If you've been hanging out with me for the Whimsical Women of the World portrait drawing series on YouTube, you know how we start out each and every face we draw! No matter the ethnicity or gender - our human faces all follow the same basic face drawing guidelines.

If you're not sure what I'm talking about, you NEED to download my Whimsical Face Drawing Guidelines for your art table! These guidelines are EVERYTHING, and will help your face drawings look more proportional! Click the button below and I'll send the cheatsheet directly to your inbox! 

The woman in today's reference photo presents us with quite a few unique drawing challenges! 

If you're drawing along with me (AND I HOPE YOU ARE!!!!), you'll notice this woman's head is tilted slightly and her nose is actually quite short, so it will feel like her facial features are a bit off from our face drawing guidelines. It's ok! Sketch in your guidelines like we always do, then study the reference photo and adjust accordingly. As you'll see in the video, I had to do a lot of checking, rechecking and erasing to get things the way I wanted them. 

AND full transparency - I had ZERO idea how to draw the brass rings around her neck! So while I sketched in her facial features, I tried to do a little problem solving in my mind about how I would attack that area of the drawing, and later - how I might want to approach the coloring portion of the project. 

In case you're wondering where this particular model is from - she's from the Padaung tribe in Burma- where the cultural tradition for Padaung women of wearing brass rings around the neck is still practiced by some today. Some say this is rooted in religion, some say it was and still is a defense against tiger attacks (which apparantly happen at the throat). Others have said the rings ward off men from other tribes because it makes these women "unattractive" and less appealing to kidnap and turn into slaves. Girls typically begin wearing the rings around age five. 

These women have been called "giraffe women," because of their stretched necks, but their necks actually haven't been stretched at all. It's an illusion. The pressure and weight of the rings press down on their collarbones and actually shift the rib cage's position so this area of the body becomes deformed, giving the appearnace of an elongated neck.

OUCH, that sounds painful!! I can't even imagine...

If this is drawing project is feeling too advanced for you - hang in there. She's tough. If you need something simpler, start at the beginning of the series and work up to this one. If you're completely new to face drawing-  this short playlist will be more your speed and will teach you how to draw and shade a very simple whimsical face in pencil.

One of the main facial features that attracted me to this reference photo is based on a drawing lesson request I get all the time - how to draw wrinkles, or an older mature face...
​
The trick to drawing wrinkles is to just DRAW THEM! That's it. They're kind of like their own independent facial feature that you have to observe and try replicating on your paper. Study your reference photo to look for the extra lines, and draw what you see.

​What can make drawing wrinkles extra challenging, is that every wrinkle has a highlight AND a shadow that goes with it! So the tricky part is not only getting them drawn in - but shading them realistically as well! This is an excellent example of where drawing becomes an art of observation.

If you feel like you want a copy or the real time lesson for this or any of the projects in the Whimsical Women of the World series, the stand alone classroom is available at Awesome Art School.  If you'd just like the reference photo and do not need the real time drawing lesson, you can find them in my YouTube & Cheatsheet Library.  Feel free to use MY drawing here and in the video as your reference as well.

I know this project, and many of the drawing projects in this series feel much more realistic and not how I typically define my "whimsical style." But I kept the word in this series on purpose because it serves as a reminder that each and every drawing project doesn't have to be perfect! It removes some of the pressure that drawing realistically can impose on us. You don't have to be a perfectionist, you can approximate things and take artistic liberties if you call your piece "whimsical" versus "realistic." 

EMBRACE the freedom of NOT being perfect. Try your best to replicate what you see, but don't get into a tizzy if it doesn't work out. Do your best, HAVE FUN with it, and move on. 

If you're new to shading with alcohol markers, I know there are SO many skin tones and SO many brands out there, it can really be overwhelming when you're first getting started, and/or have a limited budget to spend on art supplies.

Personally, I love shading with copic markers because of their juicy, brush nib. It feels like a paintbrush to me! But at around $9/marker, they're totally out of reach for most of us. I've been collecting them little by little for a LONG TIME! A really great copic marker alternative brand is Ohuhu. Their markers are surprisingly juicy for the cost and have a brush nib very similar to the one I'm in love with from my Copics. 

If you'd like some tips about what skin tone markers go well together, I've recently created a HUGE cheatsheet to help you out!! I say "cheatsheet," but it's really a little book, because this PDF is 12 pages of detailed color swatching!!! ​

Click the button below and I'll sent that straight to your inbox! You'll find recommendations as to which skin tone markers work well for light, medium, and dark complexions across three different alcohol marker brands (Copic, Ohuhu, and Arteza). It's really quite comprehensive, so even if you're not a total newbie to working with alcohol markers - there are still some gems in here for you that you may not have thought of before! ​

As you'll see in the video, there are so many layers of shading happening in the face with my alcohol markers. For these projects, my shading is about 95% alcohol markers, with a bit of colored pencil and white paint pen on top to help bring each drawing to life.

HOT TIP: I found a really sharp tip to be helpful for wrinkle definition when I got to the colored pencil portion of this project. 

Make sure you watch the video to really get a feel for where both the shadows and highlights go to help the wrinkles pop. 

I don't know about you, but sometimes I can get inside my own head with a project too much. For this one, there were some shadow shapes that weren't making sense to me and I had to just tell myself to quiet these thoughts and JUST DRAW. It doesn't have to make sense. Just draw what you see and turn that critical side of your brain off for a bit. This can be a really powerful mindset shift, and it will show in your work.

Even when I started shading the brass rings, I still had no idea how I was going to capture them because I've never drawn anything like this in my whole life. I had no idea how the piece was all going to come together, but I just started shading, and kept pushing forward- trying to quiet the doubts in my mind while I tried a variety of techniques to help me replicate what I was seeing in the reference. 

