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I hope you're staying safe indoors and have found some activities to keep your mind, heart and soul occupied and happy. I personally find the best way to keep my heart and mind happy is to keep my body busy!! I've gone on A LOT of walks. But I'm also keeping busy with painting and drawing!!! You may remember from last week's email that we painted our son Max's room? Well yesterday I painted his favorite video game character in there too. Lifesize. 'Cause, really, why not if it keeps me busy and him DELIGHTED! Seemed like a double win so we went for it!  Sadly it only took me 2 hours so I still had to keep busy for the rest of the day but it definitely helped me take my mind off of things for an afternoon. Since being creative is working so well for ME these days, I thought maybe it would work well for you too! So today I'm bringing you a fun demonstration tutorial about how to use colored pencils to help you shade your mixed media drawn faces. The funny thing is that I REALLY DO HATE COLORED PENCILS. You can see so (and learn why) in the video!! lol! But then you can also see how I use them to really pack a shading PUNCH to my best art journal faces. Here's a peek!  Ready to learn and see? Grab some pencils and meet me at your art table. Then press play and let's gooooo!
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Are you still afraid or unsure of where to put shading on your drawn or painted faces? You are SO NOT ALONE!! I hear this all the time from my Awesome Art School students. And I finally figured out a really fun but also CONCRETE way to not only explain how face shading works, but also how to SHOW you.  Sooooo many people are SCARED of shading, this video was made to HELP YOU! I know money is tight for so so many these days so along with the video, I'm also giving out a FREE 4 page pdf bundle of Face Drawing Cheatsheets that go along with the video. Because you are on my newsletter list, I am giving you the link here that will allow you to download all four incredibly helpful resources: I do need to add though, you're sort of wasting your time printing these out without watching the video today, they really go hand in hand. So really, to get the full understanding of the sheets, go and watch the video below and THEN go download the pages when you're ready to give it a go! My YouTube community has been LOVIN' all the fun and free series lately and I hope you are taking advantage of all this free, content rich, well, content!! In the winter it was the Mixed Media "Hamburger" Series which, in 9 episodes covered my ENTIRE Mixed Media process I use to create 99% of my mixed media projects! Have no idea WHAT I'm talking about in regards to Hamburgers and art?! You can get started by watching the first video in the series here! Then earlier this year I did a 4 part Art Journaling Series and that was soooo fun too!! While the Mixed Media series armed everyone with the technical art skills that enabled them successfully layers up on layers of supplies, the Art Journaling Series got people over their fear of starting, their fear of the blank page and on to the super-having-fun part!! I've seen soooooo many fun projects come to fruition as a result of that series, I cannot get over it! If you need a kick in the pants because you're too nervous to get started, that series is a must for you too! I know you already know how much I love mixed media and this months lesson in the Mixed Media Society gets right to the heart of all that goodness!!! First we start with the inspiration...  I honestly don't know what I love more in this picture. The illustration from Anne Keenan Higgins, the cocktail napkins or the Complexion Set by Prima. Well my love for those I can absolutely expound upon before I go any further. Watch my short and sweet product review on those babies here. Ok but let's not get too too sidetracked here. Back to the project!! So first things first, we have a wee drawing lesson... Scared to draw? No worries, I got you! I've included the full size PDF in the Mixed Media Society Classroom for this project, that you can print out and trace directly onto your art journal or canvas so you can cruise right along!!!  Then we grab our scissors and get to work!  Adding all these pics makes me so excited all over again for this project, it's taking everything in my power to sit in my chair and finish this blog post and not go running down to my studio to throw some paint around!!!! Now where were we? Oh yes, just about to throw some paint around!!  A little watercolor and off we go!!! At this point, I confess, I get a bit carried away with the project...so much so that I forget to take pictures for a bit! At least the whole fabulousness gets captured on video, in real time, so you can art along with me!!! Phew! What's that dreamy sparkle? You ask? Only Sparkle Mod Podge, BUT OF COURSE!!! I can't believe you couldn't have guessed that already!!!  Here's the mess and project in it's full glory!!!  Dying to give it a go!!!! Please do! I'll even throw in a FREE 30 day trial so you can have a go without costing you a penny. Click here to start the party!!!! You won't regret it, your fun awaits!!!
