Category: Mixed Media Portraits

I'm so glad I tried ARTGRAF TAILOR SHAPE in my Mixed Media Art Journal!!

14/3/2023

Today I'm RIDICULOUSLY excited to share a super fun project that I created in my mixed media art journal using a square of tailor shape by Art Graf.

I picked this up randomly at Jerry's Artarama a while ago and finally decided to play with it today. I had NO IDEA what to expect from this product, and am SO EXCITED about the results!

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.

So this thing is actually a chunk of solid carbon and it's completely watersoluble. You can grab one on Amazon for about $12 if you wanna play along with me at home.

It's got a few names - some call it tailor's shape, others call it tailor's "chalk." It's actually NOT CHALK, but carbon that has been formed into a rectangular disc in the shape of tailor's chalk!

For today's demo, I decided to transfer a previous drawing (if you're not sure how to transfer a drawing, watch this video) into my Strathmore watercolor sketchbook to get this project started.

HOT TIP: Remember if you're working with ANY type of water-soluble art supplies, you need to be working on watercolor paper.

This is the watercolor sketchbook I'm working in today. It's an 11x14 because I LOVE to work big, and hard cover, which makes it perfect for traveling.

This is typically what I work in for pretty much anything art journal related. It's filled with 140# cold press (textured) watercolor paper. It's of course amazing at accepting watercolor and all watersoluble art supplies from watercolor pencils to the ArtGraf tailor shape I'm using today.

I think the paper in this sketchbook is also amazing for drawing because of the gorgeous texture. It's also hearty enough to accept full on "hamburger style" mixed media projects like the one below!

Not familiar with my Hamburger System? It's my signature mixed media process! Grab my FREE Hamburger System cheatsheet to help you understand your mixed media art supplies and start layering them like a pro.

After you grab your cheatsheet, watch this playlist to see how I create each layer of the Hamburger System from collage to acrylic painting, finishing and sealing to create my mixed media masterpieces!

Back to TODAY's project :) So as I mentioned, I've never drawn with anything like the watersoluble tailors shape by ArtGraf before! It honestly worked pretty well tracing over the lines of my transferred drawing.

When it was time to activate my drawn lines, I was a little shocked at how water soluble this stuff was!! At the same time, I immediately felt like I was in familiar territory.

The effects were IDENTICAL to my beloved black stabilo all pencil! So much so, that I'm seriously wondering if this stuff is what's actually inside the black stabilo!

If you're not familiar with the black stabilo all pencil, it's one of my FAVE art supplies - watch this video to learn all about it!

While I played for today's project, I discovered there were two ways to activate the lines drawn by the ArtGraf tailor shape disc. The first way was simply to add a wet watercolor brush to the dry, drawn lines and drag the melty pigment around like watercolor.

As you can see in the video, I'm using my favorite watercolor brushes by Polina Bright. If you want to learn more about WHY I love them so much, watch this video. If you'd like to get one of Polina's brushes too, use this link to get a 10% discount on your purchase.

The second way to activate Art Graf tailors shape is by sweeping a wet watercolor brush directly across the disc to lift some of the carbon, and then painting with it just like you would with watercolor! Cool, right?!

As you'll see in the video, I added lots of new lines and layers into the hair using this "watercolor wash technique." If you're not sure how to paint hair in a mixed media or watercolor portrait, today's video is a GREAT demo of my favorite hair painting techniques.

If you play along at home with this disc for the first time and want to activate it to shade a face, I suggest you start by activating the lines in the hair first so you can get the feel of how the product works before you move onto the face. Remember it will KEEP ACTIVATING on you too - every time you add a wet brush to previously activated lines. I LOVE that, but I know it freaks some of my students out :)

HOT TIP: If anything ever gets TOO BLACK for you when you activate your dry lines, dab it with a dry paper towel to lighten things up and lift away some of that darkness.

Stay with me till the end of today's video to see how I tied this new journal page to the facing page to make a fun art journal spread using these AWESOME, chunky acrylic paint pens by Liquitex. They are seriously SO fun to play with!!

If you're interested in learning how to draw a 3/4 view portrait from scratch like the one in today's video, watch this playlist, or check out my book How to Draw MORE Fun Fab Faces on Amazon.

This "cartoony" or whimsical drawing style is super fun, way less intimidating than realism, but also an excellent runway INTO realism if that's something you're interested in achieving later!

Need the real-time version of today's lesson? I've dropped it for you in the Mixed Media Society. Not a member yet, but curious? Learn more and add your name to the waitlist to get notified next time I'm open for enrollment!

Thanks for watching!!

Need More Resources?

❤️ 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

4 Comments

How to Make Your WATERCOLOR MARKERS BEHAVE for Mixed Media Projects!

29/8/2022

0 Comments

Today's mixed media art tutorial might just blow your mind if you're a beginner. Not only will I show you how to use Faber Castell skin tone watercolor markers to shade a mixed media face, but you'll learn 3 UNIQUE WAYS to melt, blend and freeze the pigment from your watercolor markers so they BEHAVE in YOUR OWN gorgeous mixed media projects at home!

Got a new set of watercolor markers, colored pencils, pens or watercolors? It's SO important to SWATCH your new colors so you know what to expect when each color hits your page!

I've made this process MORE FUN for you by creating a FREE Swatchsheet! Simply click the button below, and I'll send it straight to your inbox.

LOVE swatching, and can't get enough?! Check out the book I created with my Facebook Group called The Fun Fab Swatch Pad. These playful pages will keep you swatching for days!

How to Use Watercolor Markers
to Shade a Mixed Media Face

I love using watercolor markers in my mixed media projects because I feel like I've got the control of a marker and the magic of watercolors in ONE art supply!

A couple of weeks ago I tried Faber Castell Watercolor markers for the first time and tested them against my Winsor Newtons. I was thrilled to discover the Faber Castell set has SO many colors, including SKIN TONES! I can't wait to try these out today...

To get the face shading of this project started, I studied my drawing reference to see where the darkest shadows sit naturally on the model's face. Then I strategically laid down brush strokes of color on my drawing to replicate what I saw. It's that easy!

How to Activate Watercolor Markers With Water

Typically when I activate my watercolor markers (or any water soluble marker, pencil or pen) with water, I simply wet a watercolor brush (these are my favorites, by Polina Bright), and run the brush over the lines where I want to create watercolor effects.

