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Wanna practice drawing necks realistically in JUST 5 minutes?! LET'S DO IT!! In today's step by step drawing lesson, we're going to be drawing 5 female necks in real time, directly onto my FREE drawing worksheets. If you need help with how to draw necks, have always wanted to learn how to draw a face, are struggling with how to work drawing practice into your daily life, or need to add MORE FUN into your art practice, THIS SERIES IS FOR YOU!!
I'd love for you to draw right along with me! Simply click the button below to grab my FREE 5 in 5 Facial Features Drawing Packet, and I'll send it straight to your email inbox.
Today's video is a follow up to a facial features drawing series I did a couple of months ago because I'm getting a lot of requests for how to draw necks and eyebrows!
If you're just discovering this series on how to draw facial features, the whole point of this thing, is just to get us practicing our drawing skills. We're not making it our "life's work," it's just a little drawing exercise, and we're only going to spend about 5 minutes working with each neck drawing reference photo, then we're moving on.
You'll see a stop watch going in the bottom of my screen. It's not here to stress you out. It's just to remind ME not to spend more than 5 minutes with any one reference image. 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 we're working on these drawing worksheets, there are three things I encourage you to focus on one at a time, when looking at each neck drawing reference image:
1. Shape 2. Value 3. Details For my supplies today- I'm just using my favorite Blackwing pencil - it's like a soft 4B, and super smooth to work with. You're also gonna need a blending stump, an eraser (I love my vanish eraser and the tombow mono eraser).
In each neck drawing reference photo, I left in the jawline visible so we can look at how thick the neck is, and where it begins in relation to the head.
I started drawing the jawline on my first reference image with the chin, then added in the angles I saw in the model's face shape. 
Once the angles were penciled in, I took a minute to study the reference for any other lines that felt like they need to be drawn in (see below). Then I grabbed my blending stump to begin dragging some graphite around to help indicate the shadows I saw in the model's neck.
Make sure you download your 5 in 5 Drawing Packet so you can practice right on the drawing worksheets with me. Then click over to the video so we can do this quick drawing practice together in real time (no timelapse).
While doing this drawing practice, I realized necks are really WAY more about shading than drawing! 
If you're someone who's been afraid to try drawing a face realistically, or if you've been afraid to try adding a little bit of shading to your drawings - this is the PERFECT drawing exercise for you! Plus it's quick - something I always love!!
If you need to knock back any areas of your shading because they've gotten too dark, use your eraser to "pounce" and lift a little graphite off the page. Click over to the video to see this drawing technique. Keep checking your reference image to compare the lightest and darkest areas on the model's neck with your own drawing.
Our next reference image has a more rounded face shape than our first model, and a wider neck. 
My hope in today's free drawing lesson is that you can sharpen your observational skills, and let go of any fears you have about not having an anatomy background for drawing.
You don't need it for the kind of drawing we're doing! This is just some light practice, and the anatomy can be indicated with your shading. 
Our third reference image has some super dramatic shading for us to work on in the neck and collarbone. If you want to add in her braid- feel free, but don't stress about it. Today's practice is just about focusing on the neck.
Did you grab yourFREE 5 in 5 Drawing Practice packet and print it out yet? I hope so!!
As I always say, "You'll NEVER get worse with more practice." So print that sucker out, and let's get to work! If you're enjoying today's episode, make sure you check out the entire series on my YouTube drawing channel, because I teach you how to draw and shade eyes, eyebrows, noses, lips, hair, face shapes & more! Plus, each facial feature has 2 pages of black and white face drawing reference images to study and capture in your own drawing practice - right on the same pages. Our fourth neck drawing reference is SUPER subtle, and will help you sharpen your observational skills as we zero in on the highlights and shadows in this image together. 
Our last drawing reference (below) for today has a super unique shape and lots of beautiful values for us to concentrate on replicating in our own drawing.
Make sure you grab my 5 in 5 Practice Packet so YOU can sharpen your drawing skills right along with me.
Thanks for hanging out with me today! Interested in learning about how to create a mixed media portrait, but missed my Mixed Media Art Deco Workshop last week? Don't worry! You can STILL sign up and do this at your own pace - any time you want!! No art experience is needed for this super FUN online art class - I'll teach you everything you need to know, and we'll go step by step, together. 
