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Wanna create a BEAUTIFUL, EASY fairy drawing you can be proud of - even if you've never drawn before? You're in the right place!
Today I'm kicking off my FREE #50FunFabFairies drawing challenge and teaching YOU how to draw a beautiful fairy face, step by step on toned paper. 
Never drawn a face before? No problem. Never drawn on toned paper before? It's EASIER than drawing on white paper! Don't have any fancy drawing supplies? Upcycle the back of a paper grocery bag into tan toned paper, and grab 2 colored pencils or crayons (black & white).
Simply click the button below to join me in my FREE 10-lesson, 20-week fairy drawing challenge for artists of ALL levels. The amazing classroom I have waiting for you includes expanded information and resources with full-length lessons not available on YouTube. 
Wanna become a better artist? Do today's lesson (and every future lesson of the challenge) 5 times, making a few creative alterations of your choice, and watch your skills soar as you practice fairy eyes drawing, fairy ears drawing AND fairy hair drawing 50 different ways!
When you join the classroom link above, you'll get access to the above PDF of a score card to help you track your fairy drawing progress in the challenge!
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.
I always have a blast bringing new and returning artists into our Awesome Art School community to jumpstart their creativity through a drawing challenge. AND, since one of my total obsessions is fairies and fantasy art - this is going to be super FUN for all of us.
To complete today's lesson in the #50FunFabFairies drawing challenge, you'll need a piece of tan toned paper (or the back of a grocery bag- even a piece of printer or notebook paper is fine!), plus a black China Marker and white China Marker. If you don't have China Markers - don't sweat it, just use black and white colored pencils or crayons. You could also totally do this entire drawing on scrap paper with a pen or pencil. The main thing is that YOU DRAW - not stress over the supplies! 
To initially sketch a fairy face, I grabbed my favorite Blackwing pencil. If you're interested in purchasing special drawing pencils, these are to die for. One pencil basically replaces an entire pencil set and can give you so many values when shading a face or any object you love to draw.
They are expensive though, so if you're on a budget - just use whatever pencil you have on hand! 
I begin this drawing like all my semi-realistc face drawings -with my whimsical face drawing guidelines. These are SO important to keep your faces looking proportional!
If you need a copy of my face drawing guidelines - the PDF is available to you for free in the #50FunFabFairies Challenge Classroom over at Awesome Art School. 
After your guidelines are marked, it's time to start placing your fairy's facial features.
I LOVE working with photos of faces for drawing reference. Sometimes I look at pictures of real people, sometimes I look at other artists' drawings, art books, you name it! When I look at these face drawing references, I zero in on things like unique facial features, face shading patterns, hairstyles, accessories, etc. I use those pieces of information as "thought starters" to get me thinking in a different way visually. I never want to steal another artist's work and am a huge stickler on crediting the artists who inspire me. 
The fairy drawing images I've selected to use as inspiration for today come from the guidance in one of Christopher Hart's books. I LOVE his interpretations of fairies and fanciful creatures!
The other fairy drawing reference is a piece of digital art I found on Pinterest with no artist's name attached. I'm using elements from both images to inspire me for today's lesson. 
The eyes on Christopher Hart's fairy are especially interesting and what drew me to this face drawing reference photo in the first place. Once these are sketched in - you should have something in front of you that looks like an alien! If you do- you're doing amazing!!
Lots of students have asked me how to draw fairy ears. They're really quite simple. If you click over to the video to see this example of fairy ears drawing in action, it will really help you along.
Next up... hair! If you're not sure how to draw hair, I've got you, and break this down step by step for you as well. I'm using Christopher Hart's drawing as a guide to create some wispy bangs and a simple, sketchy bun piled on top with flyaways. SO cute!!
Next it's time to get some detail added in the upturned eyes we started. Again, if you don't know how to draw eyes, this project is TOTALLY for beginners, and I'm holding your hand the entire way in this fairy drawing video.
I am all about using a circle template for the irises and pupils. Of course we could spend time working on drawing perfect circles, but I've got WAY better things to do, and I'm sure you do too!
Use a template, and let's move on to the next step. Look at what a difference the eyes make, huh? Now she's comin' to life! 
I'm keeping the nose super simple for this girlie today, and am only adding a squished oval on each side for notstrils. I also sketched in a bridge line for the nose as well, but only lightly because that will be part of our face shading when it's time.
The lips in the Pinterest fairy drawing reference are just luscious! It's a super pouty, sexy look that I love - so took a little inspiration from that to create my own.
Next, it's time to fine tune everything and start erasing all the sketchy guidelines so we can add some shading and dimension to this fairy face. If you don't have a favorite eraser, mine is in the pic above, off to the right. It's called the vanish eraser, and I just LOVE it.
If you've never worked with toned paper before, the coolest thing about it is we only have to add the really dark parts and the really light parts of the value scale, because the paper itself already gives us the midtone we need! That means less face shading for us, and the sketch takes much less time to complete. Cool, right? In a lot of ways, shading on toned paper is actually easier than shading on white paper. If you're new to working with toned paper, and want to learn more about the value scale, check out this playlist on YouTube. 
I started with my black china marker to basically outline the entire drawing. Then I add some scribble scrabble shading in areas where I want there to be shadows. If you need help with learning how to shade a face - don't worry, simply follow me in today's drawing tutorial. It's all SUPER step by step and easy to follow.
