Best Soft Pastels for Beginners
An honest review of brands I’ve personally used - good and bad points.
Soft pastels are the most direct art medium. They are simply pigment mixed with binder. How can there be so many different qualities then?
I guess they are as complex as they are simple. So read on and I’ll demystify soft pastel brands. Choosing the right pastel matters if you want to get a good result. They all have varying texture, blendability and lightfastness.
In this post we’ll explore eight popular soft pastel brands—Schmincke, Sennelier, Rembrandt, Pan Pastels and Unison —comparing their texture, pigment intensity, and price points to help beginner artists choose their first sets.
We’ll weigh the pros and cons of student‑grade versus professional‑grade lines—Rembrandt offers affordability without sacrificing basic performance, while Sennelier and Schmincke deliver archival richness at a premium. By the end, you’ll have a clear objective for evaluating any soft pastel brand—whether you prioritise vibrant hue range, smooth application, or budget‑friendly value.
If you want to skip to my shortlist of recommended pastels for beginners, click here.
What Makes a Good Beginner Pastel?
Ease of use: softness versus firmness balance. You want a stick that lays down well and has the ability to accept several layers.
The higher quality brands contain a higher pigment to binder ratio, making the colours more vibrant and intense.
Since mixing pastels to create new colours is limited, the brand’s colour range also matters. You need a brand that has a fairly large palette.
As a beginner, you may not be overly concerned about lightfastness and archival quality. If you intend on using your pastels in a journal, they won’t be exposed to the light anyway. However, if you plan to sell your artwork, even at markets, I’d be aware of these aspects of the sticks you choose. You can always start out with student grade, non-archival pastels and build your collection with professional grade, lightfast sticks over time.
Price is always a consideration and soft pastels are not the cheapest art supply. If you find a set of pastels at a low price, they are most likely hobby/student grade sticks with a low pigment to binder ratio, low colour intensity and poor lightfastness.
So - you may be thinking it’s not worth starting out with soft pastels, but I encourage you to have a go! They are a truly wonderful medium to work with and there are some affordable, beginner options.
Let’s compare.
Criteria for Comparison
Texture & Feel: buttery, firm, crumbly
Pigment Quality: vibrancy, opacity, lightfastness
Blendability: how smoothly colours layer and mix
Price & Value: cost per stick and starter set options
Availability & Packaging: sets versus individual sticks
Brand‑By‑Brand Comparison.
I’ll outline some objective characteristics of each brand and then give my personal opinion like and dislike about each and why. I’ll also rate each brand in terms of how good they are to work with and overall recommendations for a beginner or budget-conscious artist.
You can click the links to see selections I’ve found that work well for beginner pastel artists.
Schmincke
Extra‑soft, buttery texture thanks to high pigment and minimal binder.
Extensive 400‑colour range; premium archival quality.
Pros: Exceptional soft sticks, consistency of softness and pigment load. Wonderful, large range of colours.
Cons: They are so soft they tend to crumble easily and can be wasted on the floor.
Workability 5/5
Budget 2/5
Good options:
Schmincke Soft Pastel Set - 15 Stick Portrait Selection
Schmincke - Pastels, 15 colors Landscape set
Schmincke Soft Pastel Set - 30 Stick General Selection
Sennelier
Professional‑grade “extra soft” with 525 shades; renowned for brilliant vibrancy.
Higher price point, but luxurious feel and lightfast pigments.
Pros: Mostly very soft, great coverage, huge and useful colour range. Very economical sets available.
Cons: The full sticks and half sticks seem to be made with slightly different formulas. The full sticks are prone to crumbling while the half sticks are stronger but sometimes they are hard and don’t release pigment.
Workability 4/5
Budget 4/5
Good options:
Sennelier half stick sets are very good value.
Sennelier Assorted Extra Soft Half Pastel 40-Pieces Set
Rembrandt (Royal Talens)
Mid‑range softness suited to beginners; solid pigment payoff at a student‑friendly cost.
Good lightfast ratings, though fewer premium brands’ hue variations.
Pros: Individual sticks available in a large range at an affordable price.
Cons: I simply find them too hard. I much prefer Prismacolor NuPastels which are a hard pastel than Rembrandt.
