Crayon

A crayon is a stick of colored wax, charcoal, chalk, or other material used for writing and drawing. A crayon made of oiled chalk is called an oil pastel; when made of pigment with a dry binder, it is simply a pastel. A grease pencil (UK chinagraph pencil) is made of colored hardened grease and is useful for marking on hard, glossy surfaces such as porcelain or glass.

Wax crayons are commonly used for drawing and coloring by children. Adult artists have occasionally produced works in crayon, though not commonly, due to the difficulty in mixing colors. Crayons are a staple at most schools worldwide. They are easy to work with, not messy (as is paint), blunt (removing the risk of sharp points present when using a pencil or pen), non-toxic, and available in a wide variety of colors. The world's largest manufacturer of wax crayons is Binney & Smith Inc., the manufacturer of Crayola crayons, which are made of paraffin wax, a petroleum product. Soybean oil can also be used to make crayons, although this is less common.

Conté, also known as Conté sticks or crayons, are a drawing medium composed of compressed powdered graphite or charcoal mixed with a wax or clay base, square in cross-section. They were invented in 1795 by Nicolas-Jacques Conté, who created the combination of clay and graphite in response to the shortage of graphite caused by the Napoleonic Wars. Conté crayons had the advantage of being cost-effective to produce, and easy to manufacture in controlled grades of hardness. They are now more commonly made of a variety of fabricated chalk.

Conté is most commonly found in black, white, and sepia tones and is frequently used on rough paper that holds pigment grains well. It can also be used on prepared primed canvases for underdrawing for a painting. The sticks' square profile makes Conté more suitable for detailed hatched work as opposed to the bolder 'painterly' drawing style demanded by soft pastels.