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As an artist who thrives on the versatility and spontaneity of mixed media, I've come to rely heavily on a few key mixed media art supplies that consistently deliver fantastic results, like the black Stabilo All Pencil. The stabilo holds a special place in my heart and my studio for at least a million reasons, and has been a game-changer as I've developed my own personal artistic style.
*All product links are affiliate & for U.S. residents only.*
Unmatched Water Solubility
One of the standout features of the black Stabilo All pencil is its incredible water solubility. This pencil is designed to work on virtually any surface—paper, glass, plastic, and even metal—which makes it perfect for the unpredictable and varied nature of mixed media art!
When you add water, the graphite and pigment dissolve beautifully, transforming into rich, inky washes that can be manipulated just like watercolor! This property is something I leverage constantly in my work, allowing for fluid transitions and deep, expressive shading that would be hard to achieve with traditional graphite pencils. 
Perfect for the Hamburger System
The stabilo all pencil is also PERFECT for my signature mixed media process, The Hamburger System. If you're new to my world, this is my tried-and-true "recipe" for layering mixed media art supplies to create a masterpiece, instead of a HOT MESS! Grab a copy of it HERE, or click the button below to download a PDF of my Hamburger cheatsheet for your own art table!
Then, CLICK HERE to learn the steps of my Hamburger System for FREE on YouTube. I've found the stabilo works beautifully during multiple stages of the Hamburger. Whether I'm sketching the initial outline or adding intricate details on top of layers of gesso, acrylics, or collage, the Stabilo's water solubility melts my drawings into paintings, adds rich depth, and sophistication!!
Love this modern version of "Girl with a Pearl Earring?" Me too!!
Do it step-by-step with me HERE on YouTube for free! Rich Pigmentation
One of the primary reasons I adore my stabilo is its rich, jet-black pigmentation. This pencil doesn't just draw lines; it lays down a deep, velvety black that can stand out against even the busiest of backgrounds. When activated with water, the pigment remains intense, which is crucial for maintaining contrast and focal points in my work. This richness in pigment is something I’ve yet to find replicated in ANY OTHER water-soluble pencil. And believe me, I've tested a TON of them! Just LOOK at the top row below - THAT's the stabilo once activated with a little water. Amazing right?! It doesn't turn cloudy and gray like most black watersoluble pencils do once they're activated.
Flexibility and Control
The flexibility of the Stabilo All is unparalleled. I can use it dry for crisp, DARK lines (bottom LEFT), or wet for softer, more painterly effects (bottom RIGHT). This dual functionality means I don't have to switch tools mid-project, streamlining my process and keeping me in the creative flow.
Lots of my students AVOID playing with the stabilo because they fear losing control of their lines once it's been activated with water. But this SAME EFFECT gives me the feeling of MORE CONTROL.
I believe Stabilo "mistakes" can be EASILY corrected by adding a bit more water to blend and soften the lines. Alternatively, you can let the area dry and then go over it, creating NEW lines until you're satisfied with your piece. In mixed media drawing and painting, persistence is KEY. Sometimes all you need to do is KEEP GOING. Allow any bothersome areas to dry, then add another layer :) It's all good!! 
Watch the creation of this Whimsical Girl in Stabilo Over Napkin Collage HERE on YouTube!
Personal Connection
On a more personal note, the black Stabilo All pencil has been with me through countless projects. It’s the tool I reach for instinctively, knowing it will perform flawlessly whether I'm teaching a class, filming a tutorial, or creating a piece for myself. This reliability has fostered a sense of confidence and freedom in my art, allowing me to push boundaries and experiment WITHOUT FEAR.
For me, the black Stabilo All is more than just a tool; it's been an integral part of my creative journey. Its water solubility, rich pigmentation, and versatility make it a staple in my mixed media arsenal. If you haven’t tried it yet, I highly recommend giving it a go. It might just help you uncover masterpieces you never knew were within you, just waiting to be set free! 
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Hey there, creative soul! I’m SO excited for today’s mixed media art tutorial!! It’s been a while since I dove into the world of full-on mixed media with collage and ALL the FUN supplies using my favorite layering process, the Hamburger system!
I’m feeling SUPER inspired after last week’s Fun Fab version of Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring alcohol marker drawing tutorial. I got even MORE excited about turning her into a Hamburger-style project when I discovered my favorite YouTube channel (Royalty Now Studios) had created a modern-day facial reconstruction for Vermeer’s model for this painting. If you’re not familiar with this YouTube channel - I shared it last week on my Drawing channel. They’re incredible! They take bring faces from history - either historical figures or subjects of famous paintings (like Girl with the Pearl Earring or the Mona Lisa), and “bring them to life” using facial reconstruction graphic design after studying whatever art is available on the subject from paintings to death masks, sculptures and more. This channel is fascinating and I HIGHLY SUGGEST you check it out right after this video! I asked Royalty Now if I could use their modern version of Girl with a Pearl Earring as a drawing reference. They said of course, so she’s my model for today’s grungey, mixed media art journal spread :) Isn't she gorgeous?!!! 
*All product links are affiliate & for U.S. residents only.*
Before we get started - if you’re art-ing along with me from home, make sure you’ve got a copy of my “Hamburger System Cheatsheet.” This will serve as your guide to help you through what supplies go where AND WHEN in your mixed media layering process. It’s kinda like my tried-and-true “recipe” for creating mixed media MAGIC every time I sit down to create instead of creating a hot mess!!
Grab the cheatsheet here, or click on the button below. 
