin pale and gritty. I've used chalky, cheap pastels and they can really be a pain but if you absolutely don't have any options, they will work. Just probably not very well!

 

For me as far as blending goes, it’s a matter of how well I coat the head with sealer that makes a difference,
not the quality of the pastel. The quality/brand has only affected the purity of the colors in my personal experience.
But that is nothing that can’t be fixed with a few more layers of sealer and pastel. I have always thought that the
materials an artist uses are only as good as the artist her/himself – I am no face-up artist however, just an
amateur-hobbyist sharing a personal experience on the matter. (:



- Enzyme

 

I agree with Enzyme, I have been a professional artist for over 30 years (mostly in oils and acrylics) and quality products have a higher percentage of pigment than the lesser quality products. This doesn't mean that the end product is of lesser quality it means that you will have to work a little harder to get the an end product that you will be happy with. I have used what ever is available and have never had a problem getting the look that I want in the end. For $10 you could use these until you can find or afford a better quality to add to the colours.

 

I'm currently using this so-called brand "ShinHan artist pastels" (I think its a chinese or japanese made) it's not quite cheap nor that expensive but it actually works, actually it is really good :3

 

Uuuugggh the chalks at walmart as a PAIN. They take forever, fluff away and really, really don't stick well. I've had people in the same room finish face-ups entirely before I can even get enough pigment on for basic blush of cheeks and the like. Go for better quality, especially if you're going to be doing a lot.

 

I've Always wondered that too. But way everyone said make sense. I only did faceup for 2-3 of my dolls (but redid each a few times) i didnt want to spend 50$ on pastels So i got only The colors i needed for about 1$ each (The other ones with nicer Colors were 2-3 times more expensive) and they don't stick well to m'y doll's face and The color Always ended up VERY pale and i had to add like 5 layers. Sometimes i lost patience and mixed them with a bit of black (black and red were pretty much impossible to remove. Black would leave stains even if washed with soap) so in The end The color ended up weird

 

You really don't need a whole expensive set. I have only six sticks of pastel I picked myself, basic natural colors, each was about $3, but it's Rembrandt, a quality professional product. You can buy them online, it's really not a big deal. Each stick would last you several years for sure. Of course, like it was said earlier, a really experienced and talented artist will be able to create something great even with subpar supplies. Still, it always easier with better tools and materials. But why would you want to handicap yourself, especially when you are learning?

 

Different brands have different variations of color intensity, at-least in my opinion. Like rembrandt go on smoother and more vivid than say Nu-Pastel. Volks even has some pastels that are a bit cheaper than rembrandt, they work pretty well too. When learning its best to try and get not the best grade supplies but not crappy ones either, so its kind of a happy medium. I agree with Katyok, especially being an artist myself. While its the artist and not the tool it is much easier to learn when your materials aren't working against you.

 

I can say, I personally don't like Rembrandt pastels. I did my first faceup using the NuPastels I got ages ago for a class (and which we all agreed my mum had done well in choosing versus the cheapo ones the rest of the class had). I had an opportunity to try a friend's Rembrandt pastels nearly two years later, and they just didn't feel right for me. So I would recommend looking around to see if anybody in your area can give you a chance to feel how the different pastels are, or find a store that sells open stock and pick up one from a couple brands to feel how they work for you (they might even have broken ones discounted, I always check that bin at Dick Blick). And you'll be able to feel the difference even just trying them on paper. Try to at least shop around to the extent that you can look directly at a couple different brands (not pictures of them, see them through packaging).

You might take a look for Artist Loft brand as far as being a decent budget line... I haven't tried their pastels, but the paints I've picked up have been quite nice (might incorporate their watercolours into my redo of Gamrut's faceup that's coming up) and I've had several customers talk about how pleased they've been with the line and that they've seen a lot of good reviews for them. (I work at a craft store.) Though as I say, I haven't used them myself, so I don't promise they're good, though they're probably better than the Walmart budget line, and look better than our other budget line.

