Category: Face Drawing Practice

How to Draw & a QUICK & EASY Fun Fab Face with a Sassy Side Bun!

6/2/2024

*All product links are affiliate & for U.S. residents only.*

Hey there, creative soul! If you love drawing semi-realistic faces as much as I do, or have been looking for the PERFECT face drawing tutorial for beginners, you're in the right place!!

Today we're drawing another cutie in my signature "Fun, Fab style" from my very first published book, How to Draw Fun Fab Faces. In this QUICK & EASY face drawing tutorial, I'll take you step-by-step through my process of drawing a simple face in pencil using my whimsical face drawing guidelines.

Last week, we did a similar drawing and colored her in with greyscale alcohol markers over on my Mixed Media YouTube channel. This time, we'll do our shading in COLOR using Tombow Markers and water.

Grab the closest pencil and a sheet of watercolor paper (if you wanna color along using Tombows and water later).

Need My FREE Face Drawing Guidelines?

If you want to make your face drawings look MORE realistic, it's important to ALWAYS use face drawing guidelines. This will help your faces look more proportional because the facial features you draw will be in the right spots!

Grab a PDF of my FREE Face Drawing Guidelines Cheatsheet HERE, or click the button below! Then meet me right back here for the drawing tutorial.

Already have my face drawing guidelines, butwould love a DIFFERENT FREEBIE? Grab a different one here :)

Ready to Draw? Let's Go!

Make sure you click over to the video to see the drawing process happening in action. It totally helps!

I started today's face drawing off the way I do all of them - by drawing a TON of ovals. Eventually one of them begins to emerge like a nice, solid face shape. After it does, we just need to add a cute and curvy, whimsical neck, and divide the face into quadrants to establish the position of key features like eyes, nose, and mouth.

As you follow along with the video, you'll witness the transformation of a blank sheet into a delightful face just FULL of personality - in less than 20 minutes! Awesome, right?!

If you love the book shown in today's video - it's available on Amazons worldwide and has TONS of fun face drawing project ideas for beginners. CHECK IT OUT HERE.

After your adorable drawing is done, it's time to color her in on my mixed media channel using Tombows and water!

LOVED This Fun & Easy Face Drawing Tutorial?

Sharing is caring!!

If YOU loved this cute face drawing project, share the JOY drawing gave you with an artsy friend or someone who's ALWAYS wanted to learn how to draw, but still hasn't given it a shot.

Here's the video link to copy and paste into a text or email: https://youtu.be/6c3y3MdM9Kk.

If you're watching the video on YouTube using your phone, try this!

Ready to Color Her In with Tombows?

Let's do it!! Head over to my Mixed Media channel for a AWESOME continuation of this project :)

Looking for Something Else?

❤️ CHECK OUT ALL my online art classes @ Awesome Art School
❤️ CHECK OUT ALL my art books on AMAZON
❤️ MY FAVORITE ART SUPPLIES on AMAZON (affiliate links)
❤️ MY BELOVED FACEBOOK GROUP

0 Comments

How to Draw the COVER GIRL on My How to Draw Fun Fab Faces Book Vol. 1!

31/1/2024

0 Comments

Hi there, creative soul! I'm mixed media artist and author Karen Campbell, and I'm thrilled to dive into the world of drawing with you today. What's on the agenda? We're going to create something truly special - easy, fun, and absolutely fabulous! We're going to draw the cover girl from Volume #1 of my How to Draw Fun Fab Faces drawing book trilogy!

If you're ready for an artistic adventure, grab the closest pencil and any old piece of paper, and let's get started.

*All product links are affiliate & for U.S. residents only.*

The Basics

In my How to Draw Fun Fab Faces drawing book series, we're going back to the very beginning today – pages six and seven of Volume 1, to be precise. Our first step is simple but crucial: drawing an oval. If you've never tried it before, don't worry! Take your time, create lots of ovals, and let the motion become second nature. Soon enough, you'll have a standout oval that will form the foundation for your fun fab face.

Before I unveil the how-to magic of my fun fab face, here's a little bonus for you... a FREE Face Drawing Guidelines cheatsheet !

Yes, you heard it right. All the guidelines we've been following in this tutorial are neatly compiled into a handy PDF. Simply click the button below and I'll send the PDF straight to your inbox!

About Perfectionism

Don't stress about perfection with your drawing! I know this is easier said than done, but each face is a new opportunity to express your creativity. It's part of the magic!! Seriously, don't stress. My finished drawing didn't end up looking EXACTLY like the book cover, but she's super close and kinda like the cute little sister of my book cover, and I LOVE her!!

I can't wait to see YOUR VERSION of today's lesson!

Share it in the Facebook Group with me and remember to add the hashtag #karensyoutube to enter yourself for a chance to win a prize during my next LIVE Giveaway on the 1st!

What's Next?

