Water-soluble wax pastels can be used dry like a crayon or activated with water to create washes, blends and painterly marks. I like them because I can move back and forth between drawing and painting without setting up a full watercolor palette.
When I first picked up a water-soluble wax pastel, I wasn’t quite sure what to do with it. It felt somewhere between a crayon, colored pencil and watercolor paint. Once I started adding water, layering dry marks over washes and picking pigment directly from the stick with a brush, the medium made much more sense.
Below are the techniques I use to explore what water-soluble wax pastels can do, from the simplest dry marks to wet washes and layered textures.
How to Use Water-Soluble Wax Pastels at a Glance
| Technique | How it works | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Dry on dry | Draw directly on dry paper | Bold marks and texture |
| Wet brush over dry pastel | Draw first, then dissolve the marks | Controlled washes |
| Pastel on wet paper | Draw into a damp surface | Soft, irregular texture |
| Wet brush to pastel | Pick pigment directly from the stick | Watercolor-like painting |
| Layer dry over wet | Add fresh pastel after a wash | Texture and accents |
| Layer wet over dry | Activate or glaze over existing marks | Blending and color transitions |
| Mix colors on the page | Overlap colors, then activate them | Color experiments |
What Are Water-Soluble Wax Pastels?
Water-soluble wax pastels are pigmented sticks that can be used as a dry drawing material but react when water is added.
That gives me two very different ways to use the same tool.
- Use them dry for visible strokes, texture and solid areas of color.
- Add water to soften, dissolve and move the pigment across the paper.
Unlike an oil pastel, the marks are designed to react with water. That means I can make a drawing first and decide afterward which areas I want to leave textured and which I want to turn into washes.
Caran d’Ache Neocolor II is one well-known example of this type of water-soluble wax pastel, but the techniques below aren’t limited to one brand.
1. Use Water-Soluble Wax Pastels Dry
The simplest way to start is to ignore the water completely.
I draw directly onto dry paper and pay attention to how pressure changes the mark. A light pass can leave the texture of the paper visible, while heavier pressure deposits a denser area of pigment.
Dry marks are useful for:
- Quick line drawing
- Broken texture
- Adding accents over a painting
- Blocking in larger areas of color
I recommend making several marks with different amounts of pressure before adding any water. It gives you a baseline for understanding what the material does by itself.
2. Draw First, Then Activate the Pastel With Water
This is the technique I’d start with if you’ve never used water-soluble wax pastels before.
I draw onto dry paper first, then run a damp brush across the marks.
As the water reaches the pastel, the pigment begins to dissolve and move. I can soften a hard mark, pull color into an unpainted area, or turn a block of pastel into a wash.
Control the amount of water
The brush doesn’t need to be dripping wet.
A relatively damp brush gives me more control and leaves some of the original texture visible. More water lets the pigment travel farther and creates a softer wash.
I like experimenting with both on the same test page because the difference can be substantial.
3. Draw With Wax Pastel on Wet Paper
Another option is to wet the paper first and then draw into the damp surface.
This produces a much less predictable mark than drawing on dry paper. The moisture begins affecting the pigment immediately, softening some edges and creating irregular areas of color.
I use this when I want texture rather than precise drawing.
It’s particularly useful for experimental backgrounds, landscapes and sketchbook pages where I don’t want every mark to look controlled.
4. Pick Up Pigment Directly With a Wet Brush
I don’t always draw with the pastel itself.
I can wet a brush, touch it directly to the pastel, and pick up pigment from the stick. Then I paint onto the paper much as I would with watercolor.
This changes the character of the tool completely. Instead of seeing a wax-pastel stroke first, I get a brush mark from the beginning.
It’s also useful when I want color in a small area without covering that area with dry pastel first.
5. Layer Dry Pastel Over a Watercolor-Like Wash
One of the characteristics I like most is being able to move between wet washes and dry drawing.
After activating pastel with water, I let the surface settle and then add new dry marks over it.
Those later marks remain more obvious because they aren’t completely dissolved into the underlying wash.
I use this for:
- Bringing texture back into a soft area
- Adding stronger edges
- Breaking up large washes
- Adding small color accents near the end
This wet-and-dry combination is also one reason I use wax pastels in some of my unusual watercolor techniques.
6. Blend Water-Soluble Wax Pastels
I can blend colors either before or after adding water.
