KAREN CAMPBELL, ARTIST
  • HOME
    • About Me
    • Courses
    • Add your art to Instagram!
    • Fan Artwork
    • Retreats
    • What Students Say...
  • Drawing Club
    • See ALL the Projects!!
  • MIXED MEDIA SOCIETY
    • See ALL the Projects!!
  • CELTIC COLLECTIVE
  • Books
  • Blog

blog

Let's Get Your Creative Juices Flowing!!!

ECOLINE BRUSH PENS: Demo, Review & Mixed Media Portrait Tutorial

24/8/2021

0 Comments

 
I've never used ecoline brush pens for a full project before, so today's the day! I was really interested to see how they compare to my beloved Tombow brush pens and Winsor Newton watercolor markers because I LOVE doing brush pen drawings and paintings in my signature mixed media style. 
​
Click over to the video to see the demo, brush pen comparison, and my thoughts as I work with Ecolines in real time to create this fun mixed media portrait in 3/4 view.


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!​
Picture
I typically create brush pen drawings and end up adding water to them with a paint brush or water brush because I love the effects you can get. They look so much like watercolor, and are WAY cheaper to work with! 

If you're someone who feels a little intimidated by working with a paint brush, you might enjoy the control of working with brush pens and working your way up to adding water. You can also use them completely dry, like a regular marker, and not add water if you want!

Picture
As you'll see in the video- I'm comparing the Ecolines to 3 others brands: Arteza, Tombow, and Winsor Newton.

The Arteza brush pens are a bit different because they're the only one in this product mix with a brush nib that is actually like a paint brush with individual hairs at the tip.
Picture
​While this is really cool - it actually makes coloring much more difficult because they're not super juicy. The Arteza brush pens also have a hard barrel which means you can't squeeze them to get more color flowing.

As you can see in the pic above, the individual hairs will separate while you're coloring, so the coverage isn't amazing. The one bonus is - this set is way cheaper than the others, so if you don't mind working a bit harder to get the coverage you want, you can get 96 colors for around $54 (or just 50 cents/marker). 
Picture
When I pick up the Tombow brush pen in one hand and the Arteza in the other hand, I can definitely feel a difference in weight. Tombows are super juicy, so I'm guessing that weight difference is more ink in the barrel.

Tombows also have TWO nibs in each marker: the brush nib, and the bullet for helping you get into teeny, tiny spaces.

Tombow has a set of 96 for around $146. You're definitely paying more per marker here, but I've actually never had one run out on me yet, so you can be confident these will last you quite a while!!
Picture
Tombows are definitely my fave when I'm doing art journal pages because they're so easy to take on the road if I want to art while I'm on vacation, or whatever. I even used to take them to carpool and do art in my car while waiting for the boys to get out of school!! 
Picture
The only downside about Tombows is they're not lightfast, so if you want to make something that's never gonna fade, and will last forever, this may not be the brush pen for you! The same is true for the other lower priced brush pens we're looking at today (Arteza and Ecoline). 

HOT TIP: If you are on a budget and need to buy the lower priced brush pens, take a photo (or photocopy, scan, etc.) to preserve your art before the color begins to fade. Remember, it will fade much quicker if you hang it up in direct sunlight. 
Picture
Winsor Newton watercolor markers are my top fave in terms of quality. The pigment is gorgeous and lightfast, so it will not fade because they're considered a fine art product. 

Like the Tombows, these have both the bullet and brush nibs in each marker, and they're gonna last you forever. They also "move" the most when you add water to them, so they're not just watersoluble, they really FEEL like watercolor. 

The downside of Winsor Newtons is they don't come in nearly as many colors, and being a fine art product, they're more expensive. The cheapest you can get them is around $4/each, but their quality is outstanding.
Picture
What I'm playing with for today's mixed media portrait tutorial are the Ecoline Brush Pens. They're NOT lightfast, but are super fun to play with, and easy on your budget at about $2/marker when you buy a set of 30 for $60. 

They have a bunch of skin tone shades, which is what attracted me to them, so of course I had to check these out for you to let ya know if I think they're worth it!