After I dipped my watercolor brush in water today, I pulled it through the skin tone brush strokes and pushed it around my portrait's face to create lighter skin tones throughout.

As you'll see in the video, the downside of working with watercolor markers is streakiness. Even if you try to blend streaks out with water, they never totally come out. When this happens to me, I usually reach for another art supply in my stash, like gesso.

When to Activate Watercolor Markers
With Gesso & Matte Medium

In case you're new to gesso, white gesso has a translucency to it that will allow an underlayer of a mixed media project (like collage or today's shading with watercolor markers) to peak through. White gesso also has just enough opacity to hide something in an underlayer that you're not crazy about (like today's streakiness).

White gesso is one of MY TRICKS that I use to make watercolor markers behave for my mixed media projects!

As you can see in the above pic, I dipped a different paintbrush into some white gesso to even out my underlayer of face shading. I changed my brush because gesso will RUIN your expensive watercolor brushes. Trust me!

HOT TIP: Whenever you work with gesso, make sure to use a cheap, stiff brush,like these.

Once my gesso layer was fully dry, I added a second layer of shading with my skin tone watercolor marker. This needed some blending too, but I wanted it to remain dark, so reached for my clear matte medium instead of more white gesso.

I almost always use matte medium as my "glue" for mixed media collage. Today, I'm using its adhesive properties to "freeze" my underlayers in place and to lightly blend my last layer of face shading. Cool right?

Using gesso and/or matte medium with other watercolor markers, watercolor pencils and watercolor pens can totally HELP YOU whenever these water-soluble art supplies aren't cooperating for you just by adding water!

How to Draw Hair with Watercolor Markers

If you're not sure how to draw hair with watercolor markers, make sure you click over to the video to see this in action. When I'm drawing hairstyles, I typically draw in a couple of pencil lines to guide the general outlline of where I wanted the hair to sit on my paper. If I'm shading in color, like today, I usually choose three different shades of the same color to create dimension with a light, medium and dark.

I activated the hair brush strokes with water to indicate volume and blend the shades together. Once this layer was dry, I added a few more brush strokes for definition and started shading the facial features.

Hot Press vs Cold Press Watercolor Paper
for Mixed Media Projects

Today's mixed media project is on hot-press watercolor paper. This paper is really smooth and can be quite beautiful for portraits. If you plan to do lots of layering (or collage), cold press watercolor paper is your best choice because it's kind of like working on canvas.

You can throw whatever you want at cold press paper, and it's gonna survive. Hot press is a bit more delicate. If you're not careful or get a little too aggressive with your paintbrush - you can work a hole into the paper. Learn more about mixed media paper for beginners in this video.

I hope you enjoyed today's project, and feel empowered to know you can use MORE THAN JUST WATER to get results you LOVE from your water soluble art supplies!

Remember, all mixed media projects are kind of a big experiment. They're free-flowing. Sometimes things go well, sometimes they don't! Don't freak out.

Keep going, try to chill out, and enjoy the process!

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

Create DREAMY Skin Tones with Caran d'Ache Luminance Colored Pencils for Your Mixed Media Portraits!

16/5/2022

0 Comments

Today I'm trying Caran d'Ache Luminance colored pencils for the first time to create a mixed media portrait ("Hot Dog Style"). I'm not normally a colored pencil artist because I prefer art supplies I can work quickly with, but YOU HAVE to SEE the DREAMY skin tone effects these colored pencils create - especially when burnished with a Derwent Drawing Pencil in Chinese White. SO glad I tried this idea on page four of my FREE HOT DOG SYSTEM packet from my talented artist friend, Sharon Holmberg!

Click the button below to download this FREE 32-page stack of ideas just filled with "Hot Dog System" tried and true mixed media art supply combinations created by myself and 20 of my artsy friends!

Today I'm trying some new colored pencils recommended to me from artist, Sharon Holmberg. Her favorite mixed media art supply combo is shared on page four of the FREE 32-Page Hot Dog Packet. Sharon loves to combine Caran d'Ache Luminance colored pencils with watercolor and a bit of collage for the mixed media faces she creates in her Strathmore Mixed Media Visual Journal.

Instead of drawing a girl's face from scratch today, I decided to save a little time, and cut out one of the female faces from the coloring pages packet in my Skin Tone Secrets book.

Before I start shading this face in, I need to swatch out my colored pencils so I know exactly what colors I'm working with.

Even though the swatch sheets in my coloring pages packet (you can download this for free if you buy my Skin Tone Secrets book), are from a book all about using alcohol markers- the swatch pages can be used for ANY art supply, and honestly, the shading patterns presented in this book can also be used with any art supply - as you'll see in today's video.

This is my "I -hate -my -life -right -now -and -my -hands -hurt -face." LOL. If you've been following me for a while, you likely already know I kinda despise colored pencils because they honestly just take too long for me and it's very detailed work, which I'm just not that into. I think I stuck it out for like 5-6 layers of face shading, and had to move on with my life. HA! That's just me.

If you have the patience for working with colored pencils- you do you!! I know they can create some absolutely gorgeous portraits, even from the little shading I did with them today!

The part that really makes Sharon's faces flawless (and something I tried today!) is "burnishing" - which basically means blending the skin tones shades and layers together to create a smooth, finished look. Sharon's favorite tool for this is a Derwent Drawing Pencil in Chinese White. Watch the video to see how beautiful this colored pencil blending technique and tool are in action!

I finished off my girl's face with alcohol markers in the lips, hair and eyebrows because I had to give up on the colored pencils. Even though colored pencils in general are NOT my favorite art supply, they seriously do create a dreamy look for skin tones so I'm super glad I tried it!

Next, I used a simple adhesive spray (shown above), to secure my mixed media face to a sheet of watercolor paper so I can watercolor a background around her. I used two watercolors by Daniel Smith to create my watercolor background: Ultramarine Turquoise and Sap Green.

After my watercolor background is fully dry, I cut some cute flowers out of scrapbook paper I had lying around and glued those down with matte medium ( another STAPLE in my mixed media art studio).

As you'll see in the video, I had a little mishap with my cut out flowers while my watercolor was still wet and it made a tiny drop of green watercolor land smack dab in the middle of my poor girl's nose! Not to worry- I'll show you exactly how to fix a watercolor painting mistake.

