# Magpie in pastels

**URL:** <https://community.thevirtualinstructor.com/t/magpie-in-pastels/385>\
**Category:** Share Your Art\
**Created:** [October 10, 2019, 1:36am UTC](https://community.thevirtualinstructor.com/t/magpie-in-pastels/385 "2019-10-10T01:36:55Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Showing post:** 11

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Maki](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/user_avatar/community.thevirtualinstructor.com/maki/32/77_2.png) [@Maki](https://community.thevirtualinstructor.com/u/Maki)\
**Post date:** [October 11, 2019, 12:34pm UTC](https://community.thevirtualinstructor.com/t/magpie-in-pastels/385/11 "2019-10-11T12:34:31Z")

</div>

Thank you for your comment, Ginny. I use a razorblade, but not a sand paper. Furthermore, I should have mentioned “density” or “sharpness” of lines when talking about the pastel pencils problem which has been bugging me. I want sharp and clear lines especially when I am working on something which has clear-cut edges like a house. I have just uploaded [a new pastel work](https://community.thevirtualinstructor.com/t/yumefusha-local-cafe-and-gallery/387) and for the very thin lines used for the café building, I used black or purple coloured pencils. I couldn’t help it, and as long as this sort of mixed media approach works fine, I lean toward keeping this way for my other works as well. At least I don’t find any reasons why I shouldn’t. Now I just did a bit of comparison of the thinnest lines I can achieve using a coloured pencil or a pastel pencil. This is the results of the comparison.

 ![2019-10-11_211526](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex030/uploads/thevirtualinstructor/original/1X/939652f4dadafc3dd0a6dc2603eb8879df5d4be2.jpeg)  
The line drawn using a coloured pencil is thinner plus more distinct, i.e. dense and sharp. This is the line I want. Maybe for the drawing of animals, the little bit of unevenness of pastel pencil lines would work as a strong point because the subject is soft and fluffy. But when it comes to buildings, and especially drawn using an A4 size paper, I think coloured pencils are the appropriate choice.

---

_[View the full topic](https://community.thevirtualinstructor.com/t/magpie-in-pastels/385)._