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I was given a glass dip pen and OMG I wish I had known?!

31/1/2023

I feel absolutely horrible...

One of my students, Stephne Nash, sent me a gorgeous glass dip pen last summer and I haven't even had time to play with it until now. First of all, THANK YOU STEPHANIE for the extremely thoughtful gift! Today's video is for YOU and ALL the fountain pen ink lovers out there!

If you're new to my world, I'm OBSESSED with fountain pen ink, have a zillion colors, and use them exactly like watercolors!

That's right, I create fountain pen ink paintings!! If you didn't know this was a thing, and love watercolor, this whole concept might just blow your mind!! If that's you, check out this Fountain Pen Ink Painting playlist to see how I do this, get tips on how I store my inks in vintage perfume bottles, plus even do a fountain pen ink painting tutorial right along with me!

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.

How to Use a Glass Dip Pen

Truth be told, I've NEVER worked with a glass dip pen before today. I KNOW!! This is another reason I felt it was important to do a video on the subject.

Whenever I'm learning something new, I LOVE to share it in case it inspires you to get creative or try something new too!

The glass dip pen I'm working with today is by Luxiv. Right out of the gate, I'm in love because not only is the pen itself gorgeous, there's a magical unicorn on the box!! It's like a sign :)

I've planned to play with my new dip pen on a sheet of Fabriano hot press watercolor paper (smooth, without texture) because I already know my non-glass dip pens work best on smooth paper like bristol.

As soon as I dip my pen into the ink and get going, I see the whole process is SUPER SIMPLE (yay for us!!). All you have to do is dip the tip of the pen into your ink, give it a tap on the side of your ink bottle to tap off the drips, and then just go to town.

As you can see in the pic above, this particular glass dip pen has all these swirlies that extend up and around from the tip. These are what hold the ink, and you're supposed to kinda turn the pen as you use it to empty out all the ink from each dip.

You've gotta see the demo today, because I was seriously shocked at HOW WELL this dip pen both held the ink from one dip, and HOW LONG it lasted!! I wrote and doodled all over a single sheet of paper from just one dip into my fountain pen ink!

Drawing with Fountain Pen Ink

After I discovered how much fun it was to write and doodle with my glass dip pen, I decided to pull out a fresh sheet of hot press watercolor paper to just play!!

I've got a new apothecary lesson I'm working on for the Celtic Collective (my fantasy art membership with Lucy Brydon over at Awesome Art School). Since I have glass bottles on my mind, I decided to doodle a few onto my page using my glass dip pen and some permanent, black ink.

After I covered the page in fun bottles, I pulled out my Polina Bright watercolor brush (the ONLY watercolor brushes I use now - learn more about why in this video; grab one for yourself and get 10% off here), and a few of my favorite fountain pen ink shades to paint liquid into each bottle illustration: Meadow by Diamine (green), Noodler's Ink Blue, Noodler's Ink Atlantic Salmon (pink), Noodler's Ink Saguaro Wine (dark pink), Noodler's Ink Purple Martin.

I seriously had SO much fun just playing today. I hope you will give this a try at home. I think you'll just love it!

Wanna TAKE AN ONLINE ART CLASS
About Fountain Pen Ink Painting?

I thought you'd never ask :)

Check out the Mixed Media Society with me over at Awesome Art School! I've got an entire classroom dedicated to fountain pen ink painting with SUPER FUN projects ready and waiting for you to create!

In the Mixed Media Society, you'll also learn about a TON of other mixed media art supplies and more importantly HOW TO USE THEM to create mixed media masterpieces you can be proud of!

We're having a blast and would love you to join us... but don't take my word for it :) Check out this beautiful piece by one of my amazing students...

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Thanks for hanging out with me today!!

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My Honest Review of Hippie Crafter Paint Pens

24/1/2023

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I LOVE paint pens and use them ALL THE TIME in my mixed media art! So, naturally, I was thrilled when Hippie Crafter reached out to me to review their set of 25.

I'm always up for trying new art supplies so you don't have to, AND so I can continually recommend art supplies with the best value to my students. Press play to see what I think about Hippie Crafter paint pens, or just keep on scrollin'!

Hippie Craft Paint Pens Set of 25 Cost

Right off the bat, I'm in love with the packaging (SO FUN!!), and love the colors included in this set. Each paint pen comes individually wrapped, with a replaceable nib attached. Additionally, Hippie Crafter included a little package of replacement nibs, plus chisel nibs if you're in the mood to switch things up.

The barrels on these pens are a bit basic in my opinion, but when you're only paying around $1/ marker, who cares?!