 

48 soft pastels from Soom doll for 6.70USD they are soft chalks with good color and coverage. They are cheap but they work well.

 

I...really don't know where this thread i supposed to go so I'm dropping it here ;u; Mods, feel free to move it? if it's not supposed to be here uAu;

So yea, my problem is: I'm nearly broke (I still have some change for fast food tho!) so I plan on buying MSC in January. In the meantime, I've been thinking of practising a little the light touch-ups, like cheek blushing and stuff that are done with pastels (I don't trust myself with acrylics, as when I hold a brush, my hand thinks it has Parkinson D'8 ) and I was also thinking that I wouldn't really want to waste my MSC on my 'first experiments' /:
Now, I've seen some face-up tutorials and all and some people don't start with the first coat of MSC to 'protect the doll from stain'. Do you think if I only apply some pastels it might stain the doll? /: If magic eraser spong thingie will be able to remove said stains, I won't mind them (as I have some of that white sponge-looking thing), but if it's something I won't be able to remove, I'd prefer to wait and waste my MSC instead, when I buy it.
Thank you very much for your time ^u^

 

As far as I know light colours won't stain but I'd be wary of dark or bright ones if you don't have MSC or another viable sealant on hand. Also without sealant, they won't stick very well, if they do at all, because resin is too smooth, which is why you apply sealant first, because it gives it 'tooth', which is a fancy way of saying it has a texture that allows it to take the pastels. I'd say wait, because there's really no way to get a real feel for it if they aren't going to take properly on the bare resin.

 

Hey there - just echoing what KarieChaos said. Dark colors will definitely stain w/o MSC (as I found out when I bought a second-hand head with said staining). Don't know about light colors.

 

Even light colors can stain the resin. Any color that is not the exact same color as the resin can cause a stain. I've had it happen before.

 

O-ohhhh! Alright then D: I will remember that, thank you <:

 

You might try spraying with Mr Super Clear first, so that the pastel is not directly on the resin. A light spray can also help the pastel adhere.

 

i would say best to wait as even light colour pastels may cause staining, i know how disapointing that must be to wait but really it would be better for your doll head if you do

 

"Now, I've seen some face-up tutorials and all and some people don't start with the first coat of MSC to 'protect the doll from stain'."


Whoever's doing this... just... shouldn't be. &#3232;_&#3232;
It WILL stain or damage your doll if you don't coat it with MSC or other resin-safe sealant, on top of which you won't have a decent surfaces for the pastel to grab onto so you'll get smeared and muddy results.

I know MSC can be a pain, but I'd imagine it's a much bigger pain to ruin a $500 doll. xD;

 

I recently acquired a set of soft pastels and wondered if I could use them for face-ups.
I've always heard of people using CHALK pastels but I haven't heard anything for soft pastels.
Because of this, I did some research and found out that there is no oil in soft pastels (you'd have to get oil if you wanted an oil effect for other art projects).
So knowing this, are soft pastels okay to use on resin? Or is there still the risk of staining?

 

As far as I know, soft pastels are the same thing as chalk pastels. It's just another way of saying it.

 

Ah, that would make sense because of their behavior when I used them for another art project.
I do have chalk pastels but they have a dryer texture to them compared to this new soft pastel kit I have but then again the new kit is of better quality.

 

Soft pastels are Chalk pastels I use them to do faceups and they work wonders! They blend really well! I love using them haha

 

Brand Name: General's
Where you got it: Michaels
Price: $14 for 12 I believe
How even was it?: It works ok but I'm not sure if I am using it right
Needed a lot or few layers?: not many
looked good or bad? : A bit clumpy
Easy or hard to use?: hard, I did wet it at times to make easier
Quality?: ok I guess, nothing to compaire it to
Other?: I like the fact that they had a "Earth, portrait, and skintone" set. That is why I got it...but I don't think they are soft enough.

 

I use Derwent pastels and watercolor pencils. I've been using Derwent artist products for many years and have tried other pastels but prefer my Derwent.

