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I LOVE outlining my drawings in fineliners, but I HATE it when my outline starts to bleed into the shading I add with alcohol markers or watercolor.
Wanna learn WHY this happens and how YOU CAN PREVENT it from happening ever again? Join me in the studio for today's video! 
Got a new set of fineliners or markers you need to swatch? I used to think swatching was boring and a big waste of time, but TRUST ME, your future drawings will thank you because marker caps and color names can be deceiving!!
To make swatching MORE FUN I've created a FREE Fun Fab Swatch Sheet for you to print out at home! Simply click the button below and I'll send it straight to your inbox. 
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.
Back to today's demo...
I don't know about you, but I've got about a zillion different black fineliners, fineliner pens, fineliner markers and fineliner sets I could choose from when it comes to outlining the faces and figures I love drawing! How do you know which one to grab, when?! 
I decided to show you 25 of them on both watercolor and bristol paper. After I give the ink a second to dry on both papers, I'll add some watercolor marker to the watercolor paper, and alcohol marker to the bristol paper to see which fineliners smear.
The results are more than a little surprising!! 
Click over to the video to see which black fineliners you might want to add to your collection and WHY so you can prevent smearing once and for all.
LOVE alcohol marker art or WANNA LEARN how to draw and shade gorgeous faces in all ethnicities using alcohol markers? Check out my recent book, Skin Tone Marker Secrets on Amazon.
In this book I share ALL my best tips for shading faces in alcohol markers and tell you EXACTLY which skin tone marker combos go well together to create flawless skin tones EVERY TIME!
It's SO fun and easy - once someone shows ya how!!
My absolute FAVORITE black fineliner set to use while working with alcohol markers is by Molotow: 
NEED MORE alcohol marker drawing videos to get your creative juices flowing? Check out this playlist and draw along with me!
Thanks for hanging out with me today!!
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I get asked ALL the time about how I deal with art supply storage in my home studio. Typically, my studio and I are a hot mess! Lately though, I've been working hard on a huge reorganization of my space, so felt like it was the perfect time to show you my latest setup.
I love hoarding art supplies as much as the next girl, BUT what I care about MOST is making sure we all know how to USE the art supplies we already have!
If you're new to mixed media art, or struggling with how to layer your art supplies so you create a MASTERPIECE instead of a mess - download my FREE Cheatsheet outlining my signature mixed media layering process, called the Hamburger System. 
It's simple, step-by-step, tells ya exactly WHICH supplies you need, and did I mention it's SO MUCH FUN?!
Wanna see the Hamburger System step-by-step, in action for FREE on YouTube? Check out my Hamburger System series on this playlist. 
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.
I loved creating my Hamburger System series on YouTube so much, I turned it into a book, and it became a huge part of my art club called The Mixed Media Society over at Awesome Art School.
Ok! Back to today's home art studio re-org!! Here's my studio...
When we moved into this house in 2013, my husband Sean told me to just go ahead and take the guest room as my studio space because in our previous house, I had completely taken over our dining room and living room with ALL my art stuff! LOL. He gently suggested I needed a door I could close because I'm basically a hot mess express?
I LOVE my giant art table. My in-laws actually made this for me years ago when I used to teach in-person classes to kids and adults. It's about 7 feet long. Since moving Awesome Art School online, the entire space on this table is all for me! It holds my camera setup for recording lessons and YouTube videos, while still giving me tons of room to work.
Today I'm laying down a new rug in the studio (above), which I shopped for, for all of ONE minute! LOL!! It was called "Watercolor" (which made me love it even more), and the colors were a perfect match with my new acoustic panels on the wall behind my desk.
Isn't it gorgeous?! 
As you can see, my go-to art supply storage is simply clear, plastic bins! How easy is that?! It's also super affordable. I totally prefer bins over the original packaging for my supplies because I like to combine similar supplies into one bin, and they're easy to stack.
This system feels both flexible and accessible to me. I store my finished drawings in little black portfolio books on this shelf so they're easy to pull out while I'm teaching. Art books, altered books, finished art journals, art journals in progress, and my favorite alcohol marker paper also "live" on this bookshelf. Check out this antique sewing box I found thrifting one day! I use it to store all my Daniel Smith watercolors. 
I store all my fountain pen inks in vintage perfume bottles on a beautiful shelf in my studio too. Check out this video if you wanna learn more about fountain pen ink painting and my storage system. Aren't these bottles exquisite?!
Another thing I'm finishing up today in my studio is alcohol marker organization! I've got a zillion of these flying around my studio in all brands, and finally decided to give a wooden marker shelf I found on Amazon a whirl.
Make sure you watch the video to see what I think, and how it all looks when I'm done!! Thanks for hanging out with me today :)
NEED MORE resources to get your creative juices flowing?
❤️ CHECK OUT MORE of my art books on AMAZON ❤️ CHECK OUT ALL my online art classes @ Awesome Art School ❤️ MY FAVORITE ART SUPPLIES on AMAZON (affiliate links) ❤️ MY BELOVED FACEBOOK GROUP
I'm OBSESSED with using brush-tip alcohol markers to shade the faces and figures I draw! If you've never tried shading your drawings with alcohol markers, or if you've been holding out on trying them because you're worried about the cost of copics - I can't wait to introduce you to Alcohol Markers by ArtBeek in today's video!
Whenever you get a new art supply with multiple colors, PLEASE make sure you take the time to swatch your colors. It might feel like a tedious job, but it's honestly super relaxing and your future self will thank you because marker caps and color names can be deceiving!!
