Soho Urban Artist Soft Pastels Set of 90 Unique, Vibrant Colors - Half Stick 1.3" Long, Soft Pastels for Artists, Velvety Texture, Lightfast, Perfect for Layering & Blending

The first thing that you need to understand about these pastels is that they are NOT intended to be used on pastel PAPER. You need to use high quality pastelbord, pastelmat, or other surface treated with a pastel ground. I even had great success using these on 1500 grit sandpaper. If you use them on pastel paper, I promise you will hate them. These pastels are super buttery, and blend great! The colors are incredibly vivid and bright, and the range is quite vast. They can hold an edge to an extent, but also deposit a lot of color in one motion. They do tend to wear down fast depending on the painting surface. They claim to be lightfast, but due to the price, I don’t know how true that is. Update- I’ve used these for a few paintings now, and they have quickly become my favorite set. They are just amazing on the proper paper, and the black in this set is the darkest, deepest black I own by a long shot. My other, very expensive brands don’t even compare. The massive downside of these is that there is no way to order individual colors. You must buy a new set in order to replace a color. I make a lot of space pastel paintings, and will be going through the black pastel pretty quickly. I will eventually own a ton of colors that just sit in a drawer because I’m forced to buy a new set every time I need a replacement.

I am very happy with the set of 90 I purchased. They came nicely packaged safely tucked into soft rubbery slots, all arrived in perfect condition. The price is amazing. No, these are not the same as sennelier or schminke, but again, compare the price! Many have a creamy soft texture similar to the top brands, a few fall short and go on dryer and rather grainy. They are still very workable and (for the 3rd time) a great bargain. The set of 90 half sticks (yes half sticks are small) have a very nice range of colors. Great for beginners or more experienced artists wanting to expand their range of colors. I would classify these as “medium to soft” but not as soft or fragile as the top brands, most have a nice creamy feel. Good quality and well worth the money. Enjoy!

this is a step up for me. i practiced for a few years with mungyo 64 colors for $8 and really enjoyed them. i like the process of painting with pastels and felt i was ready for a better set but i haven't sold enough to justify spending hundreds on just a few colors. though i'm sure those sets are worth every penny, they are pennies i don't have to spare. i wasn't sure about the quality of this set (90 colors for $40??) so i watched videos and read reviews and people seemed happy with them. i couldn't find any bad reviews so, i figured it was a safe investment. i am glad i did! the colors lay down smoothly and layer beautifully. they are bright and add another level of detail to my works that i'm not accustomed to with the pastels i have been using. they were only $8 so i didn't expect them to be the best but i also didn't know it could be SO much better! now i have the landscape set of 20 pan pastels, the mungyo 64 colors set, these, and generals pastel pencils for fine details. i love these but i will be spending on a more expensive set for even higher quality in the not too distant future. this set has made a believer out of me! get them and don't look back!

Im in love with SoHo pastels. Im a beginner. New to pastels. This set has a wide variety of colors. They are half sticks, non toxic that give my pastel paintings a brighter blendable vision. Easy to use. Soft and easily blends in with the other colors. I will definitely buy these again. My Only complaint is......i have to buy a new set to replace a color. Still for the price its still a deal.

I had decided to get these to sketch out ideas and practice and not waste my more expensive Sennelier pastels. I really didn't have high expectations as the price point - but the colors are fantastic - very vibrant. They arrived without breakage and well packed and the boxing is really nice. The colors go down so smoothly - and blend well. These are much higher quality to work with than I expected and to have such a big selection of colors for such a good price. This is definitely a buy recommend.

SoHo’s aren’t the best quality but the color selections and the price make them hard to pass up. I use them to enhance my more expensive pastels and they save me a ton of money while adding richer and more complex colors to the higher priced base color pastels.

I had no big expectations on this low-priced pastel set, but I was nicely surprised by quality! Good range of colors (especially green, which is never enough for landscape painters), good consistency. Worked very well on complicated surfaces. Not too brittle, no excess of dust. Packed in sturdy box. I think it's a good choice for beginners, who don't want to spend too much money, but wants a big color range set.

I like these pastels, they are equal to Rembrandt pastels, so you know. I have Sennelier pastels, and some Great American and Rembrandt. I bought these for small paintings and first layer application. They're decent, a good mid-grade pastel. What I like is the variety of colors, 90 colors for the price. The shipping packaging fromJerry's Artarama Art Supplies was above and beyond! Wrapped in bubble rap a number of times, then "that" wrapped in a packaging wrap as well, and in a sealed good sized box. Amazon is my go to, after that I'm going to Jerry's Artarama Art Supplies after that great packaging. No they don't give me anything to say that, lol, I mostly never give reviews. Just be aware, these are good pastels, not butter, but good for the grandkids and first application paintings, with a very good color selection. Hope this helps.

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As good as more expensive pastels