Pastel Landscape Mastery: Rocks in the Landscape
Lesson Description
In this focused lesson from the Pastel Landscape Mastery course, Matt guides students through the process of drawing rocks within a dynamic natural setting. The scene features a rocky stream that flows into a small pond, providing the perfect opportunity to explore texture, value, and form. With a structured, step-by-step approach, students learn how to simplify complex shapes and build convincing rock formations using soft pastels.
Understanding Rock Forms and Structure
The lesson begins with an emphasis on observation and simplification. Rather than attempting to draw every crack and surface detail immediately, Matt demonstrates how to break rocks down into basic geometric forms. This approach helps students understand how rocks sit within the landscape and how their planes interact with light.
By identifying these underlying shapes, students can more easily establish accurate proportions and placement. This foundational step ensures that the rocks feel solid and grounded within the composition, rather than appearing flat or disconnected.
Developing Texture Through Layering
Once the basic forms are in place, attention shifts to developing texture using layered pastel applications. Students learn how to build up color gradually, using a combination of soft pastels and pastel pencils to create variation across the rock surfaces. Subtle shifts in color—such as warm and cool grays, browns, and earth tones—help bring realism and visual interest to the drawing.
The textured surface of pastel paper allows for multiple layers, making it possible to create the rough, uneven qualities that define rocks in nature. This layering process is essential for achieving depth and complexity without overworking the drawing.
Using Light and Shadow to Define Form
A key focus of this lesson is the role of light in shaping the appearance of rocks. Matt demonstrates how to identify the direction of the light source and use it to establish highlights, midtones, and shadows. By increasing contrast in strategic areas, students can create the illusion of three-dimensional form.
Highlights are applied to the planes facing the light, while deeper shadows are used to define crevices and areas of overlap. This contrast not only enhances realism but also helps separate individual rocks within the composition.
Integrating Rocks with Water
The inclusion of a flowing stream and small pond adds an additional layer of complexity to the scene. Students learn how to integrate the rocks naturally with the surrounding water, ensuring that the elements feel connected rather than isolated. Reflections, subtle color shifts, and softened edges are used to suggest the interaction between solid and liquid forms.
This relationship between rocks and water is essential for creating a believable environment, as each element influences the appearance of the other. The result is a cohesive landscape that feels both dynamic and harmonious.
Balancing Detail and Suggestion
Throughout the lesson, Matt emphasizes the importance of selective detail. While rocks are highly textured, not every surface needs to be rendered with equal intensity. Students are encouraged to focus detail in key areas while allowing other sections to remain softer and more suggestive.
This balance prevents the drawing from becoming overly busy and helps guide the viewer’s eye through the composition. By simplifying where appropriate, students can maintain clarity while still achieving a high level of realism.
Strengthening Your Landscape Skills
This lesson builds upon earlier concepts in the course, reinforcing the importance of structure, value, and observation. By focusing on rocks—a subject often considered difficult—students gain confidence in their ability to tackle complex natural forms.
By the end of the lesson, students will have created a compelling pastel landscape featuring a rocky stream and pond, while developing the skills needed to render texture, light, and form with greater accuracy. These techniques can be applied to a wide range of landscape subjects, making this lesson a valuable step toward mastering pastel drawing.
Lesson Materials
Toned pastel paper, soft pastels, pastel pencils, NuPastels.
Lesson Resources
Download eBook
Reference Image
Course Curriculum
Founder of The Virtual Instructor, artist and teacher. Matt makes learning art easy to understand and enjoyable.
I would really like to see your photo reference before the drawings
Look just below video, it will say in blue letters ‘photo reference’
“Reference image” are the exact words!
I am disappointed not to see using the soft pastel sides and creating layering of colors. Feel this is way too basic for an intermediate pastel artist.
Hi Carol,
Thanks for your comment. The colors are developed by layering and blending. Are referring to scumbling to produce optical color?
hi matt,
11.some instructors forbid using black ever….
2.is it true it make the painting look flat,dead…
i really can’t tell at this point of my art journey…
thanks for your comments!
raquel
Amazing…it all looks so easy now to make a beautiful waterfall landscape…will try soon and upload!
Thank you so much!
I cannot download the video, when I hit the download button on the download page it doesent do anything. Help?
I am having the same problem and cannot download the video. Has anyone answered this yet?
Hi Aura,
When you click on the button, a dropdown area appears underneath. If you are on a computer with a smaller screen, like a laptop, you will have to scroll down the page after clicking on the button to see all of the download options.
I see what happened now. It added to the bottom of the webpage, but that was below my screen and so I did not see the change occur. Thanks Matt. I knew it had to be something simple like that! I love your classes and am learning so very much every day! Thank you.
Amazing…it all looks so easy now to make a beautiful waterfall landscape…will try soon and upload!
Thank you so much!
It may be a good idea to include the reference photo in the video to compare.
Could you change the angle of the camera so that we can see the pastel you are using and your strokes as you are working. It is frustrating that all I can see is the back of your hand most of the time.
Does the color of the paper have much effect on the painting?
Do you apply a fixative when painting is complete?
As the new guy here I can’t say enough about all that is offered here. I do have to agree with Bonnie Keller, it would be so much more beneficial if the camera was on the left side showing pastel to paper. I found myself on a couple occasions trying to look around your hand. Great job, great place I’ll be hanging here for awhile.
Hello matt
Tried making the rocks once in pastel but i got too overwhelmed added to many layering on top.
I wanted to know if the same result can be achived using coloured pencils as i am more confident in that
I echo the comment made by Bonnie regarding being able to see the strokes you use and the marks on the paper rather than the back of your hand. It gets in the way of one truly understanding the process
Hello Matt,
This is my second time doing this lesson. I purchased this course before joining. It is so cartoonish, by a great reference for improvements. I did use a really cheap set of pastels that didn’t work like the Rembrandts.
This time I have been struggling with this lesson. mostly because I am new with soft pastels. I have a limited colors as I purchased the Rembrandt pastels in the small groups of five and do not have blacks, dark greys or browns.
Since I do have dark colors as well as greens, purples, and burnt sienna I am wondering if I substitute colors to create a secondary color scheme?
I do really enjoy drawing and painting rocks so I want to work on this until I am satisfied.
Also one more question. I am thinking of going through this course with oil pastels. Do you think that would work? I do really enjoy oil pastels. the oil pastel course was really fun though I struggles, I also learned so much.
I hope that you and your family are well. I do appreciate your suggestions, hard work, and confirmation on my thoughts and questions.
Teri
Hi Teri,
You can certainly use oil pastels if you wish. But keep in mind, that although oil pastels are called “pastels”, they are quite different from soft pastels. Layering and blending oil pastels is a different process from soft pastels. This means that blending and layering the oil pastels will produce different results if applied in the same manner as soft pastels.