Oct 28 (edited) • 🎨 Reviews and Recs.
Oil Pastel Review Part 2: Yasutomo Oil Pastels
After a month and a half of using the Yasutomo oil pastels, I'm excited to finally to share my thoughts! My review will be based on the 36 color set: Niji® Oil Pastels, 36 Color Set (NOP36) – Yasutomo
My first impression of the set was just how beautiful the entire set was with the different hues and values. While I wish the oil pastels were larger, they're a great value for $10.75. I started using them the same day and immediately fell in love. Over the weeks that followed, I experimented with them on different paper types, used acrylic paint, and tested how they worked with other oil pastels.
Paper: I found that these oil pastels do better with a lighter weighted paper such as mixed media, mineral, and colored pencil paper. That's not to say canvas pad is bad but I definitely needed to apply more pressure to the paper to get the saturation that I wanted. However, with added pressure comes with the high risk of breaking the pastels themselves. I've already broken a few of them in half because of my heavy hand.
Blending: Blending was definitely a trial-and-error time for me. Every time I tried to blend, the oil would come off and left a watercolor look. Cotton swabs, fingers, and blending stumps did not give me the effect that I wanted. The only way I could keep the saturation was to blend it with the same or complimentary colors. It required me to take a step back and plan my next move instead of just jumping in and saying, "Oh I can blend this later".
Layering: Layering went great with my projects. Knowing that I couldn't blend as easily with this brand, I really had to be aware of what colors I was putting down and the amount of pressure. Sometimes coloring worked out beautifully while other times I ended up with muddiness. The lower value colors would really clash so I had to find a happy medium (pun intended :D). Once I had a better idea of layering, my art would pop and I had more detail.
Overall, these oil pastels are great and I highly recommend getting them for smaller projects or if you just want to experiment. $10.75 is a steal and I highly recommend just jumping in with the 36-color set.
Here's a TL;DR summary:
Pros:
+Variety of colors
+Medium-level of saturation for a well-rounded collection
+Easy to travel with
+Goes great with lower weight paper
+Inexpensive for a high-quality product
Cons:
-Oil pastels are small and can break easily with a heavier hand
-Not great for huge projects due to the size of the oil pastels
-Doesn't blend well with typical blend tools (stumps, paper towels, fingers, etc)
What I learned the most: Not all brands act the same with different techniques but a brand can teach you patience and wonder if you invest time into it. Trial and error are key to becoming a better artist!
5
5 comments
Oil Pastel Review Part 2: Yasutomo Oil Pastels
powered by
skool.com/theartcollectiveinternational-5768
Your creative hub for learning, inspiration, and community.
ACI offers accessible courses and prompts to help every artist reach their next level.
Suggested communities
Powered by