First I tried adding a little water on top of the spot to lift the color with a paper towel. That didn't work because this particular color is very staining. I decided to try white gouache because this is super opaque and I know will do exactly what I need it to do. Luckily the watercolor mistake I need to fix is located right on the nose of my portrait where a highlight would naturally go anyway- so it's all good! The gouache worked perfectly.

Since I was already using a bit of gouache on the nose of my colored pencil portrait, I decided to use more to tie the piece together by pulling a few streaks of white through her hair, to enhance her eye shine and make her lower lip pop. So fun!!

What I LOVE about this whole Hot Dog System, is that it encouraged me to reach out to other artists in my community to ask them about their favorite supplies and processes. If I hadn't done that, this exact project and video wouldn't even be happening!

So a huge thanks to Sharon Holmberg for sharing her secret, gorgeous process for shading adorable mixed media faces using only 4 art supplies! I totally love how this project has turned out.

SO stinkin' cute!!

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

QUICK & EASY! Mixed Media Portrait in Stabilo All Pencil, Pan Pastels & Paint Pens ["Hot Dog" Style]

10/5/2022

1 Comment

Creating mixed media portraits is one of my FAVORITE things to do! When I don't have a ton of time to art, I'll use my quick Hot Dog System to layer just FOUR mixed media art supplies.

I asked 20 of my artsy friends about the simple mixed media art supply combos THEY love and have TONS of FUN ideas to share with you in a FREE 32-page PDF (you're welcome!). This packet contains our BEST, tried and true, 4 art supply combos- "HOT DOG" style.

Click the button below to download this FREE 32-page stack of ideas just filled with Hot Dog System inspiration!

Today I'm testing a new-to-me mixed media art supply combo recommended by one of my artsy friends, Alexa. Straight outta the Hot Dog Packet on page 3 - we're combining my beloved stabilo all pencil with pan pastels and paint pens on cardboard. If you're a beginner in the world of mixed media art, or just curious about these tried and true art supply combos - today's video (and FREE 32-Page Packet ) are FOR YOU!!

Today's combination of mixed media art supplies comes from page 3 of the Hot Dog Packet, and is a recommendation by artist, Alexa Ali Doebler.

She's suggested we create on cardboard. Feel free to use the back of a cereal box, an Amazon box, whatever. You can also just as easily do this project in an art journal (preferrably one filled with watercolor paper because we'll be activating a water soluble pencil with water). It's up to you!

I'm using cardboard like Alexa suggested. To get this party started, I'm covering my cardboard "canvas" with some swaths of white gesso (skip this step if you're working in a watercolor sketchbook or journal).

As you'll see in the video, I'm using a cheap foam brush to apply it. These are amazing for SO many applications and can easily be washed out and reused for a long time.

Typically gesso is used as a primer for acrylic paint, and absorbent ground is the primer for watercolor and water soluble products. However, because I know the Stabilo All Pencil in Black SO well as a product, I know it will perform beautifully when layered over white gesso.

To draw in the face for today's mixed media portrait, I'm sketching her in with my mechanical pencil first. I find this super helpful because I can erase if I need to. If you don't have an eraser you love, this one is my favorite.

Today's sketch is quick and dirty because I'm more into trying out the art supply combo and seeing how the layers work together, than making the drawing my life's work!

I know her neck is totally wonky, but I'm just letting it be since I'm in a hurry. Try to ignore that for now, LOL.

To activate the stabilo, I'm using my favorite watercolor brushes by Polina Bright (check out this video for a full product review of them!). If you'd like to get a set for yourself, Polina has extended a coupon code to my followers for 10% off if you enter my full name in caps (KARENCAMPBELL) at checkout on her website or in her Etsy shop.

Something to remember about the stabilo is that is WON'T stop activating. Some of my students LOVE this... and some HATE it. I love that feature, but I just want you to be prepared for how it will behave before you try working with it if it's a new art supply to you.

Now it's time for pan pastels. I'm still SUCH a newbie with these- but that's ok! I'm ready to learn!

There's a cute little pan pastels applicator that looks like it fell out of an eye shadow compact. This will help you dab color on wherever you want it, and do some blending.

I spent a little time playing with the pastels - incorporating shading into the face and hair to add dimension. At this point in the project, I was also just experimenting with what the pan pastels were capable of and how they worked. They're actually really fun!

Then it was time to bust out the paint pens. I'm just using whatever is hanging out on my art table. I've got a white sharpie paint pen and dabbed on a few highlights with that, then added some outlining and scribbles with my black posca paint pen. Simple, fun and done!

I hope you enjoy this quick mixed media portrait tutorial! Have fun experimenting with your art supplies, and make sure you post your version in the Facebook Group if you do the project too!

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

1 Comment

DAZZLING Mixed Media Portrait with Alcohol Ink Painting on Yupo Paper

25/1/2022

0 Comments

I've NEVER created a mixed media portrait by doing alcohol painting on yupo paper... until today!

In fact, everything about today's mixed media tutorial was kind of a science experiment- from trying this crazy alcohol ink paper to my trial and error mixed media painting techniques and my NEW 2 camera setup.

Love the eyelashes on this girlie? Me too! Lots of my students have shared that drawing eyelashes is hard for them, so if you're feeling the same, you're NOT alone. I created a FREE, super simple eyelashes cheatsheet for you with THREE things to remember each time you're drawing eyeashes.

Simply click the button below and I'll send it straight to your inbox!

Real quick, before we continue- 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 mixed media art book review is of Mixed Media Portraits with Pam Carriker. If you've been following me for a while, you know I'm OBSESSED with creating mixed media portraits.

Flipping through mixed media art book like Pam's gets me thinking outside of my own style, and can totally inspire me to try something new, outside my comfort zone... like alcohol ink painting! If you get this book too, today's project in Pam's book is called "Yippie for Yupo."

Stay with me till the end of this video for a sneak peek at Pam's entire book!

I don't know about you, but I've worked with yupo paper exactly ONCE before today's video. LOL! So I really have no idea what to expect, which is actually kinda FUN, right?! I get emails every day asking me how to do various techniques or if I've ever tried a particular combo of art supplies.

I almost always answer with the same response! I've learned SO much just from experimenting and trying new things. You never know how something will work until you try it. So my advice is ALWAYS live and learn. You might discover something amazing and fall in love with it!

Some of the supplies needed for this project were totally new to me like these random sticks called Fantastix (below).

It didn't take me long to get what these little guys do. They feel a bit like styrofoam, and immediately soak up whatever you dip them into, just like a sponge. It was a little like I'd made my own alcohol marker here, but using it on paper felt similar to watercoloring.

