Pastel is a painting technique that uses natural dry pigments bound together into a crayon. Given that a pastel is bound into a thick substance, it accentuates the support it is being used on, allowing for a very textured look. The results of this medium has given birth to the term “pastel” as an adjective, which usually means something visual of pale, unsaturated soft colour.
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With the progress of the big brands (Caran d'Ache, Faber Castel, PanPastels, etc.), you can find a wide variety of colors. This medium remains very powdery and volatile. So I use a type of paper dedicated to this use; Pastelmat paper, which is porous and captures small pastel particles.