Working hard on my new drawing book today and in it's many many pages are the steps you can take to draw a beautiful big ol' braid!! Itching to see just what that looks like? Just so happens I recorded the whole process to share with you!!  I know how much drawing hair intimidates so many, so I've taken it upon myself to break it down, step by step!  It's weird how easy something can be once you take it slow. Want to learn? Enjoy the video, it's free for you on YouTube! Wishing there was a slower version of this? I know. YouTube is so awesome because it's so free and fast and FUN! But I know for a lot of my students it's just too darn fast.
If you'd like to take this entire drawing (including step-by-step, real time, how to draw this face...everything from eyelashes, nose, mouth, hair...from SCRATCH) I've included that in my drawing club. Wanna try it out and see if it's a good fit? You can! It's free for 30 days and just $12 little dollars a month after that. That gives you instant access to my Introductory Course, Drawing Daze, for beginners, plus dozens and dozens of additional face and figure drawing lessons. Click here for your free trial and start your journey to become a better artist today by becoming a member of the Fun, Fab Drawing Club!!!! Hope to see you there! I have been having an absolute BLAST mixing and matching certain mythical references and combining them in new and exciting ways to produce new, unique works of art. I think what's even more fun is that I'm not even playing this fun game by myself, no sireee. My Friend, Artist Jenny Manno and I, have enlisted the help and fun of our respective Facebook Groups to play along with us and the results are sooooooo so much fun! Here are the references this week! The first one is my the amazingly talented folks over at thepicsees.com. If you don't know them you ought to!! They are amazing!!
The second reference (both chosen by Jenny this week, is this sweet bird sketch she found on Pinterest.  Personally, I needed a bit more to kick start my creativity so I added two additional references...and here are my results!  I blame my Daniel Smith Watercolors for her success, along with my giant 15" x 22" watercolor pad of Strathmore Paper. Who ever said bigger is better was RIGHT! If you'd like to see what other references I used and watch the entire process unfold I made a sweet video of the process, voiceover and timelapsed for your enjoyment (and so that it doesn't take up too much of your precious time). I hope you enjoy! I had so much fun running the #100funfabfaces challenge that ran for 20 weeks in the winter of this year that I'm coming back for more! I'm so happy to announce that MONDAY/MYTHICAL/MAGICAL/MASHUP has begun! This is a Fantasy Art Collab between California based artist, Jenny Manno and myself . Here's the skinny: We give you two references and we all have to mash them together to create a new Fantasy Masterpiece!!! To help you along, Jenny and I will also be filming our process so you can get different ideas of what to do or how to do it! I had to bring in a third reference to help me mash these all together and here's what I came up with! Here's what week 1 looked like!  I had so much fun I made a video so you could see the process unfold! I also made this a full length lesson in my Fun Fab Drawing Club if you want to learn how to make this while literally drawing along with me in real time! Click here to join and get access free for 30 days! And here is Jenny's!!! Isn't she insanely talented?!  HOW FUN IS THIS?!?!?!So then last Wednesday I spent completing a NEW drawing for Magical ~ Mythical ~ Mystical Mashup! This week we start with this cute little Hedgehog...  And this adorable fairy from thepicsees.com. If you haven't checked out their page you must! There art is off the charts!!!  And this ridiculous thing is what I came up with!!!  Wait, why are you laughing so hard?? Is it the bandage bra??!? My 12 year old was editing the video for it, I was desperate to cover up her you-know-whats!!!! And here I was thinking I was all clever, having it match her head wrap and all, sheesh. Here's the video if you wanna watch (and laugh along with me!) Wanna see Jenny's??!?! IT IS SO COOL!  Her drawing skills are OFF THE CHARTS!!! What do you say, are you going to give this exercise a try? Is it hard, um...YES! BUT IT IS ALSO SOOOOO SO FUN!
You'd be amazed at the fun things that people are coming up with every week!! Hope to see you in the www.facebook.com/groups/awesomeartschoolFacebook Group soon! If you don't feel like participating, that is totally cool!!! You are always welcome to simply scroll through the art - it will be sure to put a smile on your face!!! Tag me while you're there and say hello! |
Karen CampbellFounder of Awesome Art School. Mixed Media Artist. Author of 9 Instructional Art Books!   
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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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