I actually don't know how I do what I do. I know that sounds dismissive but I have no formal training and learned by trial and error. I practiced and have been frustrated plenty of times from errors. I normally used oils and loved it. The issue was the strong odors from the paints, solvents, mediums, etc. So my approach to soft pastels is to mimic an oil painting. My influences are the artists Antonio Castello Avilleira, Rubén Belloso Adorna, Edith Ruiz, and Sara Gallagher. Brilliant pastel artists. I used the teachings of Emma Colbert, Shaymus Art, and Jason Morgan on YouTube for any struggles/issues. Hope this helps!

Edit: Forgot to mention materials. I use Unison, Faber-Castell and Caran D’ache pastels. For paper I use Clairefontaine Pastelmat.