Pastels for Pet Portraits

I've been shopping on ebay and bought myself a set of soft pastels. I have been inspired by some beautiful Pet Portraits i've seen painted in soft pastels and by the demos that are currently in the Society for All Artists magazine.

Soft pastels are dry crayons made from powdered pigment, weakly bound in a solution of gum tragacanth or methyl cellulose. They also contain a preservative and often a fungicide. Soft pastels are available in a range of grades - hard, medium and soft - and in different sizes and shapes. I've bought a set of 24 Inscribe pastels to see how I get on with them as a medium. I'm hoping if I can produce good enough results I can offer pastels as a cheaper colour alternative to coloured pencils. I will let you know how I get on - my results will be displayed here first - unless they're truly awful!!