CrayolaPortfolio Series Oil Pastels, Water Soluble, 24 Count, Colors May Vary

Hello Friends ~I have to tell you, I was unsure about these oil pastels because they were so darn cheap. (Usually, in art supplies, you do get what you pay for... Though not aaalways!)I am an artist and much of my art is sold to high-end markets. I wanted to purchase some cheaper products to practice with and to use while playing with my nieces and nephews. So I purchased several different brands to try out. Many of the lower-priced products also have much more expensive versions, made from the same company. So if the lower-priced items end up performing really well, then you can bet that the higher-end products will likely knock your socks off.Now, I bought the following oil pastels to try out (I will list them from best performance to worst) below:*Portfolio*Pentel*Expressionist by Sakura*Neocolor 2 by Caran D'ache (These are pretty darn expensive, and they are nowhere near the quality of the Portfolio brand)*Faber Castel metallics (metallics are difficult to compare with the others, but these were pretty great for what they were)This brand, Portfolio, far surpassed any and all other oil pastels that I have tried! Very buttery and so smooth, on their own and when blended. Great for mixed media too, over watercolor and acrylic paints. I was sincerely so so very shocked! They are very affordable (I want to buy these in bulk now, and stock up!!!) and they are so easy to clean up. Note: When in doubt, go with water-soluable oil pastels because they are more versatile, and waaaaay easier to clean off of your hands and surfaces!! .... Go get a bunch of these, and have a whooole lot of fun!!! :-)

Easy to use without without water! Good quality. Good pricing.

Very nice pastels. These oil pastels are water soluble but also behave like regular oil pastels. They are lots of fun to use.

I purchased these for myself and a friend who was hospitalized and needed something to work with that was non-toxic. He loves to paint but acrylic and watercolors were too messy, so these fit the bill. We both really enjoy these pastels, and I love that they can double as watercolors. Because they go down as a pastel first, you don't have to use nearly as much water to get them to work. I enjoy the textured look the comes with pencils, but these seem to have a etter color payoff. The only downside is that they seem a bit waxy, and some colors don't seem to be as bright as pictured. I have used many different pastel brands and these seem to be a bit more difficult to truly blend and layer (I like to layer colors and use a scraping technique for texture.) I do love that they're non-toxic, so I was able to use them with some young art students (pre-k and Kindergarten) and children I nanny without having to worry about any crazy chemicals. They loved working in this medium so I decided to work it into an entire unit! Overall, they're a very nice starter set and versatile supply. Kids and teachers will love!

As other reviewers have pointed out, these water soluble oil pastels give great value for the money. Over the years I've bought (and sometimes given away) nearly every brand of paint, marker, pen, pastel (oil and clay-based) on the market, sometimes paying a fairly high price. For years my favorite brand of oil pastel has been Sennelier (not cheap).I first heard of Portfolio after seeing them in artwork on someone's (don't remember who) blog. I enjoy media that doesn't require a lot of fuss and mess, so I'm a big fan of watercolor pencils and crayons, brush pens and markers, but sometimes I want something with more texture. After reading more about these, I decided to try them: they're by Crayola, after all--who doesn't like Crayola products? I've used them on different weight and textured papers and on cardboard. They glide on smoothly, disperse easily with water and you can smudge them with your fingers before or after applying water. (I use a Niji waterbrush with them.)They're very soft (which is why they glide so easily across your paper), so if you use too much pressure, they leave behind some crumbs. You can just brush these off with a paper towel or blend them into your artwork with a finger. Colors (which are vibrant) blend well together, too--not as thoroughly as paint will, but that's to be expected. I like these better than my watercolor crayons because they don't dry as quickly, giving you more time to blend.As for mixed media, you can use them (let the artwork dry first) with permanent markers, like Sharpie, but you will need to stop occasionally and "clean" the marker by scribbling with it on plain paper to remove any waxy/oily residue. (For that reason, I'd never use expensive markers like Copic with them.) They work well with acrylic paint and India ink. I haven't tried them with oil paint, but I'd expect them to work well together. You can layer them over watercolors, but not the other way around. (Well, you can, but the results may be disappointing, depending on the effect you're going for.)Bottom line: l love them! (I wish they'd make some metallic ones, though.)

They were a little melted at the tips when I opened the package, however, I tested the out immediately and was able to get them back to normal tips without any waste. The application is smooth, creamy, glides so easily and move well with water. The pigments are fantastic. Would be great to get in even more colors

Best pastels ever. I love using these in my art work

I bought these years ago and found the to be a bit firmer than these. These are super soft, break easy cake up bad on the paper. I do like they are sharpened and colors are nice for shading.They weren't that expensive so nothing lost. I just found these messier and more breakable than in the past. Nice for a beginner or a child.