Q&A for How to Use Pastels

"Student quality" pastels tend to be cheaper than, but not as good as, "artist quality" pastels. The pastels you like best will depend on your individual preference, but try looking at reviews online before deciding on what brand(s) to purchase. You can also buy small packs of different brands to find out which you like the most before investing in a full set by a particular brand.

Hairspray also works well; however, only for things meant to be kept for short term, like experimental sketches. The reason for this is because hairspray is often not acid-free, so over long periods of time it will change the work. In other words: you can use hairspray for sketches or small projects, but stick with fixative for major projects or pieces.

Any art supplies store should sell this. Large craft and hobby stores also should sell it.

Use a stiff brush or craft knife to carefully scrape off any excess pastel. Soak a cotton swab in rubbing alcohol and dab the stain with the swab. If that doesn't work, blot the stain with some liquid dish soap and then wash the cloth by hand or in the washer with a load of towels.

Use a slightly wet fine brush, pass it over the pastel chalk, then paint over the surface with the brush once it has enough of the chalk pigment.

Yes, the colors will remain the same as long as they aren't touched by anything, including the glass. Anything touching it will smear it, and thus change the color and/or appearance.

You can put a piece of spare paper or tissue under your drawing hand so your hand doesn't touch the pastel beneath it. Another option is, if you are right-handed, work left to right, if you're left-handed, right to left so your hand doesn't go over the pastel.

Oil pastels need to be a higher quality to blend smoothly. They can be costly, but in the long term it's the only way to make high-quality art. You can put a soft layer of black on the surface where you'd like they gray, then go over any black with a white pastel. If this is too light, then repeat the process, blending and layering until reaching the desired color).

If you are doing oil pastels, just wait for the paint to dry. Remember, watercolors don't generally mix with pastels and will go right over it if you draw with it first.

Make a black dot where you want the eye, put a second white dot in the center of the black dot.

Paper, canvas, cloth, etc., but they look best on paper. You can blend in colors very well if you use paper.

Yes, of course. However, if you're working with oil pastels, you don't have to use a hardener. You should only use those while working with chalk pastels.

Yes, you can, although the quality of the result will likely depend on the quality of the wood.

Depends on what effect you want. For lighter shading and such, it works best light-to-dark, then work with blending as needed. Different styles and artists sometimes use a dark-to-light approach. It's best just to try for yourself and figure out what you like best.