Never Used Paint Markers Before?

Or unsure how to activate paint markers? No problem. Watch the video to see this process in action. It's really simple and my recommendations are the same no matter which brand of paint pens you're working with.

First of all, you need to get the acrylic ink flowing inside the marker itself before it will come out onto your paper. Shake the paint pen, then depress the nib onto a piece of scratch paper till you start getting little blobs of color out. Alternate between shaking the pen and depressing the nib until you can get a full stream of color you're able to draw with. Easy, right?!

What to Look for in Quality Paint Pens

As a mixed media artist, I typically use paint pens for highlights and outlining. Therefore, the opacity of the acrylic ink inside each pen is super important to me. It has to be able to show up boldly on top of my previous layers.

The very first green I tested from the Hippie Crafter set was pretty translucent (see above left), but as I started testing more of the other markers, the opacity was pretty good overall.

Compared to Posca Pens, Hippie Crafters are definitely not as opaque in terms of coverage. However, they're also like half the cost. So this comes down to a personal preference in terms of what is most important to you. Cost or coverage?

White Paint Markers for Mixed Media Artists

As a mixed media artist, white is kinda everything when it comes to paint markers. It's the color I use most often when I reach for my paint pens near the end of a project for highlights (see eye shine line extending from the pupils below).

Because of that, the opacity of white paint markers is super important to me. I need my white layer of highlights to be able to boldly sit on top of whatever art supply I previously created with - whether that's collage, acrylic paint, watercolor, alcohol markers, pencil, you name it!

Since white paint markers are so important to me, I'm always trying new ones to be sure I can continually recommend the best products to my students.

Check out this recent video if you want to know My FAVORITE Mixed Media White Pencils, Paint Pens & Inks for Creating Dazzling Highlights.

Final Thoughts on Hippie Crafter Paint Pens

I really love the Hippie Crafter set of 25 paint pens for beginners, kids, or anyone who wants all the colors and doesn't wanna break the bank!

But I told you I'd be honest.

I've got two drawbacks with this set. The first is the opacity and quality of the white pen. White is the most important color to me when it comes to paint markers.

That being said, you can totally buy this set and supplement it with a higher-quality white paint pen by Posca, since white is a shade available for sale individually or in sets of 3 with varying nib sizes (highly recommend!).

The second drawback on the Hippie Crafter set is how they feel on my paper. The nibs feel a bit scratchy and rugged overall. I felt like it was harder to get a fine line from them.

I hope you found this review helpful! Happy art-ing!!

Wanna Create Today's Project at Home?

If you need a simple art project for kids, or if you've got a little swatching of your own to do, you might want to try the little mixed media fish painting shown in today's video. I simply dropped blobs of watercolor in various sizes onto a sheet of watercolor paper (during last week's Mei Liang Watercolor Set Review video), and today added paint pen doodles on top to create cute little fish!

**Ready to REALLY Get Creative with Me?**

Check out the Mixed Media Society with me over at Awesome Art School! You'll learn even more about the myriad of art supplies on the market and more importantly HOW TO USE THEM to create mixed media masterpieces you can be proud of! We're having a blast and would love you to join us!!

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And art supply demos? ME TOO!!! Binge this next! You'll find my two cents on everything from alcohol markers to gelatos, watercolors, paint brushes, sealers and SOOOO much more!

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Alcohol Marker Face Shading Tips for Scaredy-Cats

17/1/2023

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I recently recieved an awesome question from one of my Wonder Bundlers (member of ALL THREE art memberships) at Awesome Art School.

Her question to me was:
Can you shade a face with just ONE alcohol marker?

The short answer is YES. But... I've got a few tips for you to make this technique work EVEN BETTER for you! Watch today's video to see exactly what I mean :)

New to shading faces? Click the button below to grab my FREE Face Shading Guide! It will TOTALLY help you take your drawings to the next level, no matter what art supply you're using.

This cheatsheet shows you 6 EASY shading patterns you can copy onto your own forward-facing face drawings to make them look more realistic.

My FREE Face Shading Guide is a page directly from my very first book, How to Draw Fun Fab Faces.

Another great reference used in today's video is one of my latest art books, Skin Tone Secrets.

This book is SUPER helpful for learning how to shade semi-realistic faces with alcohol markers. It takes ALL the guesswork out of choosing which markers go well together to create beautiful skin tones, and will have you creating gorgeous faces you can be proud of in NO TIME!

What Paper is Best for Alcohol Marker Drawings?

If you're new to alcohol markers, using the right paper for your drawing projects is SUPER IMPORTANT.