Don't think just because I'm a teacher, I always have a plan and know what I'm doing. I don't! I'm always learning, always trying new things, and doing a series like this pushes me to try even more! I hope it pushes you too!! 

If you need any new drawing supplies, here are links to all of my favorite supplies that were used in this project! All product links are Affiliate. I may earn a small commission if you choose to order through these links but by law there is never any additional cost to the consumer for doing so. I thank you for your support!

👉Hammermill Cover Cardstock 100lb 8.5" x 11" (fave to use with markers and best value at 4-8 cents per sheet and 250 sheets!!) 

👉This Arteza pencil set is a new find and a GOOD one!! 

👉Pentel GraphGear Mechanical Pencil Set (only ones I use) 

👉Ohuhu Markers 24 piece skin tone set (Around $1/marker and with the brush nib, the best alternative to Copics in my opinion!) 

👉Copic Skin Tone Pack of 6 ($33) 

👉Copic B Set (my fave which has the most skin tones) (72 Set for $330) 

👉Arteza Everblend Skin Pack of 36 ($36 - insane value!!!) 

👉Arteza EverBlend Alcohol Markers (60 Set for $112 - also insane value!!) 

❤️  Want FREE, immediate access to my Fun Fab Drawing Club and/or Mixed Media Society plus discounts on all my art books, sneak peek at YouTube videos and new book content, behind-the-scenes fun and MORE? Join me over on Patreon today and get HUGE PERKS in return for a small monthly donation. 

❤️ CHECK OUT ALL my art books on AMAZON (available in both Kindle and Paperback)

❤️ SIGNED COPIES of my art books on ETSY

❤️ MY FAVORITE ART SUPPLIES on AMAZON

❤️ MY BELOVED FACEBOOK GROUP  

❤️ FOLLOW ME ON INSTAGRAM

❤️ FOLLOW ME ON FACEBOOK

Before we even walk into the store, here are the TOP 3 THINGS I'm always looking for when I'm on the hunt for an old book to upcycle into an altered book art journal for my mixed media masterpieces!! 

1.  Matte pages that are super flat - not glossy

2. Threaded binding

3. Thin books (12 - 30 pages usually feels good to me because I like to FILL my art journals completely!!)
​
QUICK THRIFT TRIP TIPS: Head to the children's section & sheet music book section and you're sure to score!!

Grabbing an old book like the one pictured above is AWESOME to keep around when you're in the mood for collage!

I love these types of books because the pages are usually really thin and distressed looking already (another LOVE IT for me). Additionally the pages are usually very pourous and soak up whatever adhesives and primers I throw at them from matte medium to gesso!

Lots of people have asked if I feel bad taking these old books home to use for art. I'll tell ya what- I don't. Not one bit!! That's because I specifically look for the books that are super beat up and completely on their last legs anyway- with missing pages, no cover, etc. I take the ones that no one else wants. THESE are my treasures! 

I also REALLY love picking up books that have a variety of font sizes and typefaces in them. It just makes things more interesting to look at if you mix these elements up in your collage art.

Magazines like the one above are GORGEOUS, but I really shy away from them because they are typically super glossy, and I know working on a matte surface is going to yield better results, so as much as this glamour shot is calling my name - back she goes onto the shelf for someone else.

​The pages of the children's encyclopedia above are PERFECT and exactly what I'm looking for, but there are SO many pages in this book, it's a little overwhelming. If I can't find something, I may come back to this one, because it's possible to systematically score and remove pages to thin the book out without compromising it's integrity if it has threaded binding (see below). I don't know if I'm in the mood for that much effort though, and with SO many options in this thrift shop - I keep digging!

As you'll see in the video, we ended up with quite a few awesome finds! I found an old fashioned giant coloring book of "Alice in Wonderland" that felt just perfect to me. Mandi grabbed an old book of paper dolls, some sheet music, and a board book.

Board books like the one she found (below) can be great as altered books! They're super sturdy and this one has a particularly fun shape! Just a word of warning - board books often have a sheen or gloss to them, which can make art-ing on top of them tricky. A great work around is to literally spray them with paint primer, or to sand the gloss right off the page! 

Once you've decided which book you want to turn into an art journal, it's super easy to get started. I often begin with shoring up the pages using some pretty duct tape down the center to reinforce the binding. This typically sets the stage for my entire color scheme for a piece! 

If getting started feels hard (TRUST ME, YOU'RE NOT ALONE!!), I've got a Bob Ross inspired "Kick in the Pants" PDF for you to help you start art journaling so you can get over the fear of the blank page, and just start HAVING FUN already!! CLICK the button below and I'll send that fun art journaling cheatsheet straight to your inbox!!

After you grab your art journaling cheatsheet, be sure to binge this entire series on YouTube about art journaling. I promise it will help you get OVER the HURDLE and just start creating. Here is one of the funny, no stress projects we do! Aren't these emus hilarious?! 

​If you're in the mood to try addding human faces to your art journal, but kinda hate drawing or feel intimidated by it - I've got an entire NO DRAW series of art journaling prompts to help you try this as well. It's SO much fun!! You can download my FREE face shape template, and I teach you EXACTLY how to use her so you can play around with adding gorgeous faces in your art journal - without the stress of having to learn how to draw! 

The children's book I bought on this thrift shop field trip turned out to be so much fun to work in. Here's one of my favorite pieces I created inside. She's actually a mixed media art tutorial as well. That tear wasn't meant to be there, believe it or not. Find out HOW it came to be by clicking HERE. 

If hope you have just as much fun on your own thrift shop adventure and creating your own mixed media art journal as I did!! See ya back here next week!! 

I LOVE teaching how to draw a whimsical face, and have been enjoying creating the whimsical face drawing tutorials in this series! Today's art reference photo features a three quarter view face AND a tricky new head tilt to give us some practice drawing faces at different angles!