Simple right? I TOLD you this was gonna be an EASY fairy drawing that anyone could do!!
Adding white highlights at the end of a drawing project is probably my favorite part! Again, no need to know where these highlights are supposed to go. Just follow me, and we'll do it together. 
If you love a little extra drama like me, grab some black and white paint pens, and I'll show you which areas to hit to really make things pop.
Thanks for hanging out with me today!! I REALLY hope you are drawing along with me and plan to participate in this fairy drawing challenge. We're going to have SO much fun together!
If you're OBSESSED with fairies and fantasy art like me, you might just LOVE the Celtic Collective over at Awesome Art School. It's an art membership my Scottish bestie, Lucy Brydon, and I run together! You might ALSO enjoy our podcast, 1Scot,1 Not. We talk about everything under the sun to do with Scotland - whether it's historical, fantasy, whatever. Just a quick warning - we have a blast and are totally ourselves on the podcast, which means there is some drinking and swearing. ❤️ CHECK OUT ALL my art books on AMAZON ❤️ MY FAVORITE ART SUPPLIES on AMAZON ❤️ MY BELOVED FACEBOOK GROUP ❤️ FOLLOW ME ON INSTAGRAM
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SKIN TONE MARKER SECRETS for Shading GORGEOUS FACES with Copics & Ohuhu Markers [NEW BOOK Flip Thru]27/4/2022
Today I'm spilling ALL my skin tone marker SECRETS for shading gorgeous faces with copics and ohuhu alcohol markers!
Get a sneak peek at my BEST ohuhu and copic marker blending tips & tricks inside my latest drawing book, "Skin Tone Secrets" - now on Amazons worldwide! Stay with me till the end of this video for a quick face shading demo on an adorable baby face. I'll show you just how EASY it is to add depth to your face drawings using my simple shading guide & just 3 alcohol markers! 
If you're not into drawing, but enjoy coloring (or just love any excuse to use your alcohol markers like I do!), I've got a FREE download just for you.
Simply click on the button below, and I'll send you a 25-Page PDF of Coloring Sheets with faces of all the characters in this fun, new book! 
Print them out at home and use them for swatching and coloring away till your heart's content!
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.
My students always ask me what alcohol marker paper I use for coloring. If you're printing these FREE coloring pages at home, I suggest you use a nice cardstock. My favorite is by Hammermill. I just buy a giant pack off Amazon and it lasts forever. The paper is super smooth, feels like Bristol, but is SO much cheaper!
As you'll see in today's video, my new book opens with a general overview of art markers and an intro about what makes alcohol markers so special (to ME, at least).
Next you'll get a quick overview of what I call "the anatomy" of an alcohol marker. Many have both chisel and brush tips, plus a refillable barrel.
As you can see off to the right in the above photo, I have two alcohol marker brands I recommend to my students and use ALL the time myself: Copics and Ohuhu brush markers. 
If you've been following me a while, you know I adore my copics and think they feel like butter sliding across my paper.
The only catch is, they are super expensive (the above set of 6 skin tone copic markers on Amazon costs ~$36). I've spent years building my copic marker collection, and just about as long testing copic alternatives so I can recommend another brand to my students who want to enjoy high quality alcohol markers at a lower cost.
About a year ago, while I was working on another book, Whimsical Women of the World, I discoverd an amazing brand of alcohol markers for a fraction of the cost. If you look at the Ohuhu Skin Tone Set (below), there are FOUR TIMES the number of colors provided in the Copic marker skin tone set shown above.
That alone gets my attention, but the price for this ohuhu marker set on Amazon is even better- just $30! It's a no-brainer, right? 
I adore my Ohuhu skin tone marker set and recommend it all the time! There is such a huge array of colors to shade beautiful faces for any and every ethnicity your heart desires. Even better- the quality of these alcohol markers is really up there with copics. Ohuhs also blend interchangeably and beautifully with copics - in case you've already started collecting those, or want to start!
Back to the flip through...
After I run through the basics about alcohol markers in Skin Tone Secrets, my favorite brands, which alcohol marker paper I recommend, how to layer and blend alcohol markers (while avoiding streaking), I'll take you through a series of cute characters that you can draw along with me. You'll notice I spend extra time on their fun hairstyles because TONS of people struggle with how to draw hair. In this book you'll get a little bit of everything from how to draw straight hair and updos, to long hair, short hair, ideas for men and how to draw curly hair! 
You'll also get TONS of super helpful tips on how to shade faces - by imagining where the light source is coming from for each face you create. It's much easier than people think, once someone shows you how!
You'll also learn about my three FAVORITE face shading patterns and how those are replicated with alcohol markers. 
I've even put together a great reference sheet on WHERE to add highlights to your face shading. I'm ALWAYS asked about this, so hopefully this guide clears up any confusion and can become a simple cheatsheet for you to refer back to.
HOT TIP: As you can see in the pic above, these face highlighting tips work for shading faces mixed media style or in any kind of drawing from pencil to toned paper drawing and coloring with alcohol markers.
As the book continues, you'll learn exactly HOW and WHERE to layer three skin tone shades of markers on a face step by step, start to finish. I'll teach you exactly which 3-color combos go well together to create light, medium and dark skin tones and will show you the specific marker numbers I'm using in either Ohuhu or Copics.