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Ready to learn realistic eyebrow drawing in just 5 minutes?! LET'S DO IT!! In today's step by step lesson, we're going to be drawing 5 sets of eyebrows in real time, directly onto my FREE drawing worksheet. If you need help with how to draw eyebrows, have always wanted to learn how to draw a face, are struggling with how to work drawing practice into your daily life, or need to add MORE FUN into your art practice, THIS SERIES IS FOR YOU!!
I'd love for you to draw right along with me! Simply click the button below to grab my FREE 5 in 5 Facial Features Drawing Packet, and I'll send it straight to your email inbox.
Today's video is a follow up to a facial features drawing series I did a couple of months ago because I'm getting a lot of requests for how to draw eyebrows and how to draw necks!
If you're just discovering this series on how to draw facial features, the whole point of this thing is just to get us practicing our drawing skills. We're not making it our "life's work," it's just a little drawing exercise, and we're just going to spend about 5 minutes working with each reference photo, then we're moving on.
You'll see a stop watch going in the bottom of my screen. It's not here to stress anyone out. It's just to remind me not to spend more than 5 minutes with any one reference image. 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! 
There are three things I'd love for your to focus on one at a time, when looking at each eyebrow reference image:
1. Eyebrow Shape 2. Value 3. Details For my supplies today- I'm just using my favorite Blackwing pencil - it's like a soft 4B, and super smooth to work with. You're also gonna need a blending stump, an eraser (I love my vanish eraser and the tombow mono eraser). 
So with our first reference, as you can see- I draw in the general shape I'm seeing for the right eyebrow. The value I see is really pretty black, so I reach for my blending stump right away and then try to add in a few individual hairs even though I don't really see them in this particular photo - they're definitely there.
On the left eyebrow in this reference image, (above) you can definitely see a LOT more individual hairs, so I make sure to add those in where I see them, to make my drawing look more realistic.
or our second reference image, I'll show you how to draw bushy eyebrows - 2020 style. Lol! After these were drawn in with a little shading added, I carved out some highlights using my tombow eraser for detail.
The next face drawing reference has some really unique eyebrows for us to draw. They're much thinner than the last set, and are great practice if you're trying to learn how to draw curved eyebrows.
This style (above) is actually my favorite to draw on the mixed media portraits and whimsical drawings I love to create.
QUICK TIP: When you're ready to draw the individual hairs on the eyebrow, make sure your pencil tip is really sharp, or switch to a mechanical pencil. Doing drawing practice like this with drawing reference photos and cheatsheets can help you think of new ways to draw from your imagination later. 
Our fourth reference today has a very different shape and is a great face drawing reference photo if you've been looking for something to help you with how to draw a natural eyebrow.
QUICK TIP: You always draw things that grow (hair, grass, etc.) from the ROOT up to the tip.
I hope you find these eyebrow drawing references helpful for your own face drawing practice. Remember to grab my cheatsheet so you can do your drawing practice right on the drawing worksheet like me. This drawing worksheet is part of my 5 in 5 Facial Features Drawing Series on my YouTube drawing channel. In case you missed that- it's a super helpful 6-part video series on how to draw facial features with a worksheet of drawing references to go with each feature. We worked on how to draw realistic eyes, how to draw realistic noses, how to draw realistic lips, ears, how to draw different face shapes and how to draw fun female hairstyles in 5 minutes. I popped these new eyebrow drawing worksheets at the end of my drawing packet. You'll also see worksheets for how to draw necks - that's coming up on my YouTube channel soon, so stay tuned for that! Thanks for hanging out with me today!
Interested in learning how to create gorgeous mixed media portraits and learning how to draw art deco style? Join me for my upcoming 1-week, online art workshop starting September 27, 2021.
I'll teach you how to upcycle an old record jacket from the thrift shop into your very own mixed media canvas. Then we'll collage our hearts out, do a little mixed media drawing, and I'll show you ALL my tips and tricks to mixed media layering like a pro!