Workability 1/5
Budget 5/5
Good options:
Rembrandt Royal Talens Soft Pastel Set, 60 Half Stick Set
Royal Talens - Rembrandt Extra Fine Soft Pastel - Artist Quality - Professional Set of 90
Royal Talens Rembrandt Soft Pastels - Half Size - Muted Set - 10 Assorted Colours
Royal Talens Rembrandt Soft Pastels - Half Length, General Selection of 30 Colours
Pan Pastels
Unique pan format: minimal binder, highly blendable cake pastels.
Ideal for large area coverage and smooth gradients, but you will need to buy a set of Sofft Tool applicators.
Pros: Because they are blendable, you can get away with a very small colour range. I use them for backgrounds and blocking in large areas of colour.
Cons: They are not a stand along product if you wish to work in soft pastels. You will still need some sticks to achieve many wonderful pastel effects.
Workability 3/5 (They are great for their specific purpose)
Budget 3/5
Good options:
PanPastel Painting Pastels, Multi - 10 General colours
PanPastel Landscape, Set of 20
Unison
Handmade in the UK with intense pigments; fewer binder additives for rich, marks.
Recommended half‑stick starter sets for newcomers.
Pros: Good lightfastness, great colour range.
Cons: Not as soft as other brands of the same price. I consider them a medium textured soft pastel.
Workability 3/5
Budget 3/5
Good options:
Unison : Soft Pastel : Portrait Set of 16 Half Sticks
Unison : Soft Pastel : Landscape Set of 16 Half Sticks
Jack Richeson Unison Pastel Landscape Colors, Set of 36
Unison Colour : Soft Pastel : Set of 36 Emma Colbert Animal Collection
How to Choose Your First Soft Pastels
Assess your needs:
Do you want to test them out and then purchase more if you like them? Or have you already tried them and want to get started properly?
What’s your budget?
Don’t forget to save some money for quality paper.
That’s a topic for another blog post. But paper is just as important as pastels.
Clairefontaine Pastelmat is my top recommendation for beginner to professional level.
Good options:
Clairefontaine Pastelmat Pad 18 x 24 cm - 360g - 12 Sheets - Maize, Buttercup, Dark Grey, Light Grey
Clairefontaine Pastelmat 30 x 40 cm - 360g - 12 Sheets - Dark Blue, Light Blue, Wine, Sand
There are plenty of other excellent choices, although some, like my favourite Hahnemuhle Velour paper is gorgeous but most people find it very difficult to work with.
Conclusion & Recommendations
Top picks for pastel painting beginners on a low budget, or you’re purchasing for your child who may or may not continue - Rembrandt are the most affordable brand. They are definitely way better than any of the cheap hobby brands. It’s better to purchase 10 individual sticks of this quality than a huge set of low pigment pastels.
Rembrandt Royal Talens Soft Pastel Set, 60 Half Stick Set
Royal Talens - Rembrandt Extra Fine Soft Pastel - Artist Quality - Professional Set of 90
Royal Talens Rembrandt Soft Pastels - Half Size - Muted Set - 10 Assorted Colours
Royal Talens Rembrandt Soft Pastels - Half Length, General Selection of 30 Colours
Best pick for a serious or enthusiastic pastel painting beginner. If you think you’ll stick with pastels for a while, I’d recommend a Sennelier set. The half stick sets are particularly good value in terms of how many colours you get in the box. The quality is excellent and if you start with them, you’ll likely continue because you’ll have success.
Sennelier Assorted Extra Soft Half Pastel 40-Pieces Set
When to upgrade to professional soft pastel brands - Firstly, I’d recommend purchasing one or two sticks of Sennelier, Schmincke or some other professional brand. You won’t know the difference until you use them.
If you don’t have budget constraints, definitely start with one of these brands. Also, if you’ve purchased a student brand and enjoyed the experience with them and you’re in the market to spend a bit more money on pastels, I’d recommend buying a few really high quality ones and slowly adding to your collection.
Schmincke Soft Pastel Set - 15 Stick Portrait Selection
Schmincke - Pastels, 15 colors Landscape set
Schmincke Soft Pastel Set - 30 Stick General Selection
Tip: Just remember that the harder sticks work better on the lower layers and the softer sticks will sit nicely on the top layers.
Please let me know what your favourite brands are and why you like working with them.
Happy painting!
Bernadette