Just before I hit the record button for today's video, I received a brand new set of Tombow grayscale markers! Now, if you've been following me for a while, you know I'm used to working with Tombows that are water-based markers, but these ones are alcohol-based, so I'm SUPER EXCITED to try them out.

If you're curious about how these markers will bring my Fun Fab Face to life, jump over to my mixed media channel for the continuation of this project to see how I shade her and if this new-to-me Tombow set is worth it!

And always remember, the joy of drawing is even better when shared.

If you enjoyed this tutorial, give it a thumbs up, and most importantly, share it with a friend. Let's spread the joy of drawing and inspire others to kickstart their creative journey.

Here's the link to today's video so you can copy & paste it for a friend:
https://youtu.be/GNZNGpnduuY

I love this pic! It's me, goofing around with two of my AMAZING artsy friends at our last Scotland Castle Art Retreat! LOL!

Until next time, happy drawing, and I'll catch you in the next video!

Looking for Something Else?

0 Comments

Easy EVIL FAIRY DRAWING Tutorial in Pencil with Karen Campbell [#50FunFabFairies]

19/9/2022

0 Comments

Already starting to think about Halloween? You're gonna LOVE today's TWO-PART evil fairy drawing tutorial! This full-length drawing lesson is step-by-step, simple enough for beginners, and challenging enough for seasoned artists interested in drawing faces at different angles.

When you're finished, hop over to my mixed media channel to add sophistication to your drawing with a layer of watercolor in PART TWO of this lesson.

Grab a pencil, eraser, blending stump, and a sheet of watercolor paper to draw along with me for our final lesson of the #50FunFabFairies drawing challenge!

Want easy access to today's fairy drawing reference and even MORE fairy drawing ideas? Join my FREE #50FunFabFairies drawing challenge over at Awesome Art School!

Simply click the button below to receive instant access to ALL the fairy drawing 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 and 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.

Today's fairy drawing reference comes from a cool art magazine I picked up a couple of months ago called Sketchbooks. I love the downturned head of this creepy fairy! If you've never drawn a head tilted down like this - don't worry, I've got you! Click over to the video and I'll show you how to do it step-by-step.

Typically I start my faces off by sketching a zillion ovals, but today we're starting with the hair because it's key to replicating the head tilt in our reference photo.

Lots of people are intimidated by drawing hair, so if this is you - you're not alone. When students tell me they're not sure how to draw hair, I teach them to break it down into "clumps," as I do in this lesson.

As you'll see in the video, we're keeping things simple and not getting into the nitty gritty of drawing every hair strand. In fact, most of the clumps I draw are kinda like long skinny triangles. Easy, right?

If drawing eyes evenly is something you're trying to work on, watch how I sketch the eyes in for this fairy. I often tend to go back and forth between each eye - drawing one line at a time, then mirroring what I just did on the first eye to the second.

I've found this process of building both eyes up at the same time is much easier than drawing one whole eye and trying to draw the second eye to match.

If you feel like your eyes are still coming out uneven, don't stress. None of us are exactly proportional as humans anyway. Just keep practicing - sometimes that's all you need!

After I get the main lines of our fairy sketched in with my mechanical pencil, I switch over to my Blackwing pencil to add a little face shading. I'm obsessed with these because they're SO soft and make shading a breeze.

These are fairly expensive, so don't feel like you have to buy them in order to be successful. Blackwings feel like a 6B or 8B drawing pencil to me, so reach for one of those if you have a drawing pencil set already. If you don't, that's fine too! Use what you have on hand. A #2 school pencil is totally fine!

My face shading technique for today is super simple. Just grab a dirty blending stump and "moosh" the graphite around wherever you want to add shadows. If you don't have a blending stump, a cue tip or your finger will do the trick.

Did you notice I forgot to draw in some fairy ears? ?

Head over to PART TWO of this project to sketch those in, and learn how to add a layer of watercolor to really make your drawing pop!

When you're finished drawing her, watch this video next to add watercolor!

If you're OBSESSED with fairies and fantasy art like this, you might just LOVE the Celtic Collective over at Awesome Art School that I run with my Scottish bestie, Lucy Brydon. Add your name to the waitlist to be notified when it's open for enrollment.

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

0 Comments

SCARED of DARK Skin Tone Markers for Face Shading? Help is Here!

22/8/2022

0 Comments

SCARED of your DARK skin tone markers? You are NOT alone! The process for shading faces with dark skin is EXACTLY the same as shading faces with light skin tone markers. Press play to CONQUER these fears once and for all and to see my BEST alcohol marker blending tips in action. Playing along with my #50FunFabFairies drawing challenge? Today's FAIRY face drawing and shading tutorial is lesson 8!

Want easy access to today's lesson and even MORE fairy drawing ideas? Join my FREE #50FunFabFairies drawing challenge over at Awesome Art School!