If you're not into alcohol markers, this book can still be helpful to you because it contains so many valuable tips about how to shade a face. Those concepts are the same, no matter what art supply you want to work with!
Make sure you click over to watch the video so I can walk you through each page, and then show you exactly how to use this book to shade the cute little baby's face!
Are you a club member at Awesome Art School? The ebook version of Skin Tone Secrets is already in your library for free as an additional club perk ? 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 LOVE teaching people just how EASY it is to draw a face EVEN IF THEY'VE NEVER DRAWN A FACE BEFORE! Don't have a sketchbook yet? Don't worry! We're gonna start with the basics. All you need is a number 2 school pencil and a piece of paper to get started.
If you're a baby beginner at face drawing- you're in the right place! If you've been drawing faces for a while and want to take your drawings to the next level, you're ALSO in the right place!
Either way - you NEED my FREE whimsical face drawing guidelines. They're super easy to follow, and will help you draw proportional facial features every time. Simply click the button below to request your free guidelines cheatsheet, and I'll email it right over! 
My free face drawing guidelines cheetsheet will help you with today's face drawing tutorial, and is exactly what I use each and every time I draw a whimsical or semi realistic face!
Once you print that out, grab a sheet of any paper you have on hand, a pencil, and eraser and let's get started. 
We start out by lightly sketching some large ovals on our paper. If you're totally new to drawing faces, draw as many as you need to - to warm up and get an oval you're happy with for today's face drawing project.
Next we're gonna simply sketch in the guidelines for where all the facial features need to sit on our oval. Even though I've drawn a zillion faces, I STILL ALWAYS sketch in my face drawing guidelines, each and every time because I dont want my faces to come out looking wonky. If I don't use guidelines, that's exactly what's gonna happen.
Once all my facial features have been penciled in, it's time to get ready to add some cute hair. Lots of people freak out about drawing hair, but I promise you - it's not nearly as hard as you think! Make sure you click over to the video so you see how simply this is in action.
The first step to drawing hair is to pick a part line - left, right or middle. Then you simply sketch in some lines extending from your part. Make sure they go up and over the head shape, and into the head shape space because hair has volume in real life, and doesn't just sit on top of our head line. We want to show that in our drawing.
Make sure you click over to the video to see just how easy this is! When your drawing is done - keep on watching so you can take your drawing one step further. First, we'll shade her and add dimension with pencil... 
Then, I'll teach you how to shade a face using alcohol markers! 
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 FUN & EASY Male Fashion Illustration Sketches like Christopher Hart! [Perfect for Beginners]12/4/2022
Feel like adding some MALE fashion illustration sketches to your sketchbook? I hear ya! I LOVE drawing female faces & fashions. But every once in a while- I like to mix things up and draw a dude.
Today we're sketching an EASY fashion illustration figure in pencil, and coloring him in with alcohol markers. He's simple enough to do even if you've never tried fashion figure sketching before. Grab a pencil, some markers & come draw with me! 
If you're new to drawing and coloring with alcohol markers, or have a brand new set of markers, make sure you grab my FREE Swatch Sheet so you can swatch your markers out before we get to the coloring portion of today's project. Simply click on the button below, and I'll send it straight to your email!
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.
I can't wait to show you a flip through of the fashion sketching book that inspired today's video, Figure it Out! Simple Lessons, Quick Results by Christopher Hart. It's literally filled with lessons & drawing references that will keep you drawing for days.
A couple of weeks ago I did a female fashion sketch tutorial inspired by another one of Christopher Hart's books (I have ELEVEN of them because I LOVE him that much!). SO many people in my Facebook group were drawing along with me and I just loved it, so decided I had to do another one!
There are so many ways to draw the figure. I'm actually writing a new book right now about how to draw figures using my own Quadrant Method (check this video out if you want to see how the Quadrant Method works for figure drawing).
As I said in my previous Christopher Hart project video - I LOVE his instruction. It's clear, concise, and simple to follow.
I'm using a mechanical pencil to sketch today's male fashion figure. I love the Graphgear Set by Pentel that I'm using in the video because it's weighted and helps me feel like I've got better control. 
This particular drawing prompt from Christopher Hart shows the head tilted just a bit, as well as the shoulders. Since we're drawing a guy- the shoulders are fairly squared off and angular.
Our dude has a bit of a swagger in his step, which makes his torso curve. We're also drawing one leg "shorter" than the other to indicate he's in motion, mid-step. 
You'll notice the joints in fashion illustration are initially sketched in as balls or circles. These guidelines will get erased when the drawing is finished, leaving a gentle curve behind.
Fun fact about fashion figure sketching - the elbows of your figure should always end up at the waist of your model, so keep that guideline in mind as you're drawing. I love that this illustration has the guy's hands in his pockets! Makes things SO much easier - no fingers to worry about. If you are someone who wants to learn how to draw hands and fingers realistically, I've got a course over at Awesome Art School just for you, and a book of the same hand drawing projects on Amazon. 
Once you've got the arms of today's guy sketched in, and have a little detail added to the pants and shirt, it's time to get rid of some of your guidelines.
I'm using my favorite vanish eraser. It's super gentle on your paper and really lifts the graphite quickly. They sell these at Jerry's Artarama for $2! If you don't have a Jerry's near you, you can also pick them up on Amazon at that link above. 