Because her head tilt is so unique- none of my cheatsheets will work to help you draw her from scratch...SO I'm teaching you how to create YOUR OWN FACE DRAWING GUIDELINES!!!

I honestly don't know WHERE this gorgeous model is from, but for the sake of our Whimsical Women of the World portrait drawing series, I'm going to pretend she is from the Ukranie! 

When I have to create my own guidelines from scratch - my trick is to lay a sheet of trace paper on top of my reference image to sketch in key angles and note specifically where the facial features features should be located in relation to one another.  

As you'll see in the video, I traced the outline of the model's face shape and laid my pencil across her face to help me determine the correct angle of her eyes, nose and mouth. This nose is especially tricky because it's upturned.  I found the shape to be very much like a triangle, so sketched that in. Additionally I noted approximately how wide the eyes and lips were, as well as the basic hair shape.

When I finished tracing, I laid a sheet of drawing paper to the side of my trace paper and tried to replicate the guidelines I had created for myself on the trace paper. 

​If at any point, this one feels too hard- try something simpler! I've got two playlists on my YouTube drawing channel for beginners: how to sketch and shade a simple face, and how to draw profiles - all in graphite! If that feels more like your pace- start there and pop back here when you're ready! We're not going anywhere :)

If you haven't been to AwesomeArtSchool.com before, I highly suggest you check it out!!!

I've got so much FUN stuff for you to explore whether you like to draw, paint, do mixed media art - it's all there, and there really is something for everyone!

Back to today's project! When you feel like your drawing is in good shape and you'd like to start shading, go ahead and erase all of your guidelines. 

If you are shading in copic markers (or ANY brand of alcohol markers!), be sure you've removed as much as you can of the graphite from your guidelines because the graphite really has a tendancy to smear and get carried away by these juicy markers. 

One of my little workarounds to make sure this doesn't happen when I'm using my light skin tone markers, is to use kind of a pouncing motion to lift some of the graphite from the facial features I've drawn, so there is less of a chance I'll drag it across my page with my marker. 

If you're new to shading with alcohol markers, I know there are SO many skin tones and SO many brands out there, it can really be overwhelming when you're first getting started, and/or have a limited budget to spend on art supplies. 

If you'd like some tips about what skin tone markers go well together, I've recently created a HUGE cheatsheet to help you out!! I say "cheatsheet," but it's really a little book, because this PDF is 12 pages of detailed color swatching!!! 

Click the button below and I'll sent that straight to your inbox! You'll find recommendations as to which skin tone markers work well for light, medium, and dark complexions across three different alcohol marker brands (Copic, Ohuhu, and Arteza). It's really quite comprehensive, so even if you're not a total newbie to working with alcohol markers - there are still some gems in here for you that you may not have thought of before! ​

When I'm coloring with copic markers, I typically shade light to dark, laying down a foundational shade of the lightest skin tone I'll be using to shade the face. Then I slowly work in an additional 2-4 more skin tone markers to help me indicate the range of shadows I see in my reference photo. 

Every time I add in another layer of shading in a slightly darker shade, I ONLY shade in the areas where I see shadows on my reference model's face and simply keep darkening smaller sections of the areas I've already shaded.  When I have a good four layers of shading down, I will take the lighter skin tones and color the entire face with it - shading in a DIFFERENT direction from my original strokes to try and blend any streaks, color transitions or mistakes. 

I feel like this particular step is TRULY MAGICAL!! It takes all my previous layers, re-wets them, and BLENDS them together.

As you'll see in the video, I also use a combination of skin tone famlies. I started out in yellows and beiges, and eventually worked in some pale pink, which adds a layer of sophistication in the complexity of my shading.  Don't be afraid to reach for a wide variety of colors, because it's the BLEND of all these tones that really takes your work to the next level!! 

When you hit this point of your project, you're about half-way done. Her eyes aren't finished, she hasn't "come alive" yet, and you're in what I lovingly like to call "the ugly phase." Try to be patient and keep working your layers. I promise she WILL come out of it.  My biggest advice is DON'T GIVE UP.  If you do- the "ugly phase" wins - and you'll never know what your girl could've turned into, SO just KEEP GOING. 

Hair can be daunting for a lot of us, but the COOL THING about alcohol markers, is you can really sweep your marker from root to tip fairly quickly to fill the space and create the illusion of volume in no time.  I like to use three shades of color in the hair of my girls to break up the space and add depth. 

I LOVE outlining my girls, but if you don't - do whatever works for you! This is just an artistic preference for me, and part of my whimsical /illustrative style. I use my fineliner for this job, and look at THAT... she's coming alive, and busting OUT of her ugly phase. LOVE IT!! I told you it would happen!!  

Once you're happy with the shading you've done in marker (or whatever art supplies you're using!), it's time to add some colored pencil.

If you need help with this part of the project, you can find it in real time over at AwesomeArtSchool.com in the Whimsical Women of the World classroom. I share tips and techniques like how I hold my pencil, and why, so I get the effects I'm after.

I suggest you don't add MORE alcohol marker layering on top of your colored pencil, because the colored pencil can really have a waxy finish to it, and can fight with your markers. 

If you haven't heard, I am writing a book about this series and would love to feature YOUR ARTWORK! Please read the submission requirements and upload your interpretation of this or ANY project from the Whimsical Women series, right here on my website. 

I hope you learn as much from this drawing project as I did! Please scroll down for supplies used to create this project,  and leave a comment if you have any questions!! 

​See ya back here next week!!

If you need any new drawing supplies, here are links to all of my favorite supplies that were used in this project! All product links are Affiliate. I may earn a small commission if you choose to order through these links but by law there is never any additional cost to the consumer for doing so. I thank you for your support!

👉Hammermill Cover Cardstock 100lb 8.5" x 11" (fave to use with markers and best value at 4-8 cents per sheet and 250 sheets!!) 

👉This Arteza pencil set is a new find and a GOOD one!! 

