BEST WAY TO SHARPEN PASTEL PENCILS // Carbothello, Faber Castell Pitt, Derwent, Caran D'ache
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 4 ต.ค. 2024
- I’m Kirsty Rebecca and I create easy-to-follow, realistic art tutorials so you can relax and enjoy creating professional fine art that you feel proud of!
● ● ● NEWSLETTER ● ● ●
Stay up to date by joining my monthly newsletter!
Subscribe to my newsletter for your regular dose of motivation, tips, resources, and life updates. You will also be kept up to date with KR Fine Art Academy and other art-related content I’m working on!
▶ academy.kirsty...
● ● ● LONGER TUTORIALS ● ● ●
If you'd like to improve your drawing and painting skills even further, then the KR Fine Art Academy is the solution for you!
▶ My tutorials are full-length, real-time, and fully narrated with clear instructions and explanations, & you will also have access to the original reference photo, a traceable outline, & a list of supplies including the exact colour names I'm using so you can relax and follow along, every step of the way!
▶ The KR Fine Art Academy has a built-in simple navigation system that allows you to easily find the tutorials you wish to watch!
▶ You will have access to a library of tutorials in a variety of mediums like pastel, coloured pencil, charcoal, watercolour, and more!
▶ There are tutorials for a range of subjects like wildlife, birds, landscapes, still life, flowers, and portraits!
▶ I upload brand new tutorials to the Academy regularly, so you can grow and develop your drawing and painting skills and take your art to the next level!
▶ There are no lock-in contracts so you can cancel at any time if the Academy isn't right for you.
▶ If you would like to find out more, click here
www.kirstyrebe...
● ● ● MY PAN PASTEL SET ● ● ●
“General Realism with Kirsty Rebecca” is a set I created in collaboration with Pan Pastels. It contains 20 colours I recommend for a variety of subjects like wildlife, human portraits, landscapes, florals, birds, still life and pet portraits.
For more information, click here
▶ www.kirstyrebe...
● ● ● SUPPLIES USED ● ● ●
Click this link for a full list of all the supplies I use - including individual links to each product on Amazon US/UK/AU and other art supply stores
▶www.kirstyrebe...
*These are affiliate links
▶Faber Castell Pitt Pastel Pencils
AU amzn.to/3EkfABr
US amzn.to/3rh25uv
UK amzn.to/3Eoz7Ri
▶Stabilo Carbothello Pastel Pencils
AU amzn.to/3EpIYGr
US amzn.to/3rgLKpE
UK amzn.to/3CFu7qb
▶Craft knife/Stanley Knife/Blade (for sharpening pastel pencils)
AU amzn.to/3fSK9nm
US amzn.to/3StluV2
▶Sandpaper (for sharpening pastel pencils)
AU amzn.to/3VmdsPR
US amzn.to/3fzmhoE
UK amzn.to/3fOUQrk
▶Pencil Extenders
AU amzn.to/3SLMWgM
US amzn.to/3y03WaH
UK amzn.to/3SHoKMA
▶Derwent Superpoint Sharpener
AU amzn.to/3fE0jku
US amzn.to/3T26HR1
UK amzn.to/3ypaekt
-------------------------------
K R F I N E A R T A C A D E M Y
www.kirstyrebe...
W E B S I T E
www.kirstyrebe...
F A C E B O O K
/ kirstyrebeccafineart
I N S T A G R A M
/ kirsty_rebecca_fine_art
Hey Kirsty 😉.
I tried an ikea potato peeler in steel. sharpens pastel pencils very well ... but tempering from the outside inwards. holding the pencil steady. in this way the wood is peeled cleanly. basically to sharpen well with the potato peeler you have to do the opposite movement of the cutter. you don't have to cut but peel, clean and refine the tip. the pleasure in making the tip is remarkable. obviously to get a long tip you need to peel the colored pastel about 2 cm from the lead. otherwise the tip remains short even if pointed.
caran d'ache produces a peeler suitable for pastel pencils. the potato peeler is a great cheaper alternative
I saw A LOT of videos on this issue but your video was the best one. Thanks a lot!
Thankyou, I'm glad it was helpful 😊
Thank you for this info Kirsty!
You are so welcome!
Thanks!
thank you so much, I appreciate it! 😊
Dug out my Derwent hand sharpener after watching this. Worked a lot better than I expected. Don't know if it was coincidence but it seemed to be the darker colours that I had most trouble with, crumbling, breaking etc.
Yeah, not all pencil colours are the same, unfortunately! Some feel a lot softer than others 😊
Thanks a million for your valuable instructions! I just bought my first pastel pencils yesterday 6 black ones, and noticed how quickly it got dull and realized I would have difficulty sharpening it. I bought my first bigger pastels about a month ago and then needed something smaller for the fine details.
