Realistic Oil Pastel for the Curious Beginner

In this section you will be welcomed to the course, and we will talk about all the skills you will gain.

This lecture will discuss the materials you will need. Below is a list in writing for your convenience, also available to download here.

Materials:

• The downloaded apple image (see link below) printed in color, preferably on photo paper

• Desk or table in a well-lit area that you don’t mind getting dirty, or that’s covered with paper/cloth to protect it

• Scratch paper

• Drawing paper suitable for oil pastel. Best to go larger than the frame we’ll be using (4.5" x 6") so you have some scratch paper off to the side and some “gutter” to color into

• Pencil and eraser

• Ruler for drawing frame

• Oil Pastels: I’m using Pentel brand set of 25 but any set you have is fine. If you're using a different set, just use the closest colors you have to what I’m using, or you can use your judgement and mix colors together (we'll be talking about how and when to mix throughout the course)

• Palette knife, plastic knife, credit card, or penny, etc. (optional for scraping off extra pastel. You can also just use your fingernail)

• Wear apron or old clothes (optional)

In this section, I will talk about having an open, relaxed mindset while taking this course. I will also describe the 'anatomy of light and shadow' on a spherical object, to help you get a handle on the way light and shadow naturally fall on our apple. The diagram I show in this section can be downloaded here if you'd like to print it out or just save it as a digital file.

In this lecture, we will make simple, accurate measurements from our photo reference and mark them on our drawing. Then we will draw the simple outlines of the apple in pencil.

Here, we will go through how to mix and test colors on your scratch paper to accurately match colors in the background of the photo reference.

In this section, we will apply the first layer of Cobalt (medium) and Pale (light) blues as a rudimentary roadmap for building up color in the next sections.

Here, we will layer more dense color onto the background. We will also blend our color in softer areas and create harder edges where needed.

In this section, we will focus mostly on darkening shadowy areas using Ultramarine and Prussian Blues. We will also make any (mostly) last adjustments to the background before moving onto the apple in the next section.

Here, we will go through how to mix and test colors on your scratch paper to accurately match the colors of the apple in the photo reference.

In this section, we will apply the first layer of greens and reds mixing colors as we go, like we practiced in the previous section.

Here, we will add other colors to enhance our initial greens and reds, enrich the density of the color, build up more light and shadow, and augment the sense of roundness and the variegated apple skin texture.

Here, we will enhance more subtle qualities of the apple such as depth of shadows, softness of blends, and accuracy of colors.

In this section, we will mostly finalize the area around the stem, as well as color and adjust the stem itself.

Here, we will add the brightest highlights and the darkest (occlusion) shadow.

In this section, we will look around to see what else stands out as needing adjustments. We will make whatever changes we'd like and then, we'll walk through how and where to sign our work (optional).

Here, I'll wish you a hearty congrats for a job well done, and we will walk through all the skills you gained in this course.