👉Pentel GraphGear Mechanical Pencil Set (only ones I use) 

👉Ohuhu Markers 24 piece skin tone set (Around $1/marker and with the brush nib, the best alternative to Copics in my opinion!) 

👉Copic Skin Tone Pack of 6 ($33) 

👉Copic B Set (my fave which has the most skin tones) (72 Set for $330) 

👉Arteza Everblend Skin Pack of 36 ($36 - insane value!!!) 

👉Arteza EverBlend Alcohol Markers (60 Set for $112 - also insane value!!) 

❤️  Want FREE, immediate access to my Fun Fab Drawing Club and/or Mixed Media Society plus discounts on all my art books, sneak peek at YouTube videos and new book content, behind-the-scenes fun and MORE? Join me over on Patreon today and get HUGE PERKS in return for a small monthly donation. 

❤️ CHECK OUT ALL my art books on AMAZON (available in both Kindle and Paperback)

❤️ SIGNED COPIES of my art books on ETSY

❤️ MY FAVORITE ART SUPPLIES on AMAZON

❤️ MY BELOVED FACEBOOK GROUP  

❤️ FOLLOW ME ON INSTAGRAM

❤️ FOLLOW ME ON FACEBOOK

Today I want to show you how to draw a whimsical MALE face just to mix things up a bit with the whimsical face drawing tutorials in this series- especially because I often get requests to draw guys, and I'm a boy mom of 3- so here ya go!!

In today's face drawing lesson, I'll also cover how to draw Asian eyes (forward facing), and have an awesome new Skin Tone Marker cheatsheet just waiting FOR YOU if you didn't grab that last week!

To draw this cutie, we start with an oval like always, then we're gonna MAN-ify the facial features! 

In general, keep in mind that men have more STRAIGHT lines when it comes to drawing. 

When you're ready to darken the face shape for this dude, start by straightening the lines on the sides of his face (like shown above).

Then, as you work your way down toward a chin area, you can imagine we're attaching a triangle to the bottom of his face - just cutting off the pointy part and leaving a straight line.  It's probably easier to see this in action, so check out the tutorial over on my YouTube drawing channel. 

The next main difference when drawing male faces (even whimsically), is to change the width of the neck. The male neck is MUCH wider than a female's. 

Now it's time to sketch in our face drawing guidelines!

I find this fact kind of amazing ... the face drawing guidelines for drawing men and women are identical! Crazy, right? No matter WHAT our ethnicity or gender are - we all start out with the same basical human face shape, and our faces naturally follow the same basic face drawing guidelines to make us look proportionally correct!

If you're not sure what I'm talking about, you HAVE to download my FREE Face Drawing Guidelines Cheatsheet to help you out! I printed and laminated mine because drawing proportions of the face are SO important. It's a reference I've ALWAYS got on my art table. Click the button below and I'll send it straight to your email ;) 

Back to our drawing!! 

The biggest difference when you're drawing asian eyes vs. any other ethnicity, is often the absense of a dramatic upper eyelid. That's it! Pretty simple adjustment, right? Watch the video to see how this looks in real time, step by step. 

Male hair, like hair for women -also has volume that extends above and outside the face shape oval we've drawn in, so make sure you block in the general shape you see for hair. This will make it much easier later when it's time to shade. 

If you're drawing along with me (and I HOPE you are, because you'll learn SO much MORE by doing this than just watching me!!), I think you'll find that drawing eyes on a male face is actually QUITE easier, because there is no makeup to worry about! 

If you'd like a copy of this reference, or any reference from this series, I've popped them into TWO convenient locations for you over at Awesome Art School! The stand alone, Whimsical Women of the World classroom - where everything (even the color shading part of each lesson) is in real time, step by step has references, as well as my YouTube Cheatsheet & Video Library. 

If you're a member of the Fun Fab Drawing Club or Mixed Media Society- you've already been given free access to the Whimsical Women of the World classroom. 

As you'll see in today's whimsical portrait drawing tutorial, when you get to the lips, you have to be careful about not letting them get girly. Watch the shapes carefully here. Even if your model has very full lips, you don't want to draw the lines in super dark, because the more you define them and darken these lines, the girlier your dude will start to look! 

If you get to a point in this drawing (or ANY drawing!), and you feel like something looks a little off and needs to move - don't be too precious about what you've already drawn in. Go ahead and erase whatever is bugging you and draw it again!

You drew it once, you can TOTALLY draw it again. And that adjustement might make your drawing look SO much better! I drew this guy's left eye THREE times before I was happy. Then when I pulled my markers out, I drew BOTH of them over again - I think TWICE!! Don't worry about it. Just do what feels right to YOU. 

The lighting effect is the main reason I selected this particular image for today's free drawing lesson. I think you're gonna enjoy it when you're ready to shade because it's unique. 

You'll see the nose bridge is actually in SHADOW today (instead of highlighted as it typically is), because there are TWO light sources for this particular photo. One on either side of his face!

Check out the video to see how I show this to you in action. It's super interesting, and if you've been drawing any of the projects from my Whimsical Women series, it's honestly the opposite from what we normally see in terms of light source.

I've been using alcohol markers to do all the shading for my Whimsical Women of the World face drawing projects, but PLEASE use whatever art supply YOU LOVE best!! 

If you are using alcohol markers too - please don't worry if you don't have copic markers. I know they are SO expensive, and I've been collecting them over a long period of time. I totally love the Ohuhu brand as well and they are way cheaper. Arteza also has some good markers for even less. If you're new to shading with alcohol markers, or need some tips on which skin tone markers go nicely together for a variety of ethnicities, I recently created a FREE 12-Page cheatsheet ALL about this to help ya out!!

I organized it by color family for skin tones that are light, medium, or dark, and have marker swatches from each brand (Copic, Ohuhu, Arteza) that will work well. This should REALLY save you some swatching and trial/error time! 

