The 5 Best Oil Pastels in 2024 (Student and Professional Artists)

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As kids, we’ve all held crayons and created countless masterpieces that adorned our parents’ walls and fridge doors. Those early experiences with simple art supplies ignited a spark of creativity that many of us carry into adulthood. For some, that spark evolves into a passion for more advanced mediums, and one of the mediums that offers a close experience to the magic we originally felt with crayons is oil pastels.

With their vibrant colors, creamy texture and easy application, oil pastels become a fun and intuitive way to explore and express our creativity. In this guide we’re going to learn all about oil pastels, from their history, composition, and the features that make a great oil pastel set. We’ll also list some of the best oil pastel brands and sets in the market, all of them tested by our team so that you have nothing but the best of the best. Let’s get started!

What Are Oil Pastels?

Oil pastels are a popular art medium that is widely used for artists of all ages and levels. Oil pastels are popular for their vibrant colors, easy application, blending and multiple surface compatibility.

Oil pastels are made by mixing pigment with a non-drying oil and a wax binder, they are shaped into a stick and wrapped for ease of use. This combination makes oil pastels highly pigmented, very malleable, soft and creamy, allowing artists to manipulate the medium with ease even after applied on a surface.

Oil pastels are a relatively new art medium, originating in the early 1920s by the Japanese company Sakura, intended to be used as an alternative to crayons, and gaining popularity among artists in the 1940s when Henri Sennelier, a French art supply manufacturer, collaborated with Pablo Picasso and other artists of the time to create a higher-quality version that would become the oil pastels we know and love nowadays.

How to Choose the Best Oil Pastels

Quality

The quality and grade of the oil pastels you choose will enormously change both your painting experience and the outcome of your work. Quality in oil pastels is defined by the pigment concentration, the type and quality of oil used as a binder, and the lightfastness of the oil pastels. High-quality oil pastels will be very saturated, easy to apply and blend and also very lightfast, ensuring the quality and longevity of your work. You can identify high quality pastels by making a quick research on the brand reviews, as bad quality pastels are very easy to spot.

Grade

Grade is determined by the quality of the materials and the amount of fillers used on a line of products. While the pigments might remain the same, the pigment-filler proportion might change to make it more accessible to the public, especially to students, beginners and artists on a budget. Brands tend to specify when a line of products is made for “Students” or for “Artists”, but you can easily spot them by checking the price as “Artist-Grade” products are much more expensive.

Color Range

Color range refers to the number and variety of colors a brand has to offer. This is important for artists that work on multiple different projects, as the requirements of colors for a portrait are not the same as the ones for a landscape or a still life study. Some brands have a very broad color range but don’t have deep or intense colors, while others only focus on vivid colors but don’t have soft hues for portraits and light effects. A well balanced color range is crucial for expressing your creativity to its full extent, so make sure to double check that the brand you choose has a good color selection with even better value distribution or your creativity will be limited and your works will lack depth and contrast.

Texture and Consistency

The texture and consistency of your pastels will determine whether using them will become a pleasant and enjoyable experience or an art nightmare. As you probably know, oil pastels were made with children in mind, and some brands have kept that intention, making their oil pastels a more saturated version of crayons, hard to apply and almost impossible to blend. Other brands focused on the artistic side, making their oil pastels extra creamy and pigmented, for artists to use. With time, mixed versions emerged with new brands, with firmer or more creamy consistencies that suited the taste of different artists.

Firmer oil pastels are great for early layers, blocking colors and sgraffito techniques, while more creamy oil pastels are great for top layers, blending and impasto techniques. Overly hard oil pastels are not good at all, so try to avoid them if possible as they won’t apply uniformly, won’t blend at all and will produce a lot of residue in the process.

Price

The price range in the oil pastel market can vary a lot, going from sets that sell for under $10 to sets that are over $100, most of the price difference depends on the quality and brand name, however there are some hidden jewels that are very affordable while offering outstanding quality and performance. Since oil pastels are a relatively new art medium, only a couple of brands are known to offer high quality pastels and said brands are also the most expensive ones, leaving artists who don’t have hundreds to spend blindly look for the best affordable alternative among the many other options in the market.

To make the best choice, consider your budget and always read reviews and, if possible, try a few different brands to find the one that best suits your style and preferences. By balancing quality and cost, you can find the perfect oil pastels to start with the medium, and as you progress and become more serious about your artwork, you can invest in higher-end, professional-grade pastels

The 5 Best Oil Pastels in the Market Today

Best Oil Pastel Set Overall — Harbor Art Elite Artisan Oil Pastels
Best Professional Oil Pastel Set — Sennelier Oil Pastels
Best Value Oil Pastel Set — Mungyo Gallery Oil Pastels
Best Oil Pastel Set for Beginners — Harbor Art Studio Starter Oil Pastels
Best Premium Oil Pastel Set — Caran D’Ache Neopastel

#1. Best Oil Pastel Set Overall — Harbor Art Elite Artisan Oil Pastels

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Selection Criteria

Presentation: Box, set of 36 Oil Pastels.
- Our Score – 8/10
Quality and Grade: High Quality Pigments, Artist Grade.
- Our Score – 8/10
Color Range: 36 colors.
- Our Score – 7/10
Texture and Consistency: Soft and Creamy Application.
- Our Score – 8/10
Price: $12.49
- Our Score – 9/10

About Harbor Art Elite Artisan Oil Pastels

Harbor Art is a relatively new brand, however there is no denying that their products were made with artists in mind. Their artist grade line has a carefully curated color selection that includes pastel hues as well as deep and intense colors so you’ll be able to work on delicate portraits as well as vivid landscapes. They have a soft and super creamy consistency, are easy to apply and blend amazingly well. The colors are bright and vivid and the pigments are very high quality so they won’t become dull and muddy after mixing them together. Harbor Art Oil Pastels are very lightfast, safe to use and also very affordable, reasons why we’ve placed them at the top of our list as we firmly believe there is no other brand that matches the quality and price they offer.