I've created a FREE Fun Fab Swatch Sheet for you to print out at home to make this process a bit more fun. 
Simply click the button above and I'll send your FREE Swatch Sheet straight to your inbox.
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.
If you've been thinking about starting an alcohol marker collection, but have been intimidated by the price of Copic markers, I HEAR YOU!
I've made it my mission over the last few years to test as many alcohol brands as I can, so I can recommend the BEST VALUE brands (including Copic marker alternatives) to my students over at Awesome Art School. It's ridiculous to expect everyone can afford to spend around $10/marker to have a little fun at their art table (even if I STILL LOVE my Copics!!). 
If you've been hanging out with me for a while, you know I love the Ohuhu skin tone marker set (and really anything by Ohuhu!). But I also discovered an even CHEAPER brand of alcohol markers on Amazon that I also recommend you check out by ArtBeek - especially if you're looking to save a buck.
This is a screenshot of the ArtBeek Alcohol brush markers set of 120 colors for just $60!! I know!!! Who doesn't want 120 colors?! AND, at only 50 cents/per marker ?? - you can't go wrong!!
A couple of weeks ago I did the above face chart inspired drawing tutorial and used a ton of my ArtBeeks alongside a variety of more expensive alcohol marker brands from Copic to Winsor Newton, and felt the ArtBeeks performed beautifully.
The brush nibs on the ArtBeeks are just right- not too firm or too soft. The ink is perfectly juicy!! I've used mine for everything from shading faces to creating Christmas cards (full-length lesson for the card below & MORE in The Fun Fab Drawing Club over at Awesome Art School). 
My only little complaint about this ArtBeek set is that they really should've included more PURPLES in this set (you only get 3). But, they do redeem themselves a bit with the giant collection of skin tone markers included (I think there are 24) - making the set of 120 perfect for anyone just starting an alcohol marker collection to shade faces.
I highly recommend dropping them in your cart for yourself or as a gift for an artsy friend for the holidays. Check out today's video to see them in action!
And remember, if you've got a TON of new colors to swatch, use my FREE Fun Fab Swatch Sheet, or pick up a copy of my Fun Fab Swatch Pad over on Amazon.
I created this book with my beloved Facebook Group a couple of years ago and still use it ALL THE TIME (as you can see in today's video!).
Thanks for hanging out with me today!!
After today's video, make sure you watch this one because it gives you MY BEST skin tone marker secrets for shading faces with alcohol markers! ENJOY!!
NEED MORE resources to get your creative juices flowing? ❤️ CHECK OUT ALL my art books on AMAZON ❤️ CHECK OUT ALL my online art classes @ Awesome Art School ❤️ MY FAVORITE ART SUPPLIES on AMAZON (affiliate links) ❤️ MY BELOVED FACEBOOK GROUP SNEAK PEEK Inside Our *NEW* Fantasy Art Book: How to Draw and Paint Magical Mythical Creatures!9/12/2022
My latest art book, Magical Mythical Creatures, is finally available, and I couldn't be more thrilled! This is book number 35 for me, and is the first book I've CO-AUTHORED with a friend - my Scottish bestie, who is an absolutely gorgeous watercolor and gouache artist, Lucy Brydon.
Lucy and I met online in 2015 and our friendship just exploded over the next few years. We've art-ed together as students and teachers, co-hosted art retreats, started a podcast, and created a fantasy art club with online art lessons together called The Celtic Collective.
This year we had a blast trying something new and co-authoring a fantasy art book together!
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.
Click the button above to buy your own copy on Amazon, or scroll down to watch a flip-through video and see every single page of Magical Mythical Creatures!
Each project in the book provides a simple art supply list, followed by easy-to-follow art instruction to help you have FUN and create something you can be proud of.
If you've been following me for a while or have purchased one of my art books in the past, you know I'm a stickler for taking my time to explain each step. As an art book hoarder myself, I feel like there's nothing worse than grabbing an art book by an author who skips multiple steps and just expects you to fill in the blanks on your own! 
InHow to Draw & Paint Magical Mythical Creatures, you'll find a wide variety of fantasy art projects from fairies and dragons, to kelpies, unicorns, and selkies. Each project gives you the opportunity to try playing with a number of different mediums from toned paper to watercolor, acrylics, gouache and more.
Even if one or some of the art supplies used in this book are new to you as an artist, or if you've never tried mixed media art before (GASP!) - we hope you'll give it a try because it's SO MUCH FUN once someone shows you how to do it!!
Many of the projects in this book also feature faces, so you'll find the appropriate face drawing guidelines within those lessons to help you make the facial features in your own drawings more proportional.
Thanks SO much for hanging out with me today!
Make sure you watch today's video so you can see each and every page of Magical Mythical Creatures!
NEED MORE resources to get your creative juices flowing? ❤️ CHECK OUT MORE of my art books on AMAZON ❤️ CHECK OUT ALL my online art classes @ Awesome Art School ❤️ MY FAVORITE ART SUPPLIES on AMAZON (affiliate links) ❤️ MY BELOVED FACEBOOK GROUP |
Karen CampbellFounder of Awesome Art School. Mixed Media Artist. Author of 19 Instructional Art Books! 
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"Karen is flipping hilarious and she's very real...I like the way she teaches in a way that really gives you confidence, whether you're a beginner or advanced there's always something new to learn!"
- Elizabeth W. |
What Fans Are SayingKaren, you are absolutely fabulous! You make me feel like I can draw anything. I have recently retired and finally have the time to do some of the art that I have loved since I was in school. I am really at the beginning of my art journey and I hope to learn as much as I can. Thank you for all you do. |
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