QUICK & EASY! Mixed Media Portrait in Stabilo All Pencil, Pan Pastels & Paint Pens ["Hot Dog" Style]10/5/2022
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!!
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 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
If you're new to the world of mixed media art, you're in THE BEST PLACE!! I have so many mixed media ideas, tutorials & tips for you.
If you're intimidated by mixed media, or struggling with how to layer your supplies, I'd love to teach you my SIMPLE mixed media technique for layering my supplies (it's the exact process I used to create this adorbale fall fox!).
Simply download my FREE Mixed Media Hamburger Cheatsheet. I know, "hamburger" sounds funny - but I pile on my art supply layers one by one - like I'm making the perfect burger. Click the button below, and you'll see exactly what I mean!
After you click the button above, you'll get an email with your cheatsheet. Make sure you print it out because it's an awesome reference to keep at your art table.
Now you're ready for action and have TWO choices...
#1: Learn how to make this adorable fall fox (stay right here & keep reading). OR #2: WATCH my entire FREE Mixed Media Hamburger Playlist on YouTube. There's a video for every single layer of the cheatsheet (you printed that out, right?!) to help you learn my signature process from start to finish, step by step. 
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.
Yay! I'm glad you stayed. Let's get moving on the fox project!
If you haven't met me yet, you'll soon learn I love hoarding art supplies as much as the next girl, but I ALSO love saving money and upcycling thrift store finds for my art. One of my tricks is to purchase old record album covers to turn them into canvas! Kinda brilliant right? They're dirt cheap and I love the square shape. 
You can also create your own mixed media fox on canvas, canvas panel, or in an art journal (just make sure the paper is super thick -preferrably watercolor paper). Do what YOU love!
If you're upcycling any old surface like a once glossy record cover, we need to cover it with a light layer of gesso. 
Now it's time to start painting!
Apply a thin layer of orange acrylic paint. I love acrylic paint by Lukas Cryl. I discovered it years ago when my kids were tiny and I was REALLY on a budget. This stuff is gorgeous and lasts forever. I've been recommending it to my students ever since. I wanted an edgey look, so instead of using a paint brush- I used the edge of an old credit card to spread the paint around. Looks cool, right? If you prefer using a paint brush, that's cool. Use whatever you have on hand. If you're looking for a new acrylic set of brushes, this is a great one. 
Another cool element to upcycle in your mixed media art for collage is phone book pages or thrift shop books! I always look for the books that are on their last legs. The paper is thin and perfect for mixed media collage.
For the fox, I ripped up a page from an old phone book. Does anyone even get these anymore?! ? 
Lots of people use mod podge to adhere collage pieces to their art journal pages and canvases, but I actually use matte medium. Why? It's designed to work with acrylic paint, and it actually has secret adhesive properties! I paint a thin layer on the bottom of my collage pieces, and another right on top.
Napkins and tissue paper are also excellent for mixed media collage. For this project, I had an adorable, floral napkin I was dying to incorporate. I peeled the napkin backing from the pattern side (this is really important because it makes your collage pieces thinner and easier to control). Then I ripped it into pieces and carefully adhered it to my piece.
If you struggle with getting the wrinkles out of your napkin pieces when you're collaging, this video is for you. It really demos my technique of using TONS of matte medium! I pour it on so there's a lot under my napkin pieces, and then coat them on top as well. If you think you're using too much matte medium, add more :) 
Next start adding in some acrylics that tie in with the color scheme from your napkin. I did a very thin layer and used my finger to spread it into the corners to kind of tie things together.
My next step was to add a bit of texture. I love the look of polka dots, and I've found that painting a bit of acrylics over a corner of bubble wrap looks AMAZING in the backgrounds of my mixed media portraits! I've been doing this trick for years, and it costs nothing! Win-win!!
After I hit my layers up with my hair dryer, it's time to start making room for our adorable fox! To knock my background back a bit, I add a super thin layer of gesso all over in the middle of my piece. I used an old credit card here too, to keep that edgey look.
Next, I penciled in my fox outline. I used a black stabillo all pencil because I love how watersoluble it is. It smears when you add something wet to it from water to gesso. Some of my students don't like the unpredictability of the stabilo like I do. If you're one of these people, just use a pencil. When you like the way your drawing looks, start painting again with your acrylics.
When it was time to start adding in that fluffy white fur, I used more white gesso instead of white acrylic paint. I tend to do this a lot in my mixed media work because I love how the collage layers will peek through gesso.