Super important tip if you're planning on using alcohol markers (Copics, Ohuhus, sharpies, etc.) to color your dude in...
You'll want to outline first in a fineliner, then erase all remaining graphite because if you color OVER graphite with your alcohol markers, the underlying graphite will smear. It can also really wreck/stain your lighter marker shades like yellows, light skin tones or pastels. You also need to really make sure you pay close attention to what your fineliners are made of. Alcohol markers blend beautifully with other alcohol markers. But... if you outline in sharpies (this is ALSO an alcohol marker)- you're gonna get smearing or "bleeding" because the fineliner is gonna try to blend with the alcohol markers you're shading with. Do yourself a favor and use a fineliner that's a water based or pigment based. This will ensure NO blending takes place where you don't want it. I love this set by Molotow. It's a great value (11 fineliners in a variety of nib sizes for around $28). 
After your finelining is done, take another pass over the whole drawing with your eraser to make extra sure there is no remaining graphite.
You'll notice just before I grabbed my fineliner, I decided I wasn't as in love with the mohawk I'd drawn in for my dude's hair as I thought I would be. My How to Draw Fun Fab Fellas drawing book was on my art table, so I decided to flip through it for a little men's hairstyle inspiration.
This book was part of my original How to Draw Fun Fab Faces trilogy, and came about because I've got three sons. They used to joke about how I only drew girls, so this book was kinda for them (and anyone out there who loves drawing faces or wants to learn how to draw a male face).
For coloring with alcohol markers (or really any art supply), I recommend you use at least 2 shades of the same color so you can show a little dimension in your shading. It just makes your drawings look so much more sophisticated.
If you don't have two shades of a color available - just use the same color and add another layer to darken parts of your drawing and indicate shadows. That's what I'm doing today. If you've been following me for a while, you know I'm in LOVE with my copic markers! But they cost an arm and a leg to collect (trust me- I've been adding to my collection for YEARS!). Usually I tell my students to purchase a set of Ohuhu alcohol markers because they're much cheaper and still great quality. You can get this giant set of 120 shades for around $99. I know $99 for markers still sounds kinda high - but if you want to play with the rainbow and not sacrifice quality, this is your brand. 
They have an excellent skin tone set too! Just for comparison, this Ohuhu skin tone set comes with 24 markers and runs around $30 on Amazon. The copic marker skin tone set (while gorgeous & top of the line), only comes with 6 markers and costs around $45.
If you're new to working with alcohol markers, watch this video - it's everything you need to know to get started. You can totally mix and match your alcohol marker brands too. So if you feel like splurging on a smaller set of copics and grabbing the Ohuhu skin tone set - they work beautifully together. I work with both brands interchangeably all the time! Can you tell I've mixed brands below? 
Didn't think so ;) Once you've finished coloring today's adorable fashion dude, don't forget to add some white highlights at the end. This is one of my absolute favorite parts of my projects, and really takes your art to the next level.
I had a white poster paint sharpie nearby, so I simply grabbed that to add my highlights in. You could also use a white posca pen here. They're interchangeable too, and both work really well on top of alcohol markers.
Make sure you stick with me until the end of today's video for a FULL flip through of Christopher Hart's book, Figure It Out! Simple Lessons, Quick Results. You're gonna love it! 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
Need some FUN fashion illustration sketches that are simple enough to do even if you've never done fashion figure sketching before? You're in the right place!
Today we're sketching an EASY fashion illustration figure in pencil, and coloring her in with alcohol markers. Grab a pencil, some markers & come draw with me! 
If you're new to drawing and coloring with alcohol markers, or have a brand new set of markers, make sure you grab my FREE Swatch Sheet so you can swatch your markers out before we get to the coloring portion of today's project. Simply click on the button below, and I'll send it straight to your email!
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.
I can't wait to show you a flip through of the drawing book that inspired today's video, The Beginner's Fashion Design Studio: Easy Templates for Drawing Fashion Favorites (Drawing with Christopher Hart). It's literally filled with lessons & drawing references that will keep you drawing for days.
I'm completely in love with the author's style (I've got ELEVEN of his books). His faces and figures have a very cartoon-y or semi-realistic drawing style like mine do. I think that is one of the things that attracted me to his work.
I am also very picky about art book instruction (as you may know if you've been following this series on YouTube).
As an art book author myself, I really try to make drawing instruction simple and step by step for my readers. When I find someone who does the same thing (like Christopher Hart!), I get super excited and can't wait to recommend the book to my students. Why don't we get started with today's fashion illustration figure? 
One of the first things I love to do when I'm just getting started with a drawing is to lay out parameters for myself. For example - take a look at the shot above. Her legs go on for miles, right?! To help me get the proportions right, I marked in a faint line where I want the ground to be, as well as where her waist is, so I know in general where I'm going.
All of the subtle angles and movements in the body are what makes the figure so hard to draw. However, if you've got someone like Christopher Hart holding your hand and showing you exactly what to do - I just let them lead the way. Trust me we're in great hands with this fun fashionista sketch!
Look at how sassy she is already!
Take note of how simple her hair is. Tons of my students tend to freak out about hair, but honestly it's so much easier than you think. I always break it down into simple shapes that I can fill in later with detail if I'm in the mood. If I'm not in the mood- I color the blocky hair shape in, and call it a day, because it's super cute and stylistic! 
