EASY Fairy Drawing in Alcohol Markers with Karen Campbell [Week 3 #50FunFabFaries Challenge]14/6/2022
Wanna create this EASY fairy drawing with me in alcohol markers? These are one of my FAVORITE art supplies to use when shading faces I draw. If you've never tried them before, stick with me - I'll guide you step by step in today's drawing tutorial as we continue with week three of the #50FunFabFairies drawing challenge!
To find ALL the info for the FREE #50FunFabFairies drawing challenge, simply click the button below to receive instant access to ALL the fairy reference images for each drawing prompt, plus info on supplies, cheatsheets and more!
Wanna become a better artist? Do today's lesson (and every lesson of the challenge) five times, making a few creative alterations of your choice, and watch your skills soar as you practice fairy eyes drawing, fairy ears drawing AND fairy hair drawing 50 different ways!
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.
Just because we're switching up our supplies for week three of #50FunFabFairies, I don't want you to get distracted from the actual purpose of this fairy drawing challenge - which is increasing your drawing skills!
You're learning how to draw faces and where to look in reference images for face shading guidance so you know how to add depth to your drawings. If all you have is a pencil and a piece of paper and you want to do this drawing challenge - that's perfect. You're good to go! All that matters is you draw. 
If you're new to my world, my absolute favorite alcohol markers are copics, but they cost between $8-9/each, so when I teach my students how to use alcohol markers I use Ohuhus (especially for skin tones!) because they only cost $1/marker.
I was recently approached by a company called ArtBeek to try out their alcohol markers. I said I would because their cost per marker is only 40 cents and they have a brush nib on their markers -which is a must have for me. So today's project is not only our #50FunFabFairies drawing prompt number 3, it's a product test and review for ArtBeek Alcohol Brush Markers. 
The fairy face drawing we're doing today is a side profile drawing in the three quarter view pose. While this is the most challenging view to draw - I think it's important for you to start practicing this right away so you don't feel intimidated.
I'm including cheatsheets on how to draw a three quarter portrait from my book How to Draw & Find Your Style in the #50FunFabFairies classroom for you over at AwesomeArtSchool.com. I'm also referring to my book Skin Tone Secrets for a little help in locating the skin tone marker shades I want to use for this drawing. I love the rainbow vibe in our reference fairy drawing image. I see seeing a lot of yellow in the lightest areas, so immediately connected with this page from Skin Tone Secrets. 
To get started, we need to sketch in the basic side profile drawing shape for a three quarter portrait AND the facial feature guidelines. If you know me - you know I NEVER draw a face without guidelines, because they're just too important!
If you're not sure how to draw fairy ears, I've got you! Simply watch the video, and I'll show you step by step.
Once I've penciled in a few swirly hair lines, it's time to get rid of our graphite as well as we can, because graphite and alcohol markers really don't mix. The brush nib of an alcohol marker can get dirty and pick up graphite super easily. This can drag all over your drawing and muddy things up, so make sure you take enough time to erase as much of the graphite as possible.
I use my vanish eraser for this. After the guidelines are gone, I actually pounce my eraser over the rest of my lines just to remove even more. 
HOT TIP: If you're an outliner like me, and want to do those first, make sure you're NOT using a sharpie because these are also alcohol markers and they will naturally want to bleed and blend in with the other colors you're using.
Instead, opt for a fineliner that is water-based or pigmented, like this one from Molotow. These will NOT smear when you're working with Copics, Ohuhus, or the new markers I'm testing out today by ArtBeek. 
HOT TIP: There are lots of fun swirlies in our fairy drawing image for jewelry, I love using a STENCIL to do this! It takes the pressure off trying to copy something exactly and looks SO precise in your drawing. I highly recommend you do this as well :)
Since I'm using a new to me set of alcohol markers, I do need to swatch them out prior to coloring today. As I do this, I'm loving the soft brush tip of the ArtBeek markers. There aren't a lot of skin tones (even in the large set of 120), but I do feel like they're even softer to work with than the Ohuhus, which kinda surprises me!
In the video, you'll really see how I look to my reference fairy drawing image to "inform" my face shading. If you're scared to change marker shades as you get into shading the face - that's ok. Just use the same shade you were working with for layer one and darken your drawing with a second coat of that same color to start creating subtle shadows (above). It's totally fine to do this in baby steps until you're comfortable.
Typically I recommend using three shades of a color to do face shading in alcohol markers. As you can see in the photo above, each time you add a layer of shading that is slightly darker than the one you did previously, leave that a bit of that previous color exposed to really add depth to your drawing. In the photo above, you can see all four skin tone marker shades I used in the shadow on her face, next to her ear.