CLICK HERE to SIGN UP for the WORKSHOP and take advantage of my special 60% OFF Coupon Code before September 27th If you do plan to join me for this upcoming workshop, one of the mixed media art supplies I ALWAYS use is faber castell gelatos. I have heard from a number of my students that they can't get their hands on gelatos, so I just did a video on my mixed media YouTube channel about Faber Castell Gelatos Alternatives, and test a huge variety of gel crayons out for you so YOU don't have to! Make sure you check this out before the workshop starts on September 27th. See ya there!! ❤️ CHECK OUT ALL my art books on AMAZON ❤️ MY FAVORITE ART SUPPLIES on AMAZON ❤️ MY BELOVED FACEBOOK GROUP ❤️ FOLLOW ME ON INSTAGRAM Can't Get Faber Castell Gelatos? TRY THESE Gel Crayons for Stunning Mixed Media Portraits.14/9/2021
Faber Castell Gelatos are a staple in my studio for creating gorgeous shading in the skin tones of my mixed media portraits. Recently I've heard a number of my students can't get gelatos in their part of the world, so I need to recommend a Faber Castell Gelaots alternative. In case you're one of these students, a beginner, or just curious about which gel crayons made it into today's mixed media art supply demo, this video is FOR YOU.
Before we get into the demo, I've got a super exciting announcement!
I'm hosting an online art class / online art workshop starting Monday, September 27th. We'll be creating the sassy mixed media portrait shown in the above photo over the course of a whole week!! If you sign up BEFORE September 27th at this super special link, you can get 60% off. I REALLY hope you can join us!! 
If we haven't met yet, I'm in total LOVE with gelatos by Faber Castell, and use them in almost all of my mixed media hamburger system projects- especially when shading faces of my mixed media portraits.
Gelatos glide beautifully over acrylic paint, and are super easy to blend with nothing more than your finger. If you've been hanging out with me for a while, you know I use them to shade the faces of my mixed media portraits instead of blending my skin tones from acrylic paints because it's MUCH faster & easier. 
I was looking for 4 main product features from the alternative gel crayons I decided to test:
1. How easy they are to "dry blend" with your finger 2. What happens when a sealer like mod podge sweeps over them 3. Lightfast qualities (so your art won't fade over time) 4. Cost 
I drew a number of small heads, painted each with a base acrylic skin tone paint, and let them dry. Then I noted which gel crayon was going to be used to shade each face to help me keep everything straight!
Once I pulled out all of the brands I planned to test, I immediately noticed just how many of them basically had the same packaging. It was a little ridiculous, especially with the gel crayons that were being marketed for kids. Some of them looked EXACTLY like the more expensive fine art gel crayons I had in my studio! Click over to the video to see how they all compared! 
I learned a lot during this demo, but here are a few quick observations:
While I was doing this test, I decided to also check a few of the Gelatos product lines out to see how they performed since I've heard people have had issues in the past with the metallic line. I tested Faber Castell Gelatos Metallic, Faber Castell Gelatos Iridescent, Faber Castell Gelatos Brights, and Faber Castell Gel Sticks (the craft/student/kids version of gelatos).
I honestly didn't have any issues with any of these and felt they all dry-blended about the same. The "brights" pack only has 1 light skin tone, so I don't really recommend this one for shading faces. There are some fun colors in the metallic and iridescent sets though!
Final thoughts: I was shocked at how well the products being marketed to kids worked! Definitely check out the demo so you can see for yourself how each brand dry blends, and reacts.
Want to learn MORE about how to use Faber Castell Gelatos gelatos for shading a face mixed media style? Interested in learning more about my Hamburger System? CLICK HERE to binge watch the Hamburger System series on YouTube, and click here to check out the book (affiliate link) that resulted. 
That's it from me today! I hope you enjoy my mixed media art supply video testing Faber Castell Gelatos alternatives!
Don't forget to sign up for my upcoming Art Deco Mixed Media Portrait Online Art Class!! Click this link BEFORE Sept.27th to save 60%!! Thanks for hanging out with me today!! I hope to see you in class soon. ❤️ CHECK OUT ALL my art books on AMAZON ❤️ MY FAVORITE ART SUPPLIES on AMAZON ❤️ MY BELOVED FACEBOOK GROUP ❤️ FOLLOW ME ON INSTAGRAM
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! 
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! 
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. 
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). 
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!! 
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!!
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. 
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. 
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! 
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.
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... 
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. 
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!!
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. 
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
This martini glass drawing tutorial is SO fun & easy! Pour yourself a drink & come hang out with me for our own little draw & paint party. If you love art deco style already - you'll LOVE seeing a glimpse of the projects in my recently released trilogy of Learn to Draw Art Deco Style books. Then, I'll show you how to draw a martini glass and shade it 2 different ways- once using Noodler's Ink (it's basically like watercoloring!), and the other using my favorite alcohol markers (copics)!!
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! 
