I imagine artists who use chalk pastels on paper do quite a bit of blending to get the colors they want, and I wanted to see if it would work for coloring clay.
When I was working on my Dragon-inspired sculpture a few weeks ago, I was finding that I needed a deeper magenta tone than what was provided in my box of pastels. I really wanted to use a powder, however, as I felt like that was the best way to obtain the shading on her back, so I set out to find out: Can particles of chalk pastels be combined to create custom colors?
Maybe this answer is obvious, but I’m still amazed by the ability to mix colors, and I wanted to share it with you!
Supplies:
- Colors you’ll need to mix the color you want. I’m mixing up a darker pink, so I’m using my magenta, black, and reddish-brown pastels
- Exacto knife
- Toothpick
- Small, fluffy brush
- Piece of scrap clay (preferably white) to test the mix on
Step 1: Scrape off colors
Using your exacto knife (carefully), scrape the colors you want to mix into a pile.
Step 2: Mix the colors
I used a toothpick to mix together the powders. This works fairly well to mix the majority of the color.
I also think going in with the brush and dabbing the pile helps finely mix it together.
Step 3: Test the shade
When I first mixed chalk pastels, I noticed too late that I mixed it to be too dark, so I recommend this step to really be able to see what your powder will be. I found that I couldn’t tell the true color while it was on my work surface, so I swatched it on white clay to get a feel for where I was at.
Step 4: Readjust your color if necessary
If you’re finding that your color is not where you want it, add more of the color you need until you’re satisfied.
Here are the swatched pastels side by side so you can see what the original powder looked like and then where it ended.
I was really impressed with how smoothly the colors blended. I honestly thought there would be specs of the different colors that would be noticeable, but it turned out really well, and I now want to try it more in the future!
Stay tuned for my blog post next week to see how I’m using this technique for my current project.