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You are here: Home / Blog / How To Paint An Elephant With Pastels

October 20, 2022 By Dave Nevue

How To Paint An Elephant With Pastels

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Painting an elephant with pastels can be a fun and rewarding experience. Pastels are an excellent medium for painting animals because they allow you to create subtle shades and textures.

In this blog post, we will walk you through the process of painting an elephant using pastels. We will cover everything from choosing the right supplies to adding the finishing touches to your painting.

elephant drawing

Disclaimer: This post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase by clicking on an affiliate link, Nevue Fine Art Marketing may earn an affiliate commission at no additional cost to you. Affiliate relationships include, but are not limited to, Bluehost, Tailwind, Skimlinks, SareASale and StudioPress. To learn more visit Affiliate Link Disclosure Policy

Supplies Needed For A Pastel Painting 

When it comes to supplies, you will need a few things before you start painting your elephant. First, you will need a selection of pastels in various colors. You will also need a piece of paper or canvas to paint on and some fixative to keep your pastels from smudging. 

Soft Pastels

Richeson Handmade Soft Pastels

Unison Handmade Pastels

Pastel Pencils

Stabilo CarbOthello Pastel Pencils

Pastel Paper

Clairefontaine Pastelmat

Reference Photo (Optional)

Wildlife Reference Photos

Related Post-Pastel Pencils vs. Colored Pencils

Start With A Sketch Of The Elephant 

Once you have your supplies, you can start sketching out your elephant. It can be helpful to look at reference photos to get the proportions of the animal right. When you are happy with your sketch, you can begin painting. 

Do not press too hard when sketching your elephant because you may need to erase some lines later, and if the lines are too dark, it will be challenging to cover them with pastels.

elephant drawing

First, Start By Painting In The Background, The Sky, And Field 

Before you start working on the actual elephant, it can be helpful to paint the background first. This will give you a better idea of how your finished painting will look, and you can see the colors of the elephant’s skin better. Start by adding some primary colors for the sky and the field. You can always come back and add more details later. 

Next, Add The Midtones Of The Elephant’s Skin 

Once the background is complete, you can start working on the elephant. Begin by adding some midtone colors to the elephant’s skin. These colors should be between the lightest and darkest colors you will use in your painting. 

pastel drawing

Continue To Add Different Colors And Shades To Add Depth To The Skin 

After adding some midtone colors, you can start adding darker and lighter shades to create depth and dimension in your painting. Use a variety of colors to make your painting more enjoyable. Remember to blend your colors so that they flow smoothly into each other. 

Add The Texture Of The Elephants Skin 

One of the best things about pastels is that they allow you to create texture in your paintings. To add texture to the elephant’s skin, use a dry brush technique with a light touch. This will create small bumps and ridges that add realism to your painting. 

You can also youse the stippling technique to add texture to the skin. To do this, lightly tap the pastel pencil on the drawing surface to create small dots.

watch the art come to life

Add The Details To The Field 

Once you are happy with the elephant, you can add some final details to the background. This can include things like trees, bushes, and grasses. Try to keep these details simple so that they don’t detract from the main subject of your painting.

draw layers to fill in the field

Conclusion: 

We hope this blog post has given you some helpful tips for painting an elephant using pastels. Remember to take your time and have fun with it.

Check out these posts if you want to learn how to sell a pastel drawing:

How To Sell On Pinterest

How To Paint An Owl With Pastels

How To Sell Your Art Online – The Complete Guide

Arrtx Artist Soft Oil Pastels

The Best Ways To Seal Chalk Pastels

Filed Under: Blog, Drawing Tips, Drawing Tutorials

About Dave Nevue

Dave Nevue is a Professional Pastel Wildlife Artist and the founder and CEO of Nevue Fine Art Marketing. He also authored the eBook The Productive Artist How to Live Your Dreams, and provides courses on art marketing at Nevue Fine Art Marketing Courses.

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