In 2020, I went down a serious 1920s -1930s / art deco rabbit hole just for me. I fell in love with the styles and just had a blast getting into the fashion, figures, hats, shoes, jewelry, furniture, pets, men, cars and cocktails of that era!
During that time period I published not one, but THREE Art Deco Drawing books (1, 2, 3). 
What's fun about these books is I do have a lot of FREE videos on YouTube to accompany the book, so if you've ordered a book and see a little film icon in the corner- make sure you check that link out because there is a video lesson you can play while you work your way through lessons in the book.
I used a lot of watercolor, alcohol markers, and fountain pen inks. In each of these books you'll even find a few fun facts about this time in history because I'm a bit of a vintage history nerd! And when I look stuff up, I've gotta share!! I love everything OLD!
Volume #1 is super "girly" with lots of fashion, shoes and jewelry. In this book I go in depth about how to use my Quadrant Method for drawing figures too, so if you've been wondering how to draw figures easily - this is a great way for beginners to get started!
In my second volume, I'll teach you how to draw male figures as well as popular dogs and cats from the Art Deco era. If you're not sure how to draw a dog or how to draw a cat, I teach you how to use my Quadrant Method for this as well. It's SUPER easy!!
Art deco furniture was GORGEOUS, so you'll find quite a few fun pieces in this volume as well. If you've been following me for a while, you may already know I've got an obsession of painting with fountain pen inks!
I find fountain pen ink to be even MORE vibrant than my favorite Daniel Smith watercolors, and I love to just dip my watercolor brush straight into the bottle to get some serious pigment onto my paper. 
When I was painting the Art Deco furniture projects for this book, I felt my fountain pen inks really made the velvet I was rendering look realistic! You kinda have to see it to believe it.
I wrapped up Volume #2 of Learn to Draw Art Deco style with a chapter on cars and cocktails from this era. It's really remarkable how realistic some of these drawings look!
You can totally achieve this too when you learn how to layer your art supplies properly. Even if you're a beginner- you can do this! I'll show you how and keep each project step by step, so even beginners just learning how to draw feel comfortable!
To dotoday's full length drawing tutorial with me - all you need is a sheet of watercolor paper (if you want to color your martini using a wet medium like watercolor), or a sheet of bristol, card stock, or marker paper if you'd like to shade your martini in alcohol markers.
Be sure to click over to the video to draw with me in real time (22:22). The drawing itself is fairly simple, so if you're a beginner interested in learning how to draw - this project is perfect for you!
We're starting with an upsidedown triangle and adding a stem. Once everything is sketched in, I pulled out my Habannero Fountain Pen Ink and simply started coloring in the liquid for my martini. If you're not sure how to paint with fountain pen inks, just follow me. It's basically the same as using watercolors - just richer. 
If you don't have any fountain pen ink, you can definitely use Dr. Martin's acrylic ink in a similar way or watercolors.
Click over to the video to see how I shade the stem of the glass. I often reach for my Daniel Smith Hermatite Genuine. This is a really soft gray. You can also just really water down some Bloodstone Genuine or Payne's Gray as well to paint a fine line down the stem of the glass. 
If you'd like to see the same project done in alcohol markers while your ink painting is drying, click over to the video (42:00). If you enjoy the look of outlining in your work and are going to shade with alcohol markers, you can outline your glass before or after you shade.
If you choose to outline first, make sure you're NOT working with an alcohol based fineliner because it will bleed. The fineliner should be pigment based or water based (warning: SHARPIES will bleed, so don't use these). Check out my Amazon Shop of favorite art supplies for drawing and mixed media. I recommend Moltows for outlining with copics or other alcohol markers. 
Make sure you swatch your alcohol marker shades off to the side so you know ahead of time that they will blend well together. Before your start shading in marker, be sure to erase your graphite because your markers will drag that around and smear.
HOT TIP: To ease your shading transitions between marker shades, just keep on layering because each top layer rewets the bottom layers and helps them blend. You can also use your lightest of the three colors to blend, or work in a layer of colored pencil, followed by some highlights with a posca paint pen. Click over to this video for more tips on how to copic marker blending!
Make sure you click over to the video because I walk you through both versions of this project step by step!
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
Today's llama watercolor tutorial was inspired by a pop socket! Inspiration can come from the wildest places, right?! I thought he was adorable & decided to challenge myself. I'm using my Daniel Smith watercolors, some Noodler's fountain pen ink, and a little gouache at the end. This one is simple, so even if you're a beginner ...come paint with me!!
