Neopastel is Caran d'Ache's professional oil pastel range — 96 colours of richly pigmented, blendable oil pastel designed for artists who want real depth and versatility from the medium.
Oil pastels sit between drawing and painting. They can be applied thickly for bold, expressive marks, scraped back for texture and mixed colour effects, blended with a finger or tool for smooth transitions, or diluted with a brush and solvent for a paint-like wash. Neopastel handles all of these techniques with a consistency and pigment richness that cheaper oil pastels don't match.
The key features:
- 96 colours spanning the full spectrum, with a particularly strong range of earth tones and neutrals
- Extra-fine pigment formulation — intense, saturated colour with genuine covering power
- Soft enough to blend easily, firm enough to hold detail and sharp edges
- Compatible with Caran d'Ache's wider range — combine with Pablo pencils or Luminance for mixed media
Individual colours are available, so you can work with a focused palette or replenish the colours you reach for most.
FAQ
Are Neopastel oil pastels suitable for use on canvas? Yes — Neopastel works well on canvas, paper, card, wood, and most primed surfaces. For large-scale or canvas work, they can be used in combination with a solvent to create underpainting washes before building up with thicker marks.
How are oil pastels different from soft pastels? Oil pastels are bound with oil and wax, which makes them more stable, less dusty, and more resistant to smudging without fixative than soft pastels. They are harder to blend to the same feathery softness as dry pastels but offer richer colour coverage and work on a wider range of surfaces.
Do I need to fix Neopastel drawings? Oil pastels do not require fixing in the same way as dry pastels, as they are naturally more stable. However, a final coat of oil pastel varnish or resin can be applied to work intended for long-term display.