The Ecolines have a smaller nib than the others I tested them against today, but I definitely don't hold that against them because they're nice and juicy. 

Click over to the video to see how each marker compares when activated with water and come do this tutorial with me in REAL TIME! 
Picture
Today's watercolor marker tutorial is of a face in 3/4 view. A portrait in three quarter view is one of the hardest face angles to draw, so if you're new to drawing faces, or feel you need some tips to get you started - I've got a cheatsheet for that! 

Simply click the button below, and I'll send you my face drawing guidelines for how to draw a 3/4 view portrait.
Picture
If you are totally new to drawing faces, and interested in learning, I recommend the following playlists for you (in order): 

1. How to Draw & Shade a Forward Facing Face

2. Side Profile Drawing

3. 3/4 View Face 

All of the above playlists have cheatsheets to help beginners and step by step face drawing tutorials to help you.

Back to today's tutorial...
Picture
I'm not being too fussy with my face sketch today because I really want to get to the coloring portion of the project!

​After my face was sketched in, I selected 3 Ecoline marker shades that went well together to create light, medium, and dark skin tones. 

I tried using the same technique I do when shading with Tombows. I add streaks of light, medium, dark - then activate with water to blend. 
Picture
I leave things streaky on purpose because that typically blends right out with water - at least that's my experience with Tombows.  When I added water with my paint brush to the Ecoline pigment, I felt like the skin tones blended pretty well, but the blues I used for her hair were much juicier and a bit easier to activate with water. Not sure why!!
Picture
I don't have any black brush pens in my Ecoline set, so I incorporated my pentel pocket brush to start adding in detail (especially when drawing eyelashes!)

If you have questions about the pentel pocket brush, I've got two different videos on it - one about how to draw eyelashes on mixed media portraits on my mixed media YouTube channel, and one on my drawing channel.
Picture
Make sure you click over to the video to find out my FULL opinion on whether or not I think Ecolines a great addition to your art supply stash! 

​​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 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!!
Picture
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... 
Picture
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.
Picture
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! 
Picture
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. 
Picture
I've also got a FREE cheatsheet to help you remember the basics of drawing three quarter view faces. 
Picture
Simply click the button below and I'll send it straight to your inbox.
Picture
Picture
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!
Picture
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.
Picture
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!! 
Picture
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. 
Picture
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???
Picture
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. 
Picture
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. 
Picture
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. 
Picture
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. 
Picture
Picture
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. 
Picture

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

    Karen Campbell

    Founder of Awesome Art School.  Mixed Media Artist.  Author of 18 Instructional Art Books!

    Posting on YouTube every single Wednesday of the year!  