The hair on this fairy is wild and SO much fun! I am in love with the rainbow and the fact that it gives me the opportunity to use so many colors from this fun new marker set by ArtBeek.
After my fairy is done, it's time for me to pull out my secret weapon for drawing killer eyelashes! I LOVE my pentel pocket brush. It's also water-based so works just as beautifully with alcohol markers as it does over china markers and my mixed media paintings!
I hope you enjoyed today's fairy drawing lesson. Remember, if you haven't signed up for the FREE #50FunFabFairies drawing challenge - you can still do that whenever you want to. It's not too late to join, and there is no "behind" with the challenge. Everything is draw at your own pace on your own time! I've stocked the FREE classroom at AwesomeArtSchool.com for you with PDFs of our fairy reference images for each lesson, plus drawing cheatsheets to help you along, info on supplies and SO much more! Have so much fun and I'll see ya in the classroom, or if you're posting your progress in the Facebook group! If you're OBSESSED with fairies and fantasy art like me, you might just LOVE the Celtic Collective over at Awesome Art School. It's an art membership my Scottish bestie, Lucy Brydon, and I run together! 
You might ALSO enjoy our podcast, 1Scot,1 Not. We talk about everything under the sun to do with Scotland - whether it's historical, fantasy, whatever. Just a quick warning - we have a blast and are totally ourselves on the podcast, which means there is some drinking and swearing.
❤️ CHECK OUT ALL my art books on AMAZON ❤️ MY FAVORITE ART SUPPLIES on AMAZON ❤️ MY BELOVED FACEBOOK GROUP ❤️ FOLLOW ME ON INSTAGRAM
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EASY Fairy Drawing in Watercolor Pencil with Karen Campbell [Week 2 #50FunFabFaries Challenge]31/5/2022
Wanna create this EASY fairy drawing with me? If you've never worked with watercolor pencils, you're in for a treat! Adding a touch of water to the lines you draw will create magical face shading and turn your beautiful fairy drawing into a painting!
Never drawn a face before? This fairy drawing tutorial is EASY enough for beginners! Don't have a watercolor pencil? No problem! I'll show you a variety of common water soluble pens, pencils and markers you may already have lying around at home!
Click the button below to join me in my FREE 10-lesson, 20-week fairy drawing challenge for artists of ALL levels. The amazing classroom I have waiting for you at Awesome Art School includes expanded information and resources with full-length fairy drawing lessons not available on YouTube! 
Wanna become a better artist? Do today's lesson (and every lesson of the challenge) five times, making a few creative alterations of your choice, and watch your skills soar as you practice fairy eyes drawing, fairy ears drawing AND fairy hair drawing 50 different ways!
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.
Before we get into today's project, I want to reiterate how FEW art supplies are needed to participate in the #50FunFabFairies drawing challenge (and in basically any tutorial I share)!
Starting with paper, I basically only ever work on three types of paper: white cardstock (or Bristol if you prefer - I just love the Hammermill cardstock because it's cheaper and feels the same as Bristol to me!), tan toned paper (or grey- whatever floats your boat!), and watercolor paper (or a watercolor journal). Why watercolor paper for my YouTube drawing channel? Because I LOVE drawing with water soluble pens, pencils and markers! In case you're new to my world, or the term water soluble... if something is water soluble, it simply means it "melts" when you add water to it. Stay with me for the demo I'm about to share so you can see this in action! 
Today I'm working with a water soluble pencil (Derwent watercolor pencil) for week two of the #50FunFabFairies drawing challenge.
To get started, especially if you're just learning how to draw faces, I recommend using a plain old pencil so you can erase whenever you want. In the interest of time, I'm diving right in on my hot press watercolor paper (that means the paper has a smooth texture), with my watercolor pencil and hoping for the best, LOL!
Even though I'm drawing with watercolor pencil and I can't erase, my face drawing guielines are my go to for step one, no matter what kind of face I'm drawing. Even if you've never drawn a face before, you can TOTALLY participate in this fairy drawing challenge because everything is step by step and the FREE #50FunFabFairies classroom over at Awesome Art School is stacked with cheatsheets and resources to help you along!
Once you've got your fairy face outlined, it's time to think about face shading. If you're new to my world, and don't know how to shade a face, I've got a cheatsheet for that too, so don't sweat it!
Looking at a face drawing reference for shading guidance can be intimidating for beginners just learning how to draw. This is why my face shading guide is so helpful! It cuts down on the "visual clutter" in a reference image so all your brain just needs to focus on is choosing a face shading pattern from my cheatsheet, and copying the pattern you've selected onto your own paper.
When I'm shading a face, I'm not using much pressure at all to start, (especially if I'm using a water soluble pencil), because as you'll see - the shading will REALLY pop and darken, as soon as I add water. 
