Little Vampire - Under Construction

I once posted a few short stories about 'Little Vampire' here

I can honestly say this is a real struggle. The image is very detailed and there’s no way I can use the soft pastel sticks. Even the tips of the pastel pencils are often too thick.
I’m still/also fighting with the green paper and am now trying to rub the pastel into it and blend it using cotton buds.
It seems that, no matter what I try, I can’t get the pastel to form an even layer. The texture of the paper remains visible.

I applied the first layer very thinly in the hope that rubbing in circles would create an even base layer and fill in the textured paper's lower areas. This turned out not to be the case. It also looks as though there are greasy patches on the paper where nothing sticks at all. Sometimes it also seems as though one colour adheres and blends better than the other.

Let’s just say this painting is a work in progress for now. It looks like I’ll be working on this for a few days.

If anyone has any other ideas to try, I’d be grateful to hear them.

_{15-5-2026
Prompt: under construction
Materials: Bruynzeel pastel pencils, fabriano pastel paper, colour: prato, cotton buds, carbon papier (white)}