HOT TIP: NEVER shade with alcohol markers on a super-absorbent surface like watercolor paper. It will totally wreck your markers! Always use bristol or something like my favorite card stock, which is a cheaper bristol alternative.

Which Skin Tone Markers Are Best for Shading Faces?

For today's dark skin tone face drawing demo, I'm using Ohuhu alcohol marker YR148 / Thin Persimmon.

If you don't have alcohol markers and want to shade the faces you draw, I recommend the Ohuhu Alcohol Markers Set of 24 or 36, it's excellent quality and super affordable!

How to Blend Alcohol Marker Streaking

Here's what my drawing looked like when I tried to shade it as I normally would, except that I only used one marker.

See how you can see EVEY streak and stroke, especially in the lightest areas? This is tough to combat if we limit ourselves to one marker.

Click over to the video to see how the Ohuhu colorless blender worked to blend the streakiness above.

For comparison's sake, I also shaded a light-skinned face. Instead of using the colorless blender, I tried blending the streaks by using a marker one shade LIGHTER than the one I originally used.

I feel like this alcohol marker blending technique worked WAY BETTER than the colorless blender (by the way- today's demo is a great example of why I NEVER use the colorless blender to blend my alcohol marker shading).

If you're NEW to shading faces with alcohol markers or a scaredy-pants about shading, here's what I recommend... USE TWO MARKERS.

1. Shade the face two complete times - once horizontally in one color and once vertically in ONE SHADE LIGHTER (this lighter marker is your "blending friend" and will help eliminate streaks).

2. Add shadows to your drawing using marker #1 to show depth.

This alcohol marker blending technique will give you a smooth and super subtle look...

❤️Watch today's video to see these alcohol marker tips in action!

❤️Ready to dive into shading faces with 3-4 alcohol markers per face? Check out my book,Skin Tone Secrets.

❤️WANT MORE alcohol marker shading tips? Check out this playlist!

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My HONEST Opinion of the MeiLiang Watercolor Paint Set of 48

10/1/2023

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Today on my mixed media YouTube channel, I'm testing out a new watercolor set by MeiLiang. If you're new to the brand, MeiLiang is a sister company of Paul Rubens, a very well-established and respected fine art brand.

I'm excited to try these out and show you what I think! Join me for the full MeiLiang watercolor review and demo on YouTube, or scroll on down to learn more.

MeiLiang Watercolor Set of 48 Cost

The MeilLiang watercolor paint set of 48 vivid colors will run you just under $30 on Amazon if you'd like to try it. To me, that's an AWESOME VALUE, because it costs me the exact same amount to get ONLY TWO shades of Daniel Smith watercolor tubes!!

What's Included by MeiLiang in the Set of 48?

Inside this set, you'll find a really cool acetate sampler of all the shades included (which is actually its own teensy travel palette in case you didn't know)!

They've also included a really nice swatch card (below) for you to use with a label pre-printed for each shade so you can swatch the set on your own as well. Super helpful!!

MeiLiang also threw a water brush in with this set of 48 colors, which is super nice if you don't already have one.

Typically I only use Pentel water brushes because I'm super picky, but I did test the MeiLiang water brush pen out. Click over to watch the video so you can see what I think.

Never Used a Waterbrush Before?

No problem. There's a first time for everything. Click over to the video because I've got a little waterbrush demo for you in real time (no timelapse, starting at 2:04). I show you exactly how to fill a water brush with water, and how to use it. You'll also see a quick comparison of the MeiLiang waterbrush vs. my favorite Pentel water brush pen.

Why it's SO Important to Swatch Watercolors

If you've been following me for a while, you KNOW what a huge fan of swatching I am. It's super important to do whenever you get a new art supply with multiple colors - whether it's watercolors, markers, you name it.

I've been burned way too many times in the past and learned the hard way that color names, marker caps, or what a watercolor shade looks like in the pan are MORE OFTEN THAN NOT, nothing like what you will get on actual paper! Case in point...

The color called "Flash Red" in this set doesn't look red at all to me! It's more of a gray-purple, kind of like lunar violet by Daniel Smith.

If I had been doing a painting and wanted to add red, dipped into Flash Red, and put it on my paper, I would've been really upset because this is totally purple.

Swatching BEFORE you paint, will prevent this from happening to you. Trust me, your future self will thank you!

How gorgeous is that watercolor brush in the pic above? It's my absolute favorite watercolor brush by Polina Bright. Here's more about WHY I love Polina Bright watercolor brushes and work with them exclusively now. Wanna get one too? Use this link to take 10% off (thanks Polina!!).