Simply click the button below to receive instant access to ALL the fairy reference images for each drawing prompt (including today's elf ears drawing reference!), 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 and elf ears drawing AND fairy hair drawing 50 different ways!

How to Draw a Fairy Face

To get today's drawing started, I simply draw an oval and sketch in my face drawing guidelines. Not sure what face drawing guidelines are? Check out lesson one of the #50FunFabFairies drawing challenge, and my face drawing guidelines are waiting for you in the FREE #50FunFabFairies classroom over at Awesome Art School!

HOT TIP: Grab a piece of bristol or my favorite cardstock (cheaper and works exactly the same!), to complete this project. This paper is smooth, non-porous, and will help your markers blend more easily!

This week I'm using an ellipse template (above), to sketch in my eye drawing guidelines. You can TOTALLY do this at home too - it's a little time saver, and a simple trick to help you draw eyes evenly if you're just learning how to draw eyes for beginners.

Next I pencil in the fairy ears and facial features. I'm basically creating a "mashup," because I'm using two face drawing references today - one for the fairy ears, and one for the facial features and shading. Both images are with today's lesson in my FREE #50FunFabFairies classroom.

Combining various aspects of different reference photos in this way is an awesome way to create your very own, original art. This is excellent advice as well if you're someone who is insecure about looking for copyright-free images.

I'm an outliner and love this look in the faces I draw, so once I've finished sketching in my fairy face, I outline the whole drawing with a few of my favorite fineliners by Molotow. I use a thicker nib for outlining the hair, and a smaller nib for outlining facial features.

Next, I erase all the graphite with my vanish eraser. This is a really important step if you're going to shade a face with alcohol markers because they will pick up any remaining graphite on your page and smear it around if you're not careful.

How to Select Skin Tone Markers for Face Shading

Typically my students tell me the most intimidating part of shading faces with alcohol markers is getting started and selecting your skin tone marker shades. I always recommend to use at least three so you have a light, medium and dark that go well together.

I have TONS of references to help you with color selection. Inside the FREE #50FunFabFairies classroom, you'll get access to my Skin Tone Markers Guide (shows you the best skin tone marker combos for across THREE alcohol marker brands), along with the exact colors I'm using today from my Ohuhu Skin Tone Markers (Set of 24).

In addition, I recently published a book ALL about shading faces with alcohol markers and how to choose which skin tone markers will go well together.

You can shade a face from light to dark, or dark to light- it's totally up to you. Lots of my students prefer shading light to dark - especially if they're intimidated by working with darker skin tone markers because it can feel like you've got a bit more control.

As you'll see in the video, the contrast between my initial three marker shades for today's project was just too great. This is OK and TOTALLY fixable. It's actually great for you to see this happen to me so you can watch how I troubleshoot.

If this happens to you at home, and the jump between shades 1 & 2 is too great, find a happy medium shade of a "1.5" to fill in that gap and help you blend your skin tones. It's really systematic.

What to Do If You Hate Your Project

If you're new to my world, you may not have heard me talk about "the ugly stage" yet! EVERY project goes through this, especially when you're drawing and shading faces. Here is the perfect example of what I'm talking about below...

She looks crazy, right?! This is the "ugly stage." It's the point in a project when you're about half-way done, and you look down at your piece and think it's garbage. She looks like an alien, you think you should just quit and move on with your life.

DON'T LISTEN TO THOSE VOICES IN YOUR HEAD! I'm serious. These feelings are SUPER normal and you just have to keep going no matter how ugly your girl is. Do NOT let the "ugly stage" win. Just KEEP GOING.

How do you keep going when you hate your project? In this case - more layers.

How to Eliminate Streaking
and Blend With Alcohol Markers

As you watch the video, you'll see me adding additional layers of shading. Whenever I have streaking or want to ease the transition between two colors, I go back with my lightest skin tone marker to blend what I've already done.

Every time you do this add a new layer of shading in the opposite direction from your original layer. When you do this, you reactivate the previous layers of color, and they begin to blend (and reduce streaking). To create contrast, you can also add tiny bits of a new dark skin tone, as I did when I added a 4th "darkest" skin tone.

When I move on to shade the hair, I started off in the same way I did with my skin tone markers. I pulled three shades of the same color in a light, medium and dark. This is how you get dimension in your drawings.

Finishing Touches Make ALL the Difference

To pull everything together, and pump up the drama, I'm using my pentel pocket brush to add eyelashes and eye makeup. It works more like a paintbrush than a pen, and I use it in ALL of my eyelash drawings.

Not sure how to draw eyelashes? I've got a cheatsheet for that too! Head over to my FREE #50FunFabFairies classroom over at Awesome Art School.

As you may notice in the video- the eyes in this drawing were a bit uneven, so I used my pentel pocket brush and switched from eye to eye to even them out with some eye makeup. She ends up looking really glamorous, which I love!

