24 Soft Pastel Drawing Ideas for Beginners

Soft pastels are a favorite first medium because they give smudgy, expressive lines and vivid color. You can’t mix them on a palette like paint, but you can layer and blend them right on the paper, so it helps to own a wide range of shades.

Here are 24 soft pastel drawing ideas for beginners. Each has an age range, a difficulty level, the materials to gather and a few steps, plus a link to a tutorial or the site that has one.

Before You Start: Materials and Safety

• Soft vs. hard pastels: soft pastels are creamy and blend easily, which makes them good for skies and big areas. Hard pastels and pastel pencils are firmer and better for sharp lines and small details.
• Paper: use paper with some tooth, such as pastel paper or sanded paper, so the pigment grips.
• Dust: pastels make fine dust. Work in a ventilated space, don’t blow loose dust into the air (tap it into a bin), and wash hands afterward. Some people like to wear a dust mask.
• Fixative: spray outdoors or in a well-ventilated area, and keep it away from kids.
• Kids: use pastels labeled non-toxic, supervise, and keep them away from children under 3, who may put them in their mouths.

1. Beach Flowers

Shades of blue make the sea, and the flowers can be any colors you like. White and black add contrast and depth.

Level: Easy. Ages: 10+. Materials: Soft pastels (blues, greens, white, black, flower colors), pastel paper.

1. Lay in the sea with light-to-dark blues, blending with a finger or soft cloth.
2. Add the sand and sky in pale tones.
3. Draw the flowers in the foreground with your brightest colors.
4. Add white highlights and dark accents last for depth.

Tutorial: Lauren Watkins Art.

2. Soft Pastel Landscape

Try a simple landscape if you have a PanPastel set. It looks like a lot of shades, but you can make your own version with fewer colors. The real goal is getting used to how soft pastel layers.

Level: Easy to medium. Ages: 10+. Materials: PanPastel or soft pastels, pastel paper, sponge tools or fingers.

1. Sketch the horizon line lightly.
2. Block in sky, then distant hills, then foreground, light to dark.
3. Blend each area gently so edges soften.
4. Add a few darker marks in the foreground for depth.

Tutorial: Paint Draw Blend.

3. Sunset Over a Wheat Field

Sunset colors are basic, so there is little to plan. It is a good way to practice blending.

Level: Easy. Ages: 10+. Materials: Yellow, orange, red and purple soft pastels, dark brown or black, paper.

1. Fill the sky with yellow near the horizon, shifting to orange, red, then purple at the top.
2. Blend the bands together with a finger.
3. Draw the field in warm yellows and browns.
4. Flick short upward strokes for wheat stalks.

Tutorial: Painting Tube.

4. Soft Pastel Galaxy

Galaxies let you play with blues, purples and black. You need soft pastels, paper and fixative spray. Blending with fingers gets messy, but it is fun.

Level: Easy. Ages: 8+ with supervision. Materials: Soft pastels (black, blues, purples, white), dark paper, fixative spray.

1. Fill the page with dark blue and black, blending lightly.
2. Add a swirl of purple and lighter blue through the center.
3. Smudge the swirl into the dark background.
4. Tap on white dots for stars, then spray with fixative outdoors.

Tutorial: Painting Tube.

5. Dramatic Sunset

Use PanPastel colors or pastel pencils. It may look hard at first, but gets easier once you start, and it does not need to be perfect on the first try.

Level: Easy to medium. Ages: 10+. Materials: PanPastels or pastel pencils, paper.

1. Lay down the sky in warm oranges and pinks.
2. Add deeper reds and purples toward the top.
3. Blend the transitions.
4. Add dark silhouettes along the bottom.

Find a matching tutorial: The Virtual Instructor.

6. Soft Pastel Art for Kids

This is a free-play introduction to pastels with no set picture. Expect mess, and supervise.

Level: Very easy. Ages: 4+ with supervision (not for children under 3). Materials: Chalk-style or non-toxic soft pastels, paper, newspaper to cover the table.