The first part of this project started with laying down the mid tones of the face shading (above). In the book, Pam suggests using a light table, but I was able to see just fine without, so just used my yupo paper like tracing paper on top of a recent graphite drawing I'd done.

If you like the look of this female face drawing in the video and want to learn how to draw her with me, I've got an online art class coming up called Art Retro Rendezvous. It starts on Valentine's Day (2022), and only costs $15 (only through this special link) if you sign up to party with me before that day. There will be 10 drawing lessons spread out over 5 days!

Back to today's project!

When I first started shading this face with the fantastix stick (I *think* that's what I should call it?!), I was almost wishing for the control of my copic markers, but I tried to let it go, and embrace this new way of creating. It's definitely a bit more abstract than I'm used to.

When it was time to blend out the mid tones to create some lighter areas on the face, I dipped a fresh fantastix stick into alcohol blending solution and pulled some of the color from the left edge of the face over to the cheeks. This was a really neat experiment - again using art supplies that are totally new to me.

To put my own spin on the project, I decided to try using my pentel pocket brush to add some details on the face, since the rest of the project instruction appeared to be all about how to paint hair using alcohol inks. I didn't have the heart to leave my girl's face totally abstract, so I did a bit of doodling before moving on.

If you're not familiar with the pentel pocket brush, it's one of my favorite products to use for drawing eyelashes onto my drawings and mixed media portraits. If you'd like to learn more about it or how to draw eyelashes - I did a video about it on my mixed media channel, and another on my drawing channel.

As soon as I started adding droplets of alcohol ink onto my paper, the project took an entirely FUN turn that I wasn't expecting. How gorgeous is that blooming purple ink for hair?!

I LOVE learning new mixed media techniques and this one is really turning out cool! The rest of the project is really all about experimenting with the inks - adding new drops of color, removing some color with the alcohol blending solution, and tipping my yupo paper around to see what effects I could get from letting the alcohol ink drip and run across the page.

I kinda loved it! Although if I'm honest- it did bug me when the blooms of ink started to infringe a bit too much into the face.

Make sure you click over to the video to see how this works in acton. Plus if you hang out with me for a few more minutes after the art project- I'm doing a quick flip through of Pam's book to show you even MORE fun mixed media ideas you can try at home!

Don't forget to SIGN UP FOR MY ART RETRO RENDEZVOUS with this special link for just $15. Beginners welcome (even if you've NEVER drawn a thing before!)

Thanks for hanging out with me today!

❤️ CHECK OUT ALL MY ONLINE ART CLASSES & Art Clubs
❤️ CHECK OUT ALL my art books
❤️ MY FAVORITE ART SUPPLIES on AMAZON
❤️ MY BELOVED FACEBOOK GROUP

0 Comments

This MIXED MEDIA PORTRAIT in My Altered Book WAS ALMOST a DISASTER!

10/1/2022

0 Comments

This mixed media portrait tutorial was filmed BEFORE I'd even identified the steps in my signature mixed media layering process, let alone named it "The Hamburger System!"

When I watch this full-length tutorial now, I can see many of the Hamburger steps I was using, even then. This fun his and hers art journal spread was painted into an altered book art journal I upcycled from my local thrift shop. To this day that art journal is STILL one of my favorites.

If you're new to mixed media, or struggling with how to layer your art supplies so you create a MASTERPIECE instead of a mess - you need to download my FREE Cheatsheet outlining my signature mixed media layering process, called the Hamburger System.

Simply click the button below, and I'll send it straight to your inbox!

In many of my mixed media canvas and art journal pages, I often love to start with a collage layer, as I explain in my FREE YouTube series breaking down each layer of the Hamburger System. After this - the cheatsheet I HOPE you just downloaded, will make complete sense!!

With today's mixed media project, I felt the need to start with face drawings, instead of collage. I think I was just too excited to dig into this face drawing reference image (below), that I'd found on Pinterest.

I wish I could credit the artist here, but I couldn't find one for this image.

I felt the need to use a dramatic color scheme, so I selected teal, red, yellow and black.

Since I'm working in my altered book, I need to prep my pages with a thin coat of gesso. This will knock back the opacity of the book's original illustrations and make it so I can paint or draw over them more easily.

Once the gesso is dry, I started this face drawing as I do ALL of them - by sketching in my face drawing guidelines. Even if I'm doing stylized, whimsical drawing (not realism), it's still important to sketch in guidelines so the facial features look more proportional.

Do you love drawing and shading faces too? Or maybe you're just learning how to draw faces? CLICK HERE to download my FREE whimsical face drawing guidelines. They're super easy to follow, and will help you draw a simple and proportional forward facing face.

If you're a total beginner with face drawing, you might want to check out this playlist over on my YouTube Drawing channel to practice your face drawing guidelines with me step by step before trying out today's project. The face drawing tutorials in this series are are short, sweet, and perfect for beginners. Here's one of the faces you'll learn how to draw...

Real quick, 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.

After my initial sketch for today's project is done, I pull an old flat paint brush out and add a little more gesso along the outer cheekbones and jawline to correct my proportions since I'm working with a pencil that doesn't erase.

Gesso is a bit magical like that in the world of mixed media art! It can give you a fresh start and work like an eraser to hide any little mistake you want.

Be sure whenever you use gesso that you're using an old paint brush because it will totally destroy your brush. I have one that I've designated for myself to use only for gesso. I highly recommend you do the same.

In this particular project, I added an additional thin layer of gesso over my subject's cheeks, nose, forehead and neck to knock back some of the background that was still peeking through from the book's original illustrations.

Next, I applied some acrylic craft paint in ivory as a base skin tone layer all over her face and neck. Since this piece is purely for my own enjoyment in my own personal art journal, and I'm not selling it, etc. - craft grade acrylics are fine for this application.

When I started adding red acrylic paint into the background behind my face drawings, I decided to scrape some onto my journal page for an edgier look using an old credit card! This is a really fast way to cover a lot of ground with your acrylics.

At the time this project was created, I'd just published my How to Draw Fun Fab Fellas book, so you'll also see me working on a guy's face in this mixed media tutorial.

If you're interested in drawing male faces, one of the things you need to watch out for is to go easy on the lips. If you're not careful, these can turn feminine real quick! You also want to be sure to keep the lines in male faces very angular, except for the eyeballs- these are really the only true curves you should see in a male face drawing.