    The Alliance of Independent Authors - Author Member

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018

    Categories

    All
    #50FunFabFairies Drawing Challenge
    5 Minute Drawing Practice
    Acrylic Brushes
    Acrylic Painting Basics
    Acrylic Painting For Beginners
    Acrylic Painting On Canvas
    Acrylic Painting Supplies
    Acrylic Painting Tutorial
    Acrylic Paint Types
    Alcohol Ink Painting
    Alcohol Ink Tutorial
    Alcohol Marker Art
    Alcohol Marker Blending
    Alcohol Marker Brands
    Alcohol Marker Drawing
    Alcohol Markers By ArtBeek
    Alcohol Markers Tutorial
    Altered Book
    Altered Book Art Journal
    Art Book Reviews
    Art Deco
    Art Deco Drawing
    Art Deco Style
    Art For Beginners
    Art Heals
    Artist Collaboration
    Art Journal
    Art Journal For Beginners
    Art Journal Ideas
    Art Journal Inspiration
    Art Journal Page
    Art Journal Techniques
    Art Studio Makeover
    Art Supplies
    Art Supply Demos
    Art Supply Reviews
    Art Supply Storage
    Asian Eye Drawing
    Beginners
    Behind The Scenes
    Blackwing Pencils
    Blackwing Volumes
    Brush Pens
    Canvas Painting
    Cartoon Cat Drawings
    Cat Art
    Charcoal Drawing
    Charcoal Portrait
    Christmas Watercolor Ideas
    Collage
    Collage Ideas
    Collage Techniques
    Collage Tutorial
    Colored Pencils
    Copic Marker Alternative
    Copic Marker Art
    Copic Marker Drawing
    Copic Marker Tutorial
    Copic Skin Tones
    Copic Vs Ohuhu Alcohol Markers
    Craft Gem Projects
    Daniel Smith
    Daniel Smith Watercolor Palette
    Daniel Smith Watercolors
    Dip Pens
    Drawing
    Drawing A Baby Face
    Drawing Books On Amazon
    Drawing Cats
    Drawing Challenge
    Drawing Eyelashes
    Drawing Eyes In Pencil
    Drawing Faces
    Drawing Faces For Beginners
    Drawing Facial Features
    Drawing Female Hairstyles
    Drawing For Beginners
    Drawing Hairstyles
    Drawing Ideas For Travel
    Drawing Necks Realistically
    Drawing Pencils
    Drawing Tutorial
    Ear Drawing Practice
    Easy Acrylic Painting
    Easy Drawings For Beginners
    Easy Mixed Media Projects
    Easy Owl Painting
    EASY Watercolor Tutorial
    Ecoline Brush Pens
    Eyelashes Drawing
    Faber Castell Gelatos
    Faber Castell Watercolor Markers
    Face Chart Inspired Drawing Tutorial
    Face Drawing
    Face Drawing Practice
    Face Drawing Tutorial
    Face Shading
    Face Shape Drawing
    Face Sketch
    Fantasy Art Drawing
    Fantasy Art Drawing Projects
    Fantasy Art Painting Projects
    Fashion Face Drawing Tutorial
    Fashion Figure Drawing
    Fashion Illustration For Beginners
    Fineliner Tips
    Flip Throughs Of MY BOOKS
    Fountain Pen Ink
    Fountain Pen Ink Painting
    Free Art Lesson
    FREE Drawing Lesson
    Free Lesson
    FREE Watercolor Lesson
    Full Length Drawing Tutorial
    Full Length Face Drawing Tutorial
    Full Length Mixed Media Projects
    Fun Fab Drawing Club
    Fun Fab Fairies
    Gesso Brush
    Glass Dip Pens
    Gouache Meaning
    Graphite Transfer Paper
    Halloween Face Drawing Tutorial
    Halloween Projects
    Hamburger
    Hot Dog System
    How To Art Journal
    How To Choose Face Drawing References
    How To Color A Baby Face In Copic Markers
    How To Create A Watercolor Palette
    How To Draw
    How To Draw A 3/4 View Face
    How To Draw A Baby's Face
    How To Draw A Face
    How To Draw A Fairy
    How To Draw A Fairy Face
    How To Draw A Male Face
    How To Draw And Shade A Face In Copic Markers
    How To Draw And Shade A Whimsical African American Face
    How To Draw Art Deco Style
    How To Draw Asian Eyes
    How To Draw A Smile With Teeth
    How To Draw Bangs
    How To Draw Cartoon Cats
    How To Draw Dreadlocks
    How To Draw Ears
    How To Draw Expressions
    How To Draw Eyebrows
    How To Draw Eyelashes
    How To Draw Eyes Realistically
    How To Draw Fairy Ears
    How To Draw Figures
    How To Draw Freckles
    How To Draw Hair
    How To Draw Lips
    How To Draw Lips Realistically
