Thanks for the review😊 I agree that the CarbOthello have beautiful vibrant colors but I’m having a devil of a time sharpening them without the lead breaking. Any tips you’ve discovered that make it easier?

Have you seen and how do you deal with the surface differences in white Pastelmat? My earlier purchases have a velvety surface. Some more recent product is not velvety at all, but looks more like concrete with a very noticeable difference between the 2 textures.

Hi Jason. I've watched your videos for several years and shared the travails of sharpening pastel pencils. So, as a fellow traveler, this post is offered in good will and in no way intended to lessen the value of your years'-long efforts to help us all in that endeavor. You certainly have helped me in this regard--and others, of course. Nevertheless, I am very much a believer in sharing helpful information wherever it can benefit anyone. Also, this information seems to me to be in quite a different vein. Thus, I am offering this to you and your viewers and hoping that the sharing will expand. I have tried very hard to condense it all down and apologize if anyone finds it too long. So, here goes: A mini belt sander is the solution to the difficulty and frustration of achieving sharp pastel pencils without breakage. No further need for pencil sharpeners or craft knives. These sanders are very small, very easy to use, offer nice precision and clean, sharp points quickly and with no breakage, because the force that need be used on the pencils is quite negligible; far, far less force than pushing them into a sharpener or even using a craft knife to shave bits off. The sanders run $30-$70 (USD). Mine included variable speed and 20 belts in 4 different grits. (I prefer low speed and course grit.) They are widely available online, several brands and in various configurations. The footprint of mine is comparable to a Swordfish hand-crank sharpener though the sander is perhaps a couple of inches taller. Yes, it is a very, very small machine. And achieving a really sharp point is FAST, less than a minute. In addition, many of the models offered include grinding wheels and also can use Dremel and Dremel-type accessories with the sanders, though those features have no interest for me. CONS: Kicks out considerable dust. I use a small cardboard box to help enclose the dust and a face mask to prevent breathing it in. A while-you-work vacuum system would be a great help. Not useful for plein air unless battery-operated ones are available. I haven't looked into that possibility. I hope you and all our friends find this information as exciting as I do. Bon voyage! Thank you.

Merci beaucoup pour cette vidéo 😊

Thanks again

When you say the darker the pastelmat the rougher the surface and visa versa, I thought this and mentioned it on an art page on facebook, and was shot down in flames ! even Pastelmate replied and said the surfaces were all equal in texture. As an ambassador of Pastelmat can you confirm it with them and redeem my reputation ! ??? lol.

Just what I needed, many thanks having used oil pastels for a few pictures I found getting small details hard, this is a godsend, many thanks.

Great instruction!

Thank you for another outstanding tutorial. I'm one of your patreon members and can say that your teaching has made my work results far far better than when I started this year. I wouldn't hesitate to highly recomend your patreon to anyone who wants to do this style. Your teaching style is thorough, easy to understand and the results of my work improvement are clearly obvious. Thanks you. Your kitten is lovely even before you add details let alone after the pencil details. Looking forward to doing this one.

What if you did an alcohol wash? Would that push the pastel down and get rid of the darkness showing through?

Thanks. This is helpful.

Ah, this is great! Thank you! Very helpful

When blending with your finger, you will remove pastel AND probably bring oil from your skin onto the surface. This will prevent more pastel to stay on the surface. So make sure to wash your hands (or only keep your blending finger clean 😅). Especially touching your face will apply oil to your fingers.

Thank you for this video. All the best

Love your tutorials, so helpful. Thanks fellow Celt!

Thank you Jason, very informative as always 😊

Excellent tutorial thanks and keep up the great work!

What about painting 70% rubbing alcohol over your thin, base layer of pastel? Wouldn’t that make the pastel soak into the valleys of the paper and smooth out the color on dark paper?

Great tip!

Jason, I have noticed that if I apply too much pressure when blending with the paper stump, it seems to flatten the tooth of the paper which, again, makes it difficult to apply subsequent layers. Also, if I rub too vigorously with my finger, the area becomes shiny and will not smooth out or blend in. Lastly, Clairefontaine seems to be experiencing quality control issues with their Pastelmat paper because, on your recommendation, I purchased 4 packs of the light blue paper and instead of the grain being smoother than the dark grey paper, it was just the opposite. I conducted several comparison tests with several sheets of the light blue and dark grey papers and the packs of light blue paper had a deeper, larger, more intense grain pattern than that of the dark grey paper. So, hopefully, Clairefontaine will resolve this issue.

So useful! Thank you Jason, I do enjoy your videos - helping to carry me forwarding in my pastel pencil journey!

Best not to use dark paper

Sorry Jason but the only tip seems to be - don't use a dark paper. Is that tight? What happens when you do want to use a dark paper - how do you get over the provlem?

