Oil pastels are a fun and colorful way for kids to create vibrant art on paper! They are soft and blendable, offering a different experience than crayons.
Oil pastels can be used simply for drawing and coloring, but you can also try fun techniques like blending with your finger or even using a little bit of oil to make the colors spread smoothly.
Getting Started with Oil Pastels
To begin, all you really need are some oil pastels and sturdy paper. Heavier paper works best because it can handle the thicker layers of pastel and blending techniques.
- Basic Drawing: Kids can use oil pastels just like crayons to draw lines, shapes, and fill in areas with color. Encourage them to press gently or firmly to see the difference in color intensity.
- Layering Colors: Try coloring one color lightly and then adding another color on top. See how they mix or show through!
Trying the Oil Blending Technique
A cool technique kids can explore is using a little bit of oil to blend the pastel colors right on the paper. This creates a smooth, paint-like effect.
Based on the reference, one way to do this is to use oil (like baby oil or cooking oil) and rub it over your oil pastel drawing. You can complete your entire oil pastel drawing first and then do the oil rubbing step at the end.
Here’s how you can try it:
- First, create your drawing or coloring using the oil pastels on your paper.
- Get a small amount of oil. You can dip a cotton swab, a soft cloth, or even your fingertip into the oil.
- Gently rub the oil-dipped item over the oil pastel colors on your drawing.
- Watch as the oil helps the colors blend together smoothly!
This technique is great for creating soft backgrounds, smooth gradients, or blended textures like fur or water.
Fun Ideas & Tips for Kids
- Scratch Art: Color a thick layer of bright oil pastels. Then, color a dark color (like black or dark blue) completely over the top. Use a toothpick or a blunt tool to scratch designs into the top layer, revealing the bright colors underneath!
- Color Mixing: Explore mixing colors directly on the paper. Try coloring yellow and blue next to each other and then blending them with your finger or the oil technique to see green appear.
- Simple Subject: Start with simple drawings like flowers, rainbows, animals, or abstract shapes.
Here's a simple comparison between oil pastels and crayons for kids:
| Feature | Oil Pastels | Crayons |
|---|---|---|
| Texture | Soft, creamy | Harder, waxy |
| Blending | Blends easily (finger, oil, tool) | Harder to blend smoothly |
| Color Power | Very vibrant, opaque | Bright but can be less opaque |
| Coverage | Covers paper thickly | Can be thinner coverage |
Safety Notes
- Always supervise young children.
- Oil pastels are not food – remind kids not to eat them.
- The oil blending step can be a bit messy, so protect surfaces and wear a smock or old clothes.
- Use only a small amount of oil.
Have fun exploring the vibrant world of oil pastels with your kids!