Before we continue - super quick announcement! All product links 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 thank you for your support! 
I get A LOT of requests for llamas from my students, and I've actually only ever done one - believe it or not!! He was done "hamburger style," with collage and acrylics.
For today's watercolor llama tutorial, I'm using a single sheet of Fabriano cold pressed watercolor paper. When I want a single sheet of watercolor paper, I typically reach for cold pressed paper because I LOVE the texture. Cold pressed watercolor paper is "bumpy" and has a gorgeous texture under anything you do from watercolor to drawing.
Today I felt like doing something a bit different and selected a sheet of Fabriano hot pressed paper, which is SUPER smooth! 
If you're interested in learning how to draw a llama, watercolor illustration or watercolor drawing ideas- this project is very simple.
I used my graph gear mechanical pencil to lay out the initial drawing, and later decided to stylize my lines with a wiggly/ whimsical look instead of keeping them firm and controlled. 
Since this is a watercolor illustration project, I'm OF COURSE using my Daniel Smith watercolors. If you're new to Daniel Smith, here's more about why I'm obsessed with them, plus advice on how to start your first collection.
I also recently did a video on how to build a travel watercolor palette using Daniel Smith watercolors. If you've got a trip coming up, this is perfect for you! 
I used the shade cascade green by Daniel Smith to shade the cacti. I'm using some brand new Polina Bright watercolor brushes all the way from Australia in this video!
If you follow me, you know I typically use my silver velvet brushes, but have really fallen in love with a recent splurge- watercolor brushes created by Polina Bright in Australia. 
They're a bit expensive if you buy the full set of four, but I love her work and decided to give them a try. If you're looking for a watercolor brush that's more middle of the road price-wise, I absolutely LOVE my Mimik Brushes by Creative Mark. I find that they actually come to a point much better than my Silver Black Velvet brushes, so I find myself reaching for these quite a bit! 
Look at how juicy that gorgeous blue is below!! It's actually NOT watercolor, but fountain pen ink - straight outta the bottle!! If you're new to my work, fountain pen ink is another mixed media art supply I'm obsessed with an often work into my watercolor paintings, or do complete projects with.
This particular shade of blue is turquoise fountain pen ink by Noodler's. It's SO rich and dreamy. If you've never tried painting with fountain pen inks, this is a MUST - especially if you love watercolor.
I've collected a TON of these inks over the last couple of years and actually store my inks in these gorgeous, vintage purfume bottles that I find when I'm thrifting. If you're interested in learning more about how to paint with fountain pen inks - be sure to check that video out!
I finished up today's adorable llama with some teensy white polka dots using opaque white gouache. So fun!!
I hope you had fun watching or CREATING this project right along with me today!! If you're interested in doing this watercolor llama step by step in real time with me - it's part of the Mixed Media Society project collection. If you're interested in joining The Mixed Media Society, please add your name to the waitlist here. We open up for enrollment twice a year. Thanks for hanging out with me today!! ❤️MY ARTIST BESTIE, LUCY BRYDON & I created a NEW ART MEMBERSHIP together called The Celtic Collective! It's now open for enrollment! Join us before the price increases on August 7. 
Whether you already love toned paper drawing, drawing faces, or have never tried either, and are curious - TODAY's VIDEO is FOR YOU! Join me for a face drawing demo in my cute little toned paper sketchbook (that I recently designed) - complete with adorable little flowers in the background! I'll show you how I picked my face drawing reference, and will teach you why drawing on toned paper is actually QUICKER than drawing on white paper.
If you're new to toned paper drawing, I've got an awesome set of FREE cheatsheets for you to download and a Toned Paper Drawing three-part video series for you to help you get started over on my YouTube Drawing Channel.
Click the button below to grab those cheatsheets, and I'll send that straight to your inbox! 
This cheatsheet packet includes my face drawing guidelines, plus a drawing reference face photo to help us in video #3, so make sure ya click that button!!
Before we continue - super quick announcement! All product links 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 thank you for your support! 
For today's drawing tutorial, I'm working in my new toned paper sketchbook that I actually designed! It's got adorable little flowers in the background, which I love, because those flowers end up peeking through the cheeks of the faces I've been drawing.
The picture below shows a great closeup of how the background flowers look behind a drawing. SOOOOO cute!!!
It's perfect for doing some quick little face drawings in pencil with china markers and white posca pens!
