Pastel Supplies
PASTELS | PAPERS | PRIMERS
Availability
The following tables of pastels, papers, and primers give an overview of pastel supplies globally. They may not be available at your local art shop, or you may have some local brands that are not on these lists. I have added links to Blick to help you find materials, prices, and view product specs.
Prices
The prices are approximate, based on major retailers’ prices on the 27th May 2022 in USD. Prices in parenthesis are supplied by dividing the cost of the full range cost by the number of colors in that range. Prices fluctuate greatly over time and are meant to show relative prices between brands.
Brands
There are dozens of generic brands, like Alphacolor, that are in a similar price range and are actually colored chalk. These are generally “hobby grade” and not suitable for artists, no matter how they are labelled. Some reputable brands also have a low quality version of their pastels for kids. Where I did not have information for a brand or am in the process of testing, I left that section blank.
Softness
I rated softness from 1 to 10, with 1 being very hard and 10 being very soft. This is a subjective judgement and is relative to other pastels I have tested.
| BRAND | PRICE EACH | SOFTNESS (1-10) | SHAPE | COLOR RANGE | RANGE COST | HANDMADE? | NOTES | RECOMMEND |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alphacolor (Derwent) | ($0.53) | large square | 24 | $12.69 | n | hobby grade | N | |
| Art Spectrum Soft Pastels | $5.20 | 6 | large round | 154 | $750 | n | Y | |
| Art Spectrum Extra Soft Squares | ($5.55) | 8 | large square | 180 | $999 | |||
| Blockx Soft Pastels | $3.99 | 7 | large cube | 204 | $540 | y | ||
| Blue Earth Soft Pastels | $3.63 | 9 | large cube | 336 | $1025 | |||
| Caran d’Ache Pastel Cubes | $3.20 | 3 | square stick | 84 | n | Y | ||
| Conté a Paris | ($1.23) | 3 | square stick | 50 | $61.56 | n | thin sticks are fragile | |
| Cretacolor Pastel Carré | $1.50 | 2 | square stick | 72 | $73.32 | n | Y | |
| Daler Rowney Soft Pastels | large round | 200 | n | Y | ||||
| Faber Castell Creative Studio | ($0.37) | square stick | 72 | $26.87 | n | hobby grade | N | |
| Faber Castell Polychromos Pastels | ($2.30) | 2 | square stick | 60 | $138 | n | out of stock everywhere | Y |
| Girault | $3.48 | 6 | thin round | 350 | $1071.80 | y | ||
| Great American | $4.62 | 9 | large square | 468 | $1025 | y | crumble too easily | N |
| Holbein | $3.39 | 5 | medium square | 144 | $299.95 | n | ||
| Inscribe | ($0.17) | Half-stick round | 64 | $10.93 | n | hobby grade | N | |
| Koh-i-Noor Toison d’Or | ($2.20) | 5 | large round | 120 | $275 | n | ||
| Mount Vision | $4.15 | 7 | large round | 439 | $1195 | y | uniform softness | Y |
| Mungyo Gallery Standard | ($.20) | large square | 64 | $13.11 | n | hobby grade | N | |
| Pan Pastels Painting Pastels | $6.83 | 10 | pan | 80 | $375 | n | applied with foam applicators | |
| Prismacolor Nu Pastel | $1.20 | 3 | square stick | 96 | $99.99 | n | Y | |
| Rembrandt Soft Pastels | $4.02 | 5 | large round | 225 | $810 | n | Y | |
| Richeson Handmade Soft Pastels | $1.60 | 8 | large round | 120 | $117.69 | y | ||
| Richeson Semi-hard Square | $5.80 | 3 | square stick | 120 | $415.59 | n | a bit chalky | |
| Schmincke Soft Pastels | $5.40 | 10 | large round | 400 | $1695 | y | supersoft white! | Y |
| Sennelier Soft Pastels | $5.33 | 5 – 9 | large round | 525 | $1490 | y | varying softness | |
| Terry Ludwig | $6.50 | 8 | large cube | 750 | $4350 | y | large cube shape, deep darks | Y |
| D, Townsend Soft Form | $4.73 | 8 | large round | 408 | $1375 | y | ||
| D. Townsend Terrages Pastels | $6.09 | 8 | large irregular | 192 | $950 | y | some toxic pigments | |
| Unison Handmade Pastels | $5.78 | 8 | medium round | 380 | $2512.26 | y | some toxic pigments | Y |
| Van Gogh Hard Pastels | ($1.49) | large square | 48 | $71.51 | n | student grade | ||
| Van Gogh Soft Pastels | large round |
PAPERS | PASTELS | PRIMERS
| BRAND | PRICE | COLORS | LARGEST SIZE | NOTES | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ampersand | Pastel Board | $27.50 | 3 | 18×24” | on hdf / sanded |
| Art Spectrum | Colourfix | $10.20 | 25 | 19.5×27.75” | on watercolor paper |
| Art Spectrum | Smooth | $9.90 | 25 | 19.5×27.75” | on watercolor paper |
| Art Spectrum | Optimum Board | $23.95 | 6 | 16×20” | aluminum core |
| Canson | Mi Teintes | $2.75 | 42 | 19×25” | |
| Canson | Mi Teintes Touch | $12.00 | 14 | 22×30” | sanded |
| Canson | Ingres | $2.33 | 7 | 19×25” | lighter weight than Mi Teintes |
| Clairefontaine | Pastelmat | $13.20 | 14 | 27.5×39” | sanded (celulose) |
| Clairefontaine | Ingres | $1.72 | 20 | 19.6×25.6” | laid finish |
| Daler Rowney | Murano | $3.05 | 35 | 19×25” | |
| Fabriano | Tiziano | $2.03 | 30 | 19.5×25.5” | |
| Hahnemühle | Velour | $15.00 | 4(10 at ½ size) | 28×40” | velour |
| Hahnemühle | Bugra | $6.11 | 9 | 33.5×41.73” | |
| Hahnemühle | Lanacolours | $1.18 | 8 | 19.5×25.5” | only 160gsm |
| Hahnemühle | Ingres | $1.50 | 12 | 18.9×24.6” | laid finish |
| Lux Archival | 1 | 24×36” | Available in rolls | ||
| Pastel Premier | $23.50 | 5 | 26×40” | sanded | |
| Sennelier | La Carte | $15.25 | 6 | 19.5×25.5” | sheds particles |
| Tim Fisher | Art Pastel Paper | $7.95 | 1 | 27.5×19.6” | sanded |
| Uart | Premium Sanded Pastel Paper | $18.50 | 2 | 24×36” | comes in varying grits, available in rolls |
PRIMERS | PASTELS | PAPERS
These are premixed commercially available brands. You can also make your own.
| BRAND | PRICE | SIZE | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art Spectrum | Pastel and Multimedia Primer | $19.21 | 250ml (8.5oz) |
| Golden | Pastel Ground | $13,92 | 8oz (236.6ml) |
| Schmincke | Pastel Primer | $34.50 | 500ml (16.9oz) |
| Zellen | Pastel Primer | $4.90 | 250ml (8.5oz) |