Do you want to know more about the colours included in the Caran d’Ache Neopastel range of oil pastels?
Oil pastels can be used as a sole drawing medium, or they can be used in mixed media art. You can also use them as you draw with your coloured pencils. Read how this coloured pencil artist uses oil pastels in her artwork.
So, you have limited time and energy, yet you want to thoroughly know your oil pastels so you can get the most out of them. You know it will take time to make colour charts and to sort through your oil pastels.
This post will help you save your time and your energy. It will show you what colour family colours and neutral colours are included in this range of 96 oil pastels. Use this post together with our post on colour harmonies to help you choose the colours of your next artwork.
You can also make your own charts.
Colour charts
Do you want a closer look at the Neopastel range of oil pastels? Click the image below access an interactive online chart that identifies the names of the Neopastel oil pastels by the colour wheel family or neutral groups. You can sort and search the chart for the oil pastel colour wheel colour families, pastel numbers, names and lightfast ratings. You can also see colour swatches.
If you are in a hurry, you can also do a quick search in a limited version of the chart where you can search the pastels by name, number, lightfast rating and see colour swatches. You can also view the manufacturers colour chart.
An almost complete set of lightfast oil pastels
The Caran d’Ache Neopastel lightfast rating system is a star system. The least lightfast colours being *, and the highest lightfast rating being *** (3 stars). Of the 96 Neopastel oil pastels, there are no colours with the lowest lightfast rating of *. 11 oil pastels have a lightfast rating of ** (2 stars). The remaining 85 oil pastels have the highest lightfast rating of *** (3 stars).
Caran d’Ache Neopastel oil pastels
This post has images that group the oil pastels into colour wheel colour family groups. Read this disclaimer about how the colours were analysed.
All colours (including the colour wheel family colours are neutrals) are shown in the pie chart below.
The bar chart below shows the comparative numbers of each colour family and neutral colours available in the range.
The charts above show the Neopastel range has a total of 96 oil pastels. Of this, 20 are neutral colours, 3 are metallic, and 73 are colours that belong to colour wheel colour families.
Now to get a closer look, let’s separate these colours into two groups. The colour wheel colours, and the neutral colours.
The colour wheel colours
The Colour Wheel Clock
The colours on a colour wheel moves clock-wise around a circle, or wheel. The table below shows the colour family positions on the clock.
| Clock Position | Colour Family |
|---|---|
| 12.00 | Red |
| 1.00 | Red-Orange |
| 2.00 | Orange |
| 3.00 | Orange-Yellow |
| 4.00 | Yellow |
| 5.00 | Yellow-Green |
| 6.00 | Green |
| 7.00 | Green-Blue |
| 8.00 | Blue |
| 9.00 | Blue-Violet |
| 10.00 | Violet |
| 11.00 | Violet-Red |
Of the colour wheel colours, the make up of each colour family is outlined below. The colours are of varying shades and tones. The predominant base colour belongs to the colour wheel family in which it has been placed.
Red – 12 o’clock
Let’s start with red at the 12.00 o’clock positon. The image below shows that the oil pastel range includes 2 red colour family oil pastels.
Red-Orange – 1.00 o’clock
The next colour family group is red-orange at 1.00 o’clock. This shows that the coloured pencil set of 96 includes 10 red-orange colour family oil pastels.
Orange – 2.00 o’clock
Next colour is orange at 2.00 o’clock. The coloured oil pastel set of 96 includes 3 orange colour family oil pastels.
Orange-Yellow – 3.00 o’clock
Orange-Yellow sits at the 3.00 o’clock position. The image below shows that the oil pastel set of 96 includes 5 orange-yellow colour family colour oil pastels.
Yellow – 4.00 o’clock
At 4.00 o’clock sits Yellow. The oil pastel range of 96 includes 6 yellow colour family oil pastels.
Yellow-Green – 5.00 o’clock
Yellow-Green sits at 5.00 o’clock. The image below shows that the oil pastel range of 96 includes 8 yellow-green colour family oil pastels.
Green – 6.00 o’clock
The colour family of green sits at 6.00 o’clock. The oil pastel range of 96 includes 5 green colour family oil pastels.
Green-Blue – 7.00 o’clock
Green-blue is at 7.00 o’clock. The image below shows that the oil pastel range of 96 includes 7 green-blue colour family pastels.
Blue – 8.00 o’clock
Blue is at the 8.00 o’clock position. The oil pastel range of 96 includes 9 blue colour family oil pastels.
Blue-Violet – 9.00 o’clock
Blue-Violet sits at the 9.00 o’clock positon. The image below shows that the oil pastel set of 96 includes 4 blue-violet colour family oil pastels.
Violet – 10.00 o’clock
Violet sits at the 10.00 o’clock position. The image below shows that the oil pastel range of 96 includes 8 violet colour wheel family oil pastels.
Violet-Red – 11.00 o’clock
Violet-Red sits at the 11.00 o’clock position. The oil pastel range of 96 includes 6 pastels that belong to the violet-red colour wheel colour family.
Colour wheel colour family – Summary
The Caran d’Ache Neopastel range of oil pastels has pastels in all the colour wheel colour families. Yet, the red and orange colour families have less than four oil pastels in each colour family (see line chart below).
Yet, there are likely colours in the red-orange colour wheel family that could be viewed as either of their analoguous colour family – red or orange.
Don’t be limited by the colours
It is not necessary to have more than four colours in each colour wheel family. You can successfully complete artwork, or have considered a full palette of colours with less. You can mix colours to achieve a third or even more colours to expand your palette.
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Neutral Colours
Of the neutral colours in the range of 96 – 20 are neutral, and 3 are metallic. These are shown in the image below.
The breakdown of these oil pastels is as follows.
Neutral-black
First, there are 4 neutral-black oil pastels.
Neutral-cool-grey
Next is cool-grey. This is the largest group of neutral colours with 7 oil pastels.
Neutral – warm-beige
Warm-beige follows with 4 oil pastels.
Neutral-cool-beige
Next is cool-beige. 3 oil pastels are cool-beige.
Neutral-white
White is another of the neutral colours. 2 oil pastels are considered in the neutral-white group.
Metallic
Finally, the 96 range of oil pastels has 3 metallic colours.
Neutral and Metallic Colours Summary
The bar chart below shows a breakdown of the range’s neutral colours.
The Caran d’Ache Neopastel oil pastel range is made up of a variety of colours and neutrals.
The selection of colour is subjective and the reviewer has chosen colour by looking at the actual oil pastel swatches. Nevertheless, you may find that particular colours belong in different groups or families.
Make your own colour chart
Draw up your own colour chart so you can get to know the actual colours of your oil pastels. You will then be able to see how your pencil performs on the papers that you use for your drawings.
However, it takes a long time to make your own chart. It usually is something that we don’t get around to doing.
If you’ve made your own chart – that’s great. But – as is practical, you might also have your charts in one physical place while you draw in another. You need to have access to the colours where you are. Hopefully, you’ll be there with internet access and your mobile device.
Interactive Neopastel Colour Chart
The details of the Neopastel oil pastels used in this post were rearranged into a sortable and searchable format in an interactive colour chart. This will help you identify which colours belong to in the respective colour wheel colour families. It will also help you get a better understanding of what’s available in the Caran d’Ache Neopastel range. Access the chart by clicking the image below.
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