Prismacolor Premier Nupastels, Firm Pastel Color Sticks, 36 Count - For Textures, Blending, Shading

So, I had these all wrong. When I first bought them, I had no idea what I was doing. I thought these were going to be like a semi medium hard pastel that was somewhat soft, but this was not the case. These were hard, chalky as all can be when used, and mine broke >:-[ This clearly made me disappointed, because I really wanted to enjoy them. However, after MANY trial and errors, I realize that these are pretty great! I started using these like watercolor paint and they are super blendable, creamy when wet, and make painting/drawing so asthetically pleasing. I can say that I am happy with them and the colors are super vibrant and pretty. If you feel like they are not working for you, don't give up because you will find what works best for you when using these.

Fun to work with, decent colors and easy to blend... but a little dusty, which is to be expected.

Better Overall Performance: - Superior to Rembrandt, Caran d'Ache, Faber-Castell, and Koh-i-Noor. - More affordable and a top choice for harder soft pastels. Multimodal and Versatility: - Ideal for underpainting. - Compatible with water and other mediums. - Can be broken into 1/4 or 1/2 sticks without losing stability. - Excellent for details due to breakability, consistency, and hardness. Impressive Color Range: - Especially good for skin tones. **Overview:** The Prismacolor Premier NuPastel Firm Pastel Sticks provide an affordable, high-quality option for artists. Their versatility suits various techniques, from underpainting to detailed work. With a rich color palette and durable design, these pastels are perfect for both beginners and experienced artists.

Really nice pastel sticks, not too soft & not too hard.. really nice color selection & quantity for the money. Blends well.

I love these! I use them for the early layers in nearly every painting I create. Decent variety of colors for a set of 36, and because they are harder than other pastels, they last forever. My only complaint, and it's a big one: the foam inserts that they sit in are not attached to the bottom of the box. Every time I lift out a stick, no matter how careful I am, I end up lifting the entire insert, the pastels all go haywire, and then I have to take them out of the box and rearrange every piece of pastel in that row. That's especially frustrating when you've broken most of them into smaller pieces to make them easier to work with, and you have to set all those pieces aside and fit them back in. One wrong move as you're doing this, and you have to start over yet again. It's maddening. I finally gave up and took out the inserts. I'm planning to buy a bigger set sometime soon, and when I do, I am will probably glue the inserts to the box. This is the only reason I gave them four stars. The pastels themselves are a five-star purchase, and the price is reasonable. PRISMACOLOR, if you're listening, please redesign the box inserts so they don't flop all over the place.

Just as advertised, quite a few of the sticks were snapped in half but obviously still useable. Colors pop and they're easy to blend.

I love (and use) this product. Hard pastels provide options that soft pastels do not, so mixing them gives the best of both worlds. 96 is Prismacolor's full color set, and for work that combines soft and hard pastels that should be plenty. Over 20 of the 96 pastels arrived broken. Pastel powder had leaked out between the box and the wrapping, so the box was smudged with pastel powder. I purchased a set of these a year ago in an art store, and the situation was the same. So I don't know if it's Amazon or Prismacolor that's to blame for the product arriving in less than perfect condition. The bottom line is; broken pastels don't bother me, and I remove them from the box for inclusion with my other pastels immeadeatly anyway. So the price of this product is great for what you get: beautiful pigments, and nice square edges for both blocking in big shapes, and small detail work. If you have been working in pastel for any length of time, you know it's a seriously messy business, and the centuries-old european manufacturers of soft pastels have the same breakage issues. It's really no big deal. Go on YouTube and look at the palettes of professional pastel artists. The first thing they do with a new pastel stick before adding it to their palette box is: break it!

I just added Nupastels to Pastel Art and totally love them! They go down good and blend very well. I also use Sennelier, Union, Rembrandt, and Diane Townsend Pastels. All very good on PastelMat paper.