These super quick pastel exercises show you how to create stormy, summer and dramatic night skies

Stormy skies

Dramatic stormy clouds are about achieving the contrast between dark and light. Begin by blocking in general colours in the sky, keeping the light areas clean and free from any dark smudges. 

Blend the colours, being mindful not to contaminate the lighter colours with the darker ones, it may be best to use different ends of the blender or a different finger for each colour. Smooth out the transition from one colour to another and start to add in mid tones (in this case grey) to help with this.

Introduce the dark tones to add drama to the scene. Vary the tone of the darks for added interest. Continue to blend the darks with the other colours, still being mindful to keep the light areas free from dark smudges.

Finally add in the light colours (whites or creams). When you form a cloud, you can mark in the shape and blend out underneath the cloud leaving a sharp edge over the top for added contrast.

Summer sky

Take a white pastel and draw in a circle for the sun, fill this in completely with white. Use an orange to mark in some initial striations in the sky and block the middle section in with deep yellow and the top section with peach. These form your initial layer of colours ready to add more pastel on top. Use the flat of the pastel to cover a larger area.

Blend the colours together, carefully working around the white sun.

Introduce a mid-blue in the top section of the sky, keeping the pastel flat to the paper and turning it so that the length of the pastel runs horizontally across the paper.

Add more striations of clouds using a bright yellow and deepen down some areas of the orange clouds with a rust red for added depth. Use the bright yellow around the sun area in particular, lightly taking it over the white area to tinge it with a bit of yellow.

Finally, use a layer of peach all over the sky to soften it, being mindful not to go over the sun or the darker layers of pastel at the bottom. Re-instate the centre of the sun by adding a bit more white and then add in a few extra soft white striations in the sky.

If you're new to pastels, don't stop here! Explore our other beginner-friendly guides to learn all you need to progress and develop your pastel skills.

Night sky

Begin by putting a layer of dark pastel for the ground and then start at the top and lay the pastel colours down in horizontal stripes using darker colours at the top and progress to the lighter colours towards the horizon/ground. Keep the darker bands of colour wider and the lighter colours thinner. Add a good amount of pastel to make it easy to blend.

Colours used – black, deep blue, purple, pink, orange and deep yellow .

Blend the colours together using a horizontal sweeping motion, moving from left to right and then right to left. Smooth the colours out so that they run seamlessly into each other. Change the end of the blender round when you reach the lighter colours so as not to contaminate them with dark pastel.

Draw a circle for the moon in your lightest colour, fill in the right-hand side to make a crescent and then lightly fill in the rest of the moon and blend it in with a blending stump or your little finger. Use the black pastel to create trees along the horizon.

Finally add in the stars by dotting around with a white pastel stick.

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