 

• Brand Name: Sennelier
• Where you got it: Pearl Paints
• Price: ~$5 per full sized stick
• How even was it?: extremely even application
• Needed a lot or few layers?: very few - 2 gives vibrant and rich color!
• looked good or bad? (not due to your painting techniques, but how the product looked on the resin): looked great!
• Easy or hard to use?: easy. The color lays down like a dream, no streaking at all and very smooth and rich color
• Quality?: 5 stars! Better than Rembrandt for sure!
• Other?: The pastel is so soft you can just brush the brush over the stick itself, no need to turn it to dust.

• Brand Name: Schmincke
• Where you got it: Pearl Paints
• Price: ~$4 a full sized stick. It had a 40% discount
• How even was it?: extremely even
• Needed a lot or few layers?: very few, 2 gives vibrant and rich color also!
• looked good or bad? (not due to your painting techniques, but how the product looked on the resin): amazing!
• Easy or hard to use?: very easy to use
• Quality?: 5 stars! I feel that the quality is up to par with the Sennelier pastels
• Other?: This pastel is also extremely soft where you can also brush your brush over it and get a lot of color on it.

I have spent nearly fifty dollars on these pastels and I don't regret it one bit! The color is amazing and these pastels will probably last me years! I am never purchasing from any other company. Remember, the higher the cost, the higher the quality.

 

Schminke pastels for definite. I just purchased a set at quite an expense but its the old addage, you get
what you pay for. These pastels are beautiful because they are pigment. The colours are rich and vibrant
and you dont need a lot. I used the use mungyo but i found them vey grainy and quite hard to work with.
Hope this helps in some way

 

I use Unison pastels. They are amazing! They're all handmade here in the UK. I bought a red one a few years ago and have been pretty obsessed with it ever since. I used it for my Cyborg faceup and it gives an incredible vibrant red glow. I also bought some other shades a few months ago and they are great too. I only wish I'd bought more, but they are very exensive, about two or three pounds each if you buy them in a shop. They're slightly cheaper online, but they're shipped with lots of packaging so that is expensive too. But worth it, I might add!

 

My friend set me on the path of Mungyo pastels, so I plan to order some, but I have an APO address, so the store won't send them directly to me.

I'm trying to decide if I want Sargent Art Chalk Pastels (48 for $20) or Faber-Castell Soft Pastels (48 for $12).

Any opinions between the two of these?

 

I just ordered a set of 30 Rembrandt half sticks. I think I should get new brushes too. What do you recommend for brushes when applying pastels?

 

I actually found that high quality make-up brushes work best with pastels, since they are designed to apply and blend powder. You need to choose a size that is applicable to the project, of course, because human make-up brushes come in many different sizes. Also, the brushes have to either be brand new or squeaky clean - you don't want oils or other make-up remnants on the brush.

My most often used brushes are: medium application brush (picks up a moderate amount of pastel), heavy application brush (picks up a good amount of pastel), powder liner brush (for tiny areas), blender (to blend the colors together) and a big fluffy powder brush (to whisk away excess pastel).

I am sure you can get great pastel brushes at an art store, but it was much easier for me to pick among make-up brushes because I know how they perform with powders and had many extras that I don't use

 

I use hard pastels and pencils. This has probably been posted, but I rub the pastels on paper and then pick them up with the brush from the paper, you can blend and mix that way.

I have found pencils the only way to get a line thin enough for eyelashes. I use prismacolor.

 

Thanks Anna. Sometimes makeup brushes can be more expensive (depending on the style of brush you're looking for) but that is actually a good idea.

 

I like Dick Blick brand artists soft pastels. I've found them to be very good. I even prefer these to draw with. I think they more lean towards the medium side of soft though. All I have to do is rub my brushes on them a little and presto! Plus, the price is REALLY good! LOL

I don't like derwent watercolor pencils though. The pencil coating stained my fingers blue and it transferred to the doll once. I had enough MSC that it didn't stain the doll but I did have to remove part of the face. I'm a broke college kid so I just ended up using an exacto knife and shaved off the outer coating then used the gloss coat that I used for lips to coat the wood and seal it. Probably a little too much info there.

