The 6 Best oil Pastel Paper pads (2023 reviews)

If you often find yourself scrambling for good pad, strathmore oil pastel paper pad should be your first option for buying. There are different kinds of gritted and colored papers in this set, each made for different moods of paintings you want to make. The surface is like a textured paper towel, even with using paper stumps, you cannot seem to lay down enough pigment to cover all the white peaking through. It works well for oil pastels as well as pastel solids/drew pics with both products/excellent texture and weight.

The paper is porous and will take chalk pastels. It offers a nice array of background colors that simply feel more inviting than white sometimes, although there are white and cream sheets too.

If you are new to pastel painting, know that this paper is suitable as well for chalk and soft pastels.

Why We Like This:

Handles the blending and rubbing well and stays fairly firm during use
Good for drawing and keeping memories
Good for student work and practising new techniques

Best for charcoal: Canson High quality Paper

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We know from years of feedback from readers, customers and amazon sellers, what most people want in a convenient and appropriate pad. The canson high quality paper is exactly that - it's a simple pad that hits all the right notes. It is made with 24 sheets of 12 x 16 inch, acid free, 98 pound/160 gram paper. It has multiple colors in the tablet. It's handy for preplanning layouts and doing practice sketches. It has options for different colors, get only grays, earth tones, or a mix of colors.

The blending is marvelous on this paper. It has a smooth and a toothed side. It takes a heavier, richer layer of colour on the "bumpy" side, to work up to being able to add fine details. It's good for any type of liquid paint.

Why We Like This:

Excellent paper, with a nice variety of colours
Best mid range quality pastel paper in a good range of colors
Delivers what they promise

Best for nature journal drawings: Clairefontaine Best Paper

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Compared with other pad in this category, the clairefontaine best paper has a convenient design. It is a pleasure to work on pastelmat in both pastel and colored pencil. It grabs the pastels and allows details in a dust-free experience. It is suitable for all dry techniques, lead, sanguine, charcoal and more. The pad contains 12 sheets in colours of maize, buttercup, dark grey and light grey. It is used for oil and wax color pencils because it seems to erase mistakes difficult. Thats great for resting the hand on while drawing and then protecting the paper and artwork during breaks or storage.

Why We Like This:

Takes so many layers and can add detail easily with pastel pencils
Holds the pastel, low dust and no need for fixative
You can layer and blend effortlessly, and with very little dust
Holds the chalk,comes in many colors,takes a wash,is just the best pastel paper ever

Best for alcohol wash underpainting: Uart sanded Pastel Paper oil Pastel Paper pad

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Uart Sanded Pastel Paper line of pad come in a pretty wide variety of styles, so you can definitely find one that suits your individual preferences and needs. This is a very course, sand paper. It holds the pastel well. It is good for animals, portraits and things that require a lot of small detail. The paper tends to curl, so it must be taped down while painting and mounting. It can all be used on it without harming the paper.

The sanded surface is much finer. It is strong enough to do a wet unpainting and will hold several layers of pastel. The pastels adhere to the paper extremely well. It is good for beginners with pastels.

Why We Like This:

Watercolor, oil stains, alcohol washes etc
Good sanded surface for pastel painting
Great sanded paper for pastel paintings
Love the paper for pencil, charcoal and pastels

Best for flowers: Canson oil Pastel Paper pad

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Best part: canson oil pastel paper pad costs comparatively low and it is available to ship in 24 hours. This pad is very nice, and you will love the texture on it. It is a light-fast paper that is colored at the pulp level. It has decent "tooth", with the downside being a pattern built in to the paper texture. The pastel paper is beautiful and it has a really nice tooth to it. The sheets should be hidden under the cover completely.

These gelatin-sized papers are 50 percent cotton, and resistant to fading. It gives you the choice for a different finish in the draw. The colors are a great bonus, and works as an underpainting paper.

Why We Like This:

Great paper, earth tones are great for drawing landsapes, flowers, etc
Really high quality for excellent effects
Good investment for long term

Best for dry Pastel: Clairefontaine oil Pastel Paper pad

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The clairefontaine oil pastel paper pad should be able to handle its purpose and duties with ease. This pad of 12 sheets has a crystal paper spacer between each sheet to protect your drawings. It takes pastel layers beautifully. The soft and adherent surface of pastelmat paper makes it possible to multiply the layers of pigments without saturation effects and without fixative. Its glued finish allows you to easily detach the sheets. It is very good for layering your colors and fur.

The four colors in this pad are perfect. The pastel adheres so well to the paper, there is no need to use a fixative between each layer to protect your drawings. This surface is wonderful for wet and dry pastel work and is substantial.

Why We Like This:

Holds lots of layers and is smooth to the touch
Not quite a "board", but thicker and holds up better than heavy duty papers
Nice colors, good texture, great results

The 6 Best oil Pastel Paper pads (2023 reviews)

Our Top Picks:

Best overall: Strathmore oil Pastel Paper pad

Best for charcoal: Canson High quality Paper

Best for nature journal drawings: Clairefontaine Best Paper

Best for alcohol wash underpainting: Uart sanded Pastel Paper oil Pastel Paper pad

Best for flowers: Canson oil Pastel Paper pad

Best for dry Pastel: Clairefontaine oil Pastel Paper pad

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