If you're new to my world, my "kryptonite" is drawing small. LOL! So drawing these teeny tiny hands in feels so hard! Just do what you can and move on with your life. If drawing realistic hands sounds like fun to you, or a challenge you'd like to conquer, I've got both a drawing book and an online art class in my Fun Fab Drawing Club dedicated to "How to Draw AMAZING Hands," filled with 31 hand drawings you can do with me from scratch!
Wanna learn How to Draw Fashion Hands 10 Ways? This video is a bit older, but it's got easy ideas you might love incorporating into your own work.
Whenever I'm doing an alcohol marker project like today's, I love to start my coloring by outlining with a black fineliner. The reason I like to do fineliner and then color my drawings in, is because I want to erase all the graphite on my page. Graphite will smear with alcohol markers and make the nibs of your markers dirty. Erasing pencil lines before you start shading with alcohol markers works great and prevents that mess. If you're looking for an amazing eraser, this one if my fave.
Lately I've really been into using my black fineliners by Molotow. They're pigment based, and do not smear when I use them with alcohol markers.
Speaking of alcohol markers - I LOVE my copics, but they took forever to collect because they're so expensive. If you need to stick to a budget, try Ohuhus. They're awesome, and super affordable. I especially love the Ohuhu skin tone collection. (By the way - copics and ohuhus blend beautifully together, so don't be afraid to mix the brand shades in the same project!) 
See how simple the hair is on this girl? It's basic block shapes and I'm coloring it all one shade. I may just leave it like that because I'm in the mood for fast and easy!
How fun is this green in her sweater?! Love it!
I hope you have so much fun with today's fashion illustration project! And if you decide to get one of Christopher Hart's books - they're ALL fabulous. Take it from me... I've got ELEVEN!!
Need help learning how to color with alcohol markers? Check out this playlist! 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
Need an EASY pencil shading drawing tutorial that's simple enough to do even if you've never tried shading a drawing before? You're in the right place!
Today we're creating 3 line drawings & taking them to the next level by adding a simple shadow with one of the easiest pencil shading techniques I've learned to date.
If you feel comfortable with the line drawings and shading practice in today's video, I'd LOVE to teach you how easy it is to draw a simple FACE in pencil.
I make cheatsheets and videos for EVERYTHING - especially when it comes to drawing faces! Click the button below to request my FREE whimsical face drawing guidelines, and I'll email them right over.
After you print your guidelines cheatsheet, here's a playlist of FREE face drawing videos from my YouTube drawing channel so we can practice drawing and shading simple faces together, step by step.
Let's get back to today's lesson!
If you've been following either of my YouTube channels lately, you know I've been introducing you to some of my favorite art books - showing a flip through, and then trying an entire project or demo-ing a technique from the book. The book I'm featuring this week on my drawing channel is actually more of a mixed media book, but there is a BRILLIANT pencil shading technique for beginners in it that I just had to share with 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.
Danielle Donaldson's Creative Girl: Mixed Media Techniques for an Artful Life is simply gorgeous (if the book isn't available on Amazon, you can also find it here).
I actually love this book so much that I featured it last week while doing the watercolor trees for beginners project on my mixed media channel. Today, I'm sharing Danielle's super simple analogy of adding shading to a drawing at "5 o'clock." 
On page 54 of her book, Danielle says "Shadows are the thickest at 5 o'clock." I decided to try this shading technique out on three simple line drawings.
First, I drew the water bowl sitting on my art table with a paint brush inside. Then I picked up a blending stump (remember - the dirtier, the better when it comes to blending stumps), and thickened the shadow at an imaginary 5 o'clock position of my water bowl. 
Here's another shot showing you what I'm imagining in my head...
Right where the imaginary hour hand of the clock is pointing to 5 is where I'm thickening the shadow with my blending stump. 
Below is another example of this easy shading technique for beginners on a line drawing of a flower vase.
Isn't that the easiest concept to imagine so you know exactly where to add shadows to your drawing?! I think it's brilliant.
My final doodle example for today, below, is of a cat - inspired by my art studio "terror," Tippie (she's just recently claimed my art table as her own)! When I look at all three drawings together, I immediately notice how all the shading looks consistent, showing shadows off to the lower right. This is a really important concept to think about for beginner artists. 
Your work will look more sophisticated if you your shadows are all drawn in the same direction, like they're all being hit by the same light source. It makes more sense visually, and can make even simple whimsical, or semi-realistic drawings like these, look more advanced.
Make sure you watch today's video to see these simple shading techniques in action. And grab a pencil and piece of paper before you press play so we can do this together!
Stay with me till the end for a quick flip through of Danielle's adorable book. Thanks for hanging out with me today!! When you watch the video, you'll hear me mention my Retro Redezvous Art Party. While the live portions of the Retro Party have passed, the lessons are still available at Awesome Art School, here. If you are a member of an Awesome Art School club (The Fun Fab Drawing Club, Mixed Media Society, or Celtic Collective), you've been given access to these lessons for free as a membership perk. Enjoy!! Happy drawing! ❤️ 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
Need a FUN handmade bookmark design that's step by step and EASY enough to do even if you've never tried drawing before? You're in the right place!