Click the button below and I'll send it straight to your inbox. 

Before we continue, super quick announcement: All prouct links are Affiliate. I may earn a small commission if you choose to order through these links, but by law, there is never any additional cost to the consumer for doing so. I thank you for your support! 

If you're interested in how to draw a male face, and are new to me and my channel, you'll find a few here and there, but I know my audience is most interested in drawing female faces, so that is primarily what you'll see. 

I do, however, have a book dedicated to drawing guys in a whimsical style called How to Draw Fun Fab Fellas that I created for my own boys when they were younger. It's available on Amazon if you're interested! It covers how to draw a male face from all the main angles- forward facing, profile and 3/4 view. 
​

Full transparency here - I'm not in love with the way this project turned out - just being totally honest. 

I think the model is SUPER CUTE, but sometimes this just happens, and you've got to be honest with yourself.

I want to make sure you know how I feel about my own work, so you can own your feelings, and not obsess over them for too long if something you were excited to do, didn't turn out how you'd envisioned. 

It's ok, and happens to ALL of us! Art is supposed to be FUN. If something doesn't go as planned, change what you can. If the project is done- move on and do something else! It's as SIMPLE as that.

I've got 3 more whimsical face drawing projects coming up for you in this series, including a more mature woman with wrinkles and an up-turned face, so keep your eyes peeled for those!! 

I hope you have fun with this project if you choose to draw along with me!!

​See ya back here next Monday for more!!

I'm in LOVE with a watercolor brand called Daniel Smith. If you're new to Daniel Smith watercolors, these tubes are pricey, but if you want to try watercolor, I recommend cutting through the cluter on the shelves at your craft store and choosing something that will give you a quality experience from the very beginning.

You can absolutely try something cheaper that gives you more colors for less money, but I guarantee you'll go back to the store looking for something better in time, and you'll spend MORE on trial and error with your supplies than if you had selected one or two shades of Daniel Smith watercolors to play with from the start.

In today's YouTube video I'm showing you EXACTLY how to build your first Daniel Smith watercolor palette! 

A watercolor palette is simply a case to hold a collection of colors. Many brands carry sets of prefilled palettes, but typically I prefer to create my own.

Before we continue, super quick announcement: All product links are Affiliate. I may earn a small commission if you choose to order through these links, but by law there is never any additional cost to the consumer for doing so. I thank you for your support!!  

​There are multiple ways to go about making your own palette. The one above contains tiny, removeable squares called half pans. I buy them empty so I can squeeze my favorite colors into them and create an entire palette of beautiful options to paint with. 

Alternatively, you can select a watercolor palette that has indentations or little wells in it - like the one shown below- to hold your colors. You choose whichever style you like best to work with! 

As you'll see- when you squeeze watercolor tubes onto your own palette- the paints look much darker here than they do when you add water to them and put them on paper! Because of this- it's SUPER EASY to wet your brush and think you're dipping into black, when it's actually indigo, green or purple!! 

To help yourself remember which colors live where in your palette, you'll want to create a little "key" for yourself. This is called color swatching. You can cut out a piece of watercolor paper to fit inside your palette, or you can swatch in your watercolor sketchbook, etc.  

I bought this adorable, long watercolor sketchbook and have decided to use this to swatch the colors I'm dropping into a new palette with only my absolute FAVORITE Daniel Smith watercolor shades!  

​Be sure you watch the video to see just how I do this so you can replicate it at home for yourself whenever you're ready! In the video I also give you my recommendations about which colors you might want to start with if you have a limited budget or just need some ideas on where to begin!!

I also love using Silver Black Velvet watercolor brushes, but if you need help selecting a watercolor brush - I've got an entire VIDEO on this subject ready and waiting FOR YOU!! 

​I hope you find this helpful and I can't wait to see what you create!!! I think you're going to LOVE the world of watercolor - especially if you're using Daniel Smith!! 

See ya back here next week!! 

I've been collecting  copic markers (especially copic skin tones!) for some time now, but they don't come cheap!!!

Tons of students have reached out asking if there is a copic marker alternative I can recommend that is more affordable to do their Whimsical Women of the World face drawing projects with. 

​I bought ALL the ohuhu skin tone markers and artezas I could get my hands on so I could give YOU some answers in today's YouTube video on my drawing channel!!! ​

The questions I've been hearing the most from students, are not only how do the various alcohol marker brands compare to one another, but more specifically - are there equivalent marker shades from brand to brand of alcohol based markers? 

For example - if you've got the ohuhu skin tone markers set - which number should YOU use if I'm using copic E39? 

I WISH it was that simple!! ​

​Since it's not- I created a cheatsheet to help you out - with my own skin tone marker swatch comparisons!! 

If you'd like to get your hands on this 12 page PDF for FREE, and save yourself TONS of money and hours in swatch time (it literally took me THREE hours to do this), LOL! Click the button below, and I'll send the Color Swatching Guide/ Cheatsheet straight to your inbox!! 

​Make sure you click over to today's video, so you can see how I decided to swatch colors out across the three alcohol marker brands I'm comparing (Copic vs Ohuhu vs Arteza) - while keeping things as SIMPLE as possile for YOU!! 

Before we continue, super quick announcement: All product links are Affiliate. I may earn a small commission if you choose to order through these links, but by law there is never any additional cost to the consumer for doing so. I thank you for your support!

Personally, I love the copic markers brush tip to do most of my coloring with, because it feels so much like a paintbrush to me when it glides across the page.  I can also achieve some really unique effects by changing the pressure I use when pressing down with my marker. 

However, I DID find ohuhu brush markers have a very similar feel to them and actually found them to be just as juicy as my copics, but for SO much less money!! Ohuhu markers come in a 24 piece skin tone set, for about $32 on Amazon vs the Copic skin tone pack of 6 for around $33. 

