Two sticks of color, both called “pastel,” and yet they behave almost nothing alike. One crumbles into soft, powdery bloom; the other stays waxy and pliable for years. Knowing which is which changes everything about how a piece comes together.
Soft pastel vs oil pastel at a glance
- Soft pastel is pure pigment bound with a small amount of gum, producing a chalky, powdery mark.
- Oil pastel binds pigment with oil and wax, producing a smooth, waxy, buttery mark.
- Soft pastel blends by smudging; oil pastel blends by layering and, sometimes, gentle heat or solvent.
- Soft pastel work needs fixative and glass framing; oil pastel is more durable and forgiving to handle.
- Edgar Degas is the definitive soft pastel master; contemporary artists like WanJin Gim favor oil pastel.
Soft Pastel vs Oil Pastel in Questions and Answers
What is the difference between soft pastel and oil pastel?
Soft pastel is made of pure pigment held together with a small amount of gum binder, producing a dry, chalky stick that leaves a powdery mark. Oil pastel binds pigment with oil and wax instead, producing a stick that feels closer to a crayon and leaves a smooth, buttery mark that never fully dries.
Which pastel is easier to blend?
Soft pastel blends more easily with a finger, blending stump, or soft brush, since the dry pigment smudges readily across the paper. Oil pastel resists that kind of blending; artists typically layer colors on top of one another, or use light heat, a solvent, or firm pressure to soften the edges between colors.
Do soft pastel paintings need to be sprayed or sealed?
Yes, soft pastel sits loosely on the surface of the paper and can smudge or shed even after the piece is finished, so most artists apply a fixative spray and frame the work under glass to protect it. Oil pastel’s waxy binder holds it in place more securely, so it needs less protective handling, though it can still pick up dust over time.
Which pastel is better for beginners?
Oil pastel is often friendlier for beginners because it does not create the fine dust soft pastel does, and its waxy stick behaves a bit like a crayon that most people already know how to handle. Soft pastel offers a wider range of blending effects but takes more practice to control, since the pigment can lift back off the paper as easily as it goes on.
Who is the most famous soft pastel artist?
Edgar Degas is the artist most closely associated with soft pastel, turning to the medium in the 1880s as his eyesight declined and building some of his most celebrated works, including many ballet dancer studies, entirely from layered, vibrant pastel strokes.
Can oil pastel and soft pastel be combined?
Some artists combine them, typically laying down soft pastel first and adding oil pastel accents on top, since oil pastel’s waxy surface resists further blending once applied. Combining them the other way, oil pastel first, makes it very difficult for soft pastel to grip the slick, waxy surface underneath.
Two Materials, One Confusing Name
Soft pastel has existed since at least the 16th century and became a favored medium for portraiture in the 18th century, prized for its ability to capture skin tones with a soft, velvety finish. Oil pastel is a much newer invention, developed in the 20th century, originally for children’s art supplies before manufacturers refined it into a serious professional medium capable of rich, layered color.
Degas and the Height of Soft Pastel
Edgar Degas turned to pastel partly out of necessity, as failing eyesight in his later career made the fine detail of oil painting more difficult. What emerged instead was some of the most celebrated pastel work in art history: loose, vibrant color built from many overlapping strokes rather than precise lines, capturing dancers and bathers with an immediacy that suited the medium’s quick, gestural nature.
His work showed that soft pastel’s apparent limitations, no long working time, no fine detail, could become strengths in the hands of a painter willing to lean into them.
Why Contemporary Artists Reach for Oil Pastel
Oil pastel’s durability and buttery texture have made it a favorite among contemporary figurative artists who want rich, layered color without the fuss of a dry medium. South Korean artist WanJin Gim, for example, builds intense, layered studies of the human body on kraft paper using oil pastel and colored pencil, overlapping a limited palette repeatedly until the color feels warm and physical.
Choosing Between Them
If a piece calls for soft, atmospheric blending, and you don’t mind fixative spray and framing under glass, soft pastel is the better tool. If you want a sturdier, more forgiving medium with a satisfying, crayon-like feel and less mess, oil pastel is usually the more practical choice. Many artists keep both on hand and pick based on the mood a subject calls for.
Soft Pastel vs Oil Pastel: Quick Comparison
- Texture Soft pastel: dry, chalky. Oil pastel: smooth, waxy.
- Blending Soft pastel: smudges easily. Oil pastel: layers, needs heat or solvent to blend fully.
- Protection needed Soft pastel: fixative and glass. Oil pastel: minimal.
- Famous user Soft pastel: Edgar Degas. Oil pastel: many contemporary figurative artists.
- History Soft pastel: 16th century onward. Oil pastel: 20th century.
Artists to Know
- Edgar Degas turned to soft pastel later in his career and produced some of the medium’s most celebrated work.
- WanJin Gim a South Korean artist who builds layered, physical studies of the body in oil pastel.
In the WooArts Collection
Keep exploring: Edgar Degas · WanJin Gim · Pastel Painting
Historical details on Degas’s late-career pastel work were checked against museum and Britannica references.