Faber-CastellCreative Studio Soft Pastels Mini, Multicoloured, Cardboard Wallet Of 48, For Art, Craft, Drawing, Sketching, Home, School, University, Colouring

Great quality soft pastels for new and old artists.

When these arrived I couldn’t wait to use them they are very nice the colours are really lovely and lots to choose from they are really soft and glide across the page good for backgrounds and big areas to cover

Pastels are decent quality for the price. A couple of the paler colours aren't as pigmented as the rest. The white for example, which is also not a true white - it's on the ashy side. Otherwise a great range of shades that do the job. A good starter set for someone new to soft pastels or for amateur artists.

Very good, wide choice of colours (24) although I wish the greens had been a little more varied, bit on the light side for my style.Half sized pastels so easy to use without snapping, although this does mean that they are used faster and also you need 2 `swipes' if you use sideways where one swipe would have done with a full sized pastel. As you would expect with pastels your hands are going to get dirty, but I've found the residue very easy to wash off.Can be used with several different types of paper from ordinary ink jet A4 upward. Lots of dust and residue when using A4, I've found rough, 160 gsm paper works fine. Not had long enough to tell if colours are fugitive or not but they are very smooth to use and I've no reason to think they will not stay as fresh as any other pastel.

Faber Castell are a renowned brand and these student-grade pastels are fine for what they are. But that said, there are only six colours (68 as I'm not including the two white and two black sticks) more than the largest Inscribe set (62, not including a white and black) and having both, I cannot see a difference between them regarding their quality, yet Inscribe is less expensive. (Also, it should be noted that both sets contain nigh on identical colours, which feels like a swizz. In this set, these are Light Yellow Ochre, Naples Yellow and Dark Naples Ochre, whereas in the Inscribe set there are three very similar light greens.) They feel semi hard, just as Inscribe do, they are bright, but then so are Inscribe. I wish I had saved my money and put it towards some of Faber Castell artist grade pastels - Polychromos - instead...That said, similarly to Inscribe, this is an easy set to travel with and if you want as many colours as possible for what is still an economic price, they would serve, although I would say the set is short of useful neutral tones. The sticks are barely an inch long, but they are well packaged and would be conveniently compact in a suitcase. (The box is just 25 cms x 18 cms and less than a couple of centimetres deep, with a protective sleeve that prevents the lid from inadvertently opening.)

Great item but absolutely no need for allThis packaging

I’ve only just started to use soft pastels and it’s been a revelation. These pastels are so soft and gt for blending colours, v subtle and a good range of colours. Although I use my fingers for shading etc it’s not as messy as I thought it wd be!

The shades are listed inside the box lid and there are a good variety of colours. They are relatively inexpensive, so are good for starting off with or experimenting to see if you like using soft pastels. I find them a little on the dusty side and the colours transfer easily to the skin, which I do not like as some colours not so easy to get off. The colours are quite vibrant though and grip the paper well. I don't find that layering colour is very good, the colours turn muddy easily. But these pastels have given me a taste of 'pastelling', and I am hooked, and have bought myself a set of better quality ones (which have paper covers). I think it is trial and error when trying pastels for the first time to find out which ones you like best/work well for you!