In today's drawing video, you'll get a sneak peek at one of my favorite drawing books filled with inspiring dangle art drawings (similar to zentangling, but even easier). I'll show ya what inspired this bookmark tutorial, then go grab some markers & draw along with me as I guide you through this CUTE handmade bookmark design idea - perfect for artists of ALL levels to enjoy!
If you're new to drawing and coloring with markers, make sure you grab my FREE Swatch Sheet so you can swatch your markers out before we get to the coloring portion of today's project. Simply click on the button below, and I'll send it straight to your email!
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 I'm reviewing a drawing book filled with fun dangle art called The Art of Dangles by Olivia A. Kneibler.
What's a dangle? They're basically what they sound like - a line with decorative embellishments, tiny shapes, or charms hanging from them. They're adorable hanging from letters, and you can create super FUN projects out of them, like today's bookmark!
I actually enjoy drawing dangles more than I like zentangling because they're SO simple! Zentangling is super fun, but can get a little fussy for me. If you'd like to try a simple zentangle art project with me - be sure to check out this video and art book review from last week. That project and today's are excellent beginner drawing lessons.
The only criticism I have of today's book is that everything in it has been drawn digitally. I love drawing by hand and teaching beginner drawing lessons, so that's my only tiny complaint.
One of the reasons I really love drawing by hand and appreciate hand drawn art is because of the imperfections that come out of them. You don't see those in digital art. Everything is much more "perfect." Don't get me wrong- I have a serious appreciation for digital drawings too - I just prefer things to be hand drawn. 
Regardless of my preference, I think the author does a fantastic job of providing inspirational drawing ideas to try. She shows how-to's for the entire alphabet in her book, and includes dangles from each letter in upper and lower case. There isn't a ton of step by step direction- but it's totally enough to get you going, whether you want to create along with her in black and white, or in color.
If you have anything coming up that you need a personalized gift for, and want to create something for someone with their name on it - this book would be an excellent asset to help you get started with some amazing ideas.
There are also some fun examples of words showing you how to put creative letters together, and where to add some cute zentangle patterns and dangles.
The book closes with tons of adorable dangle projects you can create from roses, trees and snowflakes to random shapes and mandalas, followed by an index of charms and geometric dangles you can use as thought starters to get your own creativity going.
I felt inspired to combine two of my favorite dangle art projects from this book into one, and decided to do a handmade bookmark design.
To create my project- I'm just using a sheet of hammermill cardstock (it's equivalent to Bristol- just WAY cheaper). I also used a WATER BASED black fineliner to outline my drawing before coloring with my copics.
HOT TIP: If you use a water based fineliner prior to coloring with alcohol markers, the black marker won't bleed (don't use sharpies for this because they are alcohol based). If you're new to my world - I've been collecting my copic markers for years (because they cost an arm and a leg!). I LOVE using my copics, but I highly recommend using what you can afford and/or have on hand. Ohuhus are an excellent copic marker alternative and cost much less per marker if you'd like to start a cheaper alcohol marker collection. 
I finished my coloring off by adding in my signature white highlights using my white sharpie paint pen (a white posca paint pen works just as beautifully here- the sharpie is just what I had on the table at the time of filming).
Thanks for hanging out with me today! If you'd like to learn a little more about drawing, I've got the PERFECT event coming up and would LOVE for you to attend! SIGN UP FOR MY ART RETRO RENDEZVOUS with this special link for just $15. Beginners welcome (even if you've NEVER drawn a thing before). It's 5 days, filled with 10 beginner drawing lessons for you to enjoy! Here's a sneak preview of the projects... 
I hope to see you there!! ❤️ 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
Today's water soluble markers showdown puts Ohuhu water based markers to the test! How do they compare to SEVEN other water soluble brush pens and fineliners in price, color selection and quality?
Out of the box, my Ohuhu marker set of 160 provides a gorgeous array of colors, and the price per marker can't be beat! But will they provide the watercolor painting effect I NEED from a water based marker?
Whenever I get a new art supply with multiple colors - whether that's a new set of markers, watercolors, etc. - I ALWAYS swatch them out. That's because I learned the hard way that the color on the cap, tube or bottle often doesn't really look like what ends up on your paper. TRUST ME. Now my rule of thumb is to ALWAYS swatch.
I actually made a cute FREE swatch sheet for you to download to make your swatching a bit more fun!! Simply click the button below to grab your FREE swatchsheet and I'll send it right over.
I had so much fun making this swatch sheet, I actually turned it into a BOOK with my Facebook group!! I know!! We had a blast doing this together. Each page was created by another Awesome Artist. Here's a link to buy the finished book on Amazon if you're interested.
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!
Let's take a look at some of the water soluble products I've laid out for us as a comparison to see how my new water based Ohuhu markers stack up.
I'm comparing the Ohuhus to SEVEN other water soluble markers & fineliners:
The water soluble ohuhu markers are dual nib. On one side you'll find the brush nib (above). On the opposite side, you'll find a fineliner. They come in a set of 160 for just $55, making each marker a steal, at just 34 cents each. I couldn't find my set of 160 for you on Amazon, so here is the Ohuhu Water Based Marker set of 100 for $34.
