Best Soft Pastels for Beginners: 10 Sets for Drawing and Blending

What makes a soft pastel set beginner-friendly?

A helpful first box gives you enough colors to make a small drawing while leaving room to learn the material. The pastel needs a suitable surface, a light touch and a way to contain its loose dust. None of those improves automatically when a box grows from 24 colors to 72.

For a general introduction, choose a balanced assortment and plan a few small pictures. For a specific interest, a narrower palette can be more useful: Unison Landscape 16 is aimed at scenery, while Richeson Vibrant 20 is a color-focused addition. These specialist sets are included as alternatives, not as universal replacements for the general selections.

The illustrated featured image is an original conceptual illustration. The individual product sections use images of the exact recommended sets; neither is evidence of hands-on testing.

Dry soft pastels, oil pastels and pastel pencils

Dry soft pastels leave a powdery color layer that can be moved and softened on the paper. Oil pastels use a different binder and create a waxier mark. A soft-pastel tutorial is therefore a poor reason to buy an oil-pastel box, even if the colors look appealing. All ten recommendations here are dry pastels.

Pastel pencils are another option when a pencil grip and narrow point matter, but they are not the same format as these sticks. A stick’s side is useful for blocking in a background; a corner or edge can establish a smaller shape. For tiny eyes and facial features in kawaii art, consider whether a separate detail tool would suit you better than forcing a broad stick to act like a fine pen.

If you want tidy, controlled drawing with much less loose powder, see our colored pencils for drawing and sketching guide. Choosing a different medium can be more useful than buying a larger pastel collection.

Choose paper before adding more colors

Paper tooth is the texture that holds the pastel. Very smooth paper may accept a mark but offer little room for additional layers. Start with a small pad labeled for pastel and use the same sheet type for your first swatches and practice drawings. That makes it easier to understand what the sticks do without also changing the surface every time.

A textured pastel paper and a sanded pastel surface can feel quite different. A coarse surface may use material quickly; a gentler texture may suit a first experiment. Follow the paper maker’s guidance and try a small quantity before buying a large supply. This guide does not compare or recommend a particular paper brand.

Cream or muted mid-tone paper can give a small landscape or cute character drawing a softer starting atmosphere. Leave some paper showing instead of filling every area immediately. If you plan to add another medium for outlines, try the combination on a scrap before using it on a finished drawing.

A simple first-session plan

You can learn more from three small studies than from filling a large page with every color in the box. Keep the selected sticks beside you and return the rest to their tray.

1. Make a swatch chart. Give each selected color a light-pressure mark and a denser mark. Label it using the stick or box identifier where available. The printed packaging color is a guide, not a substitute for seeing the actual mark on your paper.
2. Draw a three-value shape. Choose a light, a middle and a dark color. Make a rounded cloud, bear head or simple hill. Keep the major shapes separate so you can judge the value structure before blending.
3. Practice one transition. Place two colors next to each other and gently soften only the boundary with a tool suitable for the product. Compare that with an unblended boundary. The useful question is whether the edge suits the drawing, not whether every mark can disappear.

Use light pressure at first. If an area no longer accepts another useful mark, stop working that spot and try a new study with fewer layers. Adding more rubbing and pressure can make it harder to see what went wrong.

For a cute landscape, try a pale sky, a middle-value hill and a darker foreground shape. Add the character after the main background shapes are established, then keep the face simple. A convincing light-and-dark structure can make a small palette feel more versatile than a page full of unrelated hues.

Blending without losing the drawing

Blending is one option, not the default finish for every passage. Broad skies may benefit from a softened transition, while a leaf edge or a character silhouette may need to stay crisp. Alternate quiet areas with visible pastel marks so the drawing keeps some texture.

Use clean blending tools and avoid carrying dark pigment into a light area. Faber-Castell lists fingers, paper wipers and a pastel brush as blending options for its Creative Studio range; follow the specific product’s handling guidance if using skin contact. A dedicated tool is a practical alternative. Do not assume that all pigments share the same handling requirements.

Softness labels describe ranges but do not settle how two sets will feel on your paper. We did not perform a side-by-side blending test. Start with one box, learn its response and add another range only when you have a clear reason, such as a different palette or a particular finishing approach.

Keep the desk, labels and finished work in order

This is an adult art-supply guide. Read the labels on the exact box and sticks, including any color-specific cautions. Unison’s Landscape 16 page displays a CL caution label; the Richeson maker page also includes a warning. A broad marketing phrase such as “non-toxic” should not replace those instructions or be treated as permission to use an artist set with young children.

Set up a designated work area, keep food and drinks away, and avoid blowing pastel dust into the room. Follow manufacturer guidance for dust containment and cleanup. Return loose fragments to labeled compartments rather than leaving them on a shared family table. If the handling requirements do not fit your home or hobby routine, consider a less dusty medium.

Keep sticks in their original compartments or a suitable padded storage arrangement. A tin helps organize the set but does not make brittle sticks immune to knocks. Save packaging and color charts so you can identify the range and replace useful colors later where the manufacturer offers them separately.

Finished pastel work can smudge. Protect its surface from direct contact and follow appropriate mounting or framing guidance. If you choose to use a fixative, follow the aerosol label and first try it on a separate sample; do not assume it will leave every color and surface appearance unchanged. Fixative is optional, and no aerosol product is recommended here.

Sources and exact sets checked

Manufacturer pages support the formats and range descriptions below. Amazon.com availability and matching product images were checked on October 9, 2026; stock, sellers and delivery vary afterward. Purchase buttons in the product sections lead to the exact US detail pages through our affiliate components. We do not store live prices or assign review scores.

• Rembrandt General Selection 30 Half Pastels — manufacturer information; Amazon US listing identifier B0014ZUFQ4.
• Faber-Castell Creative Studio 24 Half-Length Soft Pastels — manufacturer information; Amazon US listing identifier B000OMMN4A.
• Mungyo 64-Color Square Soft Pastels — manufacturer information; Amazon US listing identifier B01HFJJLNU.
• Mont Marte Signature Soft Pastels 24-Piece Tin — manufacturer information; Amazon US listing identifier B09MS5G25H.
• Mont Marte Signature Soft Pastels 48-Piece Tin — manufacturer information; Amazon US listing identifier B09MS55FVG.
• Faber-Castell Creative Studio 72 Half-Length Soft Pastels — manufacturer information; Amazon US listing identifier B000I5MNNO.
• Rembrandt Deluxe General Selection 60 Half Pastels — manufacturer information; Amazon US listing identifier B0014ZR1AC.
• Sennelier Extra Soft 40 Assorted Half Pastels — manufacturer information; Amazon US listing identifier B07RY9KZ79.
• Jack Richeson Hand Rolled Vibrant 20 Soft Pastels — manufacturer information; Amazon US listing identifier B073DR1WHR.
• Unison Colour Landscape 16 Half-Stick Soft Pastels — manufacturer information; Amazon US listing identifier B072N3J7V9.

For Sennelier, some Amazon bullets mix in oil-pastel language and a no-binder claim. We used the pictured 40 assorted half-pastel packaging, the dry-pastel product description and the manufacturer’s general-set reference instead; the manufacturer describes a natural binder. Check that exact packaging when ordering. For Mont Marte, the selected 48-piece set is Signature, not the similarly named Premium variant.

Our editorial policy explains how research-based recommendations differ from personally tested reviews. This guide makes no claim about measured blending quality, comparative dust levels, personal durability experience or the archival performance of an entire set.