Finally, I added highlights with my copic opaque white "nail polish." Love this product!

Honestly, this project was one disaster after another to get through. And just when I thought I had about one minute left of adding in highlights, my white paint pen exploded on her chin and I had to try and rework the whole area to fix it!

This kinda stuff happens all the time in art, and you just have to problem solve a little to get back on track. It's ok! Accept the challenge, try another solution and move on! This mindset is REALLY important when it comes to your art, or it will destroy you!

Stay positive and you'll get there. Everything is fixable.

Want MORE dark-skinned face drawing projects? You might just LOVE my Whimsical Women of the World series over on YouTube. This also turned into an online art class at Awesome Art School, AND a book! Enjoy!!

If you're OBSESSED with fairies and fantasy art like me, you might just LOVE the Celtic Collective over at Awesome Art School that I run with my Scottish bestie, Lucy Brydon. Add your name to the waitlist to be notified when it's open for enrollment.

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

0 Comments

EASY Fairy Drawing in Watercolor Pencil with Karen Campbell [Week 2 #50FunFabFaries Challenge]

31/5/2022

0 Comments

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 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

0 Comments

How USING PHOTOS of FACES for Drawing Reference Will MAKE YOU A BETTER ARTIST!

14/12/2021

1 Comment

Using photos of faces for drawing reference WILL make you a better artist. There's no question in my mind! Recently an awesome reference photo was shared in my Facebook group. Seeing this post got me thinking about how GORGEOUS the reference image was, for so many different reasons.

My teacher brain spiraled about all the things I needed to tell you! Hence... the LIVE.

This video is a MUST SEE for you if ...

You're NOT using images of faces for drawing reference to inspire your own drawings
You ARE using drawing reference photos, but interested in learning more about how to select better images, and how to use the shading pattern from one image to guide the face shading in a completely different drawing!

Here's the post that inspired today's LIVE...

I know, right?!

I'm not watching Yellowstone right now, but clearly I should be ;)

Before we get into how amazing this image is and WHY, you need to download my FREE 4-page cheatsheet packet called the Face Drawing Cheatsheet Bundle. This will help you SO much if you're just learning how to draw a face, or if you want to improve your face drawing skills. The info inside works beautifully whether your'e drawing a man or a woman.

The bundle includes my Face Drawing Guidelines, Shading Guide, my How to Draw Eyelashes Guide, and a Face Base / Face Drawing Template if you feel like you don't want to fuss with drawing proportions and would rather cut something out that can be traced directly into your art journal or sketchbook.

Simply click on the button below and I'll send the packet right over.

After you get your packet downloaded and are ready to practice, you can join me in this live stream video, or feel free to check out this playlist of How to Draw & Shade a Face in 5 Minutes if you feel like this LIVE is a little too advanced for you.

When you're ready, join me back on the live stream because I have some really cool face shading tips to share with you - whether you're drawing faces for beginners, or a more advanced artist!!

Reference photo drawing is super helpful for both whimsical drawing (semi-realistic drawing) and realistic drawing. References make a HUGE impact on your work.

They actually make your job as an artist EASIER because they give your brain a little break (you don't have to think up a zillion details to include in your drawing), and they give you ALL the "answers" your brain needs to observe in order to create something amazing.

To get you started on finding faces for drawing reference, you need to find an image you love! Here is a page right out of my How to Draw & Find Your Style book that talks ALL about reference photo drawing.

While this model is gorgeous, and I totally want to draw her too - if you look closely at all the gray tones in this photo- you'll see they're all basically THE SAME! That means this image really isn't the best choice to use as a face drawing reference.

It's better to choose an image that has ALL the values in the value scale represented from the lightest light, to the darkest dark. Why?

It will make the drawing easier for you to draw, and your drawing will look fantastic because you're using every shade of gray in the value scale.

If you're new to value scale drawing, today's video will help you out. You can also check out this one to learn how to create your own value scale using pencils. This is also an exercise members of the Fun Fab Drawing Club and Mixed Media Society do right from the beginning.

I highly encourage you to create one for yourself!

If you're not sure if a face drawing reference image you've selected will be great for drawing, just print it in black and white with your printer. This is a super easy way to convert a color image to black and white, and it's actually better to draw with anyway! This is especially helpful if you're drawing in graphite, because it's tough to replicate what you see in color using grayscale pencils.

Sometimes, I use reference photos PURELY for the shading information. Today, I'm going to show you how you can even use the face shading information from one photo to create a totally different drawing! It's really kinda magical, and why my face shading guide in this cheatsheet packet is SO VALUABLE! Make sure you grab that download if you haven't yet :)

Then click over to the video to watch how I "steal" the face shading inspiration from Yellowstone dude's photo to guide how I shade the face of a completely different drawing of a woman.