1. Cover the table and give each child a sheet of paper.
2. Let them make lines, shapes and smudges in any colors.
3. Show them how colors blend with a fingertip.
4. Wash hands afterward.

Tutorial: Meri Cherry.

7. Soft Pastel Tonal Sky

This one needs very little drawing skill. You are just blending colors. Keep the shades light so the sky does not look messy.

Level: Very easy. Ages: 8+. Materials: Light blues, pinks, creams and grays in soft pastel, paper.

1. Pick 3 to 4 close shades.
2. Lay each in a soft band.
3. Blend where the bands meet.
4. Add a few lighter wisps on top.

Find a matching tutorial: Step by Step Art.

8. Bird (Swallow)

Try this once you trust your skills a little more. It is beginner-friendly but takes more effort than most. It uses bright, contrasting colors.

Level: Medium. Ages: 12+. Materials: Soft pastels, pastel pencils for details, pastel paper.

1. Sketch the bird lightly in pencil.
2. Block in large color areas.
3. Layer a second color on top for depth.
4. Add fine details with a pastel pencil.

Find a matching tutorial: Step by Step Art.

9. Autumn Leaf

A simple first project that lets you try many warm shades.

Level: Easy. Ages: 8+. Materials: Soft pastels (red, orange, yellow, brown, green), paper.

1. Draw the leaf outline lightly.
2. Fill with yellow, then layer orange and red.
3. Blend gently.
4. Draw the veins with a dark brown pastel pencil or the corner of a stick.

Find a matching tutorial: Step by Step Art.

10. Violet Flower

For a beginner, a hard pastel stick is easier for small areas. This one needs more drawing than blending, because it uses only violet and purple shades.

Level: Medium. Ages: 12+. Materials: Hard or soft pastels in violet and purple, smooth pastel paper.

1. Sketch the petals lightly.
2. Fill with mid-purple.
3. Add dark violet in the shadows.
4. Highlight with pale lilac.

Find a matching tutorial: Step by Step Art.

11. Pink Orchids

Pink orchids against a light background make the flowers pop. It is a good intro to blending and shading.

Level: Easy to medium. Ages: 10+. Materials: Pink, white, green and pale background pastels, paper.

1. Tint the paper with a light background color.
2. Block in the petals in mid-pink.
3. Add darker pink at the petal bases.
4. Finish with white highlights and green stems.

Tutorial: Art Instruction Blog.

12. Flower Pot

If you don’t like messy fingers, use soft pastel pencils. They suit the sharp lines and small details, and the result is wall-worthy. The Art Instruction Blog page also collects tutorials for other flowers, such as roses, poppies, daisies and dandelions.

Level: Medium. Ages: 12+. Materials: Soft pastel pencils, pastel paper.

1. Outline the pot and flowers lightly.
2. Fill the pot in terracotta tones.
3. Build up petals in layers.
4. Add leaves and a shadow under the pot.

Tutorial: Art Instruction Blog.

13. Snow Leopard

Animals are good practice because they have many details and shades. Draw it in pencil first so you can erase mistakes, then add pastel.

Level: Hard. Ages: 14+. Materials: Pencil, eraser, soft pastels (grays, white, black, blue), pastel paper.

1. Sketch the head and body lightly in pencil.
2. Lay an underpainting in mid-gray.
3. Add darker rosette spots.
4. Finish with white fur highlights and eye detail.

Tutorial: Art Instruction Blog.

14. Landscape Scenery with Kids

Landscapes have no hard lines, and you can use as many colors as you like. Do it with your kids, and plan for cleanup.

Level: Very easy. Ages: 5+ with supervision. Materials: Soft pastels, paper, newspaper.

1. Draw a horizon line.
2. Color the sky and ground.
3. Add hills, trees or a lake.
4. Blend with fingertips.

Tutorial: Painting Tube.

15. Winter Landscape at Sunset

There are no strict color rules, so experiment until it looks right.

Level: Easy to medium. Ages: 10+. Materials: Soft pastels (blues, purples, orange, white), paper.

