MAKING YOUR OWN PASTELS! 

http://studioproducts.com/demo/pastetxt.html
This is where the info comes from.  Thanks

I have use this method to create my own pastels.  I can make one of a kind colors and manage the quality control better.  The size and shape of the pastels are completely up to me.  
   "Snarky art teacher"

Pastels are very easy to make and the savings over store bought pastels is enormous. Pastels are made by mixing a gum solution with pigment, shaping into sticks and allowing it to dry. That’s all there is to it. Of all the gums and binders, Gum Tragacanth is best suited for pastel making. It has a very high pigment binding strength, but it won't stick to your fingers as you manufacture your pastels.


Full strength Gum Tragacanth
solution is prepared as follows:

1 tbsp.	gum tragacanth
15 oz.	distilled water

1. Mix the gum and water, allowing the mixture to sit for 2 days (it cannot be rushed). It will become a soft gel.
2. Store the mixture in the refrigerator to avoid having it spoil.

Different pigments hold varying amounts of water, when water and binder is added to them some must be blended with different dilutions of the gum solution in order to create a uniform softness (the stronger the gum solution, the harder the pastel). In order to adjust for the different needs of pigments, the Gum Tragacanth should be thinned as follows:

A) Full Strength Tragacanth

B) 1 Part Solution A to 2 Parts Water

C) 1 Part Solution B to 2 Parts Water

D) 1 Part Solution C to 2 Parts Water

E) 1 Part Solution D to 2 Parts Water

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The pastels made in the following manner:
As you can see, we’re not too concerned with making perfectly round pastels — but you might be.

1. Place a small mound of Pigment onto a clean non-porous surface.
2. Add a small amount of the Gum Tragacanth Solution.
3. Work the Gum Tragacanth into the pigment with a palette knife.
4. Continue mixing until it forms a dough of a rubbery consistency.
5. Cut the pigment in half.
6. Roll one half into sticks and put aside for drying (we cover our pastels with waxed paper to slow down the drying and insure consistent quality).
7. Mix the other half with an equal part of Zinc White (which you have made into a paste - make a lot of this).
8. Cut that mixture in half, make sticks and put aside for drying.
9. Continue cutting the remaining color with an equal amount of white until it reaches its limit of paleness. Now you have a complete range of one color.
10. If the dough is too wet, it sticks to paper and if its too dry the pastels will fall apart before they dry.
11. Roll the dough on newspaper, until a pastel stick shape is formed.
12. Allow Pastel Sticks to dry for a day or two, before use. The slower they dry, the less chance they will break.

Here is a partial list of binder solutions and pigments that work well together:


Solution B

Titanium White
Unbleached Titanium
Iron Oxide Black
Ultramarine Blue
Ultramarine Violet

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Solution C

Zinc Oxide
Slate Grey
Permanent Yellow HKA
Raw Sienna
French Ochres
Mars Red

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Solution D

Champagne Chalk
Bologna Chalk
Kaolin
Blanc Fixe
Ivory Black
Yellow Iron Oxide
English Red

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Solution E

Burnt Umber
Yellow Ochre
Green Earth
Pompeiian Red

If you are looking for the supplies for making your own pastels... Blick Art supplies is a great source and so is Kramer Pigment.  Gum Tragacanth is not easy to fine.  I have only been able to locate it a Kramer Pigments.