Next, I decided to add some detail work in with my black stabilo all pencil, before I sealed both pages with clear, matte mod podge.

Usually I LOVE how water soluble the black stabilo all pencil is (even though I know it totally freaks some of my students out!!), but today, it muddied the skin tone of my female portrait because I had doodled in stabilo on top of the eyebrows. This was just too dark and dissolved everywhere once the mod podge hit it.

If you're new to my world, you'll quickly learn how relaxed I am about "mixed media mistakes." I think everything is fixable, and encourage my students to ALWAYS keep pushing through on a project.

I ended up adding gesso, more acrylic craft paint (ceramacoat) to save her face, and blending some gelato skin tones on top to do some face shading, and tying things together with my pitt pens and posca pens- "Hamburger" style.

If you've never used creamy gelatos to help you "paint" a variety of skin tones into your face shading, they're amazing and something you've got to try.

This chick totally gave me a run for my money, but I had a blast and am happy with the end result. Be sure you click over to the video to see her unfold in real time.

Thanks for hanging out with me today!

Don't forget to grab my FREE HAMBURGER SYSTEM CHEATSHEET. Once you print it out, join me on YouTube for my Hamburger System Series, and I'll explain everything you need to know about mixed media art supplies, and my simple mixed media layering process!

❤️ CHECK OUT ALL MY ONLINE ART CLASSES & Art Clubs
❤️ CHECK OUT ALL my art books
❤️ MY FAVORITE ART SUPPLIES on AMAZON
❤️ MY BELOVED FACEBOOK GROUP

0 Comments

EASY Posca Paint Pens PRO TIP for Mind-Blowing MIXED MEDIA PORTRAITS

10/6/2021

0 Comments

Posca paint pens are one of my all time FAVORITE art supplies! In today's art supply demo, I'll show you why they're a MUST HAVE in my studio + the EASY way I use them to create MAGICAL effects on my mixed media portraits. If you're a beginner in the world of mixed media art, or just curious about what posca paint pens can do for you - today's video is a MUST SEE!!

Uni posca paint pens are available worldwide and filled with acrylic paint. Posa pen sizes range from fine tip to thick tip, so you're sure to find what works best for you.

If you're like me and struggle with doing details using a paintbrush - these paint pens make it SUPER easy to add those in. You'll love the control of a pen with the look of acrylic paint!

I've found white posca pens make some of THE BEST highlights on my mixed media portraits! They layer up beautifully over whatever you've got going on from acrylic paints and mixed media collage, to sealers like mod podge, matte medium, etc. They're a really fantastic product!

Look closely. Do you see all the fine white doodly lines in this chick's hair and on her face? Look at her eyelid, nose bridge, top lip, cheekbone and even her jawline and eyelashes. Those were all made with my white posca pen!

Popping in a few posca pen white lines helps bring this mixed media portrait to life! Suddenly she has more dimension with this added detail. AND- I had more control because I'm using paint PENS instead of traditional acrylic paint on a brush.

Here's another example of teeny detail in the same mixed media painting. I used my gold posca pen to indicate a gold chain on this chick's funky earring and just a couple of tiny white dots to indicate reflections or sparkle.

If you were hanging out with me last week on my Drawing YouTube Channel, I of couse added white highlights with my paint pens in this mixed media drawing as well.

I happened to be using a water based Sharpie paint pen in that video.

You'll notice similar highlights have been marked on this mixed media portrait - on the eyelids, checkbones, brow bones, nose, lip, chin and my favorite - the tiny white eyeshine dot in the pupils!!

Sharpie makes an oil based paint pen too. I really don't recommend that one because they can be a pain in the butt if the nib dries, and difficult to reactivate. The water based version is the one below with a blue label around the bottom. The oil based version (to avoid) is below with a red label.

If you're thinking of posca pens vs sharpies - I would lean posca because they have SO many more colors and nib sizes to choose from.

What's amazing about posca vs other brands is that you don't have to do a lot of work to get these going or to keep them working. They're also totally opaque.

If you're not quite sure how to activate a new posca pen, you just need to give it a minute to get the acrylic paint flowing.

Make sure you shake it up really well and then push the "nib" of your paint pen to paper (or I actually use my fingernail- who knows why?!). Keep that nib depressed until the paint starts pooling out.

You'll be happily surprised to find out that poscas are SUPER affordable. You can get a great set for under $40 or so.

In today's video, I'm using my posca paint pens in a less "messy" application, over alcohol markers.

Be sure to click over to the video to see today's demo! I'm creating a floral library with my Fun Fab Drawing Club students over at Awesome Art School. The base layer is alcohol markers (copics are my favorite!), and I'm doodling with posca pens on top after my copic marker layer is dry.

HOT TIP: If you plan to use paint pens like poscas - make sure your previous layers are completely DRY, otherwise you can have a mess on your hands.

I hope you found this helpful!! Thanks for hanging out with me today!!

Wanna Create Even MORE Cool Drawing Projects
Like the One Featured in Today's Video?

Check out the Fun Fab Drawing Club over at Awesome Art School!!

It's perfect for artists of ALL levels including beginners. We're having SO much FUN over there and would LOVE to have YOU join us!!

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

QUICK & EASY Tombow Brush Pens TIPS for Painting MAGICAL Mixed Media Portraits!

26/4/2021

0 Comments

Tombow Brush Pens are one of my all time FAVORITE art supplies. Lots of mixed media artists use them for making cards & brush lettering, but I use them to PAINT! In today's art supply demo, I'll show you why they're a MUST HAVE in my studio + the QUICK & EASY way I use them to create MAGICAL mixed media portraits. If you're a beginner in the world of mixed media art, or just curious about what tombows can do for you - today's video is a MUST SEE!!

Tombows are super popular with mixed media artists -especially card makers and stamping fanatics. People LOVE using them for brush letting and calligraphy type projects.

Tombow dual brush pens come with two nibs, one on each end. One is a brush nib and the other is a bullet nib. I really love the dual nib feature because it feels like I've got both a paintbrush AND a fineliner all in one product.

Tombows are also great because they're acid free and super watersoluble (which means they melt like watercolors if you add water to them).

Today I'm working in my large 11x14 strathmore watercolor journal. It's filled with 140 pound color press paper, which can REALLY take a beating from whatever art supplies I feel like throwing at it! As you can see - I don't just do watercolor in this journal. I use it for mixed media projects too because it's so sturdy! Here's a fun project I did a few months ago...