Here is the link for the sketchbook over on Amazon in case you're interested! I hope you enjoy it as much as I have!!
Click over to the video and I'll talk you through a few things I think about when I'm looking for faces for drawing reference. Mostly, I just keep it easy. Basically, I just think to my self - do I love this girl and think she's cute? Then I usually give it a try!
As you'll see in the video - I also will look at the face shading. In this particular image, it's really unusual! I felt she had some beautiful highlights on her eyes, nose and lips that I instantly could imagine doing in my white posca pens. Just one more feature that made this face drawing reference an instant YES for me, besides I'm obsessed with absolutely anything done by Loish. 
One of the most important things to remember when drawing on toned tan paper or gray toned paper vs drawing on white paper, is that "your job" is just to pop in the darkest darks and lightest lights when it's time to start shading faces.
That's why I think doing toned paper portraits and sketches are SO fast! Half your job has already been done for you because your "skin tone" is the tone of the paper. 
As you'll see, I did a lot of the face shading with my blending stump. Since the paper is already gray, I really didn't have to push down very hard to get some beautiful effects. Once I was happy with my shading, I just grabbed my pentel pocket brush to outline everything loosely with a light touch.
I LOVE the lashes in this reference so really enjoyed popping those in with my pentel pocket brush! If you've never used this before - you have to give it a try. Here's a video to help you on my drawing channel, and here's one to help ya on my mixed media channel (because it works amazingly well for mixed media faces too!).
I love using the china markers for highlights here because they sit beautifully on top of my graphite. These marks really add dimension to the drawing and pop those areas forward.
And of course, no whimsical face drawing of mine is complete without some dramatic highlights using my white posca pens!!
I hope you enjoy today's video! Thanks for hanging out with me!!
❤️MY ARTIST BESTIE, LUCY BRYDON & I created a NEW ART MEMBERSHIP together called The Celtic Collective! It's now open for enrollment! Join us before the price increases on August 7.
Today I'm showing you how EASY it is to set up a travel watercolor palette from scratch! All you need is a small metal tin (an empty altoids or mints tin works great!), some watercolor tubes, watercolor half pans, an adhesive magnet roll or glue gun, a sheet of watercolor paper ... and you're good to go!
Before we continue - super quick announcement! All product links 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 thank you for your support! 
Watercolors are one of the easiest art supplies to travel with because they don't take up much room. If you make your own diy watercolor paint palette - YOU get to choose how many colors to include and how big the palette is.
Today I'm choosing my tin first. I've got a number of random ones in my stash on hand that I've purchased at my local craft stores or other shops when I've been out and about. You can often find cute, empty tins for $1, sometimes less! I also found this little set of tins on Amazon in case you're interested. 
One of my favorite ways to travel with only a few watercolors is to create an altoids watercolor palette! It's so compact - you can pop it into any bag and bring along 3-4 of your favorite colors. These make the cutest little gifts!!
All you need to do this is an empty Altoids tin and a few empty watercolor half pans (shown below).
Next you need to decide how you want to affix your half pans into your tin! My two favorite ways to do this are to either cut off a snippet of adhesive magnet tape, or to hot glue each half pan into the tin.
Be sure to click over to the video to SEE how I'm doing this! I've found using magnets is a great way to give yourself some flexibility in case you want to change your colors out from one trip to another. For example- if I'm headed to Scotland I know I'll want a variety of greens, grays, purples, light blues and golden shades to paint fairies, florals, landscapes and castles! If I were headed to the beach- I might trade out a lot of my greens for a wider variety of blues, and I may add in more colors to paint sunrises or sunsets - depending on what I'm in the mood to capture! If trading out the colors of your travel paint palette sounds like something you want to do - definitely use the adhesive magnetic tape. I actually found 50 half pans on Amazon with magnetic strips already attached for only $6! Next, we need to select which watercolors to include in your palette. Honestly- this is probably the hardest part! The struggle is REAL as I start pulling out my watercolor tubes and comparing them. 
If you're having a tough time choosing from the tubes and only have room to include a few - do a little swatching to compare the shades and help you narrow things down.
Once you decide which colors you want to include (I only have space for 12 today), simply squirt a little paint from each watercolor tube into your half pans and let them dry overnight.
If you want to know exactly which colors I selected, scroll down to the bottom of this post or click over to the video and check out the description box. 
Since the watercolor half pans I'm using actually had some raised writing on the bottom, my adhesive magnet wouldn't stick so I needed to use hot glue to get them to stay in my tin.