As you'll see in the video, my stabilo lines activated here and there when the gesso hit them. I love how that softened the fox's edges and helped add shading to my little guy without even trying!
Once I felt happy with my painting layer, I sealed it all in with a layer of matte mod podge. Be prepared because that stabilo can activate again when your mod podge hits it. 
Let this dry completely. Just walk away and do something else for a while. Or if you're impatient like me... hit it with your hair dryer or heat gun again.
When the surface is slick and dry, it's time to "paint" with our pitt pens! I freaking LOVE this step. It's like ice skating when these babies hit your canvas! If you're following along with your Hamburger Cheatsheet, this is Layer #5. 
If you're loving the cheatsheet, this actually inspired not only the FREE 9-Part Series on YouTube, but a book by the same name as well. If you love the feel of a book in your hand, it's available on Amazon.
Once you're done "painting" and doodling with your pitt pens, it's time to add a cute quote. I love using stamps for quotes because I don't love my handwriting. Feel free to do either, or no quote! This is YOUR art.
Next to the last step is to pop in some highlights with a white paint pen. I love this simple set of three in varied nibs from Posca. I also love my Sharpie White Poster Paint Pen.
I love the look of a bold black outline, so you'll often see this in my work. I also love using a stamp pad and adding the look of black, distressed edging all the way around my canvas. Make sure you click over to the video to see exactly how it's done!
Just a quick heads up, when you do click over to this fun mixed media fox video, this was shot BEFORE I had even named my magical mixed media layering process, so you won't hear me talk about the burger layers in this video. You'll just see them in action, set to music!
Wanna learn TEN ways to save money with your art supplies? Check out this video. It explains how the layers in this very project can help you from buying out your local craft store :) 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 8 CHEAP & EASY Mixed Media Art Ideas I Haven't Tried Yet! [Stenciling & Stamping Techniques]11/1/2022
Need NEW mixed media art ideas? Whether you're a mixed media beginner, or a seasoned mixed media artist like me, flipping through a gorgeous art book is one of THE BEST THINGS you can do for creative inspiration.
In today's art video you'll get a sneak peek at one of my favorite mixed media art books, followed by a demo of the 8 CHEAP & EASY stamping & stenciling techniques this book inspired me to try for the first time in my own mixed media sketchbook!
If you're new to the world of mixed media art, and not sure how to layer your supplies for success - you're in the right place! Beginners are my specialty.
Make sure you download my FREE cheatsheet outlining my signature mixed media layering process calledThe Hamburger System. It tells you exactly HOW to layer your mixed media art supplies so you can make a masterpiece, instead of a hot mess! Simply click the button below and I'll send it straight to your inbox!
When you're done with today's video, I've got an awesome YouTube series to go with this cheatsheet, so look for that link at the bottom :)
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 101 Mixed Media Techniques, by Walter Foster.
This book is jam packed with 128 pages of mixed media art techniques. It's an excellent addition to any art book collection and will definitely get your creative juices flowing.
What I really love in this book are the "Artist Tip" boxes that you'll find scattered throughout. I actually think these little pointers are better than most of the book content!
Each chapter of 101 Mixed Media Techniques is written by a different artist so you can really get some unique perspectives. The tip below came from a section in the book about stenciling and stamping techniques. It got me thinking out of the box, motivated me to take a little field trip around my house looking for new mixed media ideas to try, and inspired today's entire video!
I easily found eight random objects lying around my house just waiting for me to experiment with in my mixed media sketchbook.
The first item I decided to test out is actually the inside squeaker of a dog toy that was headed for the trash! How funny is that?!
Check out the whimsical polka dots I created when I ran this ball through some acrylic paint and upcycled it into a stamp! 
The next item I decided to try as a stamp was a shot glass!
Lots of mixed media artists have done videos using empty toilet paper rolls or paper towel rolls to stamp circles onto their canvases or art journal pages. What I don't love about these empty rolls is they can bend, and don't make perfect cirlces. I decided to try stamping circles onto my art journal page with a shot glass. Look how great that turned out!! 
Simply grab a glass from your kitchen that you don't care about, or pick one up at a thrift shop, and turn it into a mixed media stamp for yourself!
Ages ago, I bought a spongey toilet scrubber from the dollar store and set it aside to try as a paintbrush or stamp. Today was the perfect day to bust it out! 