    How To Draw Noses Realistically
    How To Draw Realistic Ears
    How To Draw Teeth
    How To Draw Wrinkles
    How To Paint Eyelashes
    How To Shade
    How To Shade DARK Skin Tones With Alcohol Markers
    How To Shade Faces With Alcohol Markers
    How To Sketch A 3 Quarter Portrait
    How To Sketch A Face
    How To Transfer A Drawing
    LARGE Canvas Painting Technique
    Magical Mashup
    Marker Tips
    Martini Glass Drawing
    Mermaid
    Mixed Media
    Mixed Media Art
    Mixed Media Art Ideas
    Mixed Media Art Journal
    Mixed Media Art Journaling
    Mixed Media Art Supplies
    Mixed Media Art Techniques
    Mixed Media Art Tutorials
    Mixed Media Backgrounds
    Mixed Media Brushes
    Mixed Media Canvas
    Mixed Media Challenge
    Mixed Media Collage
    Mixed Media Collage Background
    Mixed Media Drawing
    Mixed Media Eyes
    Mixed Media Faces
    Mixed Media Girls
    Mixed Media Hamburger
    Mixed Media Hot Dog System
    Mixed Media Ideas
    Mixed Media Paintbrushes
    Mixed Media Painting
    Mixed Media Portraits
    Mixed Media Project
    Mixed Media Society
    Mixed Media Techniques
    Mixed Media Tutorial
    Mixed Media Tutorials
    Mixed Media Watercolor
    Mixed Media YouTube
    Monochromatic Drawing
    My Favorite Art Supplies
    My Favorite Watercolors
    New Book!
    No Draw Mixed Media Art Project
    Noodler's Ink
    Nose Drawing Practice
    Ohuhu Alcohol Markers
    Old Book Crafts
    Owl Painting
    Paint Brush Types
    Painting On Canvas
    Painting With Ink
    Paint Markers
    Palette Knife Painting
    Pan Pastels
    Paper Napkin Art Journal Background
    Pencil Drawing Tutorial
    Portrait Drawing
    Portrait Drawing Tutorial
    Posca Alternatives
    Posca Paint Pens
    Profile Drawing
    Quadrant Method
    Reference Drawing
    SEE INSIDE MY Art Books!
    Shading Faces
    Sheet Music Art
    Side Profile Drawing
    Side View Drawing
    Silver Black Velvet Brushes
    Sketching Tutorial
    Skull Watercolor Tutorial
    Spray Paint On Canvas Idea
    Stabilo All Pencil Projects
    Stenciling & Stamping Techniques
    Three Quarter View Face
    Time Lapse Drawing Video
    Tissue Paper Art Journal Background
    Tombow Brush Pens
    Tombow Mono Zero Eraser
    Toned Paper Drawing
    Travel Art Supplies
    Upcycled Art
    Upcycle Old Books
    Value Scale Drawing
    Vintage Book Pages
    Watercolor
    Watercolor And Colored Pencil
    Watercolor Brushes
    Watercolor Fairy
    Watercolor Markers
    Watercolor Marker Tips
    Watercolor Marker Tricks For Mixed Media
    Watercolor Portrait
    Watercolors
    Watercolor Sets I Love
    Watercolor Supplies
    Watercolor Tutorial
    WatercolPainting Techniques
    Watersoluble Art Supply Tricks
    Water Soluble Markers
    Water Soluble Pencils
    What Is Mixed Media Art?
    Whimsical-christmas-tree
    Whimsical Face Drawing Tutorial
    Whimsical-face-drawing-tutorial
    Whimsical Women Of The World World Portrait Drawing Series
    YouTube Drawing Channel
    Youtube-giveaway
    Youtube-video
    Youtube-video

    RSS Feed

Picture
"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 Saying

Karen, 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.

​-Jill Y.

I ordered your Fun Fab Faces book and loved it! I was having a little trouble getting the noses I wanted and now it's easy! Also, I love how you stressed how important having the three tones in your drawing is. Thanks a bunch!

-Donna L.

Thank you Karen! I never though I could do faces. You broke it down so it was understandable! And I love your book! I got it yesterday! Can't wait to start practicing! It's so much fun!!!!!

​-Debbie M.

Thank you for the encouragement to get back into my drawing and painting. After being away for 35 years.  THANK YOU.

- Teresa S.

Contact ME

  • HOME
    • About Me
    • Courses
    • Add your art to Instagram!
    • Fan Artwork
    • Retreats
    • What Students Say...
  • Drawing Club
    • See ALL the Projects!!
  • MIXED MEDIA SOCIETY
    • See ALL the Projects!!
  • CELTIC COLLECTIVE
  • Books
  • Blog