I know- WAY cheaper, right?! 

Arteza also has a nice set of alcohol markers for beginners available on Amazon. You can get an Arteza Everblend set of 36 skin tone markers for around $36.  That's a pretty insane value if you're on a budget and just want to have a little fun!! 

​Did you click over to get the color swatching guide yet?

TRUST ME. You NEED this in your life if you are just starting to build an alcohol marker collection, and are looking for a copic marker alternative!  

I hope you find the video and cheatsheet helpful!! Thanks for hanging out with me today!! 

See ya back here next week!

To get us started off on the right track, I'm doing a mini review of the value scale to help you understand how important this is whenever you're drawing and hoping to take your artwork to the next level. 

If you incorporate the lightest light ALLLLLL the way to the darkest dark, and everything inbetween... your art will be so much more sophisticated!! 

Real quick, before we go any further: All product links are Affiliate. I may earn a small commission if you choose to order through these links, but by law, there is never any additional cost to the consumer for doing so. I thank you for your support!

I talked about how to shade skin tones in graphite (or black and white variations of the value scale), a lot in my How to Draw & Find Your Style book because it's easiest for beginners to learn about value scale drawing in black and white first. 

Graduating from shading in graphite / black and white to color can be tough and trip some artists up, but it's exactly the SAME concept as grayscale- you're just essentially working in browns! 

HOT TIP! Be sure to create a value scale of skin tones for yourself that looks something like this before you start shading. I recommend you also write the name of the marker color next to the shade so you know exactly which one to pick up when the time comes! 

One of the reasons I have loved doing this Whimsical Women of the World portrait drawing series is because I could push myself to explore all the variations of skin tones represented in countries around the world. If you've watched me before, you know I LOVE dramatic highlights and shadows, which today's reference photo is FULL of!! 

​If you'd like a copy of my reference photo, hop over to AwesomeArtSchool.com and click into either my YouTube & Cheatsheet Library, or the Whimsical Women of the World classroom to download the reference image from today's lesson, or any lesson from this series!

If you are a member of the Fun Fab Drawing Club over at Awesome Art School, the Whimsical Women of the World classroom has already been made available to you within the club!! If you're not a member of the club, but are interested, please sign up for the waitlist, and you'll receive an email from me when the membership is open for enrollment again in the spring! 

Today's portrait drawing tutorial is a profile. Instead of teaching you my "Fun Fab" approach for profile drawing- I'm showing you a little more advanced method from my book.  It's a bit more realistic.

If you start watching today's tutorial and begin feeling like this is a little too advanced for you- don't worry!! The drawing projects in the Whimsical Women series ARE more advanced. But I work hard to break them down for you to keep things simple, so when you do feel ready, you can dive right in!!! 

If this looks fun for you but feels a little out of reach at the moment, I've got an awesome 6-part video profile drawing series on YouTube that teaches you my Fun Fab method for drawing whimsical profiles (it's more directed at beginners)!! If you'd rather start with a front facing face (most do!!) - here is the 5-part series for absolute beginners!

Profiles can feel extremely tricky to draw because of all the angle variations that make us who we are as individuals.

For example, in the photo above - I've highlighted the angle of the nose to the chin to show you just how much this changes from face to face.  Some faces have a pronounced angle here, some have a more subtle one, and others have barely any angle presentat all - as in the case of today's beautiful model. 

I find using a sheet of trace paper helps me to understand the spatial relationships on a face before I draw it.  You might find this to be a helpful trick as well! It's kinda like a practice round to warm up my hand.

If you're not sure how to draw a closed eye, how to draw open lips, or how to draw fabric folds on a headscarf /african head wrap- be sure to click over and actually watch the portrait drawing tutorial so you can follow me in real time. 

For drawing fabric folds on our model's head scarf, I try to break the overall head scarf down into chunks / shapes that I can clearly see, then replicate on my paper. 

​Since I'm doing a whimsical drawing, instead of a realistic drawing, I'm able to give myself a little grace here if things aren't perfect. Doesn't THAT feel good?!  No need for perfection when you pull out your "whimsy" card!! 

When everything is sketched in, go ahead and start erasing all your guidelines. My favorite eraser is the vanish eraser - which you can pick up for about $2 at Jerry's Artarama, or on Amazon for a bit more. 

If you're not using alcohol markers to color in your drawing like I am, just be sure you have a nice gradation of skin tone shades swatched out before you begin so you know what to reach for when you're ready to start incorporating each shade! We want the WHOLE value scale represented in your work, because this adds dimension and sophistication!! 

You have two choices when you're shading- either shading from light to dark or from dark to light. I've chosen to shade light to dark today- hitting the highlighted areas of her nose and chin first.

As you'll see in my work, and in your own (if you're using copic markers or another brand of alcohol markers), these can be very streaky. To reduce the streaks, it helps to lay your color down quickly so the shades blend into one another a bit when the ink is wet.

You can also choose one color to shade over transitional lines to attempt to soften these lines, or add colored pencil shading over the top of your marker layers. When you're blending copic markers, you can also try shading one solid color in strokes running the opposite direction from how you originally laid down color. I often use the lightest or a medium skin tone marker when doing this to my face drawings.

​Be sure to watch the tutorial because I demo this today and in many of the videos from this series. 

When I selected marker shades for the headscarf, I used the exact same strategy as I did for choosing skin tone markers to work with for this project. You want to choose 3-5 shades that transition nicely and can blend into one another to represent various stages of the value scale from lightest to darkest. 

If you're intimidated by the head wrap or not sure how to draw folds in fabric- this really is easier than it looks! I find it to be similar to drawing hair. Follow me, and I'll break it down for you.

The farther I get into my project, the more layers I continue to build up on her face to eliminate some of the streakiness in my transitions. But I also discover, the model in my reference image really is much darker than I have portrayed, and I need to continue darkening the shadows and blending skin tones to do a better job replicating what I see.  