Pretty Cool, right?!!

Thanks for hanging out with me today!!

And in case you're wondering if I did actually draw Jamie from Yellowstone- I totally did, and shared him in our Facebook Group for Awesome Art School ;)

I also turned this into a real time drawing lesson and dropped it into The Fun Fab Drawing Club "Dudes" classroom for my beloved club members like Heather!

❤️ CHECK OUT ALL my art books on AMAZON
❤️ MY FAVORITE ART SUPPLIES on AMAZON
❤️ MY BELOVED FACEBOOK GROUP
❤️ FOLLOW ME ON INSTAGRAM

1 Comment

QUICK & EASY Tombow Mono Zero Eraser TRICKS for Shading GORGEOUS Faces!

2/11/2021

0 Comments

The Tombow mono zero eraser is an ESSENTIAL drawing supply in my studio. If you've never used it before - the mono eraser is built like a mechanical pencil, but filled with a long, skinny eraser instead of graphite.

In today's drawing supply demo, I'll show you why the Tombow mono eraser is a MUST HAVE in my studio + the QUICK & EASY ways I use it to add dimension when I'm shading faces in graphite.

If you're just learning how to draw faces, or curious about what the mono zero eraser can do for you - today's video is a MUST SEE!!

The mono eraser is one of my MOST FAVORITE drawing tools on the planet! As you can see, the mono eraser (right) is WAY smaller (less than half the size!) of the eraser on my pentel mechanical pencil.

The mono's tiny eraser nib enables me to chisel highlights into my drawings after I've already done some shading.

I've nearly finished a Fairy Witch graphite drawing project for The Celtic Collective, and just need to add in some highlights. I thought you might like to watch how I do this using the mono eraser.

Interested in learning MORE about the Celtic Collective? Add your name to the waitlist here to be notified the next time we're open for enrollment!

The crystal necklace around this girl's neck is definitely an area where I need to add some thin reflections. I use my mono eraser in a similar way to my drawing pencils and tend to just "draw in" highlights wherever I want them to go.

It's literally like sculpting - I carve the highlights OUT of previously shaded sections to remove some of the graphite and add dimension by revealing newly "drawn" white highlights.

Another way I like to use the mono eraser is for cleaning up my edges. In the photo above, I ran the tiny eraser nib along the darker outlines of this piece of jewelry to remove sketchy lines, smudges, etc.

I LOVE adding drama to the center of the upper eyelids when I'm shading faces. My Tombow mono zero eraser is perfect for blending out highlights here to help the eye look more bulbous and realistic.

Do you love drawing and shading faces too? Or maybe you're just learning how to draw faces? You NEED my FREE whimsical face drawing guidelines. They're super easy to follow, and will help you draw proportional facial features every time.

Simply click the button below to request your free guidelines cheatsheet, and I'll email it right over!

If you're just getting starting with learning how to draw faces, I've got a quick playlist of face drawing tutorials for you to practice with, that is perfect for beginners! It's FREE on YouTube, and is the perfect way for you to start playing with the whimsical face drawing guidelines.

If you know me and my work at all, you KNOW I'm not a huge fan of detail work. LOL! But the Tombow mono zero eraser has helped me add another layer of dimension to my work and I kinda love doing it!!

Whenever I'm drawing hairstyles in pencil, I also love using my mono zero eraser to create the illusion of individual strands of hair within my drawing. CLICK OVER to the video to see this technique in action.

Thanks for hanging out with me today!

❤️ CHECK OUT ALL my art books on AMAZON
❤️ MY FAVORITE ART SUPPLIES on AMAZON
❤️ MY BELOVED FACEBOOK GROUP
❤️ FOLLOW ME ON INSTAGRAM

0 Comments

EASY! Drawing Necks Realistically in Just 5 MINUTES with Karen Campbell

5/10/2021

2 Comments

Wanna practice drawing necks realistically in JUST 5 minutes?! LET'S DO IT!! In today's step by step drawing lesson, we're going to be drawing 5 female necks in real time, directly onto my FREE drawing worksheets. If you need help with how to draw necks, have always wanted to learn how to draw a face, are struggling with how to work drawing practice into your daily life, or need to add MORE FUN into your art practice, THIS SERIES IS FOR YOU!!

I'd love for you to draw right along with me! Simply click the button below to grab my FREE 5 in 5 Facial Features Drawing Packet, and I'll send it straight to your email inbox.

Today's video is a follow up to a facial features drawing series I did a couple of months ago because I'm getting a lot of requests for how to draw necks and eyebrows!

If you're just discovering this series on how to draw facial features, the whole point of this thing, is just to get us practicing our drawing skills. We're not making it our "life's work," it's just a little drawing exercise, and we're only going to spend about 5 minutes working with each neck drawing reference photo, then we're moving on.