Glad it was helpful! 😊
So helpful! I'm only in the research stage of pastels, pastel pencils and tools needed. Neat tip (scuse the pun) about using the graphite pencil to keep the sharpener in good condition.
I'm glad it was helpful! Since making this video, I actually contacted all the major pastel pencil brands (Derwent, Faber Castell, Stabilo, and Caran D'ache) and they all recommended using a knife to sharpen rather than a sharpener!
Faber Castell wrote;
"An artist knife is best for sharpening our Pitt Pastel Pencils. The lead contains quartz sand. This hard substance would damage the blade of the sharpener and make it go dull rather quickly. A dull sharpener in turn will damage the pencil’s integrity and will likely cause it to break more easily.”
Thinking of getting started with pastel pencils and all your videos are so ideal. Thank you.
I'm so glad!
Excellent!! Thank you for this, just what i needed
You're welcome 😊
You are the best...nice explanation...keeps interest throughout the video
Thank you so much 😀
THANK You So much.I am so happy I found your channel.
Thankyou, I'm glad youre finding it useful 😊
thanks very much
You're welcome!
Thank you Kirsty 😀 this has helped me massively. In fact it's the only helpful video I found. Not long using pastels and found the lack of a sharp point frustrating, although pastels are a lot of fun to use. I'm so used to colouring pencils being sharp. I've subscribed 😀
Thankyou, I'm glad you found it useful!
I came from coloured pencils before pastels as well and it takes a bit to get used to 😊
Thanks Kirsty. Excellent video. I’ve recently bought the Swordfish sharpener and it does damage the Caran d’ache pastel pencils. I’ve subscribed.
You're welcome 😊
Thank you for the information.
You're welcome 😊
This video is exactly what I needed to see. Thanks Kirsty! Excellent content. :)
Thank you, I'm glad you found it useful 😊
Great video Rebecca. I'm an artist myself and I know what you mean about the crank handle sharpeners. The blade gets blunt easily and it's so frustrating because the sharpeners are expensive!
Thankyou 😊
Apparently you can get replacement blades for the swordfish but I love in Australia where it's almost impossible to get the swordfish, let alone a replacement blade! Haha
I just avoid using the sharpener if I can!
Marks as in with other pastel colors?
I just bought a tin of 60 Carbothellos from Amazon and I can’t wait to use them. I tried them in the shop and they were the smoothest most buttery of all the brands.
The Carbothello are great, they're my go to pastel pencil! They were the first set I owned and I still love using them 😊
Kirsty Rebecca Fine Art I can totally see why you love them. They stood out by miles in the art shop trial.
I’m so happy to have found your channel, Kirsty. To know you’re a fellow Aussie, working in the same time zone as me is such a buzz. And to have a rest from relentless American accents, it’s fabulous. :)
@@1DaTJo yeah they're pretty decent! Faber Castell Pitt pastels are also very similar and they're a bit cheaper to get a hold of here as well!
Thankyou, I'm glad you're enjoying the videos 😊
I haven't come across many Australian artists in TH-cam doing the same sort of thing that I'm doing!
Kirsty Rebecca Fine Art I haven’t found any! That’s why I’m so glad you’re here on TH-cam.
Will you be doing tutorials on landscapes?
@@1DaTJo Yes, I have uploaded one recently but I'm also going to be working on some small beginner landscapes soon in pastels!
I've been trying to add in some more subjects other than animals, but still realism so there should be a bit more variety in the future 😊
thank you sooo much very helpful
Glad it helped!
Thank you!💓
You’re welcome 😊
Thank you! This was very helpful...as I'm trying to sharpen my carb Othello pencil for the 4th time and watching it just keep breaking😖. Just subscribed. Your work is lovely and the content is very helpful!
Glad it was helpful! :)
Great video :)
Thanks 😊
Thankyou!!
You're welcome 😊
Good video. New subscriber.
Thankyou, I appreciate it :)
In reality, how much of the pastel gets wasted every time a person sharpens it, 40 , 50 or even 70 percent of the pastel ????
Thank you for this tutorial.
Exactly, it's a lot! I struggled with it so much!
I have to do a foreshortening picture in pastels for my drawing1 class, I am drawing a white Labrador, your videos are very helpful. Can you make a video on how to make white lab fur?
Hi there,
I'm glad you find the tutorials helpful!
I will add that to my (very long) list, but I wouldn't be able to guarantee that it would be done any time soon!
thank you! I dislike sharpening my Derwent I have lost 50 % to breakage with a small metal sharpener.
Yes, I had the same problems, so I hope this video helps others as well 😊
5:20 at last someone who knows how to sharpen the professional way :) 6:56 absolutely, these pencils are brutally expensive, we should use every micrograms of them. A sharpener consumes at least 30% if not 50%. 8:15 Yeah, sometimes You should do it, so to make it more efficient, I always have two white pencils and to optimize using them to minimize the need for scraping off pencil tips just to get a sharp point.