My students loved the “Hamburger System” so much, that I created an entire book about it - going even more in-depth on what supplies work well together and when they should be used in your mixed media layering to avoid a hot mess.
Back to TODAY’s art project! I’m working in my hardcover Strathmore watercolor journal because it’s my fave, and these babies can totally handle any wet mediums you decide to throw at them (even collage!).
On a recent trip to HomeGoods, I scored some super cute butterfly napkins, which are gonna be perfect for the mixed media collage portion of today’s project.
If you haven’t collaged with napkins before – they're thin, thinner than paper, so a bit tricky to work with. They also add SERIOUS texture to your mixed media art! So beware- collaging with napkins (or tissue paper for that matter!) means you’re gonna get visible wrinkles poking through your piece, which I happen to love!! If you hate wrinkles, don’t reach for napkins- grab something sturdier to collage with like scrapbook paper! 
When it comes to gluing down delicate collage materials like napkins, I swear bymatte medium. AND using a LOT of it both under and over your collage materials (this helps minimize wrinkles).
I also prefer to get down and dirty as a mixed media artist, and I simply use my fingers to smooth out those inevitable wrinkles and bubbles where I can. Embracing the messiness is all part of the true mixed media experience, right? Fast forward to the inky part – I pulled out my inks and went a bit crazy on the page. The streaks from the fan brush added a unique touch that I just rolled with. Today's project was less about perfection and more about pouring my emotions onto the paper. That's the beauty of mixed media – it's a truly expressive outlet where I can let loose and make a mess and embrace the process. 
Embracing imperfection is key in this process. I didn't even use a palette today and poured all my supplies directly onto the paper, with ZERO precision. The goal was to see what happens, and trust me, the results were liberating! For me, and a LOT of other artists- the art isn’t even really about the art.
It’s about WHO is behind the art and what they were feeling the day they created it, WAY MORE than the end result. Now, the real fun began as I introduced doodles with my trusty pitt pens. They're filled with permanent India ink, allowing me to smudge them for added character. And here's a tip – if you go overboard with your pitt pens, a quick wipe with a baby wipe erases any mishaps. 
As I wrap up this unique mixed media art journal spread of “modern day” Girl with a Pearl Earring, I'm excited to announce that this is just the beginning of a Historical Faces series I'll be running on both YouTube channels, inspired by Royalty Now Studios. I plan to bring historical figures to life in my own signature Fun, Fab style.
It's my way of making history relevant and intriguing. A quick reminder for if you're venturing into mixed media and just getting started – be fearless. The journey may look rough along the way, but the end result can be surprisingly satisfying. So, don't stop, keep going, and embrace the creative process. 
Once the final touches with my pit pens and pentel pocket brush (my secret weapon for GORGEOUS eyelashes) are finished, my wrinkled, grungy, mixed media masterpiece is complete.
Remember, it's not about the perfect end result, but the journey and expression that matter. So, fellow artists, don't be afraid, keep creating, and enjoy every messy, beautiful moment. Thanks for joining me on this artistic adventure. Until next time, happy art-ing!! LOVED this Video?Share it with an artsy friend!! Maybe she's always wanted to learn how to paint or art journal too, but never taken the time!! Here's the link to copy & paste into a text or email to her: https://youtu.be/TK8nhi2-J-I If you're watching the video on YouTube using your phone, try this! 
Loved this Project & Wanna Do MORE?Check out the Mixed Media Society over at Awesome Art School!! It's perfect for artists of ALL levels including beginners. We're having SO much FUN over there learning about ALL the mixed media supplies and how to use them to create mixed media art we can be proud of!! We would LOVE to have YOU join us!! 
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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?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 I have been IN LOVE with my black stabilo for YEARS!! After last week's review of water soluble pencils in color, I decided I should probably put my black stabilo all pencil to the test to make sure it still deserves to be my go-to for mixed media drawing!! Join me over on YouTube to see what I found out!!  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! It's NO secret that I love my black stabilo all pencil (waaaay cheaper by the dozen, by the way). I've been using this water soluble pencil FOREVER. I tested it against other water soluble pencils years ago and have been using it faithfully ever since. The girl on the right (below) is one of my countless stabilo girls!  I loved the chick on the right SO much that I put her on the cover of my How to Draw & Find Your Style Book!  Just to be sure I'm not missing out on anything from another brand, let's put my stabilo to the test.  I gathered 7 water soluble pencils and am looking not only for water solubility, but for richness in pigment- something magical I LOVE about my stabilo all.  Products I'm testing today in black include:
 After I write down the name of each product and scribble a little square off to the side, I activate each line with some clean water and a watercolor brush. Be sure to click over to the video to see this in action!  Look at that first line - stabilo NEVER lets me down! You can barely see my writing because there is so much black pigment pooling. YES!!  I'm also loving the results of the Faber Castell Albrecht Durer as well. Look at this rich, yummy goodness (third line above). As I do this test, I'm reminded of something I noticed when I did this years ago. Some of these brands seem to have a touch of color in them, or don't feel like they're jet black once activated with water. I'm seeing some faint green in the Aquarell (first line below) and a little blue in my black Derwent watercolor pencil (fourth line below).  After I dry my paper with the hairdryer, I attempt to reactivate each line to see what happens... and which products I want to recommend for projects using my "Hamburger System."  If you're not sure what I'm talking about, the art supply layering system I often use for my mixed media art projects 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. Check out today's video to find out which of these water soluble pencils I recommend using and WHY!! Thanks for hanging out with me today!! ❤️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 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 19 Instructional Art Books! 
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