I dabbed the scrubber into 2 colors of acrylic paint and stamped it as hair around an old face doodle in my art journal. Look at how amazing THIS looks!! Total win!!
This next object I decided to try was a slotted spoon. I tested out a couple of ways to turn this into an upcycled mixed media stencil, and love the effect I got when swiping over the negative space with a sponge covered in acrylic paint. 
As I mentioned, I LOVE creating the look of polka dots and circles. I have a zillion of these utencil holders from Ikea (below), and the bottom of each just happens to have the perfect pattern to try as a stencil.
I like how that worked, but still might love bubble wrap even more! I'll show you that technique at the end of this demo.
While I was in my kitchen, I noticed my napkin holder could be a two for one win as a stencil, with the unique patterns on the bottom and the sides!
Check out how amazing this looks (bottom right corner) when I added two colors of acrylic paint to a sponge, and swiped that sponge through the side of my napkin holder! 
Another object I tried using was a fragment of the pouch my clementines came in. I tried it this material as both a stamp and stencil, and found I really loved the subtle effect it created as a stamp the most.
HOT TIP: Whatever you do - do it everywhere so it looks intentional.
My last stamping technique wasn't necessarily inspired from today's video because I've been doing it for years, but in case you haven't tried this before - you've GOT to save the next sheet of bubble wrap that comes through your door!
You can get the most gorgeous pattern from applying acrylic paint to the corner of some bubble wrap, and turning it into a mixed media stamp. Click over to the video to see my favorite places to stamp with bubble wrap! 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
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!!
❤️ Did you miss my Gnome Workshop with guest artist Sarah Turner of Tenderfoot Village? CLICK HERE to enroll for $27 at Awesome Art School (if you're in the Mixed Media Society - you got free access to this but NEED a coupon - if you don't see it in your email, please email me!) 
❤️Did you miss my Fun Fab Fairies Workshop? NO worries!! You can STILL sign up and enjoy each of these lessons on your own time at your own pace in this stand alone classroom at Awesome Art School! CLICK HERE to REGISTER. 
❤️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! ❤️EVEN BETTER - LUCY & I are creating a NEW ART MEMBERSHIP together called The Celtic Collective!! Learn More & add your name to the waitlist here. 
❤️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
Yes, you CAN paint a giant canvas background in JUST 2 minutes!! I know it sounds too good to be true - especially if you're intimidated by large canvas painting. I can't wait to show you this spray paint on canvas idea! It's one of my all time favorite mixed media painting techniques!! Even better... it's FAST, EASY... and CHEAP! If you're a beginner in the world of mixed media art, or just curious about how to attack a giant canvas - today's video is FOR YOU!!
It's funny - while I was filming - I took a little look around my studio and was kinda surprised to realize how MANY of my canvases on the wall started with the SAME mixed media painting technique for the background. Check out the video to see the examples up close!!
As you'll see, I work on BIG canvases all the time, and LOVE IT!! I feel like large canvas painting is more free-ing as an artist and it's actually EASIER because I have room to spread out my ideas, and don't have to get hung up on tiny little details. 
The first giant canvas painting I want to share with you up close is my pink mixed media mermaid. She's actually 4 feet tall, and was created out of two, 2 foot canvases. The background for this piece took me all of FIVE MINUTES. No joke!! That's 2.5 minutes per canvas... and DONE.
All I did was spray paint on my canvas, then I misted a second color of spray paint through a stencil sheet to create the look of underwater bubbles! SERIOUSLY!! That's it!! 
The next canvas background idea I want to show you is of my dragon in acrylics. This one took just a little longer because I used more colors.
Even with adding more color- the dragon background didn't take me longer than 10 minutes to do. Can you imagine how much LONGER (and EXPENSIVE!!) this would be painting with acrylics and a paint brush?! For my art deco painting below, I taped off a section in the background because I wanted a frame behind the couple. That part took a little longer to tape off, but then I just used a can of black matte spray paint on canvas for the backgound, and I was done. EASY!! 