Yes, exactly! It really doesn't take long once you get used to it, and it's definitely worth it to save your pencils 😊
Bruh I just tried to sharpen a white chalk pencil, and it broke like 3 times. Then I tried to file it with a nail filer and now it just looks crappy. I don't know who owned it in my family and I'm scared that it's important help please!
Unfortunately some pencils shatter through the core so every time you sharpen it, it breaks off!
There's not much you can do if you've tried the things in the video 😔
You may have to buy a replacement!
Derwent used to make a special pastel pencil sharpener, it was white in colour and meant for Derwent pastel pencils. Did you ever try it? If yes, how did it perform?
No, unfortunately I haven't seen/heard of that!
I've found after many years of trial and error, that sharpening with a blade/knife is the easiest, quickest, less damaging, and the most cost effective (in terms of wasting the least amount of pastel, but also the cost of the sharpeners themselves), way of sharpening pastel pencils 😊
I tried the swordfish, sharpens well, marks my pencils so I returned it.
I’m still looking. Hmmm
Yes, that is the annoying part... I also have a Derwent Superpoint Mini that does the same thing!
I have a question. I know it is wrong I post it here. I saw a video on the art book "Painting Animals that Touch the Heart" from Lesley Harrison. Do you happen to know where I can buy it at a more democratic price than 182€ (from Amazon/Belgium)? Thank you for your advice.
I honestly have no idea! Sorry
@@KirstyRebeccaFineArt Thanks anyway
Can I use a automatic sharper
You can try, but my guess is that the pencils will crumble!
The Swordfish is crap, in my opinion. It ate some of my Faber-Castell and Carbothello pastel pencils and has a short life itself. So I recommend: hands off.
Yeah, I agree that they are terrible for pastel pencils! I made this video a few years ago, and I now only use a craft knife or blade to sharpen my pastel pencils (every sharpener gets blunt quickly when you use pastel pencils and they will damage your pastels when they are blunt)
I still use those sharpeners for coloured pencil and graphite, just not pastel pencils 😊
the small Caran D Ache Sharpener is enough. I used it over 10 years. That Tool costs about 2 USD. The use of a knive is not recommended. You cut to much Material and those Pencils are relatively costly compared to the small Sharpener.
Do you have a link for the sharpener? I'd love to know which one it is because no sharpener I have ever been recommended has lasted more than a couple of months!
Also, I cut zero material (or pastel) with a knife - so I'm not sure what technique you are using, but I literally waste no pastel at all, I just shave away the wooden casing - unlike any sharpener which always cuts away some pastel, no matter how good the sharpener is 😊
The craft knife I'm using cost me about $1 and has multiple blades I can snap off when they get blunt - One knife lasts me more than a year for $1 😊
I have used the Derwent Super Point Manual Helical Pencil sharpener to sharpen my derwent pastel pencils last night, it was ok for the first few pencil, but then last one's pastel nib was broken and trapped inside the sharpener 😭
Can I use your same method to unscrew the handle out of the sharpener?
Yes you can unscrew the bit with the handle to retrieve your broken nib - you unscrew it the exact same way as this swordfish one 😊
@@KirstyRebeccaFineArt Thank you SO MUCH!! It worked ♥️
@@Meow_meowHK no worries, glad I could help 😊
Hi
Maybe all the artists or anyone using artist pencils , should start demanding from the pencil manufactures to supply the actual leads only , Pastel, water color , charcoal etc.
we can then just use clutch pencils of various diameters.
Therefore, making life easier, not having to constantly remove the wood.
It makes sense or not ???
That sounds like a good idea in theory!
I wonder if the leads will snap too easily without a casing though? In transit or storage? 🤔
I'd definitely try it if a company made some like that though!
actually koh-i-noor sell some woodfree pastel pencils, they're just a big lead with thin plastic around, they're quite cheap if you want to try them. I didn't, but they look cool.
@@jpiscina oh cool! I wonder if they are lightfast 🤔 I may have to look into them!
@@KirstyRebeccaFineArt I think they are more for kids, the low price make me think so, but faber-castell is using the same "shape" for certain graphite pencils, they're just graphite. Maybe more brands, lacking ideas for new products will embrace this way of making pastel, they also have the environment as a handy excuse to do that.
@@jpiscina okay I thought that might be the case because I haven't heard of them before! Fingers crossed companies will start making better alternatives to pastel pencils (or at least a better way of sharpening them!)
With the Caran D'arche don't shave the wood from all around the tip, but rather leave more wood on about a quarter of the tip - that will strengthen the core as you apply any pressure. And you just use it at a low angle with an under hand grip.