What are the differences between hard pastels and soft pastels? Which is better?

The hardness or softness of a pastel depends on the amount of binder or filler in its makeup. There are advantages to each style of pastel.

What are the advantages of hard pastels?

Hard pastels have less pigment, and more binder. They are firmer to work with, but the colors are not as vivid. They are good for making crisp lines and details as they can be sharpened to a point. They are often used for outlining or adding intricate details to work done in other media. Because hard pastels are less vivid, some pastel artists use them for background color. Hard pastels are recommended for preliminary sketching.

What is the difference between hard/soft pastels and oil pastels?

The main difference is in the texture. Hard and soft pastels could be described as "chalky." Oil pastels might be described as having a "waxy" or crayon like consistency. They are cleaner, and do not rub off as much. They resist crumbling and do not pose any health risk in terms of breathing dust. Oil pastels are also more permanent and offer intense pigments. However, they are more difficult to blend and never fully harden. Therefore, oil pastels can be smudged in storage.

Medium and Hard Pastels

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Conté à Paris Crayons and Sets
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Item #: 20201
$1.20 - $76.93
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4.5 out of 5 stars
Square crayons for drawing and sketching. Thinner and harder than traditional pastels. Highest quality, rich vibrant pigments in a fine kaolin clay ba...
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$1.20 - $76.93
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Prismacolor Premier NuPastel Color Sticks Sets
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Item #: 20034
$25.74 - $91.17
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4.8 out of 5 stars
Shop Prismacolor Premier NuPastel Color Sticks at Blick. Stronger than ordinary soft pastels, NuPastels have a rich, creamy texture that blends and sh...
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$25.74 - $91.17
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Cretacolor Pastel Carré Hard Pastels and Sets
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Item #: 20077
$1.82 - $89.17
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4.6 out of 5 stars
Cretacolor hard pastels have been recognized by artists all over the world for their brilliant colors and high pigmentation. Their square shape lends ...
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$1.82 - $89.17
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Prang Pastello Chalk Set
Item #: 20027
$14.51
3.5 out of 5 stars
Prang Pastellos are pressed colored chalk with a firm, dustless consistency. Pastellos blend effectively on paper surfaces — light colors can even be ...
$14.51
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ArtGraf Viarco Pigmented Tailor Chalk and Sets
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Item #: 19542
$7.31 - $46.35
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4.9 out of 5 stars
ArtGraf Viarco Pigmented Tailor Chalk is soft, rich, and watersouble, for use on both wet and dry surfaces. Ideal for travel or studio use, it comes i...
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General's MultiPastel Compressed Chalk Sets
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Item #: 21954
$5.21 - $12.74
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3.4 out of 5 stars
Since the early 1900s, General's has offered its handcrafted MultiPastels for drawing and sketching. These artist-quality, pigment-rich chalk pastels ...
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$5.21 - $12.74
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Richeson Street Stix Pavement Pastels and Sets
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Item #: 21972
$6.25 - $51.47
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4.8 out of 5 stars
Developed especially for use by street artists, these jumbo-sized, 2-3/4" L x 3/4" Dia pastels are ideal for long-lasting sidewalk paintings, murals, ...
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$6.25 - $51.47
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Richeson Semi-Hard Square Pastel Sets
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Item #: 21941
$14.81 - $130.45
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4.4 out of 5 stars
Richeson's professional, semi-hard pastel sticks are perfect for underpainting. Their square shape is ideal for shading, and they can also be sharpene...
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General's Compressed Pastel Crayon Sketching Color Set
Item #: 22612
$4.29
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3 out of 5 stars
General's Compressed Pastel Crayons are extra-smooth, oil-free, blendable pastel crayons in a variety of pigment-rich colors. These handcrafted, artis...
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General's Compressed Pastel Chalk
Item #: 22978
$5.21
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3.7 out of 5 stars
General's Compressed Pastel Chalk package contains four smooth, compressed sketching sticks. Each stick is 3"L x 1/4"W. The assortment package contain...
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Van Gogh Hard Pastels
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Item #: 20015
$15.90 - $58.46
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4.8 out of 5 stars
Hard, square-shaped, easy to use. Ideal for sketching and tight drawing with edge of stick. Use broad side to lay in large areas of color. Richly pigm...
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Yarka Assorted Sauce Classic Drawing Crayons
Item #: 20011
$16.99
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4.2 out of 5 stars
Assorted Sauce is a cross between a soft pastel and a Conte crayon. It combines high-quality pigment with Chasov Yar clay and industrial carbon for a ...
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Richeson Half-Stick Foundation Pastel Sets
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Item #: 21969
$54.73
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4.8 out of 5 stars
A great addition to any pastelist's repertoire, these new sets of Richeson pastels provide a firm foundation for portraits, landscapes, or basic paste...
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Richeson Half-Stick Pastel Sampler Set
Item #: 21968
$39.95
4.8 out of 5 stars
This set offers a great opportunity to sample Richeson’s soft, medium-soft, and semi-hard pastels, all in convenient half-sticks. The set contains 18 ...
$39.95