If you are like me, you enjoy experimenting with different mediums. I decided to try using soft pastels after watching Lynn Chapman create one of her illustrations. Since I am just practicing and on a budget, I get most of my supplies at Michaels using a coupon. That limits my selection quite a bit, I know, as all they had on my trip was Artist Studio (which I read are not very good), and Faber-Castell, so I bought the FC pastels. Go to an online outlet like DickBlick.com, and you will find an overwhelming selection of pastels (their catalog has a whole section devoted to them).
Above is my first illustration with the pastels. Not bad for a first try, though, never having used them, I was a bit unprepared for the dust and mess. Not necessarily a bad thing, but you do have to be careful as the colors spread easily, as you can see on the sides (I used my fingers to blend). Another thing is you have to be really careful with the black. After I added the mouth and eyes, I dumped the dust in the trash, only to find some of it attached itself to the flesh color. My attempts to remove or blend it in only provide futile, much like cleaning up an oil spill with water. Will need some pastel pencils for the details. Also, have to research on how to get clean lines between colors without them smudging together.
All in all it was quite enjoyable, and I plan to do more in the future.
Below is the video of Lynn creating an illustration in pastels.
