I will be working at home this week because the kids are home from school. My computer however is at the studio. I am using my daughter's christmas present - one of those mini 7" laptops - to make my post today so the photos will be straight off the camera with no adjustments.
I obsessed a bit over the colors of the face the other day and I think I'm liking it better. I have no idea what you all will be seeing, but I hope it looks something like what it does in person. :-( The problem I am dealing with is the small amount of colors this set has - 60 - and my usual fleshy colors it is missing. I've dealt with it by using more vibrant colors to start and then having to try and subdue them with either complements or neutrals. I haven't tried to desaturate the colors of the hair yet - which a re very yellow right now - just the face.
If you are just stopping by... this is my first tiptoe into the pastel world. I usually use colored pencils and got a set of Faber Castell Pitt pastel pencils for Christmas. I am using the same paper I use for my colored pencil portraits - Fisher 400.
A couple of people have told me about their Derwent pastel pencils since I posted... and I may see what their fleshy colors look like in that set and buy them in open stock. Any stick pastels that are hard enough to be compatible with the Pitt pastels that someone can recommend to buy - I would be appreciate the recommendation. Especially ones with a lot of colors to choose from in open stock.
Incidentally I just went out to get the mail and there was the 2009 Dick Blick catalog crammed inside... sigh...
So far, so good. I think working with a limited palette is very challenging and can work if one is going for a more direct approach. It teaches you so much about color theory. But nothing beats a wide color range, right? I can bet my $ that Sennelier stick pastels carry the widest range of colors. They lay down nice and creamy too.
ReplyDeleteWhat are the differences between the colored pencils [both the wax and oil based ones] and the pastel pencils? why getting involved with pastels?
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