Be sure to take your time here. Start slowly, and gradually build up those values. Honestly, the more layers you have, the more realistsic the skin will look- because we're all made up of many colors!! So just keep working and blending until you feel like you're at a good place and happy with what you've got. 

​I used my pentel pocket brush for my outlining - including the detail work on her eyelashes, just as I have used it in the previous lessons. I actually had to recently change the ink cartridge on this pen and sadly, it hasn't been working the same for me as it used to!! 

As I was working the finishing touches on today's drawing, I decided to add just a bit more shading in and around the ear, because something about it was just bothering me! I ended up adding some black and it made all the difference in the world!! Now there is really some deep, gorgeous contrast! 

If there is anything I've learned during this series it's you can't have too many layers!! This amazing Hammermill paper I work on can seriously take a beating with my alcohol markers and I love it!!! The paper you work on is EQUALLY important as any other art supply you invest in. 

I hope you enjoyed this portrait drawing lesson in copics!!!  I learned a ton, and hope you did too!!!

Before we continue, super quick announcement: All product links are Affiliate. I may earn a small commission if you choose to order through these links, but by law there is never any additional cost to the consumer for doing so. I thank you for your support! 

For this SUPER EASY watercolor Christmas tree project, I decided to try out a new little travel set of watercolors by Field Artist. This set comes with THE CUTEST, space saving travel watercolor brush that screws together. 

​I chose to paint our little tree on one of my adorable 4x6 watercolor postcards by Winsor Newton. 

If you've never played with watercolors before (as an adult!), this is THE EASIEST watercolor project for beginners that you can probably find!

I'm keeping things very simple and using a green straight from my palette. Watch the video as I demonstrate an easy watercolor technique you can try at home with a flick of your brush to make the tree branches.  

Before I move on to the next step- I take a minute to pause and dry my painting with a hair dryer.

I find this works SO much better than a heat gun, because I can control the temperature of the heat (believe it or not- some supplies can melt under the heat gun!). Also- the air flow I get from my hair dryer generates a lot of power- which means my paper is dry SUPER FAST! If you know me - FAST is something I need in my life;) 

If you want, you can choose to add a secondary layer of green branches on top of what's already been done for a little added dimension, or just leave it as is! If you choose to do a second layer of green- take care if you're a watercolor newbie, becuase even a little water will reactive your first layer of watercolor, so things could move around on you. If you don't want this to happen, try to use less water on your brush when you wet it before tapping into your second shade of green.  

When this second, optional layer is totally dry as well, I add in a few cute spots of color as ornaments, along with a teensy, yellow star on top. Then it's time to hit it with the hair dryer one more time!

After the ornaments are fully dry, I pulled out one of my fountain pens to doodle around on my tree for added decoration.

I'm using a fountain pen filled with ink for the next part, but you can use a pen, a pencil - anything you're in the mood for and already have lying around at home! 

​And that's it!! I know! Can you believe it? Told ya it was a quickie, 5 minute watercolor project! So easy if you love to send a little something handmade in the mail at Christmas time for cards or presents. 

Have fun painting!! I wish you a MERRY EVERYTHING & a Happy New Year!!

People ask me all the time about how to draw faces from different angles. The three quarter view is definitely one of the hardest to conquer! If you were watched episode 4 in this series, our Asian reference was also a three quarter face drawing prompt, and we used my 3/4 Face Drawing Guidelines Cheatsheet (click the link below to download yours for FREE if you haven't grabbed this yet).

Today, I'm using my other favorite method for drawing a 3/4 face. It's slightly different, and from my How to Draw and Find Your Style book.  I sketch a rough triangle at the bottom of a circle and add some curved lines across the face to help me position facial features.

Make sure you click over to see me do this in the video because watching it in motion REALLY helps!!

In case you feel like you need them, the art reference photos for this whimsical face drawing tutorial, and ALL of the Whimsical Women of the World tutorials can be found in my YouTube & Cheatsheet Library over at Awesome Art School, as well as in my new Whimsical Women of the World classroom over at Awesome Art School.

Once you have the face shape sketched in, take some time to really study the angle of your reference image. Sometimes I actually draw right on top of my printouts (shown below), because it helps me understand the angles on the model's face.

This can sometimes make me feel a little more comfortable when I put my pencil to paper and try to replicate what I see. Don't worry if you get into your sketch and feel things need to move around or be adjusted - just make alterations as needed. That's what erasers are for!! 

I LOVE the eyes on this model. They are SO huge and are going to look awesome when they are all colored in!

When I'm ready to move on to the hair, I sketch in the main shapes that I see, in sections. When you're drawing hair, it extends UP and OVER the the oval of your face shape drawing because it has so much volume. Hair also has TONS to do with directionality - so look to your reference to copy what direction it's flowing from.  Be sure to watch the video so you can see how this is done. 

Remember to always take a step back from your drawing to pause and really look at it from a distance to reassess the spatial relationships in your drawing vs the art reference photo.  It makes a huge difference!

When you're ready to begin shading with your alcohol markers, erase all of your face drawing guidelines and extraneous marks. I often "pounce" the graphite a bit with my vanish eraser as well, to life some of it off the page without fully erasing my lines because I don't want my lightest copic markers to smear the graphite, or pick that up as I'm dragging them across the page. 

If you're new to coloring with copic markers, you need to move fairly quickly with them as you lay your color down because they can definitely get streaky. You only have a small window of time while the alcohol is wet, and the pigment from the color is suspended in the alcohol. This is the time when it's easiest to blend shades from multiple markers. 

I love drawing hair with the copic markers brush tip because I feel like I can almost paint with it! A cheaper copic marker alternative that I've recently discovered and enjoy working with are my Ohuhu markers. They also have a brush nib, which makes them very easy to work with in a painterly way. 

