When using pan pastel, water soluble marks or anything delicate over acrylic painting, how would you lock in these delicate marks without smudging?
There are two ways I use, one more than the other:
1) I put Golden polymer medium or gel on a paper towel and blot over the top of the delicate marks. Allow this to dry and test with drops of water to see if they are "fixed". If not, repeat the blotting process as many times until your delicate marks no longer will smear. (For those in our ArtandSuccess PRO membership, See Part 1 of our Studio Topic 4 Zoom and Paint call, minute 34, where I explain how to blot delicate mark making!)
2) Another way to fix delicate marks is to use a spray with a permanent fixative spray - there are many brands out there (Prismacolor, etc). It's a good idea to not only do this where there is a lot of ventilation (like outside when it is not windy) - these are very toxic sprays so I usually use the method in step 1 above! Test the marks with drops of water and repeat the spray/dry process until they marks no longer smear.