As I walk you through these pieces, you'll start to understand the THREE main reasons why I love to paint canvas backgrounds using spray paint:
1. Spray paint is really inexpensive - I've tried all the brands from the cheapest to the most expensive, and there's no difference. That means I spend about $3.99/can, and am FINE with grabbing the ones on sale for 99 cents. I promise you- they work JUST as well!! This is SO much cheaper than buying an inexpensive tube of acrylic paint!! When shopping for spray paint, I suggest you only pick up cans in satin or matte because glossy can be kinda tough to work with if you plan to do any adhesive collage layering or acrylic painting on top. For some reason, the glossy cans feel like they're stronger smelling to me too! 2. Spray paint comes in a HUGE array of colors - There are SO many fun colors you can pick up to add to your mixed media projects. And because they're so cheap in a can - you can probably afford to buy MORE of them :) They also last forever!! 3. Spray paint is amazing to COVER LARGE AREAS - If you haven't tried spray paint on canvas before - you're gonna be shocked at how much real estate you can cover in a short amount of time! It takes forever to cover a giant canvas with acrylic paint. Plus, you end up getting brush strokes that may be distracting to look at. Spray paint really glides over canvas well and gives it a smooth look! The only downside to using spray paint is if you want or need to do touch ups to your canvas background later. It can be tough to replicate what you did with multiple colors, but if you need a teeny touch up - here's my trick!! 
Spray a puddle of paint into a disposable plate, bowl or cup and dip your paint brush in. Simple, right?!
When you're choosing colors to work with for your canvas background painting, you can keep things really simple and use one or two like I did for my mixed media mermaid, or if you want to show more depth - grab 3-4 shades of the same color in a light, medium, and dark for contrast.
I have SO many fun colors. This is probably only half of my stash!!
If you haven't used stencils with spray paint before, you're gonna love this!! Stencils work SO well with spray paint because spray paint dries really fast. When you mist a new color through a stencil over your previous color of spray paint - then two colors WON'T MIX! Each shade can lay beautifully right on TOP of the other!!
Do you clean your stencils after you use them? Students ALWAYS ask me this!!
I NEVER clean my stencils- I just keep reusing them over and over. Some may think this is lazy, but it actually makes the stencils work better over time this way! The paint eventually builds up a bit and in a way ends up making the stencils stronger so they work even better!
Check out the stencil below. This one is really cool! I used it to make the underwater bubbles in my pink mixed media mermaid painting.
Watch the video so you can understand exactly what I mean here. This particular stencil doesn't have a "hard line" or edge to it. It's been trimmed so the edges are a bit softer and easier to blend into a background. 
STENCIL & SPRAY PAINT TIP: To avoid a hard edge showing up on your canvas, trim the edges of your stencil off like I did in the stencil above. You can also work on perfecting your spray painting technique. Try to mist your paint right into the center of your stencil. Ok! Reay to see how FAST this process really is?! CLICK over to the video and you can see it in real time. It takes me less than a minute to cover this 18" x 24" canvas in one solid color. 
For the stenciled parts, I simply pull my white spray paint out and gently hold my stencil above the freshly painted canvas. You don't want to lie it on top of the canvas because it could stick!
One of my favorite things to do with a stencil is to mist it into the corners of my canvas. I think it adds a really nice frame to whatever I end up putting into the foreground.
HOT TIP! Make sure you hit your CANVAS edges with color too. Trust me!! You'll be so mad if you come back to your art table and notice they're all WHITE!! LOL :) I hope you enjoy this demo and find this spray paint on canvas idea just as helpful as I have!! Have fun art-ing!! ❤️Did you miss my Fun Fab Fairies Workshop? NO worries!! You can STILL sign up and enjoy each of these lessons on your own time at your own pace in this stand alone classroom at Awesome Art School! CLICK HERE to REGISTER. ❤️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
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 I've never tried palette knife painting with acrylic paints for one of my mixed media portraits until today! It was actually SUPER FUN!! I created some thick, edgy texture in the hair, and kept things a bit more delicate for the face using my mixed media art supply go-tos: faber castell gelatos, pitt pens & my black stabilo all pencil! Join me to see just how this MAGICAL mixed media fairy canvas comes to life!!  Below, I'm looking a little unsure about how the palette knife painting is gonna go for her face... LOL!  But I quickly got a LOT more into it when I started adding layers of thick red acrylic paint for hair!!  If you've been following me for a while, you probably know that most of the time I START my mixed media art projects with collage. Every once in a while I'll do my foreground subject (typically a face!!) first, and then try another collage art technique like in today's project.  