I highly suggest if you're doing ANYTHING with watersoluble art supplies, you REALLY pay attention to the kind of paper you're using. I believe it's JUST AS IMPORTANT as your art supplies. In fact it IS one of your art supplies, and it totally makes a difference.

As you can see, I'm using a face drawing reference because that's usually how I work. I don't really use my references to try and copy exactly what the image looks like because I'm not super into realism.

I just think using a face photo reference while I draw inspires me to add details I may not have thought of from facial feature nuances to hairstyles, etc. I think a face drawing reference is also REALLY helpful to use as a face shading reference because it takes the guesswork out of deciding where to place shadows. You just look at your reference and BOOM. It tells you everything you need to know!

Now today's side profile drawing is one of the trickiest profile drawings to master- called the three quarter view portrait. If you need help with how to draw a 3/4 view profile - here is a playlist for your from my YouTube Drawing Channel to get you started.

I've also got a FREE cheatsheet to help you remember the basics of drawing three quarter view faces.

Simply click the button below and I'll send it straight to your inbox.

Before you start with face shading, I HIGHLY recommend you swatch out your art supplies- whatever you are coloring with because I've been surprised ONE too many times when the color comes out not quite looking like the marker cap or tube of paint, so this can be a real life saver!

Some artists may want to keep a swatch sheet on every color they own. There are some products I do that with (especially my watercolors!!), but most often I'm more into just scribbling a few strokes off to the side for whatever piece I'm currently working on.

When I'm shading a face with my tombow dual brush markers, I hold my marker on the side and use it similarly to a paintbrush (on the brush nib side) to lay down a big chunk of color like in the picture above.

Since my intention is to add water and use my paintbrush to move the color around, I'm deliberately loose with my shading here. I just throw some color down in my lightest shade and move on. I'm all about quick and easy and THIS TECHNIQUE is BOTH!!

As you'll notice in the video, I followed my lightest shade marker with a medium shade - using my photo reference as a guide to help me note darker shadows, and then switched to a dark shade to indicate the darkest shadows.

Simply adding a little water with your paintbrush will melt ALL the marker layers together to create BEAUTIFUL face shading on your drawing. Isn't this gorgeous???

When you're painting with tombows or any watersoluble marker - make sure each layer you do is completely dry before going back on top with your original supply because the fastest way to kill a marker is to put it into water.

NO markers "like" being added to a wet surface, so simply hit your piece up with a little hair dryer action before you go back in for another marker layer, and you'll be good to go.

Check out how sparsely I lay down swathes of three purple tombow shades (light, medium & dark) while drawing a hairstyle for this profile drawing. This is ALL the color I put down.

When I'm playing around with watersoluble media I often activate TWO of my marker layers with water, and then draw on top and leave that final layer UNACTIVATED - to make the details pop.

The only drawback I've found with tombows is they are not lightfast. Definitely keep that in mind if you're creating art to sell or gift. I don't actually recommend selling or gifting your originals because of this - but you could TOTALLY sell prints of them!!

I have found that tombows won't fade AS MUCH if your work is in an art journal because they'll be hidden from the sunlight.

When it's time to add some detail, I pull out my pentel pocket brush. This is my FAVORITE art supply for eyelash drawing (remember NOT to use this until the layers underneath are FULLY DRY).

This pocket brush nib is like a paintbrush- it's made of a group of hairs and doesn't perform like your typical marker. A tombow "brush" nib is basically foam that's been shaped to LOOK like a brush and feel like you're working with a paintbrush (but it provides a bit more control than the pocket brush).

If you need help with drawing eyelashes, click the button below and I'll send my EYELASHES CHEATSHEET straight to your inbox.

I've got a great eyelash drawing tutorial on my mixed media channel and another on my YouTube Drawing Channel to help you out if this is something you struggle with.

I hope you enjoy this mixed media tutorial and TRY tombows out for yourself!! They really are fantastic. The colors are unbelieveable and the markers themselves are really affordable. I think you'll love painting with them as much as I do!!

REMEMBER TODAY (APRIL 26th) is the KICKOFF of my FUN FAB FAIRIES WORKSHOP!!!

You can STILL sign up to join me and the rest of the gang for an amazing week of fairy drawing lessons! CLICK HERE to REGISTER.

If you find this post well after the live portions of this workshop have ended, all you're missing out on are the daily giveaways and Facebook LIVES. The Fun Fab Fairies course is STILL available at Awesome Art School as a stand alone course for you to enjoy!!

❤️Did you know I've started a FUN new podcast with my Scottish, artsy bestie, Lucy, ALL ABOUT SCOTLAND & the mythical goodness I can't get enough of about this magical place?! YES - we talk about everything including ARE Fairies Real?! (You know I think they are!!)

The podcast is called 1 Scot, 1 Not! Check us out on YouTube and here's our podcast website!

❤️Want FREE, immediate access to my Fun Fab Drawing Club and/or Mixed Media Society plus discounts on all my art books, sneak peek at YouTube videos and new book content, behind-the-scenes fun and MORE? Join me over on Patreon today and get HUGE PERKS in return for a small monthly donation.

❤️ CHECK OUT ALL my art books on AMAZON (available in both Kindle and Paperback)

❤️ SIGNED COPIES of my art books on ETSY

❤️ MY FAVORITE ART SUPPLIES on AMAZON

❤️ MY BELOVED FACEBOOK GROUP

❤️ FOLLOW ME ON INSTAGRAM

❤️ FOLLOW ME ON FACEBOOK

0 Comments

3 MINUTE Mixed Media Canvas Background!!

5/3/2021

1 Comment

You are going to LOVE THIS 3 MINUTE mixed media canvas background technique!! It is by far THE FASTEST way to knock out a vibrant background for my mixed media portraits! I typically start with collage, but sometimes I'm in the mood for something a little different. Evidentally, today it was punk, and I'm LOVING how she turned out!!

To get started, select 3-4 spray paint colors you like together, a few stencils, and head outside with your canvas. Begin by adding a few shots of color here and there, in two different shades.

Then drop a stencil on top and use your third color of spray paint to start working in some fun patterns.

Cool, right?! There are SO many directions you can take a mixed media canvas background like this. I worked in some black with mine because I wanted it to feel edgy since I knew where the portrait for this piece was headed.

