Great for mixed media including:
- Pencils
- Acrylics
- Encaustic
- Pastel Sticks
- Acrylic Grounds
- Polymer Clay
- Inks
- Watercolors
- Markers
Colored Pencils
A great way to add super-fine details to a PanPastel painting is to use colored pencils. PanPastel is completely compatible with colored & pastel pencils. Colored pencils, markers & pens are great for adding super fine details.
Pastel Sticks
Soft pastel sticks can be used to add texture, opaque details & highlights to the final layers of a PanPastel painting.
Wet Media
PanPastel Colors can be used over watercolors, inks etc once dry. Sofft® Tools can be used with any water-based artist’s medium - eliminating the brush stroke for smooth marks and glazes.
TIP: For PanPastel wet wash techniques with water add 25-50% rubbing alcohol for best results.
IMPORTANT! Do not apply wet tools, fluids or mediums to pan’s surface. Liquids should only be applied to working surface.
Encaustic
PanPastel Colors are a quick, easy way to add color to encaustic artwork. PanPastel can be used with both the clear (unpigmented) encaustic medium & encaustic paints.
An easy way to start using PanPastel for encaustics is to use a stencil or template (a basic knowledge of encaustic painting techniques is required):
Step 1: Prepare surface by applying clear encaustic medium as normal. Fuse with heat gun. Using PanPastel on the final layer of an encaustic painting.
Step 2: While the surface is still slightly warm - position template or stencil. Apply PanPastel color over stencil.
Step 3: Fuse with heat gun. PanPastel will become permanently "fixed" in the medium, once it cools.
Step 4: Once cool, apply a transparent layer of encaustic paint and build further layers as desired.
Using PanPastel on the final layer of an encaustic painting.
Adding Pearlescent Color for shimmer.
"I am doing things very differently now that I've had the opportunity to fall in love with PanPastel! I adore the consistency of the pastels because they allow me fluid, soft blending on the cool encaustic layers that other pastels do not support.
I use PanPastel Colors in many different ways with my encaustic painting. The most deliberate use of them is to ‘blush’ or ‘tint’ the wax as I apply layers of medium and encaustic color.
This blushing offers a new look to the coloring of the wax in that it is more diffuse and transparent; offering more layering and depth development than is possible with just encaustic colors." - Patricia Baldwin Seggebruch
Acrylic Grounds
PanPastel can be applied over many grounds including acrylic grounds for a multitude of mixed media effects. Useful for three dimensional objects.
Video Workshop
"PanPastel Colors make painting easy, quick and for some reason they make me feel free. I can do things with PanPastel that I couldn’t think about doing with paint and the fact that they are erasable...AWESOME!"
- Donna Downey referring to PanPastel on modeling paste.
Digital Photography - Hand-Coloring
PanPastel works well on digital (ink-jet & laser) papers, so it is a perfect way to hand-color digital prints and photographs. The ability to apply controlled transparent layers of color allows the print underneath to show through.
"PanPastel has made it possible for me to continue to hand-color my digital photographs. I was thrilled when I discovered the ease and convenience of PanPastel." - Dianne Poinski
1. Convert any image to black and white using Photoshop or similar photo editing software.
2. Print image on good quality ink-jet paper (non-glossy).
3. Using a Sofft Tool e.g. Applicator (63070), apply PanPastel color lightly to image, building up transparent layers.
See more hand coloring information on Lesson Plans & Project Sheets.
TIP: Apply thin transparent layers. Before applying remove any excess color from the applicator on a dry paper towel.
Using PanPastel for photo Encaustic technique - Shary Bartlett
Video Workshop
"I first began using PanPastel shortly after I started shooting with a digital camera. For years I printed fiber based prints in the darkroom and used photo oil paints on these prints. Since I was now printing pigment prints on cotton rag paper, using oil paints was no longer an option.
Other methods I had seen of coloring digital prints with pastels did not have the same translucent quality that the oil paints possessed. It was this quality that I was not willing to give up and PanPastel was the answer."
- Dianne Poinski DiannePoinski.com