Pros

Artist quality
Vibrant colors
Very Blendable

Cons

Limited Color Range

2. Best Professional Oil Pastel Set — Sennelier Oil Pastels

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Selection Criteria

Presentation: Box, set of 72 Oil Pastels.
- Our Score – 9/10
Quality and Grade: Very High Quality Pigments, Professional Grade.
- Our Score – 9/10
Color Range: 120 colors.
- Our Score – 9/10
Texture and Consistency: Creamy consistency.
- Our Score – 9/10
Price: $170.33
- Our Score – 7/10

About Sennelier Oil Pastels

Sennelier is the oldest and most popular brand of oil pastels in the world, being the original brand that collaborated with Picasso, they have maintained their original formulation and increased their color range while keeping their original quality and performance.

These oil pastels are highly lightfast, as creamy as a lipstick, very bright and vivid, and of course, very color accurate, compatible with pigments across other mediums of professional brands. They are also very expensive, if not the most expensive of all, and might be too soft for some artists, making them not suitable for beginners or artists who don’t have experience with the medium.

Pros

Artist-grade
Rich pigments
Creamy texture

Cons

Pricey
Smudgy

3. Best Value Oil Pastel Set — Mungyo Gallery Oil Pastels

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Selection Criteria

Presentation: Box, set of 48 Oil Pastels.
- Our Score – 8/10
Quality and Grade: Average Quality Pigments, Student Grade.
- Our Score – 7/10
Color Range: 205 colors.
- Our Score – 9/10
Texture and Consistency: Firmer consistency.
- Our Score – 9/10
Price: $20.89
- Our Score – 9/10

About Mungyo Gallery Oil Pastels

Mungyo Oil Pastels are the perfect combination between quality and affordability, while they are not the creamiest oil pastels nor the highest quality ones, they offer a good middle point with a firmer consistency, a great color range with a wide variety of colors and a good value balance.

While they are not the ideal choice for professionals looking for the highest lightfastness ratings and pigment concentration, Mungyo oil pastels are highly recommended for those seeking a reliable and cost-effective option that does not sacrifice quality. They are particularly suitable for artists who are exploring oil pastels for the first time or those who need a budget-friendly alternative for their creative projects.

Pros

Affordable
Wide color range
Beginner-friendly

Cons

Hard texture
Less blendable
Waxy feel

4. Best Oil Pastel Set for Beginners — Harbor Art Studio Starter Oil Pastels

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Selection Criteria

Presentation: Box, set of 24 Oil Pastels.
- Our Score – 7/10
Quality and Grade: High Quality Pigments, Student Grade.
- Our Score – 7/10
Color Range: 36 colors.
- Our Score – 8/10
Texture and Consistency: Softer Consistency, Easy Application.
- Our Score – 9/10
Price: $5.99
- Our Score – 9/10

About Harbor Art Studio Starter Oil Pastels

And we have Harbor Art again, this time the Student Grade line, which doesn’t compromises quality or pigment intensity but instead focuses more on the ease of use and first experiences that beginners tend to have with oil pastels, offering a slightly firmer consistency that turns soft and creamy on the paper instead of your fingers.

These pastels come in a well-selected color range, are super easy to blend and work well on pretty much any surface. They are also extremely affordable, being accessible to any artist despite their budget.

Pros

Budget-friendly
Suitable for beginners
Vibrant Colors

Cons

Shorter lifespan

5. Best Premium Oil Pastel Set — Caran D’Ache Neopastel

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Selection Criteria

Presentation: Box, set of 48 Oil Pastels.
- Our Score – 8/10
Quality and Grade: High Quality Pigments, Artist Grade.
- Our Score – 8/10
Color Range: 96 colors.
- Our Score – 8/10
Texture and Consistency: Soft and velvety texture.
- Our Score – 9/10
Price: $95.98
- Our Score – 8/10

About Caran D’Ache Neopastel

Caran d’Ache Neopastel oil pastels are a favorite among professional artists and serious hobbyists alike, they are highly regarded in the art world for their exceptional quality and performance, rich colors, and smooth application.

These are professional grade, highly lightfast oil pastels, and while they are on the firmer side, they blend amazingly well and are excellent to work on details and get exceptional results. Caran d’Ache has one of the broadest color ranges both in hue and value, with very high pigment concentrations, and offers sets of 12, 24, 48 and 96 pastes, however just like other Caran d’Ache products, Neopastels are much more expensive than other brands, which limits their accessibility by a lot.