This background seriously took me ALL OF THREE MINUTES. That's it. I think that might be a record, even for me!!

Once my canvas was dry, I pulled out my GINORMOUS magnum sharpie back in the studio, and got to work on a side profile drawing prompt from an artist friend of mine, Jenny Manno.

Before we continue, super quick announcement! All product links noted 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 only reccommend products I actually use and love. Thank you for your support!

Just a word of caution... if you're not used to doing profile drawings, I definitely DON'T recommend using a sharpie!! Especially one this big!!

In all seriousness, if you're new to side profile drawing, it's NOT as hard as you think it is. You probably just need someone to break it down for you so it doesn't feel so overwhelming. Then you just need a little practice.

I have TONS of resources to help you with profiles! Feel free to check out this playlist on my YouTube Drawing channel for beginners. You'll learn how to do side profile drawing step by step in pencil.

You can also check out my book, How to Draw MORE Fun Fab Faces, over on Amazon. This is PERFECT for beginners who want to learn how to draw profiles step by step (even kids!!).

Once I finished my initial drawing, I got my gesso going inside the face and just around the outer edge of her face shape to knock the background back just a bit. Then I painted a thin layer of flesh colored craft paint on the face.

If you've been watching me for a while - you know I'm NOT super patient, LOL! Layering with gesso and acrylic paints really can take forever, and I don't usually have the patience for that.

Because I have the neeeeeed for speed, I developed this cool technique to add color to my mixed media portraits QUICKLY, using my gelatos by Faber Castell!

See the light pink in the face below, where it looks like blush has been applied to her cheek? That's from my gelatos! I blended it with my finger and it literally took me TWO seconds.

If you want to see this gelatos technique slowed down in REAL TIME, I just did a product demo with my Faber Castell Gelatos, so you definitely need to check that out!

If you haven't tried them before on your own, this is my favorite set. FYI, beware of the metallic version if you want to follow me with this technique, because sadly they don't work!

If you're watching this project unfold (and I HOPE you do!!), I actually struggled a little with the skin tone and decided I wanted a clean slate to work with, so pulled out my gesso and started again with my fun gelatos technique. In the pic above, you can see it's looking SO much better, so that ended up being a great move!

Keep that in mind- if something doesn't go quite right- there are a MILLION ways to fix something, so DON'T give up. Keep pushing through!! In the world of mixed media art, gesso is your friend in more ways than one!!

When I'm switching gears from mixed media painting to mixed media DRAWING... I seal my whole canvas with one of my favorite mixed media art supplies - mod podge! I buy this stuff by the gallon!!

When the mod podge has dried, my canvas is slippery and has been prepped beautifully for playing with pitt pens. I love using my pitt pens to help me when shading a face (mixed media style). I use them in a similar way to my gelatos. I layer some color and blend with my fingertip.

What's REALLY cool about working with pitt pens over mod podge, is you can ERASE things you don't like with a simple baby wipe! Amazing, right?!

The art supply layering system I'm using in today's project is something I lovingly refer to as my mixed media "Hamburger System." I compare layering my supplies to the way you layer toppings for the perfect burger!

I've actually got an entire FUN YouTube series of tutorials, cheatsheets, and even wrote a mixed media art BOOK about it!! Download the FREE, one-page cheatsheet that explains it all by clicking the button below.

I'll send it straight to your inbox so you can print it and keep it at your art table for reference to help you with your own mixed media layering.

When I'm using my hamburger system for layering and am happy with something I've done, I seal my work with another layer of mod podge to ensure it won't move, then hit it with my hair dryer so I can do a bit more doodling.

My last step is always grabbing a white sharpie or posca pen to add highlights throughout. I LOVE the drama this adds to my mixed media portraits.

I hope you enjoy watching this video!! I had a blast doing this project!!

❤️Want FREE, immediate access to my Fun Fab Drawing Club and/or Mixed Media Society plus discounts on all my art books, sneak peek at YouTube videos and new book content, behind-the-scenes fun and MORE? Join me over on Patreon today and get HUGE PERKS in return for a small monthly donation.

❤️ CHECK OUT ALL my art books on AMAZON (available in both Kindle and Paperback)

❤️ SIGNED COPIES of my art books on ETSY

❤️ MY FAVORITE ART SUPPLIES on AMAZON

❤️ MY BELOVED FACEBOOK GROUP

❤️ FOLLOW ME ON INSTAGRAM

❤️ FOLLOW ME ON FACEBOOK

1 Comment

QUICK & EASY Faber Castell Gelatos TRICK for STUNNING Mixed Media Portraits!

1/3/2021

2 Comments

Faber Castell Gelatos are one of my all time FAVORITE art supplies. Lots of mixed media artists aren't quite sure how to use them, or only associate gelatos with background work.

In today's art supply demo, I'll show you why they're a MUST HAVE in my studio + the QUICK & EASY way I use them to create MAGICAL mixed media portraits. If you're a beginner in the world of mixed media art, or just curious about what gelatos can do for you - today's video is a MUST SEE!!

Before we continue, super quick announcement! All product links noted 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 only reccommend products I actually use and love. Thank you for your support!

When students first start working with me, they often ask, what are gelatos? Gelatos are a fun art supply made by a fine art supplies company called Faber Castell! Gelatos are supposed to be a fine art product, but I think a lot of artists would probably put them into the "craft" category because they are not light fast.

If you haven't seen these before, they kinda look like a tube of chapstick with a blunt tip.

Gelatos come in a wide range of colors. They even have a metallic line. I do want to caution you if you're drawn to metallics. If you follow me and have picked up the Faber castell gelatos metallic set, hoping to use them like I do in my Mixed Media "Hamburger" projects, unfortunately they DON'T work. So just be forewarned, if you want to play along with me- the metallic version has been tested, and sadly failed.

Pick up the flat/matte set and you'll be good to go! In fact, here is my favorite. It's got all the skin tones I love, and I think you'll REALLY enjoy yourself!!

Not sure what my Hamburger System is? It's my signature mixed media layering process!

Lots of people struggle with understanding their mixed media art supplies and how they work best together. It's really not that hard once someone shows you how! I compare layering my supplies to the way you layer toppings for the perfect burger!

I've got an entire FUN YouTube series of tutorials, cheatsheets, and even wrote a mixed media art BOOK about it!! Download the FREE, one-page cheatsheet that explains it all by clicking the button below.