You'll see a stop watch going in the bottom of my screen. It's not here to stress you out. It's just to remind ME not to spend more than 5 minutes with any one reference image.

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!

When we're working on these drawing worksheets, there are three things I encourage you to focus on one at a time, when looking at each neck drawing reference image:

1. Shape
2. Value
3. Details

For my supplies today- I'm just using my favorite Blackwing pencil - it's like a soft 4B, and super smooth to work with. You're also gonna need a blending stump, an eraser (I love my vanish eraser and the tombow mono eraser).

In each neck drawing reference photo, I left in the jawline visible so we can look at how thick the neck is, and where it begins in relation to the head.

I started drawing the jawline on my first reference image with the chin, then added in the angles I saw in the model's face shape.

Once the angles were penciled in, I took a minute to study the reference for any other lines that felt like they need to be drawn in (see below). Then I grabbed my blending stump to begin dragging some graphite around to help indicate the shadows I saw in the model's neck.

Make sure you download your 5 in 5 Drawing Packet so you can practice right on the drawing worksheets with me. Then click over to the video so we can do this quick drawing practice together in real time (no timelapse).

While doing this drawing practice, I realized necks are really WAY more about shading than drawing!

If you're someone who's been afraid to try drawing a face realistically, or if you've been afraid to try adding a little bit of shading to your drawings - this is the PERFECT drawing exercise for you! Plus it's quick - something I always love!!

If you need to knock back any areas of your shading because they've gotten too dark, use your eraser to "pounce" and lift a little graphite off the page. Click over to the video to see this drawing technique. Keep checking your reference image to compare the lightest and darkest areas on the model's neck with your own drawing.

Our next reference image has a more rounded face shape than our first model, and a wider neck.

My hope in today's free drawing lesson is that you can sharpen your observational skills, and let go of any fears you have about not having an anatomy background for drawing.

You don't need it for the kind of drawing we're doing! This is just some light practice, and the anatomy can be indicated with your shading.

Our third reference image has some super dramatic shading for us to work on in the neck and collarbone. If you want to add in her braid- feel free, but don't stress about it. Today's practice is just about focusing on the neck.

Did you grab yourFREE 5 in 5 Drawing Practice packet and print it out yet? I hope so!!

As I always say, "You'll NEVER get worse with more practice." So print that sucker out, and let's get to work!

If you're enjoying today's episode, make sure you check out the entire series on my YouTube drawing channel, because I teach you how to draw and shade eyes, eyebrows, noses, lips, hair, face shapes & more! Plus, each facial feature has 2 pages of black and white face drawing reference images to study and capture in your own drawing practice - right on the same pages.

Our fourth neck drawing reference is SUPER subtle, and will help you sharpen your observational skills as we zero in on the highlights and shadows in this image together.

Our last drawing reference (below) for today has a super unique shape and lots of beautiful values for us to concentrate on replicating in our own drawing.

Make sure you grab my 5 in 5 Practice Packet so YOU can sharpen your drawing skills right along with me.

Thanks for hanging out with me today!

Interested in learning about how to create a mixed media portrait, but missed my Mixed Media Art Deco Workshop last week?

Don't worry! You can STILL sign up and do this at your own pace - any time you want!! No art experience is needed for this super FUN online art class - I'll teach you everything you need to know, and we'll go step by step, together.

❤️ CHECK OUT ALL my art books on AMAZON
❤️ MY FAVORITE ART SUPPLIES on AMAZON
❤️ MY BELOVED FACEBOOK GROUP
❤️ FOLLOW ME ON INSTAGRAM

2 Comments

REALISTIC EYEBROW DRAWING in JUST 5 MINUTES! (#DrawingFacialFeatures with Karen Campbell)

17/9/2021

0 Comments

Ready to learn realistic eyebrow drawing in just 5 minutes?! LET'S DO IT!! In today's step by step lesson, we're going to be drawing 5 sets of eyebrows in real time, directly onto my FREE drawing worksheet. If you need help with how to draw eyebrows, have always wanted to learn how to draw a face, are struggling with how to work drawing practice into your daily life, or need to add MORE FUN into your art practice, THIS SERIES IS FOR YOU!!

I'd love for you to draw right along with me! Simply click the button below to grab my FREE 5 in 5 Facial Features Drawing Packet, and I'll send it straight to your email inbox.

Today's video is a follow up to a facial features drawing series I did a couple of months ago because I'm getting a lot of requests for how to draw eyebrows and how to draw necks!

If you're just discovering this series on how to draw facial features, the whole point of this thing is just to get us practicing our drawing skills. We're not making it our "life's work," it's just a little drawing exercise, and we're just going to spend about 5 minutes working with each reference photo, then we're moving on.

You'll see a stop watch going in the bottom of my screen. It's not here to stress anyone out. It's just to remind me not to spend more than 5 minutes with any one reference image.