The Staedtler Marsgraphic Duo (above left), has a brush nib as well, but it's not nearly as sexy as the one from Ohuhu. This marker also has a bullet nib on the opposite end. Their largest set contains 18 markers, and only costs $12. This low cost set makes it feel like an amazing deal, but when you look at the cost per marker, the Staedtlers are actually more expensive than the Ohuhus at 66 cents each.
Lots of artists enjoy using Stabilo fineliners (above) because they are great for coloring books and getting into teeny weeny spots. You can get a set of 40 for just $28, making each marker $1.43/each.
I LOVE stabilo as a brand, and if you know me, you know one of my absolute FAVORITE art supplies is my black stabilo all pencil. But when I did this water soluble marker comparison, I was a little disappointed to see how expensive the Stabilo fineliners actually are when compared to the others. 
Tombow is another brand I totally love! I take my Tombow dual brush pens everywhere, and have completely fallen for the watercolor painting effect I can achieve with them (below). Isn't that fun?!
I was a little disappointed to realize just how much my beloved Tombows cost per brush pen. My set of 96 cost just under $200, making each marker about $2 per piece. (Sadly this set is currently listed on Amazon for $279, but there are three smaller sets for less, saved in my store for you).
Next on my list to test today is Winsor Newton Water Colour Markers. These are the only product in today's comparison that contain a fine art product inside the tube. They're lightfast and gorgeous.
The biggest set you can buy is only a set of 12, and it's about $40. That makes each marker an expensive $3.42 each. They're not cheap, because they are a fine art product. There really is no comparison when I look at the other products on the table today. In a way that's not really fair, because this is the only product from the rest that isn't a dye based craft product. But I use these all the time, so added them to the test. Here are the current Winsor Newton watercolor marker sets I could find for you on Amazon: Sky, Landscape, and Basic (don't be deterred from the "basic" set - the colors are FAR from basic!).
The Arteza Brush Pens really don't do anything for me (so no link to buy). As you can see in the above photo, the ink doesn't even really flow the way it should just to write the simple product name on my paper. These are not nearly as juicy as I think they should be for the price. And, there's nothing you can do to get the ink flowing better.
Their nib is actually bristles like a paint brush instead of a foam tip shaped like a paint brush tip. You would think this is a benefit, but I think it actually makes them harder to work with. 
On the other hand, Arteza Twimarkers are a much better value and compare more appropriately with the Ohuhu color markers (shown above). These have both a brush nib and fineliner nib in one. However, you may have seen there are a lot of negative reviews out there on the Twimarkers, because the bullet nib frays easily. It's not encased in metal like the Ohuhu marker, so this creates a problem.
The Arteza Inkonic fineliners are just a classic fineliner. They come in a beautiful set of 120, but the Ohuhus come with a brush nib too, plus 40 additional colors and are 2 cents/marker CHEAPER! I was really surprised to see this when I did the math. The Ohuhus are killing it so far in value.
After I run my watercolor brush (with plain water) over each sample, you can see how water soluble each product is. The Tombows disolve the most. If watersolubility is important to you- you might want to keep that in mind when buying a set of these markers - the Ohuhus seem to disolve too, but not nearly to the extent of the Tombows.
To get started with this particular project, I decided to flip through the reference photos for drawing I compiled in my book called The Celtic Collection. 
This is a fun book of copyright free fantasy art reference images I compiled for one of my art clubs called The Celtic Collective, that I run with one of my art besties, Lucy Brydon. If you love fairies and fantasy art, click here to learn more about The Celtic Collective.
Press play on today's video to see if I was able to achieve the watercolor painting effect I love from the water based Ohuhus. 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
Using photos of faces for drawing reference WILL make you a better artist. There's no question in my mind! Recently an awesome reference photo was shared in my Facebook group. Seeing this post got me thinking about how GORGEOUS the reference image was, for so many different reasons.
My teacher brain spiraled about all the things I needed to tell you! Hence... the LIVE. This video is a MUST SEE for you if ...
Here's the post that inspired today's LIVE... 
I know, right?!
I'm not watching Yellowstone right now, but clearly I should be ;)
Before we get into how amazing this image is and WHY, you need to download my FREE 4-page cheatsheet packet called the Face Drawing Cheatsheet Bundle. This will help you SO much if you're just learning how to draw a face, or if you want to improve your face drawing skills. The info inside works beautifully whether your'e drawing a man or a woman.
The bundle includes my Face Drawing Guidelines, Shading Guide, my How to Draw Eyelashes Guide, and a Face Base / Face Drawing Template if you feel like you don't want to fuss with drawing proportions and would rather cut something out that can be traced directly into your art journal or sketchbook. Simply click on the button below and I'll send the packet right over. 
After you get your packet downloaded and are ready to practice, you can join me in this live stream video, or feel free to check out this playlist of How to Draw & Shade a Face in 5 Minutes if you feel like this LIVE is a little too advanced for you.
When you're ready, join me back on the live stream because I have some really cool face shading tips to share with you - whether you're drawing faces for beginners, or a more advanced artist!! 
Reference photo drawing is super helpful for both whimsical drawing (semi-realistic drawing) and realistic drawing. References make a HUGE impact on your work.
They actually make your job as an artist EASIER because they give your brain a little break (you don't have to think up a zillion details to include in your drawing), and they give you ALL the "answers" your brain needs to observe in order to create something amazing. To get you started on finding faces for drawing reference, you need to find an image you love! Here is a page right out of my How to Draw & Find Your Style book that talks ALL about reference photo drawing. 