I'll send it straight to your inbox so you can print it and keep it at your art table for reference to help you with your own mixed media layering.

If you haven't worked with them before, gelatos are a watersoluble product. That means if you put them down on a piece of paper and add water to them - they WILL melt and move around on you.

There are a lot of other products on the market that work just like gelatos- including Marabu art crayons (they can really smear on you) and Distress crayons (not lightfast at all, so I quit using them).

What I LOVE about gelatos is they're not AS watersoluble as these other brands.

The way that I like to use them is for accentuating the shading and tones on top of my acrylics. They blend out just perfectly, and I'll show you in today's video.

I think they're AMAZING for adding skin tone shading, or adding any shading on any subject you're featuring in your mixed media projects!

Personally I love mixed media projects to be fast and FUN!! And I want to see an instant success. For me, Faber-Castell gelatos DO just that. I don't have to spend TONS of time blending my acrylic paints, I can just work some gelatos on top of my acryilcs, it's super easy, and BOOM.

Gorgeous shading, every time!

Watch the video to see where I've used gelatos specifically in this cute mixed media face and in the one above.

Now, let's move on to the product demo! CLICK over to the video so you can see exactly what I'm talking about ;)

To get the demo started, I painted an acrylic head shape in four different skin tone shades using craft paints. Using craft paint is totally normal for me when I'm doing skin tones because I love how the paint that comes out of the bottle in the prefect skin tone I'm looking for in a base coat. I don't have to mix a thing! Then I add 2-3 shades of gelatos on top for shading, and they look amazing!

I noted the gelato shades I used in the above girl off to the side, and showed you just how EASY it is to blend with these on the right. They totally melt right into each other. And this is without adding anything to them.

In this one I used five shades of gelatos instead of three because I just couldn't stop! LOL! I love these things. Isn't that the most beautiful blend off colors off to the right? I told you these things were magical for mixed media work!!

So fun!! I love how these shades blend together for a rich medium skin tone. You really can add such a rich layer of color to your faces and I'm not kidding... it only takes a couple of strokes and a little blending with your finger and you're done. SO much faster than doing countless layers of blending with your acrylics!! The highlights throughout this face (above) were done in the color caramel. Using white would've been too strong here. Make sure you try incorporating tangerine if you're playing with darker skin tones because it REALLY adds a beautiful effect.

And here is the last one! Just a different direction from the first pale skinned girl. This one goes more into the yellow color family and butterscotch. If you look closely, you'll see a few white highlights I added with my white gelato. This has a very soft effect. And again, SUPER easy and fast. Especially if you're only using three shades!

Now! If this was a "real" mixed media project for me (not just a value scale demo showing you how I love to use gelatos)... there are a lot more steps I take to tie a project together.

Be sure you click over to the video to see a quick demo of what comes next. I know tons of people have questions about how to SEAL faber castell gelatos!

I have found they do fantastic with a layer of mod podge on top!

Check this out...

but this STILL isn't the end...

There's even MORE!! If you want to see what comes next, click over to watch my Hamburger System playlist after today's video, and I'll take you layer by layer through the entire SUPER FUN process!!

Thanks for hanging out with me today! I hope you have a fab week!!

❤️Want FREE, immediate access to my Fun Fab Drawing Club and/or Mixed Media Society plus discounts on all my art books, sneak peek at YouTube videos and new book content, behind-the-scenes fun and MORE? Join me over on Patreon today and get HUGE PERKS in return for a small monthly donation.

❤️ CHECK OUT ALL my art books on AMAZON (available in both Kindle and Paperback)

❤️ SIGNED COPIES of my art books on ETSY

❤️ MY FAVORITE ART SUPPLIES on AMAZON

❤️ MY BELOVED FACEBOOK GROUP

❤️ FOLLOW ME ON INSTAGRAM

❤️ FOLLOW ME ON FACEBOOK

2 Comments

<<Previous

blog

I'm so glad I tried ARTGRAF TAILOR SHAPE in my Mixed Media Art Journal!!

Need More Resources?

How to Make Your WATERCOLOR MARKERS BEHAVE for Mixed Media Projects!

How to Use Watercolor Markers
to Shade a Mixed Media Face

How to Activate Watercolor Markers With Water

When to Activate Watercolor Markers
With Gesso & Matte Medium

How to Draw Hair with Watercolor Markers

Hot Press vs Cold Press Watercolor Paper
for Mixed Media Projects

Create DREAMY Skin Tones with Caran d'Ache Luminance Colored Pencils for Your Mixed Media Portraits!

QUICK & EASY! Mixed Media Portrait in Stabilo All Pencil, Pan Pastels & Paint Pens ["Hot Dog" Style]

DAZZLING Mixed Media Portrait with Alcohol Ink Painting on Yupo Paper

This MIXED MEDIA PORTRAIT in My Altered Book WAS ALMOST a DISASTER!

EASY Posca Paint Pens PRO TIP for Mind-Blowing MIXED MEDIA PORTRAITS

Wanna Create Even MORE Cool Drawing Projects
Like the One Featured in Today's Video?

Looking for Something Else?

QUICK & EASY Tombow Brush Pens TIPS for Painting MAGICAL Mixed Media Portraits!

3 MINUTE Mixed Media Canvas Background!!

QUICK & EASY Faber Castell Gelatos TRICK for STUNNING Mixed Media Portraits!

Karen Campbell

Whose work has appeared in...

Archives

Categories

What Fans Are Saying

Contact ME

blog

Need More Resources?

​How to Use Watercolor Markers to Shade a Mixed Media Face

​How to Activate ​Watercolor Markers With Water

When to Activate Watercolor Markers With Gesso & Matte Medium

​How to Draw Hair with Watercolor Markers

​Hot Press vs Cold Press Watercolor Paper for Mixed Media Projects

Wanna Create Even MORE Cool Drawing Projects Like the One Featured in Today's Video?

Looking for Something Else?

Karen Campbell

Whose work has appeared in...

Archives

Categories

What Fans Are Saying

Contact ME

How to Use Watercolor Markers
to Shade a Mixed Media Face

How to Activate Watercolor Markers With Water

When to Activate Watercolor Markers
With Gesso & Matte Medium

How to Draw Hair with Watercolor Markers

Hot Press vs Cold Press Watercolor Paper
for Mixed Media Projects

Wanna Create Even MORE Cool Drawing Projects
Like the One Featured in Today's Video?