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 three things I'd love for your to focus on one at a time, when looking at each eyebrow reference image:

1. Eyebrow Shape
2. Value
3. Details

For my supplies today- I'm just using my favorite Blackwing pencil - it's like a soft 4B, and super smooth to work with. You're also gonna need a blending stump, an eraser (I love my vanish eraser and the tombow mono eraser).

So with our first reference, as you can see- I draw in the general shape I'm seeing for the right eyebrow. The value I see is really pretty black, so I reach for my blending stump right away and then try to add in a few individual hairs even though I don't really see them in this particular photo - they're definitely there.

On the left eyebrow in this reference image, (above) you can definitely see a LOT more individual hairs, so I make sure to add those in where I see them, to make my drawing look more realistic.

or our second reference image, I'll show you how to draw bushy eyebrows - 2020 style. Lol! After these were drawn in with a little shading added, I carved out some highlights using my tombow eraser for detail.

The next face drawing reference has some really unique eyebrows for us to draw. They're much thinner than the last set, and are great practice if you're trying to learn how to draw curved eyebrows.

This style (above) is actually my favorite to draw on the mixed media portraits and whimsical drawings I love to create.

QUICK TIP: When you're ready to draw the individual hairs on the eyebrow, make sure your pencil tip is really sharp, or switch to a mechanical pencil.

Doing drawing practice like this with drawing reference photos and cheatsheets can help you think of new ways to draw from your imagination later.

Our fourth reference today has a very different shape and is a great face drawing reference photo if you've been looking for something to help you with how to draw a natural eyebrow.

QUICK TIP: You always draw things that grow (hair, grass, etc.) from the ROOT up to the tip.

I hope you find these eyebrow drawing references helpful for your own face drawing practice. Remember to grab my cheatsheet so you can do your drawing practice right on the drawing worksheet like me. This drawing worksheet is part of my 5 in 5 Facial Features Drawing Series on my YouTube drawing channel.

In case you missed that- it's a super helpful 6-part video series on how to draw facial features with a worksheet of drawing references to go with each feature.

We worked on how to draw realistic eyes, how to draw realistic noses, how to draw realistic lips, ears, how to draw different face shapes and how to draw fun female hairstyles in 5 minutes.

I popped these new eyebrow drawing worksheets at the end of my drawing packet. You'll also see worksheets for how to draw necks - that's coming up on my YouTube channel soon, so stay tuned for that!

Thanks for hanging out with me today!

Interested in learning how to create gorgeous mixed media portraits and learning how to draw art deco style? Join me for my upcoming 1-week, online art workshop starting September 27, 2021.

I'll teach you how to upcycle an old record jacket from the thrift shop into your very own mixed media canvas. Then we'll collage our hearts out, do a little mixed media drawing, and I'll show you ALL my tips and tricks to mixed media layering like a pro!

CLICK HERE to SIGN UP for the WORKSHOP and take advantage of my special 60% OFF Coupon Code before September 27th

If you do plan to join me for this upcoming workshop, one of the mixed media art supplies I ALWAYS use is faber castell gelatos. I have heard from a number of my students that they can't get their hands on gelatos, so I just did a video on my mixed media YouTube channel about Faber Castell Gelatos Alternatives, and test a huge variety of gel crayons out for you so YOU don't have to! Make sure you check this out before the workshop starts on September 27th.

See ya there!!

❤️ CHECK OUT ALL my art books on AMAZON
❤️ MY FAVORITE ART SUPPLIES on AMAZON
❤️ MY BELOVED FACEBOOK GROUP
❤️ FOLLOW ME ON INSTAGRAM

0 Comments

TONED PAPER FACE DRAWING in my NEW Sketchbook!

25/7/2021

0 Comments

Whether you already love toned paper drawing, drawing faces, or have never tried either, and are curious - TODAY's VIDEO is FOR YOU! Join me for a face drawing demo in my cute little toned paper sketchbook (that I recently designed) - complete with adorable little flowers in the background! I'll show you how I picked my face drawing reference, and will teach you why drawing on toned paper is actually QUICKER than drawing on white paper.

If you're new to toned paper drawing, I've got an awesome set of FREE cheatsheets for you to download and a Toned Paper Drawing three-part video series for you to help you get started over on my YouTube Drawing Channel.

Click the button below to grab those cheatsheets, and I'll send that straight to your inbox!

This cheatsheet packet includes my face drawing guidelines, plus a drawing reference face photo to help us in video #3, so make sure ya click that button!!

Before we continue - super quick announcement! All product links below 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 today's drawing tutorial, I'm working in my new toned paper sketchbook that I actually designed! It's got adorable little flowers in the background, which I love, because those flowers end up peeking through the cheeks of the faces I've been drawing.

The picture below shows a great closeup of how the background flowers look behind a drawing. SOOOOO cute!!!