This collage paper was actually sent to me by a friend who MADE it, so I was thrilled to include it in this piece.  Are you loving "the ugly phase" on this girl?! LOL!! It makes me cringe, but oh well!! Do what I always say - JUST KEEP GOING!! This means you're about half-way done with your project!!  After quite a bit of blending I added back some definition to my original lines with my black stabilo all pencil and pulled out my paintbrush to activate it with a little acrylic. I LOVE how this adds shading all by itself! Cool, right?!  Then it's time to play with my Faber castell gelatos! I'm in LOVE with these for creating my mixed media portraits! I recently did a video ALL about the magical goodness of gelatos and why you need to check these out if you've never played with them before.  They're amazing for shading faces. Look at that smooth complexion I've blended in below...  I love the contrast with her thick hair - full of texture!  Take a look at these killer lashes up close!! Tons of people have trouble with drawing eyelashes! I KNOW these can be super tricky, so I've done a number of eyelash drawing tutorials on how to draw eyelashes successfully. Here's one on my drawing channel, and another on my mixed media channel. I've also created a free cheatsheet to help you out that you can download and use as a reference when you're practicing eyelash drawing. It teaches you how to draw eyelashes step by step, along with the THREE important things to think about every time you're drawing eyelashes. Click the button below and I'll send it straight to your inbox!  For this particular project, I used my stabilo to draw eyelashes on this girl. When I activated these lines, it created the look of more dramatic eye makeup. I'm always down with THAT! Check out the video to see how I added in some magical blues to her hair and eyes, and of course layered in my signature white highlights to make EVERYTHING POP at the end!! SO FUN!! 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 I LOVE collaging art backgrounds for the mixed media portraits I create on canvas or in my art journal! Typically I will do a collage background FIRST in my mixed media art projects, but today I started with some gesso and acrylic painting followed by a little simple sheet music collage. I just LOVE how it turned out!! If you love to watch a timelapsed project set to music for a little mixed media inspiration, today's video is FOR YOU! Enjoy!! 🍔 NEED HELP UNDERSTANDING or LAYERING your mixed media art supplies? I'd LOVE to help!! Check out my "Hamburger" System & Get all my FREE TIPS in this YouTube series!!! 😍 LOVE Mixed Media Portraits but NOT INTO DRAWING? I've got a template & a series for that!! ✏️ WANNA LEARN HOW to DRAW a Fabulous FACE in 5 Minutes?! 🔥 LOVE Mixed Media on Canvas, but wanna save $$$ ? Use the trick in today's video! Upcycle an old record cover & throw a little gesso on top!! BOOM! You've got a super cute sqaure canvas ready and waiting for YOUR masterpiece!! ❤️ 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 Happy Friday!! Mixed media collage backgrounds with paper napkins are EASY to create and can add a gorgeous pop of color to your mixed media art journal. Today’s video is a FULL LENGTH project, so if you love collage mixed media art & mixed media tutorials - this is for YOU! I know what you’re thinking about collaging art journal backgrounds with napkins...those WRINKLES!! Don’t worry - I've got collage techniques that will make your napkins BEHAVE so there is a little texture, and your collage background can PEEK through your mixed media portrait, without taking over your whole art journal page! Grab your art journal, a beautiful paper napkin, TONS of liquitex matte medium, some gesso, a black stabilo all pencil & come play with me!!  Today I'm working in my favorite Strathmore watercolor journal. These thick, beautiful pages can take anything I throw at them, which today is gonna be a vat of liquitex matte medium!! If you haven't used paper napkins to create an art journal background - you totally need to give it a try! There are so many beautiful patterns and colors out there! The possibilities are endless. A pretty napkin can also create a no-fail color scheme for your mixed media project if you intend to do a little painting, like I did. Just look to the colors you see in your napkin, find paint shades to match, and BOOM. Solid win! Napkins can be a bit tricky to work with because they are SO fine. To make matters worse, we need to separate the plys EVEN MORE so we're only working with the ply that has the pattern. If you haven't done this before, just work your nail into the edges of the napkin like I show you in the video, and slowly pull the plies away from each other. Sometimes the pretty napkins are 3-ply, like mine is today. So just watch for this so you isolate only that thin sheet filled with the pattern you love.  