Thank you. I always use the black pastemat and layer and blend a lot of skin tones. But I always get the grain coming back after blending. It makes sense that I've rubbed off the top part now. But how do I blend all the colours without it happening. I've tried many ways but always end up with it. Maybe I should move to a lighter colour paper afterall? I always worried I'm overworking the area.

Thank you

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Jason, please see my reply. I meant to post it as an additional comment/Question.

Thanks for this Jason, it’s been very helpful. I’m going to pop into ‘TheRange’ later today to get some of the transfer paper.

Did they just change their packaging or is there a difference between Carbothello and Carbothello Arty+?

For those of us in the States, 24 degrees Celcius is about 75 degrees Fahrenheit. Thank you, Jason, for sharing your techniques and thoughts with us!

I would like to buy a Jacksons‘ set but, here in Germany the customs I pay is higher than the set price so I‘ll let my art store suggest a set. Thanks

Thank you Jason, great lesson on the under layers, so helpful. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that you show us the next stage with all the pencil detail! Love your tutorials.

I love your advice to slow down and take your time. We are so rushed in our daily lives, and I find art to be a wonderful way to calm my soul. Thank you for another great insight into your creative process.

Looking beautiful!!

My first set of pastel pencils was Conte and I still go back to them when I’m looking for certain colors. I’ve added Stabilo and Caran d'Ache but even after 40+ years I still find a need for them. Sharpening has always been a problem with Conte and Caran d'Ache. Never a problem with Stabilo. Thanks for your review..

Really useful thanks Jason 😊 Can’t wait to watch the next stage!

Can't wait to see it finished ❤️

my art lessons Patreon art channel - www.patreon.com/wildlifeart Art lesson website - www.jasonmorgan.co.uk/ Artists reference photo site - www.wildlifeart-online.com/ Facebook - facebook.com/jason.morgan.wildlife.art/ Instagram - instagram.com/wildlife_art_jason/

my art lessons Patreon art channel - www.patreon.com/wildlifeart Art lesson website - www.jasonmorgan.co.uk/ Artists reference photo site - www.wildlifeart-online.com/ Facebook - facebook.com/jason.morgan.wildlife.art/ Instagram - instagram.com/wildlife_art_jason/

Look like I’m joining Tier 3 for this one!

Dude, I'm sure you're a great guy but DUDE!!! YOU NEED TO LEARN HOW TO "TEACH"!!! A GREAT TEACHER TALKS TO THEIR PUPILS AS IF THEY ARE 10 YEARS OLD....YOU NEED TO BE WAY MORE SPECIFIC ABOUT WHAT YOU ARE DOING ... I played football nearly 20 years and a degree in history and Biochemistry...now a Dr...so please understand that I've had countless coaches and countless teachers/professors....I also coached football for years.... when you're teaching EVERY LITTLE DETAIL IS IMPORTANT. The first 2 minutes of this video was pointless.... then you just scream through the drawing. WE WANT TO KNOW WHICH COLORS YOU USE AND HOW TO BLEND THEM.... I HOPE YOU TAKE WHAT IM TELLING U TO HEART....ITS PARAMOUNT IF YOU WANT TO BE A GREAT TEACHER. PEACE

Huge is an understatement! Is this for a client? You are good! Cannot imagine doing such a large piece in pastel. Thank you.

Thank you for tutorial !

thank you!

Pastelmat seems to vary considerably in texture. The Pastelmat board is uniformly smoother, at least in my experience so far. This is such an excellent vid-- I haven’t used gouache that much to fix problems but will do in the future. Thanks so much for your tutorials…I’ve learned so much from you!

Oh gosh. Forgot to do paper color border. Dragged all mine out onto background.

I also had problems with using the anthracite grey pastelmat, because of the grainy structure. I finished the piece, but won't use it again. Also the darkblue pastelmat, which I chose because of the yellowish dog I painted, at first didn't work out that much. The color of the paper itself wasn't consistent. Like there was dust sticking to it I couldn't remove. I was about to throw it away when I tried to put a layer of panpastel on it. The panpastel happened to be the same color and I ended up with a beautiful smooth background. Sometimes when you are about to throw your piece away and feel you have nothing to lose, you discover great things and learn a lot. Thank you, Jason for sharing this. Let's share our 'problems', so we can learn from each other.

I absolutely love your KZfaq videos. I’m can’t wait to feel better and recuperate enough with my back surgery to take one of your drawing classes. I just got my pastel set of soft pastel pencils and pastel mat. I am really looking forward to taking one of your classes .

Thanks for a great video! I am so glad I am not the only one who bins paintings! LOL! I think most of us have made mistaken choices of paper now and then. My personal fav. is the pastelmat Anthricite-I think its even darker than the one you have used. However-its not good on everything...and so it goes...