1. Color the sky from orange to purple.
2. Blend into pale blue snow.
3. Add dark tree silhouettes.
4. Brush white highlights on the snow.

Tutorial: Painting Tube.

16. Parrot

Parrots have vivid feathers. Outline with a regular pencil instead of a white pastel pencil if that is easier. This lets you practice before you commit.

Level: Medium. Ages: 12+. Materials: Pencil, soft pastels (blue, yellow, red), paper.

1. Sketch the parrot in pencil.
2. Block in the big color areas.
3. Layer feather texture with short strokes.
4. Add the eye and beak last.

Tutorial: Painting Tube.

17. Lotus Flower

If soft sticks are hard to control, pastel pencils are tidier.

Level: Medium. Ages: 12+. Materials: Soft pastels or pastel pencils, dark paper.

1. Sketch the petal shapes.
2. Fill the petals with pink and white.
3. Add darker shading at the petal bases.
4. Draw leaves and water below.

Tutorial: Painting Tube.

18. Apple

An apple shows how layering works, because it has yellow, orange and red in one shape. A good first still life.

Level: Very easy. Ages: 8+. Materials: Red, yellow, orange, green and brown soft pastels, paper, a real apple.

1. Place the apple in good light.
2. Lay yellow first, then orange, then red.
3. Blend lightly.
4. Add a dark shadow and a white highlight.

Find a matching tutorial: Welcome to Nana’s.

19. Coneflower Landscape

Coneflowers stand out against a field. Try this as a challenge once you are comfortable with the basics.

Level: Medium to hard. Ages: 14+. Materials: Soft pastels, pastel paper.

1. Block in sky and distant field.
2. Layer greens in the foreground.
3. Add petals in pinks and purples.
4. Finish with orange centers.

Find a matching tutorial: Faber-Castell.

20. Pastel Painting in 6 Easy Steps

This flower project works well with red and green pastels, since pure pigment gives bold color. The tutorial shows several color schemes.

Level: Easy to medium. Ages: 12+. Materials: Red, green and background soft pastels, paper.

1. Tint the background.
2. Draw the flower shape.
3. Fill with red.
4. Add leaves and highlights.

Find a matching tutorial: Very Create.

21. Simple Landscape with Pastel Pencils

This landscape combines soft pastel with harder pastel pencils. It has a light blue sky, green and bare trees, and a field of warm colors.

Level: Easy to medium. Ages: 12+. Materials: Soft pastels, pastel pencils, paper.

1. Lay in the sky and field with soft pastel.
2. Add trees.
3. Sharpen branches and edges with pencils.
4. Add warm tones in the field.

Find a matching tutorial: The Virtual Instructor.

22. Sunrise Over Hills and a River

This looks advanced but is quite easy, because it teaches light-dark contrast and the effect of sunlight.

Level: Easy to medium. Ages: 12+. Materials: Soft pastels, paper.

1. Fill the sky with warm glow.
2. Layer hills in lighter-to-darker shades.
3. Add a reflective river.
4. Highlight the sun’s edge.

Find a matching tutorial: Painting Tube.

23. Warm Sunset Landscape

This one uses only warm colors and a limited scheme, so you can skip blending with your fingers.

Level: Easy. Ages: 10+. Materials: Warm-colored soft pastels, paper.

1. Draw bands of yellow, orange and red.
2. Layer with light strokes.
3. Add dark land at the bottom.
4. Add a few details.

Find a matching tutorial: Painting Tube.

24. Frozen Lake in Winter

A winter lake with frosted trees and shrubs uses cool colors that suit the season.

Level: Medium. Ages: 12+. Materials: Cool-toned soft pastels, white, paper.

1. Block in the sky and lake in blues.
2. Add shrubs and trees in dark tones.
3. Layer white frost.
4. Reflect trees in the water.

Find a matching tutorial: Easy Visual Art.

Now that you have plenty of soft pastel drawing ideas, pick one and give it a try.

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