From fashion sketches to Rubén Belloso's hyper-realistic portraits, pastels enhance the creations of the most demanding artists. The technique was elevated to a Fine Art in the mid 19th century with the Impressionist movement.
With its ranges of dry, oil and wax pastels the Maison Caran d'Ache has perpetuated the artisanal savoir-faire that has set its pastels apart since 1952. As leading experts in colour, we offer with our Neopastel™ range a large selection of 96 colours that are brighter-than-life. With Caran d'Ache, complete your Fine Arts supplies.
Available in three types (dry, oil or wax) Caran d'Ache pastels set themselves apart with their range of available colours. Brought together in boxes and sets our pastels, which come in either stick or pencil form will adapt to all your techniques and work on many surfaces (paper, canvas, cardboard...).
The Neocolor™ I wax oil pastels are available in 50 colours, including 10 metallic. Water resistant, these pastels, that come in a rounded stick shape, offer exceptional covering power and vibrant colours. The pastels can be sharpened to a fine point which will allow for more intricate details as well as larger areas of solid colour.
Available in 84 colours, the Neocolor™ II Aquarelle water-soluble wax pastels have the largest range of colours for this medium. The Neocolor™II Aquarelle water-soluble wax pastels come in a rounded stick shape and can be used both wet and dry.
With 96 colours available, the Neopastel™ range of oil pastels will satisfy the requirements of even the most demanding artists. These Fine Art pastels can be used on a range of materials and have excellent covering power.
The dry Pastel Pencil comes in a pencil shape and will delight professionals as well as amateur artists with its exceptional lightfastness and the infinite possible blends allowed by the 84 colours in the range. Its wide lead allows you to apply pigment to large areas as well as blend your colours easily.
For advice on how to choose your drawing and painting instruments check our guide to selecting your pastels.
Since 1952 the Caran d'Ache pastels have been manufactured in the heart of our Geneva workshop where our internationally renowned master pastel artists work with the finest ingredients: highly concentrated pigments and a top-quality binder.
The result is a range of exceptional-quality pastels that are comfortable to grip and use, and offer unrivalled results.
Caran d'Ache is also the first manufacturer to elevate pastels to the rank of Fine Art with both its Neocolor™ I wax pastels and Neopastel™ oil pastels. Caran d'Ache pastels have become a reference for great and budding artists alike.
The high concentration of pigment in Caran d'Ache pastels sets these apart making them exceptional art instruments. The Neocolor™ I in particular can be used on most surfaces such as paper, cardboard, canvas, glass, wood, leather, cloth, etc.
Depending on your creative mood, layer your colours with Neocolor™ I or give them a watercolour effect with the water-soluble Neocolor™ II. The combinations are infinite: use your pastels for colour gradients, full coverage and finger painting.