Final Thoughts

The bang for your buck in this MeiLiang watercolor set is seriously undeniable. To get 48 gorgeous colors for less than $30 is totally worth it.

I feel like the colors in this palette are bright, cheery, and remind me of summertime! There's also a really nice sampling of shades from each color family, which I really like. MeiLiang wasn't stingy on the neutrals they included. I feel like the entire rainbow is well represented in this palette, AND you get a BONUS row of metallics on the bottom row! So fun!!

I highly recommend MeiLiang's set of 48 watercolors. It's the perfect palette - especially for beginners who want to play with a LOT of colors but not invest a million dollars into their first watercolor set!

**Ready to REALLY Get Creative with Me?**

Need MORE Art Supply Reviews?

Binge this playlist! You'll find my opinions and demos of everything from gelatos to pencils, markers, paint brushes, art books by other people and SO MUCH MORE!!

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Thanks for hanging out with me today!!

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blog

I was given a glass dip pen and OMG I wish I had known?!

How to Use a Glass Dip Pen

Drawing with Fountain Pen Ink

Wanna TAKE AN ONLINE ART CLASS
About Fountain Pen Ink Painting?

Wanna Stay in the Loop?

Need More Resources?

My Honest Review of Hippie Crafter Paint Pens

Hippie Craft Paint Pens Set of 25 Cost

Never Used Paint Markers Before?

What to Look for in Quality Paint Pens

White Paint Markers for Mixed Media Artists

Final Thoughts on Hippie Crafter Paint Pens

Wanna Create Today's Project at Home?

**Ready to REALLY Get Creative with Me?**

LOVE Product Reviews?

Wanna Stay in the Loop?

Need More Resources?

Alcohol Marker Face Shading Tips for Scaredy-Cats

What Paper is Best for Alcohol Marker Drawings?

Which Skin Tone Markers Are Best for Shading Faces?

How to Blend Alcohol Marker Streaking

Wanna Stay in the Loop?

Need More Resources?

My HONEST Opinion of the MeiLiang Watercolor Paint Set of 48

MeiLiang Watercolor Set of 48 Cost

What's Included by MeiLiang in the Set of 48?

Never Used a Waterbrush Before?

Why it's SO Important to Swatch Watercolors

Final Thoughts

**Ready to REALLY Get Creative with Me?**

Need MORE Art Supply Reviews?

Wanna Stay in the Loop?

Need More Resources?

Karen Campbell

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What Fans Are Saying

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blog

I was given a glass dip pen and OMG I wish I had known?!

How to Use a Glass Dip Pen

Drawing with Fountain Pen Ink

Wanna TAKE AN ONLINE ART CLASS About Fountain Pen Ink Painting?

​Wanna Stay in the Loop?

Need More Resources?

My Honest Review of Hippie Crafter Paint Pens

Hippie Craft Paint Pens Set of 25 Cost

Never Used Paint Markers Before?

What to Look for in Quality Paint Pens

White Paint Markers for Mixed Media Artists

​Final Thoughts on Hippie Crafter Paint Pens

Wanna Create Today's Project at Home?

​Ready to REALLY Get Creative with Me?

LOVE Product Reviews?

​Wanna Stay in the Loop?

Need More Resources?​​

Alcohol Marker Face Shading Tips for Scaredy-Cats

​What Paper is Best for Alcohol Marker Drawings?

​Which Skin Tone Markers Are Best for Shading Faces?

​How to Blend Alcohol Marker Streaking

​Wanna Stay in the Loop?

Need More Resources?​​

My HONEST Opinion of the MeiLiang Watercolor Paint Set of 48

MeiLiang Watercolor Set of 48 Cost

What's Included by MeiLiang in the Set of 48?

Never Used a Waterbrush Before?​

Why it's SO Important to Swatch Watercolors

Final Thoughts

​Ready to REALLY Get Creative with Me?

Need MORE Art Supply Reviews?

Wanna Stay in the Loop?

​Need More Resources?

Karen Campbell

Archives

Categories

What Fans Are Saying

Contact Us

Wanna TAKE AN ONLINE ART CLASS
About Fountain Pen Ink Painting?

Wanna Stay in the Loop?

Final Thoughts on Hippie Crafter Paint Pens

**Ready to REALLY Get Creative with Me?**

Wanna Stay in the Loop?

Need More Resources?

What Paper is Best for Alcohol Marker Drawings?

Which Skin Tone Markers Are Best for Shading Faces?

How to Blend Alcohol Marker Streaking

Wanna Stay in the Loop?

Need More Resources?

Never Used a Waterbrush Before?

**Ready to REALLY Get Creative with Me?**

Need More Resources?