When you're ready to glue this down into your journal, I suggest working with liquitex matte medium as your adhesive. I love this stuff because it's super fluid, and WAY LESS gloppy than mod podge for this type of work. Plus, matte medium was CREATED to work with acrylic paint. So if I decide to add a painting layer to this piece, my surface is already prepped and ready to go. Some people like to try and glue down the whole napkin sheet at once, but I find it's easier to manage and I can control the wrinkles a bit better if I work with smaller sections of my napkin at a time. Your napkin sheet is going to be fragile, so gently tear chunks of it apart. Now, here is my HUGE SECRET... you need a TON of matte medium to work out the wrinkles that will inevitably pop up while you're gluing. No matter how tiny your ripped pieces of napkin are- you're till gonna get wrinkles! To combat this, I pour my matte medium directly onto my art journal page and use what many would think is an "uncomfortable amount" of product. If you don't have an uncomfortable amount of it on your page right now- dump some more.  Don't be precious about your matte medium - you want a TON of it both UNDER and OVER your napkin pieces, so they are sopping wet. Any areas that aren't soaking, go back and add more product to. This helps you get rid of any psycho wrinkles trying to creep up! My SECOND TIP for you to create a wrinkle free surface has to do with your foam brush technique! If you just drag your foam brush around, it's going to be easier for your napkin pieces to tear. Try using a pouncing motion with your brush to tap the napkin chunk onto your paper. This tapping motion will help your under layer of matte medium rise up and soak into the napkin. Watch the video to see what I mean. After you've pounced a napkin chunk into position, try to systematically smooth the wrinkles out on top. Going slowly will help you not rip the napkin. Trust me! You'll see I rammed through a couple of them too quickly and had to slow myself down. LOL! As you work around your art journal page, and sections begin to dry - just add more matte medium to edges that try to pop up on you. This will knock them back down. When I'm done gluing all my napkin pieces down, I use a hair dryer to dry the page instead of a heat gun, because a hair dryer won't get hot enough to ruin my work, and it's faster because of the "blower" part. A heat gun doesn't have that kind of air flow/power so takes longer. And if you know me- you know I'm in a hurry and don't have the patience to watch wet stuff dry!!  I decide to add gesso to the center area of my page because I want to draw a face on top. While the background pattern from my napkin is beautiful, it is too dark and busy to draw anything over. To dial that back a bit, I turn to my gesso. I have 5 favorite ways I like using to apply gesso and demo them in today's video. My favorite gesso application method for under a face is just using a foam brush or my flat gesso brush. If I want more of an edgy look and want the texture to really pop forward from any wrinkles that do show up in my background, an old credit card is perfect to rake your gesso over the page with. I also love to pounce the gesso down with a sponge wherever I want it. This is primarily the technique I ended up using today. Then I pulled out my brayer to spread the gesso out a bit further and to draw a little texture into the foreground.  After I hit this with the hair dryer once more, and everything is completely dry- it's time to do a little mixed media drawing! As you'll see in the video, I ALWAYS sketch in my face drawing guidelines. They're too important to skip and will set you up for success. I start my sketch in regular pencil, then when I'm happy with my lines, switch over to my stabilo to darken my lines.  As you can see, my stabilo lines are actually fairly light. When I hit them with my paintbrush and some water- it's pretty magical, what happens. Look...  Isn't it amazing how easily the stabilo is to activate with water?! It literally melts as soon as my brush touches it, and can be spread around like watercolor. This is one of my FAVORITE mixed media techniques!!  I typically do my stabilo in 2 -3 layers for a drawing like this. After I activate the first layer, I let that dry, then add more dry stabilo marks wherever I feel like there needs to be a little more definition. Sometimes I activate that second layer of stabilo too - it just depends on the look I'm going for!  For the finishing touches, I use my favorite white paint pens- posca and sharpie, along with my pentel pocket brush. Look at how just a few lines of ink from the pocket brush and a couple of dotted white highlights in and around the eyes and on the nose really make her pop!  Look at how the texture of that napkin peaks through, up close! LOVE IT ! In the end, I decided to add some of my Noodler's Ink around the edges in the background to tie into the florals of the napkin together, and I'm LOVING how that looks!!! So fun!  I hope you enjoy this mixed media tutorial / art journal project!! Thanks for watching!! Stay tuned for Monday's Whimsical Women of the World Portrait Drawing prompt!! |
Karen CampbellFounder of Awesome Art School. Mixed Media Artist. Author of 18 Instructional Art Books!    
  Archives
May 2023
Categories
All
|
RSS Feed
"Karen is flipping hilarious and she's very real...I like the way she teaches in a way that really gives you confidence, whether you're a beginner or advanced there's always something new to learn!"
- Elizabeth W. |
What Fans Are SayingKaren, you are absolutely fabulous! You make me feel like I can draw anything. I have recently retired and finally have the time to do some of the art that I have loved since I was in school. I am really at the beginning of my art journey and I hope to learn as much as I can. Thank you for all you do. |
Contact ME |