After all of my half pans were in position in my tin, I cut out a piece of watercolor paper to fit inside my tin, and traced some ovals on the sheet with this template. Then I added a touch of watercolor to each half pan and labeled what color each oval was (so future me knows which watercolor tube to pull out later when it's time to refill my half pans). Easy!!
When my swatches were finished, I brought my swatch card outside and sprayed it with a touch of Mod Podge Clear Acrylic Sealer (in matte).
I've found this stuff to be amazing because it doesn't re-activate the watercolor I've already put down, and it's fantastic for when I'm actually watercoloring later because that little card is protected. If I spill water or a drop of paint on top - it TOTALLY wipes off!
Click over to the video to see how EASY this is!! If you have a laminator- that would be a great choice too, and you can totally skip the mod podge spray. 
Once my mod podge sealer was dry, (or your swatch card has been laminated), I flipped my card over to spray some multipurpose adhesive on the back. This way I can pop that card into the lid of my tin, glue it in place, and not worry about it falling out! (Trust me - this step is SO helpful becuase those little cards ALWAYS fall out!!)
SO EASY, right?! These cute travel watercolor palettes make excellent gifts and are also a good way to split the cost on more expensive watercolor tubes (like Daniel Smith!), if you have a creative friend who wants to share a few tubes together!
If you're interested in building your own Daniel Smith watercolor collection - I've got a video on that to help you. I know these are super expensive and it can be so hard to decide which colors to get. They're all gorgeous and there's no wrong answer, but check this video out for a few pro tips before ya buy!! Need a list of the colors I added to my travel watercolor palette today? Here ya go!!
Thanks for hanging out with me today! See ya back here next week!
❤️MY ARTIST BESTIE, LUCY BRYDON & I created a NEW ART MEMBERSHIP together called The Celtic Collective! It's now open for enrollment! Join us before the price increases on August 7.
Wanna find out which drawing pencils, pens & erasers I won't leave home without?! Today, I'm dumping out my travel art supplies bag to show you EXACTLY what I brought on our last trip so I could play in my new toned paper travel sketchbook! If you've got a trip coming up and can't decide how to narrow down your drawing supplies - today's video is FOR YOU!!
Before we continue, super quick announcement: Some of the product links 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 thank you for your support! 
So many times in the past when I've brought a travel art bag on vacation, I didn't even use half of the art supplies I brought with me! I kinda got sick of dragging around a ton of stuff, so started challenging myself to bring less.
Sometimes I'll limit myself to paper and a pencil if I wanna go super minimalist - but most of the time, I'll bring a pouch with me and fill it with an assortment of drawing pencils, erasers and gel pens like I'm going to show you today. On my most recent trip I decided to only bring dry media drawing supplies, which means my black stabilo all pencil and my waterbrush had to stay at home! Simply deciding something like "only dry media supplies" is a super easy way to narrow things down when you're trying to bring less. Click over to the video to see each supply and why I've chosen to include it! Here are my top ten favorite travel art supplies for drawing - in no particular order!! I've really been in love with my clicky pens from Pentel lately. I use the .07 nibs for writing and the 1.0 nib for drawing. I LOVE a juicy gel pen for drawing - it's like ice skating on my paper! 
Next, I've gotta have white drawing supplies for adding highlights to anything and everything I create, so there is always a little collection of white posca pens (I'm always afraid one might not work, so I bring at least two!). I also throw a few black posca pens in my bag for outlining!
If I'm bringing toned paper (which I did on this trip!), I'll bring my china markers as well (the white, wax pencil at the bottom in the above picture). They're super opaque and fun to use. If you've never used china markers or worked with toned paper before - I've got a whole series JUST for you!
Normally I'd also bring my black china marker, but was in a hurry and couldn't find it before I left, so grabbed my jumbo jet black pencil (shown above). I buy these at Jerry's Artarama. They also go on really opaque and have a similar feel to a china marker. It's oil impregnated charcoal!
Next, I need my drafting pencils - also from Pentel. These have some weight to them and feel heavy in my hand- which I love. I use the .09 for really bold lines. This one is great for when I'm teaching online because people can see the lines from it really well. I use the .07 and .05 for more detail. They also make a .03- but I find that I don't use that one as much.
When I want to do some shading- I really love my Palamino Blackwing Pencils. I feel like you can do everything with one of these suckers! They're so soft. It's like having an entire pencil set wrapped up in one pencil!! 