I use the chisel nib on my copics when I want to cover large areas on my paper, and find this can get the job done a little bit faster than the brush nib. 

Another thing I LOVE about using my copic markers, is I feel like I can really achieve a lot of personality and variety with them - just by switching nibs or changing the amount of pressure I use when I press the marker to paper.  

As you alreayd know if you've been watching this series - copic markers and colored pencils work amazingly together!! Colored pencils are awesome for adding detail, easing transitions between colors, and they create a pretty texture.  

As you'll see in today's face drawing tutorial, adding colored pencil on top of the coat (or blanket- or whatever she's wearing!!) helped to create the look of cloth that I couldn't achieve by using copics alone.  

I hope you have fun with this lesson! See ya back here next week!!

The bone structure is super important on this girl because her hair isn't covering anything up! Speaking of hairstyle - I have no idea yet how I'm gonna pull this one off, but I'll get there... just gonna have to think on that a bit!! ​

​Then it's time to sketch in our whimsical face drawing guidelines. If you're not sure what I'm talking about, I'm guessing you might need my cheatsheet to help you out! I printed and laminated this because drawing proportions of the face are SO important. They also really are the same no matter what ethnicity you are drawing. We all start out with a human oval for the face, so this is a reference I've ALWAYS got on my art table. Click the button below and I'll send it straight to your email.

The model for today's whimsical face drawing tutorial has got SUCH COOL EYES!! And her eye makeup is really awesome. There is some kind of hot pink going on in the wet line under her eyes that I already CAN'T WAIT to get in there with my markers and add!! 

​Faces are kind of like vases, you know? If you draw one side, it's really hard to finish that and then hop over to the other side and get them to match! Am I right?! 

Over time, I've really learned to build both sides up at the same time - especially when it comes to the EYES. This way they are much more likely to end up symmetrical than if I completed the whole right half of a face, and then tried to replicate it symmetrically on the left! It just doesn't work that way for me, so this is my trick. 

I see some lines under our model's eyes, so I'm just drawing them in. I always draw what I see. This is how you capture someone's likeness. And honestly, what makes lines on peoples' faces such a big deal anyway?! It just adds to their beauty! 

Be sure to watch the video because the drawing portion is all in REAL TIME so you don't have to keep pausing the video to keep up with me ;) Just copy what I do, and draw right along with me.

The eyebrows on this woman are just gorgeous - super sculpted and glamorous!! 

I'm loving her gorgeous full lips too, and can't wait to start adding some color!

​Before we go any further, super quick announcement: All product links are Affiliate. I may earn a small commission if you choose to order through these links, but by law there is never any additional cost to the consumer for doing so. I thank you for your support! ​

​Students ALWAYS ask me about my eraser, and I'm in love with it. It does such an amazing job lifting the graphite off my page without ripping the paper. It's called the Vanish Eraser. You can grab them on Amazon. If you live near a Jerry's Artarama, they're only like $2 if you can get over there in person!

​​Let's wrap her up and erase all those guidelines.

The first step with whatever art supplies you choose for coloring, is to lay down a foundational color. I either work light to dark, or dark to light with my copics - either way is totally fine.  Be sure to pause the video as you're going along to catch where the shading is getting put in. ​

I love the way the light is hitting our model's face today. It's one of my absolute favorite shading patterns to replicate - in any medium! It's super symmetrical. Whatever you do on the right side- just replicate on the left. 

​This is also one of the EASIEST lighting patterns to shade onto a face! So even if you're a beginner- YOU CAN DO THIS! ​

​If you've seen my videos in the past, you know we all hit a point about half way into a project when the face we're working on is in what I LOVINGLY refer to as ....the ugly phase. 

When you're shading with copic markers (or any brand of alcohol markers), you tend to hang out in "the ugly phase" for quite a while because there is a lot of layering to get the shading right, etc. You've gotta just embrace it! Acknowledge the ugly phase when you arrive, and KEEP GOING. 

Typically whenever I've hit the ugly phase, I help my girl start working her way out of it by sweeping a light to medium shaded skin tone marker over the the entire face. The alcohol in that marker RE-WETS all the previous alcohol marker layers and it helps to blend them all together. COOL TRICK, right?!

As you're laying down darker shades of color throughout the coloring process, don't freak out if they feel like they're too dark. Alcohol markers go down kinda like watercolors and appear much darker when they first hit the page. They dry much lighter - so don't worry!! ​

While I'm adding some pink around her eyes, I decide to just go for it with her hair- even though I still have no idea how to do it! I study my reference and just start adding color. 

For me- I really feel like when you're shading in color, you really need at least three colors to produce a 3-dimensional look - a light, medium and dark. I select my three colors and go for it with some "kindergarten" squiggles! ​

If you've been watching the Whimsical Women of the World series, you'll know I've been using colored pencils to add some shading on top of my markers to add texture, fix my mistakes, or help blend the transitions between marker shades. 

In this video, I really relied on my colored pencils to help me achieve the look I'm seeing in the reference image in terms of makeup. For continuity among the other Whimsical Women in this series AND because I'm obsessed - I turn to my pentel pocket brush for detailing in the eyelashes, eyebrows, hair, and outlining throughout. 

I finish the project with while highlights in posca pens - which I totally love, because they add SO much more dimension and sophistication to my pieces with pops of light in the eyes, lips, nose, and wherever I see sparkles throughout the features in my art reference photo. ​

I hope you DO NOT HOLD BACK when you're doing your own highlights in your own projects! I know this can be scary for some of my students, but they pack the biggest punch and can make such a difference in your work.

My wishes for you ... be DARING with your shadows and BRAVE with your highlights! 

​And above all, HAVE FUN!! Enjoy today's Whimsical Women of the World face drawing tutorial! ​

Thanks for joining me! See ya back here next week!