Best Drawing Pastels of 2026
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Drawing Pastels are a versatile and popular medium among artists of all levels. These colourful sticks of pigment are made from a blend of powdered pigments, chalk, and binders, providing a soft and smooth texture that is easy to blend and layer. Drawing Pastels are available in a wide range of colours, from subtle earth tones to bold and bright hues, making them ideal for creating a variety of effects and styles. Whether you are a professional artist or just starting out, Drawing Pastels are a must-have addition to your art supplies.
At a Glance: Our Top Picks
Top 10 Drawing Pastels
Artecho 48 Colour Soft Oil Pastels Set
The Artecho Oil Pastels offer 48 brilliant colours made from high-quality pigments, ensuring vibrant and lasting artwork. Their soft texture allows for easy blending and shading, making them perfect for various techniques such as illustration and stenciling. The convenient packaging features individual paper sleeves for each pastel, preventing breakage and making them easy to carry. This set is an ideal gift for artists of all levels, providing a safe and enjoyable way to explore creativity.
Pentel PHN4-50 Creamy Oil Pastels, 50 Pack
Pentel PHN4-50 Pastels offer a creamy softness that makes them easy to use, perfect for artists of all skill levels. You can blend these pastels smoothly to create subtle shades and colour mixtures, enhancing your artwork's depth. The fade-resistant colours ensure your creations maintain their vibrancy over time. Additionally, these pastels can be applied directly to various media, allowing you to achieve both thick and thin effects, as well as rough or smooth textures. Enjoy the versatility these pastels bring to your artistic projects.
Faber-Castell Pitt Pastel Pencils Set of 24
The Faber-Castell Pitt Pastels offer you high-quality coloured pastel pencils from a globally trusted brand known for its innovative art supplies. These pastels allow you to create stunning artworks without messy fingers or smudges, making them perfect for drawing, shading, blending, and smooth colour transitions. As a versatile addition to your art toolkit, they suit both beginners and professionals. Plus, the pencils come in a neat tin, making them an ideal gift for yourself or loved ones who enjoy creative activities.
Artecho 48 Soft Pastel Set with Fluorescents
The Artecho Soft Pastels offer a vibrant collection of 48 colours, including four fluorescent shades that create stunning effects under UV or black light. Their square shape enables you to mix and shade easily, making them perfect for various styles, from fine lines to broad strokes. The thoughtful packaging features individual slots for each pastel, ensuring they remain organised and protected during transport. This set is an excellent gift for anyone interested in art, whether they are kids, beginners, or seasoned artists.
Royal & Langnickel Soft Square Pastels Set
The Royal & Langnickel Pastels offer a velvety texture that ensures smooth and consistent coverage, making them a joy to use for any artist. With high-quality pigments, these pastels deliver vivid and intense colours, allowing you to create striking artwork with ease. Their small shape makes them versatile, perfect for detailed work as well as covering larger areas. You will appreciate how easy they are to apply and blend, enhancing your creative process significantly.
MONT MARTE 48pc Vibrant Oil Pastels Set
The MONT MARTE Oil Pastels offer 48 vibrant, oil-based colours neatly stored in a tin case, making it easy to keep your art supplies organised. The soft, buttery texture ensures smooth application, helping you to create rich, even layers without effort. You can blend these pastels with your fingers or a brush, giving you a wider range of colours and clean mixes to enhance your artwork. Suitable for paper, card, and canvas, this set lets you explore various surfaces with ease and enjoy versatile creative possibilities.
Ohuhu 72 Colour Soft Pastel Set
The Ohuhu Soft Pastels set includes 72 vivid colours that allow you to explore various techniques such as blending, shading, and layering. Each pastel is artist-grade and extra long, making them ideal for both beginners and professionals to use on any drawing surface. The non-toxic and eco-friendly materials ensure a safe experience while you create stunning artwork. Additionally, the set features four fluorescent colours, perfect for adding luminous effects to your designs on the included bonus pastel papers.
KOH-I-NOOR Artist Soft Pastel Pencils Set 24
The KOH-I-NOOR Soft Pastels come in a great presentation pack, making them an excellent choice if you’re looking to gift a quality art set. These pastels belong to the famous Gioconda range, known for its reliable and vibrant colours, which will help you create stunning artwork. Manufactured by KOH-I-NOOR HARDTMUTH, a world leader in stationery production, you can trust the quality and performance of these pencils. Plus, they use 100% FSC wood, so you’re choosing a product made with sustainable materials, which is better for the environment.
MONT MARTE Soft Pastels 24 Assorted Colours
MONT MARTE Soft Pastels provide 24 vibrant colours, perfect for adding life to your artwork. The soft, powdery texture allows for seamless application and easy colour blending, giving you the flexibility to achieve your desired look. You can shade large areas effortlessly or create fine lines for intricate details. These pastels are also compatible with pastel pencils and charcoal, enhancing your creative possibilities. Enjoy the convenience of blending colours with your finger or a paper stump, and use a kneadable eraser for highlights.
Faber-Castell Creative Studio Oil Pastels Set 36
The Faber-Castell Oil Pastels are ideal for artists and students seeking vibrant and textured artwork. These pastels offer rich colours, allowing you to create bold, eye-catching pieces that stand out. Their smooth and creamy texture makes blending and layering easy, so you can achieve various artistic effects with little effort. Additionally, they are versatile, suitable for use on different surfaces like paper, canvas, cardboard, and wood, giving you the freedom to experiment with your creativity in multiple ways.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. What mediums can you use with pastels?
Textured paper is the most popular surface for pastels, but you can also use boards, canvas, and even sandpaper. Let's take a look at some things you need to consider and then check out some products. We're going to cover: Tooth and Texture, Paper (Pastel Paper and Watercolor Paper), Pastel Board, and Canvas.
2. What kind of media is pastel?
A pastel (US: /pæˈstɛl/) is an art medium in the form of a stick, consisting of powdered pigment and a binder. The pigments used in pastels are similar to those used to produce some other colored visual arts media, such as oil paints; the binder is of a neutral hue and low saturation.
3. Are pastels painting or drawing?
Pastel is a medium that straddles the line between painting and drawing. The finished pieces can look just as luscious and luminescent as paintings, yet the process to create them resembles drawing more than painting.
During our drawing pastel research, we found 267 drawing pastel products and shortlisted 10 quality products. We collected and analyzed 115,266 customer reviews through our big data system to write the drawing pastels list. We found that most customers choose drawing pastels with an average price of £17.51.
The drawing pastels are available for purchase. We have researched hundreds of brands and picked the top brands of drawing pastels, including Artecho, Pentel, Faber-Castell, Royal & Langnickel, MONT MARTE.
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