Honestly, if I only had a blackwing pencil, a blending stump (below) and one of my white posca pens, I'd be a happy camper (if we're talking bare minimum supplies). Remember with blending stumps - the dirtier, the better!
Next - let's talk drawing erasers. I have two favorites. I use my vanish eraser absolutely ALL the time. It's super gentle on your paper and very effective at lifting graphite off the page.
My next favorite eraser for drawing is by Tombow. It's called the mono zero eraser. It's basically like a mechanical pencil, but an ERASER! It's amazing to chisel out teeny tiny highlights!
I've been loving my Uni-Ball Signo gel pens for quite a while! Sometimes I'll draw with these alone, but typically I'll use them for adding fun outlines and doodles at the end of a drawing. They also work amazing well on top of watercolor!!
Depending on the kind of line weight I want to use in my drawing for outlining at the end - I may also choose to use a thicker, black posca pen as well.
Finally - I WON'T leave home without my beloved pentel pocket brush!
This thing makes the most AMAZING eyelashes and I use it for both drawing and mixed media portraits! If you've never worked with this before- it really has the feel of a paintbrush and can take a little getting used to. Here's a video to help you use the pentel pocket brush for drawing eyelashes in drawings (featured at the end of that video), and one for using the pentel pocket brush in mixed media drawings!
I recently discovered a similar product with an even teenier brush nib at Michael's, so that was in my travel art supplies bag this trip as well!
That's it! I hope you find today's video helpful!! I know it can be such a challenge narrowing down you art supplies when you're traveling - but this list should really help you out!
❤️MY ARTIST BESTIE, LUCY BRYDON & I created a NEW ART MEMBERSHIP together called The Celtic Collective! It's now open for enrollment! Join us before the price increases on August 7.
Today's mixed media on canvas is a hilarious mashup of a grumpy cat and a flower- done in my signature "Hamburger" style. There's a little bit of everything from mixed media collage using paper napkins, to mixed media drawing & acrylic painting. I had a blast! Having FUN with your art is the MOST important part! If you're having FUN, you'll create more often. The more you create - the BETTER you'll get!
If you've never done mashup art before, be sure to click over to the video to see exactly what I'm doing. It's actually REALLY easy. You just combine two or more reference images to come up with your own creation!
For my supplies, I used a tall canvas (around 12 x 36), some floral napkins for collaging with mod podge, and ALL my mixed media supply favorites from watersoluble pencils to acrylics, gelatos and pitt pens.
If you look closely at the collage portions of this piece- I was using floral napkins. The napkin pattern had a white background, so when I collaged it to my canvas, the flowers kinda melted into the background like they were always there. It was a really cool effect! Check out this link to learn more about how to do wrinkle-free mixed media collage with paper napkins. 
As you can see above, when I was ready to start drawing my grumpy flower cat, I used a watersoluble pencil. I think this is an awesome trick because once you start painting, your pencil lines totally melt away!
Once I got my acrylic layer down, I started adding in my gelatos (shown below) to blend in some shading with my finger and give my acrylics more dimension.
If you've never used gelatos before, they're AMAZING. I recently did a video on how to use gelatos in mixed mediat art, so be sure to check that out for my best tips.
Gelatos get added in layer 3 of my Mixed Media Hamburger System. If you're not familiar with my "hamburger system," - it's what I named my layering process when I'm doing mixed media and want to play with ALL of my art supplies!
The hamburger system is SUPER helpful for beginners and anyone else who wants to learn a little more about mixed media art supplies, when to use them & which supplies work well together. Click the button below if you'd like to download my Mixed Media Hamburger cheatsheet (yup - it's totally FREE). 
If you'd like to see me explain my hamburger system to you on my Mixed Media YouTube channel, be sure to click over to this playlist.
I hope you get a kick outta today's grumpy flower cat mashup! If this is something you'd like to do with me in real time (no timelapse), this is one of MANY fun projects over in the Mixed Media Society over at Awesome Art School. We'd LOVE to have you come hang out with us!! ❤️MY ARTIST BESTIE, LUCY BRYDON & I are creating a NEW ART MEMBERSHIP together called The Celtic Collective!! Learn More & add your name to the waitlist here. Opens in TWO DAYS on July 7th!
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Karen CampbellFounder of Awesome Art School. Mixed Media Artist. Author of 15 Instructional Art Books!    
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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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