Free Resources

Hi everyone!

This was a post previously published in my old website in 2019. Reposting it here since I find it still relevant and useful to day!

This is my very first blog post as Heart In Hand Atelier and a very hearty welcome to you!

To introduce myself, my name is Caihui, a chronic daydreamer and a visual storyteller rolled into one. I found pastel art sometime in late 2018, in particular Pastel Nagomi Art, got hooked and it led me to Flower of Crystal Art, got hooked and now finally this led me to found my own home studio to spread the seeds of art and creativity in the hope of creating a supportive pastel art community that is growing in Singapore.

As part of a concerted effort to spread the love and joy of pastel art to everyone, I have taken the liberty to compile some free resources that was instrumental in building my skills and interest in the early days of learning pastel art. My background in Japanese meant I was able to search more accurately in Japanese. My participants have shared their frustrations on the lack of information online when they searched in English as search engines mainly churn out information that are more related to pastels as a fine arts medium.

Honestly, there really isn't too much information out there currently so here's presenting the first installation of free resources - I'll be adding on more as I go. If you have found something useful that will benefit the community, drop me a DM and I'll be glad to update to my list (and a shoutout to thank you too!)

If you have just gotten your hands on the Faber-Castell Soft Pastel Starter Kit, what I will be sharing will keep you hooked for a while!

Here we go!

(Italics are my comments on the resources, if any)

Youtube

パステルアートチャンネル　(Pastel Art Channel)

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPdCUEtPwHXeTXIsgpPHCHQ

This is the most content heavy free resource I have ever found. I relied heavily on this channel when I first started on pastel art. While the video is in Japanese, I think the instructions are pretty self-explanatory. I like that the instructions are simple and easy to follow and the simplest of tools were used to create the art. If there's any queries on any particular video, DM me and I'll try my best to help and translate.

applenaru

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3khuCtYbw5JON3L0po1CtQ

YumenoArtTV

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxUB6Fcptw4JimFocyYAmog

This Japanese artist has tutorials for oil and soft pastels. Some of her soft pastels are more fine arts (direct drawing with pastel sticks) but her creations are really beautiful!

Nanairo Pastel なないろパステル

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdBbY0V289t6miJ8dieak0g

Yuko is a pastel art instructor who has an active IG account too. Her tutorials are tailored for senior citizens, making them very easy to follow. Refer to my Instagram resources for her IG account.

Instagram

heartinhandatelier

https://www.instagram.com/heartinhandatelier/

Sneaky, sneaky! You saw that coming, don't you! Well, I am really sincere in sharing any available free resources out there, including my own insights, tips and tricks. I have a Story Highlight called "Tips and Tricks" and will be adding more to it over time! Also, sharing my creative process is something I think could help some of you out there who might get stuck in an artist's block (we all get that from time to time, don't we?)

nanairopastel

https://www.instagram.com/nanairopastel/

Yuko's IG account where she sometimes share free stencils for public download (limited time period only) and does IG live of her painting using these stencils she created.

kokoro_smile_

https://www.instagram.com/kokoro_smile_/

Kokoro Smile does the CUTEST pastel art design! He has regular IG live (every Friday, 8pm Japan time). When I first watched his live story, i had a shock - what hairy hands this lady has! Then I realised I was making a wrong assumption that the artist has to be a female!