Best Drawing Pastels of 2025

“I feel like I made a great decision with these pastels! They have vibrant colors, and I love how portable they are. I've found them easy to use, even while watching TV.”

“I’m pleased with my purchase! The pigments are bright and blend well, making them perfect for my practice sessions without wasting my expensive pastels.”

“I was a bit disappointed with the shipping as some of the chalks were broken, but overall, they are decent quality and easy to handle.”

"I've used these for various work-related projects, and they have proven to be absolutely perfect!"

"As a beginner, I found the Sakura Cray-Pas Junior Artist Soft Oil pastels to be smooth and easy to blend, providing vibrant colors. They are affordable and ideal for school projects."

"I bought these for my little sister, and she's absolutely loving them! They seem to offer great quality for both beginners and professionals."

"I had been wanting to buy these for a while, especially because of the muted earth tone colors shown in the product photo for my life drawing sessions. However, upon receiving them, I found they were the standard bright colors instead. While I still plan to use them, it would be great if Prismacolor updated the photo to reflect the actual colors."

"As someone new to pastels, I find these to be beautiful and user-friendly."

"After 15 years of working in various mediums, I recently started using soft pastels. These are fantastic for fine lines and underpainting, making them a great value for a professional quality product."

"I recently got the Artecho Oil Pastels, and I'm thoroughly impressed with their performance. The vibrant colors provide rich pigmentation that stands out beautifully on any surface. They blend and layer easily, allowing me to create stunning gradients. Despite being affordable, they don't compromise on quality. Highly recommend them!"

"These pastels are perfect for me! They have a nice color and strong pigmentation. The texture is firm enough to avoid breaking, but it makes blending with knives a bit challenging at room temperature. That's the only downside I can mention."

"I haven't used the oil pastels yet, but I can see and feel that they are of good quality. The colors are beautiful, making them a must-have for budding artists. I think they'll be a lovely gift!"

“I use these in multiple crafts and they work amazingly. Bright vivid color, easy to use, easy clean up, very smooth, and makes any art pop. 10/10 would recommend.”

“I bought these for my daughter who wanted to do fancy sidewalk art. She loved having so many colors to choose from and was able to create long-lasting pictures on our sidewalk!”

“As a professional artist and art teacher, I was looking for a product to recommend to my adult students. These pastels are perfect for beginners of all ages, with medium softness and a great price. I don’t even mind using them for my own work!”

"I'm not a professional artist, but I'm learning art as a stress release. I started with inexpensive colored pencils and now, with these pastels, I see a notable difference. The larger palette and better blending capabilities have impressed me, especially for the price. My set arrived intact, thanks to the sponge insert. I've even traveled with them, and they held up well. I'm still practicing, but these pastels are fantastic for learning techniques."

"As someone who crochets, I often find switching yarns cumbersome. I wanted a way to easily add color to some sloths I was making, and these pastels were the perfect solution. The variety of colors is amazing, and they blend well with small brushes I use. After applying, I seal the color with Scotchgard to prevent it from rubbing off. They're small but last a long time, making them great for my projects."

"I bought this set for my young cousin, who is just starting to explore different art mediums. I remember enjoying pastels at her age, so I thought this would be a good gift. The value is excellent with lovely colors, making it a perfect introduction for her."

“I think these pastel oils are great quality. I absolutely love the vibrant colors. They are definitely worth the money and easy to use.”

“I found these chalks to be very nice and soft. They worked well for my drawings and shadings. The colors are nice, but I did notice they were pretty small. However, the price was just right for beginners like me.”

“I gave this to my niece who adores art. She uses them for creating art pieces and even colors her hair with them. They work wonderfully and wash out easily from her blonde hair. I would definitely recommend these!”

"I never used oil pastels before, but my students absolutely love them. The variety of beautiful colors is impressive, and they glide on paper wonderfully. While I prefer painting, this product is a great way to explore something new, and it works great for those who enjoy oil pastels."

"I received these as a gift, and they worked really well for me! They glide easily onto the paper and have fantastic color payoff. I did find them a bit fragile, but for the price, I highly recommend getting these oil pastels!"

"My daughter had a fantastic time using these pastels for the first time. She was thrilled with the results despite layering them a bit thick. I appreciate the variety of colors in this kit, and it’s very reasonably priced!"

"I'm a pastel artist and finding good pastels at a decent price is tough. These soft pastels are vibrant and lay down large surfaces of color easily. They are slightly brittle, but they don't break into pieces like some other brands. The color variety is amazing, and I was shocked by the quality for this price."

"As a pastel teacher, I often recommend these pastels to students hesitant to invest in pricier sets. At around $10 for 64 colors, it's a fantastic value. While I sometimes need to mix colors, the selection is great for beginners to explore pastels without a large commitment."

"I found these pastels to be an affordable surprise in a market full of expensive options. They are small but super pigmented and a great choice for adding details. The packaging keeps them safe, and I'm very pleased with my purchase!"

"I absolutely love the variety of colors in this set. They are a great way to familiarize myself with pastels, and at such a good price, it's perfect for beginners. Just a tip: make sure to secure the box with a rubber band, as they spilled out on my way to class!"

"As someone new to soft pastels, I didn't want to invest too much initially. These pastels have been perfect for my needs. They arrived in excellent condition, and I found them smooth and bright while using them for my artwork. They've truly met my expectations!"

"These pastels have been fantastic for our kitchen chalkboard. The colors are vibrant and lovely, making it a joy to use them!"