While this model is gorgeous, and I totally want to draw her too - if you look closely at all the gray tones in this photo- you'll see they're all basically THE SAME! That means this image really isn't the best choice to use as a face drawing reference.
It's better to choose an image that has ALL the values in the value scale represented from the lightest light, to the darkest dark. Why? It will make the drawing easier for you to draw, and your drawing will look fantastic because you're using every shade of gray in the value scale. If you're new to value scale drawing, today's video will help you out. You can also check out this one to learn how to create your own value scale using pencils. This is also an exercise members of the Fun Fab Drawing Club and Mixed Media Society do right from the beginning. I highly encourage you to create one for yourself! 
If you're not sure if a face drawing reference image you've selected will be great for drawing, just print it in black and white with your printer. This is a super easy way to convert a color image to black and white, and it's actually better to draw with anyway! This is especially helpful if you're drawing in graphite, because it's tough to replicate what you see in color using grayscale pencils.
Sometimes, I use reference photos PURELY for the shading information. Today, I'm going to show you how you can even use the face shading information from one photo to create a totally different drawing! It's really kinda magical, and why my face shading guide in this cheatsheet packet is SO VALUABLE! Make sure you grab that download if you haven't yet :) Then click over to the video to watch how I "steal" the face shading inspiration from Yellowstone dude's photo to guide how I shade the face of a completely different drawing of a woman. 
Pretty Cool, right?!!
Thanks for hanging out with me today!! And in case you're wondering if I did actually draw Jamie from Yellowstone- I totally did, and shared him in our Facebook Group for Awesome Art School ;) 
I also turned this into a real time drawing lesson and dropped it into The Fun Fab Drawing Club "Dudes" classroom for my beloved club members like Heather!
❤️ CHECK OUT ALL my art books on AMAZON ❤️ MY FAVORITE ART SUPPLIES on AMAZON ❤️ MY BELOVED FACEBOOK GROUP ❤️ FOLLOW ME ON INSTAGRAM
Today's charcoal portrait is inspired by my love of fantasy art and ALL things magical! If you've never worked with charcoal sticks or charcoal pencils before - it's something you HAVE to explore!
I feel like a sculptor whenever I create a charcoal drawing. I think it has something to do with the fact that I use my fingers to blend and shade, so it's like I become one with the medium. If you've been looking for new charcoal drawing ideas, love female fantasy art, or just feel like watching a relaxing drawing video without any talking - THIS VIDEO is FOR YOU! 
The angle of the face in today's drawing video is called 3/4 view. This is actually one of the hardest face drawing angles to do proportionally. If you're struggling with how to draw a three quarter portrait, be sure to download my FREE 3/4 view face drawing guidelines. Simply click on the button below and I'll send them straight over.
After you get your three quarter portrait drawing guidelines downloaded and are ready to practice, you might want to start with this playlist to practice sketching a 3/4 face. It's perfect for beginners and isn't time lapsed like today's video!
If you're new to charcoal drawing, you're might be wondering how to draw with charcoal or how to start a charcoal portrait.
I like to start a charcoal drawing by blocking out a general outline of where I want things to go using a piece of charcoal in an old sock. I KNOW, It sounds totally crazy!! But when you watch today's video, watch how I get started. You can achieve the softest, dreamiest lines with this simple charcoal drawing technique (shown below). 
Before we continue, super quick announcement: All product links are Affiliate. I may earn a small commission if you choose to order through these links but by law there is never any additional cost to the consumer for doing so. I thank you for your support.
When I'm happy with my general outline, I use one of my graphite pencils (blackwing drawing pencil) to sketch in more firm outlines, and later darken them using a charcoal stick (below). 
Next, I look at my reference image and let my eyes follow the values I see from lightest to darkest, and allow my hand to record them onto my paper. This is where drawing has so much to do with observational skills and in a way, we're like engineers or someone doing data entry.
If you really study your reference image for shades of black, gray and white - instead of focusing on the facial features you think your brain knows how to draw (or is intimated to draw), it makes the whole process of accurately recording what you see SO MUCH EASIER. 
After most of the face and hair shading is done, I add detail around the eyes, and some super dramatic eyelashes.
Lots of my students struggle with how to draw eyelashes. If you feel like you need some extra help with eyelash drawing, I've got ya covered with two great videos to help - one on my drawing channel, and one on my mixed media channel. CLICK HERE to download my FREE How to Draw Eyelashes Cheatsheet. 
Today's drawing was inspired by the reference image I found from darkodordevic @ DeviantArt.com.
Press play to watch today's time lapse drawing video! LOVE FANTASY ART as much as I do?! You might just LOVE the Celtic Collective!! It's an art club I run with my Scottish bestie, Lucy Brydon. We teach drawing and watercolor lessons of all things fairy, fantasy & magic!!Learn more & get notified when enrollment opens again here. Lucy and I also do a weekly podcast called 1 Scot 1 Not. We don't have an episode specifically on sirens, but this one on the Finfolk is close in case you're interested! 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 |
Karen CampbellFounder of Awesome Art School. Mixed Media Artist. Author of 18 Instructional Art Books!    
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"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!"
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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. |
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