Currently I'm waiting on some Faber-Castell Albrecht Dürer Watercolor Pencils because they were recommended to me. Hopefully those work a little better.

As far as brushes I'm all over the place with brand and type. Its a trial and error process. Mostly I use stubby brushes; brushes with short bristles. Flat is my favorite for eye brows, angled is my favorite for lips. I use a small 'blush' brush for blushing. I use a filbert for eyeshadow. Usually the face tells me what I need in a manner of speaking.

 

Yep, that's very true. The make-up brushes that I found very useful are actually priced in the mid-range; they are not the cheapest, but certainly not the most expensive. I am sure that my more expensive make-up brushes would work great as well, but I think it would be a bit overkill for dolly purposes. Actually, one of my favorite brushes (an angled liner brush) came free with some powder liner I bought. I never used it on myself, since I have a much better liner brush, but it works wonders for blushing little details on dolls! I suggest rummaging around your makeup drawer and trying out the all the free extra brushes that are often included, but hardly ever used

 

So, just to make sure I have this right... Sidewalk chalk, though it's not oil based, is bad? And *any* water colour pencil should be good, right?

Just a yay or nay would be good on this one. Nothing detailed. I just want to make sure I understand.

*ETA*

And reading up a little, on this page... It looks like I'm going to have to expand my brush collection, and/or buy new ones. When it comes to painting on a canvas or dolls past, I have like, 2 brushes I selected out of a whole set, and gave the rest to my son. One very fine brush, and one medium-ish sized brush, to cover small and large areas respectively. Both of which are rounded and come to a point. Classic paint brush type brushes.

 

This is really interesting.
So, my father is an artist, so all the possible art supplies are in my garage (My dad's studio)
So, I have NO IDEA what kind of pastels, I'm using!
But they seem to work just fine! ^^

 

I don't know if anyone's linked you to Nicolle's Dreams yet or not, but she has a lot of neat videos of her process in doing face ups, and usually she adds annotations to her videos about the materials and techniques she's using. If you're thinking about learning how to do face ups, i think watching some of her videos is useful if you're unsure about how to start or when to layer, etc.

 

This is all of my materials, literally. For pastels I use Schminke, Winsor & Newton, and Daler Rowney. Schminke is my favorite because of how rich the color is.

 

What kind of watercolor pencil brand is good to use? Also what do I need for blush on the cheeks and lips?

PLEASE AND THANK YOU!!!

 

I just use prismacolor watercolors and you use chalk pastels (NOT OIL PASTELS, THE CHALKY DUSTY ONES!) for the blush. You can shave it into a powder or draw on a white piece of paper with the chalk pastels and dab your brush onto the paper to get the pigment.

 

Are there any other supplies I need. I see some people use paint. Is that needed?

Sent from my HP Slate 7 using Tapatalk

 

There is a wealth of information on supplies, brands, and so forth in the Customization and Maintenance subforum to get you started; there is no one "perfect brand" of any material, though there are a number that have been tested to be reliable and safe to use on resin by the community. Check out the Customizing Thread Index for quick links to just about any topic related to faceups, including what brands people favor.

 

Hi honeyandclover5, if you are looking for a simple rundown on some supplies for faceups then you could always try youtube. They have many faceup and bjd related videos on there. Here is a basic one about faceup supplies: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zOQMCExnEI (it continues in a second part, but is a good beginner one). One of the best faceup artists on youtube is 'Nicolle's Dreams' if you watch some of her faceup videos there is allot about technique you can learn. Hope this helps some?

 

What brand of pastels and watercolor pencils are best to use for face ups?
What can I use to clean my doll with out damaging it? Or any other items I might need?

 

The Wiki has a great list of what is good and bad for faceups here, but when it comes to myself I use Schmincke and Rembrandt chalk pastels teamed with Derwent watercolor pencils. To remove faceups I use W&N Brush Cleaner for resin and unscented, no-dye nail polish remover for vinyl and ABS. ^^

 

Thanks... it wouldn't Staind the resin will it? Do you do face ups a lot?