After you've finished shading your fairy face, it's time to add a little water. You can either use a water brush, or a watercolor brush. It's totally up to you!
When I'm traveling, I tend to bring a water brush because it's simple to pack and carry on the go. When I'm at home in my studio, I prefer to use my favorite watercolor brushes by Polina Bright. If you haven't tried these before- they're stunning, and now the only thing I use. (Side note: If you want to order one for yourself, Polina has extended a special discount code to my followers! Just enter my name in all caps KARENCAMPBELL at checkout on her website to receive 10% off your order). 
If you've never activated watercolor pencils or a water soluble marker before, be aware that the more water you use, the more your drawn lines will run.
I prefer using a "damp" brush, because then wherever I add water, the effects won't be so shocking. I typically get my brush super wet and tap it on a paper towel so it's just damp. Then I run my damp brush along the lines I want to smear and run in my drawing. HOT TIP! Did you add a shadow where there shouldn't be one? Simply blot that spot right away with a paper towel to lift the color. Be sure to watch the video to see this trick in action! 
Once I've activated my watercolor pencil lines the way I want them, I use a hair dryer to make sure my paper is completely dry, so I can add a second layer of watercolor pencil to intensify the face shading.
See how the features pop even more once I add that second layer of pencil on top of the activated layer? I LOVE how that looks!
I'm purposefully not activating my second layer of watercolor pencil, because I love that contrast between the activated and non activated layers. In my second layer of shading, I darken the lines that feel most important in my drawing to add greater depth.
When I'm happy with my second layer of shading, it's time to glam this fairy up by drawing eyelashes with my secret weapon, the pentel pocket brush! 
Once I've carried some soft black lines throughout my fairy with the pentel pocket brush to tie the drawing together, it's time to add her headpiece.
Click over to the video to see this in action. And by all means, PLEASE join me in this FREE fairy drawing challenge! We are having a blast sharing and commenting on each other's fairies over in the Facebook group. Make sure you join us over at Awesome Art School for the full blow FREE classroom with all the reference images, full length drawing lessons and more to help you enjoy the #50FunFabFairies drawing challenge to the fullest! If you're OBSESSED with fairies and fantasy art like me, you might just LOVE the Celtic Collective over at Awesome Art School. It's an art membership my Scottish bestie, Lucy Brydon, and I run together! You might ALSO enjoy our podcast, 1Scot,1 Not. We talk about everything under the sun to do with Scotland - whether it's historical, fantasy, whatever. Just a quick warning - we have a blast and are totally ourselves on the podcast, which means there is some drinking and swearing. ❤️ CHECK OUT ALL my art books on AMAZON ❤️ MY FAVORITE ART SUPPLIES on AMAZON ❤️ MY BELOVED FACEBOOK GROUP ❤️ FOLLOW ME ON INSTAGRAM
Wanna create a BEAUTIFUL, EASY fairy drawing you can be proud of - even if you've never drawn before? You're in the right place!
Today I'm kicking off my FREE #50FunFabFairies drawing challenge and teaching YOU how to draw a beautiful fairy face, step by step on toned paper. 
Never drawn a face before? No problem. Never drawn on toned paper before? It's EASIER than drawing on white paper! Don't have any fancy drawing supplies? Upcycle the back of a paper grocery bag into tan toned paper, and grab 2 colored pencils or crayons (black & white).
Simply click the button below to join me in my FREE 10-lesson, 20-week fairy drawing challenge for artists of ALL levels. The amazing classroom I have waiting for you includes expanded information and resources with full-length lessons not available on YouTube. 
Wanna become a better artist? Do today's lesson (and every future lesson of the challenge) 5 times, making a few creative alterations of your choice, and watch your skills soar as you practice fairy eyes drawing, fairy ears drawing AND fairy hair drawing 50 different ways!
When you join the classroom link above, you'll get access to the above PDF of a score card to help you track your fairy drawing progress in the challenge!
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 always have a blast bringing new and returning artists into our Awesome Art School community to jumpstart their creativity through a drawing challenge. AND, since one of my total obsessions is fairies and fantasy art - this is going to be super FUN for all of us.
To complete today's lesson in the #50FunFabFairies drawing challenge, you'll need a piece of tan toned paper (or the back of a grocery bag- even a piece of printer or notebook paper is fine!), plus a black China Marker and white China Marker. If you don't have China Markers - don't sweat it, just use black and white colored pencils or crayons. You could also totally do this entire drawing on scrap paper with a pen or pencil. The main thing is that YOU DRAW - not stress over the supplies! 
To initially sketch a fairy face, I grabbed my favorite Blackwing pencil. If you're interested in purchasing special drawing pencils, these are to die for. One pencil basically replaces an entire pencil set and can give you so many values when shading a face or any object you love to draw.
