It is not difficult to make your own pastels, but it may take you a few goes before you get it right.
You’ll need artists quality powdered pigment, a binder and distilled water. For the binder you can choose between gum arabic, gelatine or you can try wallpaper paste. Gum arabic produces a hard pastel with a slight crust, gelatine is softer and more crumbly so is sometimes difficult to get to form a stick. Try experimenting with a mixture.
The trick is to form a stick with as little binder as possible, what you want is maximum pigment. First make up a binding solution by mixing 1 part binder with 20 parts water. This is a rough guide and you’ll need to experiment until you get the consistency you need for your pastels. Remember also that different colours will require different densities of binder.
Next mix you dry pigment start with the darkest tint you need, select enough of this mixture for a pastel and begin mixing the binder solution into it using a slab and muller to grind the pigment. The aim is a smooth mixture that is soft and sticks to itself, it shouldn’t be too wet or dry. Again experience will tell you when it is just right.
Roll this into a pastel shape and allow to dry. An easy way to do this is to place the mixture in a clean piece of blotting paper and gently rolling it until it forms the pastel shape. With the remaining mixture you can create the next tint by adding a little white pigment and repeat, getting a lighter pastel as you go.
Pastels are a firm favourite for artists producing pet portraits and, with experience, you’ll be able to make pastels that will suit your painting style and colour requirements. A ideal solution for all pet portrait artists.