 

I've used Rembrandt chalk pastels as well, and I use 90% rubbing alcohol to wipe faceups and also to clean up my dolls when they start looking grungy. If you use a good sealant before you do your faceup you shouldn't have any staining problems. Just don't use any paints or pastels that have oil in them! I used to use MSC to seal my dolls, but I've discovered that the Volks ZM spray works way better in the heat & humidity.

 

Ok... I'll have to look all those brands... so it shouldn't stain if I use like red pastel on a white... I don't want pink... if I ever decide to change his face up.

 

I need to start using the ZM spray. I think I even have a can at home I've just never tried it! How does it work on tan resins? Any color-change?

 

I haven't tested it yet, but it's supposed to not ghost on tan. I really need to paint one of my tans <_<



In response to the OP: I use rembrandt pastels right now, with two schmincke pastels and faber-castell watercolor pencils. I really want to upgrade to all schmincke eventually. Because they are so awesome to work with I also use W&N Brush cleaner to remove faceups, and make sure to wash it with soap and water. I use ivory soap bars, but any sort of degreaser soap will work well. The brush cleaner does leave a slight residue you need to get off. You can also use 70%+ Isoprophyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol), but it takes more effort.

I don't use nail polish remover because it can damage some resin if it is lower quality (I melted a very small part of an old Dream of Doll head, resin from 2004), and it's all around more chemically harsh than alternatives (I'm referring to fumes here, because I am sensitive).

You should not get staining so long as you do a few base coats of sealant. All your colors will actually be on the sealant rather than the resin ^^

For applying pastels I use some brushes (I find flats work best for me), and a combination of cotton balls and q-tips. Cotton balls are for large areas of soft blushing (such as cheeks). Q-tips are for areas I need more vivid colors because they rub the pigment into the sealant layer very well.



Re: ZM spray and humidity

My findings with ZM are the same, that it works better in heat/humidity. On the other hand, I think MSC works better in colder temperatures. MSC also takes watercolor pencils better, so I tend to use it for my detail layers even when I use ZM for the rest. (I am more comfortable with doing my pastel work on the ZM spray surface.)

 

I found my old soft pastel for when I was in high school... would artist's loft soft pastel work? Or can anyone tell me where I can buy one pastel stick for either Rembrandt or schmincke?

 

Here
http://www.dickblick.com/products/schmincke-soft-pastels/

and here
http://www.dickblick.com/products/rembrandt-soft-pastels/

It's worth it to buy a stick at a time if you're only going for one specific look for your doll. Get the best you can afford, even if it's not a full set. My shopping list for example is black and white, 3 browns(she's tan), two pinks and a grey. I can always mess with the pigment by mixing the powder.

 

"Artist's Loft" is a cheap brand. While it would be safe to use, it would also be incredibly frustrating. Cheap pastels are cheap because they contain considerably less pigment than higher quality ones, and more filler. That means more filler and less color sticking to your doll, more layers before color shows up, and a lot more frustration with getting the look right. It's better to invest in a quality brand (Rembrandt, Schminke, Panpastel, etc.)

There are a very large number of tutorials, product listings, and so on in this forum. Give them a read, and learn from the experiences of others.

 

I use Rembrandt. It's a good brand and can easily be acquired. I apply it on after I coat the resin with MSC. If I don't like it, all I have to do is wipe it off with a tissue dabbed with water and it comes right off. The powder sticks to the MSC but after a while, the MSC loses tooth and you'll have to apply more MSC if you want to apply more pastel. So it's good to put the pastel on layer by layer.

Any type of medium with pigment will stain resin. That's why you must always spray the area you want to work with MSC first.

Um...as for what other items you need...these 2 pages are extremely useful.

http://roosterblue.deviantart.com/art/BJD-Faceup-Tutorial-Part-1-147422118
http://scargeear.deviantart.com/art/Brushes-for-BJD-faceup-tutorial-266766759