They are expensive though, so if you're on a budget - just use whatever pencil you have on hand! 
I begin this drawing like all my semi-realistc face drawings -with my whimsical face drawing guidelines. These are SO important to keep your faces looking proportional!
If you need a copy of my face drawing guidelines - the PDF is available to you for free in the #50FunFabFairies Challenge Classroom over at Awesome Art School. 
After your guidelines are marked, it's time to start placing your fairy's facial features.
I LOVE working with photos of faces for drawing reference. Sometimes I look at pictures of real people, sometimes I look at other artists' drawings, art books, you name it! When I look at these face drawing references, I zero in on things like unique facial features, face shading patterns, hairstyles, accessories, etc. I use those pieces of information as "thought starters" to get me thinking in a different way visually. I never want to steal another artist's work and am a huge stickler on crediting the artists who inspire me. 
The fairy drawing images I've selected to use as inspiration for today come from the guidance in one of Christopher Hart's books. I LOVE his interpretations of fairies and fanciful creatures!
The other fairy drawing reference is a piece of digital art I found on Pinterest with no artist's name attached. I'm using elements from both images to inspire me for today's lesson. 
The eyes on Christopher Hart's fairy are especially interesting and what drew me to this face drawing reference photo in the first place. Once these are sketched in - you should have something in front of you that looks like an alien! If you do- you're doing amazing!!
Lots of students have asked me how to draw fairy ears. They're really quite simple. If you click over to the video to see this example of fairy ears drawing in action, it will really help you along.
Next up... hair! If you're not sure how to draw hair, I've got you, and break this down step by step for you as well. I'm using Christopher Hart's drawing as a guide to create some wispy bangs and a simple, sketchy bun piled on top with flyaways. SO cute!!
Next it's time to get some detail added in the upturned eyes we started. Again, if you don't know how to draw eyes, this project is TOTALLY for beginners, and I'm holding your hand the entire way in this fairy drawing video.
I am all about using a circle template for the irises and pupils. Of course we could spend time working on drawing perfect circles, but I've got WAY better things to do, and I'm sure you do too!
Use a template, and let's move on to the next step. Look at what a difference the eyes make, huh? Now she's comin' to life! 
I'm keeping the nose super simple for this girlie today, and am only adding a squished oval on each side for notstrils. I also sketched in a bridge line for the nose as well, but only lightly because that will be part of our face shading when it's time.
The lips in the Pinterest fairy drawing reference are just luscious! It's a super pouty, sexy look that I love - so took a little inspiration from that to create my own.
Next, it's time to fine tune everything and start erasing all the sketchy guidelines so we can add some shading and dimension to this fairy face. If you don't have a favorite eraser, mine is in the pic above, off to the right. It's called the vanish eraser, and I just LOVE it.
If you've never worked with toned paper before, the coolest thing about it is we only have to add the really dark parts and the really light parts of the value scale, because the paper itself already gives us the midtone we need! That means less face shading for us, and the sketch takes much less time to complete. Cool, right? In a lot of ways, shading on toned paper is actually easier than shading on white paper. If you're new to working with toned paper, and want to learn more about the value scale, check out this playlist on YouTube. 
I started with my black china marker to basically outline the entire drawing. Then I add some scribble scrabble shading in areas where I want there to be shadows. If you need help with learning how to shade a face - don't worry, simply follow me in today's drawing tutorial. It's all SUPER step by step and easy to follow.
Simple right? I TOLD you this was gonna be an EASY fairy drawing that anyone could do!!
Adding white highlights at the end of a drawing project is probably my favorite part! Again, no need to know where these highlights are supposed to go. Just follow me, and we'll do it together. 
If you love a little extra drama like me, grab some black and white paint pens, and I'll show you which areas to hit to really make things pop.
Thanks for hanging out with me today!! I REALLY hope you are drawing along with me and plan to participate in this fairy drawing challenge. We're going to have SO much fun together!
If you're OBSESSED with fairies and fantasy art like me, you might just LOVE the Celtic Collective over at Awesome Art School. It's an art membership my Scottish bestie, Lucy Brydon, and I run together! You might ALSO enjoy our podcast, 1Scot,1 Not. We talk about everything under the sun to do with Scotland - whether it's historical, fantasy, whatever. Just a quick warning - we have a blast and are totally ourselves on the podcast, which means there is some drinking and swearing. ❤️ CHECK OUT ALL my art books on AMAZON ❤️ MY FAVORITE ART SUPPLIES on AMAZON ❤️ MY BELOVED FACEBOOK GROUP ❤️ FOLLOW ME ON INSTAGRAM |
Karen CampbellFounder of Awesome Art School. Mixed Media Artist. Author of 18 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!"
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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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