When I started out with soft pastels there was so much to learn about painting with pastels; the type and variety available, surfaces, equipment and techniques. Below are some of the free guides I accessed and found useful.
Alain Picards's Pastel Supply List can be downloaded
Even within the soft pastel umbrella there are different levels of softness. My understanding is that soft pastels are comprised of pigments and binders and each brand has their own formulation. More pigment and less binder products are more expensive and vice versa.
In relation to softness it depends on the action you want to perform; for example harder pastels can be great for more defined lines and features. Whereas very soft pastels are great for finishing touches and bursts of intense colour.
Jacksons Art have an informative blog post detailing the properties of sift pastels by Sophie Ploeg which is worth reading.
Sophie Ploeg also has a video reviewing some pastel brands on YouTube
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