It's perfect for doing some quick little face drawings in pencil with china markers and white posca pens!

Here is the link for the sketchbook over on Amazon in case you're interested! I hope you enjoy it as much as I have!!

Click over to the video and I'll talk you through a few things I think about when I'm looking for faces for drawing reference. Mostly, I just keep it easy. Basically, I just think to my self - do I love this girl and think she's cute? Then I usually give it a try!

As you'll see in the video - I also will look at the face shading. In this particular image, it's really unusual! I felt she had some beautiful highlights on her eyes, nose and lips that I instantly could imagine doing in my white posca pens. Just one more feature that made this face drawing reference an instant YES for me, besides I'm obsessed with absolutely anything done by Loish.

One of the most important things to remember when drawing on toned tan paper or gray toned paper vs drawing on white paper, is that "your job" is just to pop in the darkest darks and lightest lights when it's time to start shading faces.

That's why I think doing toned paper portraits and sketches are SO fast! Half your job has already been done for you because your "skin tone" is the tone of the paper.

As you'll see, I did a lot of the face shading with my blending stump. Since the paper is already gray, I really didn't have to push down very hard to get some beautiful effects. Once I was happy with my shading, I just grabbed my pentel pocket brush to outline everything loosely with a light touch.

I LOVE the lashes in this reference so really enjoyed popping those in with my pentel pocket brush! If you've never used this before - you have to give it a try. Here's a video to help you on my drawing channel, and here's one to help ya on my mixed media channel (because it works amazingly well for mixed media faces too!).

I love using the china markers for highlights here because they sit beautifully on top of my graphite. These marks really add dimension to the drawing and pop those areas forward.

And of course, no whimsical face drawing of mine is complete without some dramatic highlights using my white posca pens!!

I hope you enjoy today's video! Thanks for hanging out with me!!

❤️MY ARTIST BESTIE, LUCY BRYDON & I created a NEW ART MEMBERSHIP together called The Celtic Collective! It's now open for enrollment! Join us before the price increases on August 7.

❤️ CHECK OUT ALL my art books on AMAZON
❤️ MY FAVORITE ART SUPPLIES on AMAZON
❤️ MY BELOVED FACEBOOK GROUP
❤️ FOLLOW ME ON INSTAGRAM

0 Comments

<<Previous

blog

How to Draw & a QUICK & EASY Fun Fab Face with a Sassy Side Bun!

Need My FREE Face Drawing Guidelines?

Ready to Draw? Let's Go!

LOVED This Fun & Easy Face Drawing Tutorial?

Ready to Color Her In with Tombows?

Looking for Something Else?

How to Draw the COVER GIRL on My How to Draw Fun Fab Faces Book Vol. 1!

The Basics

About Perfectionism

What's Next?

Looking for Something Else?

Easy EVIL FAIRY DRAWING Tutorial in Pencil with Karen Campbell [#50FunFabFairies]

SCARED of DARK Skin Tone Markers for Face Shading? Help is Here!

How to Draw a Fairy Face

How to Select Skin Tone Markers for Face Shading

What to Do If You Hate Your Project

How to Eliminate Streaking
and Blend With Alcohol Markers

Finishing Touches Make ALL the Difference

EASY Fairy Drawing in Watercolor Pencil with Karen Campbell [Week 2 #50FunFabFaries Challenge]

How USING PHOTOS of FACES for Drawing Reference Will MAKE YOU A BETTER ARTIST!

QUICK & EASY Tombow Mono Zero Eraser TRICKS for Shading GORGEOUS Faces!

EASY! Drawing Necks Realistically in Just 5 MINUTES with Karen Campbell

REALISTIC EYEBROW DRAWING in JUST 5 MINUTES! (#DrawingFacialFeatures with Karen Campbell)

TONED PAPER FACE DRAWING in my NEW Sketchbook!

Karen Campbell

Whose work has appeared in...

Archives

Categories

What Fans Are Saying

Contact ME

blog

Need My FREE Face Drawing Guidelines?

Ready to Draw? Let's Go!

LOVED This Fun & Easy Face Drawing Tutorial?

Ready to Color Her In with Tombows?

Looking for Something Else?

The Basics

About Perfectionism

What's Next?

Looking for Something Else?

​How to Draw a Fairy Face

​How to Select Skin Tone Markers for Face Shading​

​What to Do If You Hate Your Project

​How to Eliminate Streaking ​and Blend With Alcohol Markers

​Finishing Touches Make ALL the Difference

Karen Campbell

Whose work has appeared in...

Archives

Categories

What Fans Are Saying

Contact ME

How to Draw a Fairy Face

How to Select Skin Tone Markers for Face Shading

What to Do If You Hate Your Project

How to Eliminate Streaking
and Blend With Alcohol Markers

Finishing Touches Make ALL the Difference