Blend them dry first
I overlap two pastel colors directly on the paper, then activate the overlap with a damp brush.
This lets me see some of the individual dry marks before the pigments begin mixing.
Blend with the brush
I can also place separate areas of color beside each other and use the wet brush to pull one into the other.
I try not to keep scrubbing indefinitely. Too much mixing can remove the variation that made the combination interesting in the first place.
A simple swatch page is useful here. I make the same color combinations dry and activated so I can see how much they change when water is introduced.
7. Combine Wax Pastels With Watercolor
Water-soluble wax pastels don’t have to replace watercolor paint. I can use both on the same page.
For example, I might establish a broad watercolor wash and then bring dry pastel marks over it for additional texture. I can also start with pastel and allow watercolor to move around or across those marks.
The useful part for me is the contrast between a fluid brush wash and the more physical mark of the pastel stick.
If you’re new to traditional paint, my broader watercolor guide covers the basic medium separately.
What Paper Should You Use for Water-Soluble Wax Pastels?
If I’m going to activate the pastel with water, I use paper that can handle wet media.
Standard lightweight drawing paper can buckle or deteriorate once I start adding substantial water.
Watercolor paper or a watercolor sketchbook gives me much more room to experiment with wet techniques and layering.
The texture also changes the dry pastel mark:
- Hot press: smoother marks and easier fine detail
- Cold press: more visible texture while still being versatile
- Rough: more pronounced broken marks from the pastel
If you’re deciding which surface to use, see my guide to watercolor paper types. For a bound book, my watercolor sketchbook guide covers the characteristics I look for.
Do You Need to Tape the Paper Down?
Not necessarily.
If I’m mostly using the pastels dry with a small amount of water, I don’t always need to secure the paper.
If I’m creating larger washes or repeatedly wetting a loose sheet, taping it to a board can give me a more stable surface and help control the edges as the paper expands.
My watercolor tape guide covers the types of tape I use around wet media.
Water-Soluble Wax Pastels vs. Oil Pastels
The most important difference for this technique is simple: water-soluble wax pastels can be activated and moved with water, while traditional oil pastels are not used that way.
That makes water-soluble wax pastels especially useful when I want to combine drawing marks with transparent or semi-transparent washes on the same page.
I don’t think of one as a replacement for the other. They behave differently and create different surfaces.
Why I Like Water-Soluble Wax Pastels for Travel Sketching
These pastels make sense to me as a portable sketching material because the setup is minimal.
I can carry a few sticks, a sketchbook and a water brush or small brush rather than setting out a full palette.
I can also begin drawing immediately and decide later whether I want to introduce water.
That makes them useful for quick color studies and sketchbook work where I want something more immediate than a traditional watercolor setup.
A Simple Water-Soluble Wax Pastel Exercise
If you’re trying the medium for the first time, I wouldn’t begin with a finished painting.
Divide one sheet of watercolor paper into several sections and use the same few colors to test:
- Dry pastel on dry paper.
- Dry pastel activated with a damp brush.
- Pastel drawn onto damp paper.
- Pigment picked directly from the stick with a wet brush.
- Two colors overlapped and blended with water.
- Dry pastel layered over an activated wash.
Label each test and let it dry before comparing them.
That one page will tell you much more about how your particular pastels and paper behave than trying to memorize a set of rules.
Tips I’ve Learned From Using Water-Soluble Wax Pastels
- Test the colors both wet and dry. Water can change how saturated or transparent a color appears.
- Keep scrap paper nearby. I use it to test the amount of water before touching the main page.
- Don’t activate every mark. Leaving some dry texture makes the contrast between drawing and painting more interesting.
- Let wet areas settle before adding more layers. This gives me more control over whether later marks stay crisp or dissolve.
- Start with only a few colors. It is easier to learn the material when I’m not also deciding between dozens of sticks.
Water-Soluble Wax Pastels Are Both a Drawing and Painting Tool
That’s the quality I find most useful about them.
I can leave the marks completely dry, dissolve them into washes, pick pigment up with a brush, layer new marks over dried color, or combine them with watercolor.
If you’re just starting, test those possibilities separately before worrying about making a finished piece. Once you understand how the pastel responds to water, it becomes much easier to decide when you want a crisp drawing mark and when you want it to disappear into paint.
For another related medium, see my guide to watercolor pastels. For more experimental ways to combine materials, see my unusual watercolor techniques.