Blog Posts

Testing the most expensive alcohol markers, ARE THEY WORTH IT?!

14/11/2022

In today's drawing tutorial, I'm trying an expensive new set of skin tone markers by Winsor Newton called ProMarkers. I have high expectations for these alcohol markers because Winsor Newton is a top-of-the-line, fine art brand for artists.

I'm curious to see how ProMarkers compare to the go-to alcohol marker brands I reach for every day. My biggest question today is ARE PROMARKERS WORTH IT?!

Wanna draw along today, but not quite sure how to draw a face, or how to make the facial features look proportional? It's WAY easier than you think!

Simply click the button below to download my FREE whimsical face drawing guidelines. I never start a face drawing without them!

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've been shading the faces I draw with alcohol markers for years, and
am constantly testing new brands to ensure I'm recommending art supplies with the BEST VALUE for my students over at Awesome Art School.

After testing a million brands of alcohol markers, I've discovered expensive isn't always better, and multiple brands of alcohol markers can be used successfully on the same project - regardless of price point.

The ProMarker set I'm demo-ing today runs around $30 on Amazon and contains six skin tone alcohol markers. Depending on your budget, this might not sound too bad, until you start comparing ProMarkers to less expensive brands like Ohuhu, which will give you a full 30 more markers for just $9 more!

I don't know about you, but I want MORE COLORS to play with, so will choose that every time!

If you're sensitive to smells, you may want to steer clear of ProMarkers. They definitely have more of an odor to them than I notice from my Ohuhus or Copics.

This Promarker set has dual nibs like most alcohol markers. There's a brush tip on one side and a chisel tip on the opposite. Right away I noticed how flexible the brush nib felt. Not sure if I'm gonna love this or get annoyed with it while shading larger areas!

While swatching, I was seriously surprised by the shades Winsor Newton selected for this palette. If you've been following me for a while, or have a copy of my book, Skin Tone Secrets, you know I always recommend selecting three shades of the same color in light, medium and dark to shade ANYTHING.

These subtle variations in color will help give your drawings dimension and make them look more sophisticated.

As far as skin tone colors in the Promarkers set of 6 are concerned, I'm not impressed because I can only find two shades in this palette that will truly go together as my light and medium skin tones. The darker markers included are too big of a jump from the medium shades for most artists to use successfully - as you can see below.

If you watch the video, I'll show you the face chart I selected as today's drawing reference. It has super dramatic makeup in rich fall colors, but my first layer of brown makeup and shadows looks intimidating, even to me!

I keep going though, because I know the only way out of this is more layers of shading, blending, and doodling.

If you'd like a copy of today's drawing reference, you can grab that as a PDF in my YouTube & Cheatsheet Library over at Awesome Art School.

Once I've added detail to the eyes and eyelashes with my Pentel Pocket Brush, the darkest skin tone shading begins to push into the background and becomes less intimidating.

I use my Pentel pocket brush pen for drawing eyelashes on all the faces I draw and paint. It's amazing but has a bit of a learning curve to it. If you need help with it or want to learn how to draw gorgeous eyelashes, check out this video.

Make sure you click over to the video to get my final thoughts on this skin tone ProMarkers set by Winsor Newton.

As you'll see, I did end up getting annoyed with the brush nib on these markers. They just felt too flimsy and flexible to me so I switched sides and continued the project with the chisel tip for greater control.

I hope you found today's product review and demo helpful, and I sincerely hope you take a minute to stop and draw along with me in today's video!

See ya next week!!

Need more resources to get your creative juices flowing?

❤️ CHECK OUT ALL my art books on AMAZON
❤️ CHECK OUT ALL my online art classes @ Awesome Art School
❤️ MY FAVORITE ART SUPPLIES on AMAZON (affiliate links)
❤️ MY BELOVED FACEBOOK GROUP

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20 MIXED MEDIA COLLAGE BACKGROUND Ideas that will CHANGE the way you do ART!

8/11/2022

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Creating a mixed media collage background is SO MUCH FUN and happens to be the first layer of my signature mixed media process called the Hamburger System.

Recently I received an email from a viewer asking me WHAT materials work best for collage backgrounds. I have hundreds of ideas, but here are my TOP 20 FAVORITES to use on canvas OR in my mixed media art journals!

Do you love collage or have always wanted to try it in your art, but aren't quite sure how to do it without making a HOT MESS? You need my FREE Hamburger System cheatsheet.

If you're new to mixed media, collage, art journaling, mixed media on canvas - any or ALL of it, my Hamburger System is gonna rock your art world! You'll learn my tried and true process of how to create a mixed media MASTERPIECE every time. It's simple, step-by-step, tells ya exactly WHICH supplies you need, and did I mention it's SO MUCH FUN?!

Click that button above or click here and I'll email my Hamburger System cheatsheet straight to your inbox!

My Hamburger System series on YouTube has been watched by over 140,000 people and even became a book, available on Amazon.

I LOVE starting my mixed media canvases and mixed media art journal pages with a layer of collage! There's something so simple and relaxing about this process that connects me with my inner child. It's honestly pretty brainless and kinda serves as an art warmup to get my head into a creative space.

Collage is also one of the BEST things to do to bust through creative block whenever it strikes (and trust me- it hits ALL of us).

Here are my TOP TEN favorite mixed media collage materials. Make sure you scroll down and watch the video to see TEN MORE ideas and watch a super fast mixed media collage tutorial I think you're gonna love!!

Scrapbook Paper

I LOVE a good scrapbook paper pad. This is the perfect collage material for people who have a hard time picking papers that go together and those who might be in a hurry or feeling lazy who just wanna grab and go!

With scrapbook paper, the work has already been done for you because EVERYTHING in the scrapbook paper pad only features colors and patterns that go together. All YOU have to do is pull out your favorites and start ripping.

Scapbook paper even tells you exactly what color paints to use for your acrylic layer! It's awesome :)

Make sure you click over to the video to see the mixed media collage examples I show you of how I incorporated scrapbook paper into BOTH the background and foreground of a mixed media portrait on canvas.

Phone Book Pages

This adorable mixed media fox painting was originally done on an upcycled record jacket I found in a thrift shop. I used the record jacket as my canvas. If you look closely at the pillow I had made of this canvas, you'll see some type in the background. Those are just phone book pages! So simple, right?!

Sheet Music

Sheet music collage is a favorite of mine, super cheap, and beautiful to use in both the background and foreground of your mixed media art.

You can either turn an old book of sheet music from a thrift shop into an altered book art journal or rip old sheet music into collage pieces like I did below.

Isn't it beautiful how the music notes peak through the skin tones in the painting?

If you wanna create the piece above with me, it's one of the projects in my Mixed Media Magic book over on Amazon. Check it out!!

Dictionary Paper

I LOVE a vintage dictionary! The really old ones have a yellow tone to them and rip SO easily for collage. They also have a distressed look to them already because they're old. I think these are fun to have peaking through the background in a mixed media face, or to use strictly in the background. Your options and endless (and SO CHEAP) here!

This art deco mixed media portrait project is available at Awesome Art School as a stand-alone project if you'd like to create along with me!

Masking Tape

Lots of people don't even think of masking tape as a collage element, but it's weirdly a perfect surface to art upon and creates a lovely texture to your art. It also accepts gesso, acrylic paint, and all the mediums you would typically reach for to create mixed-media art.

Look closely at the piece below and you'll see some subtle, horizontal lines from my masking tape collage layer.

Create her along with me or just watch because it's fun!

Trash!

You can totally use TRASH as a mixed media collage element. Hilarious, right?! I've enjoyed using beer bottle labels (I love to collect these when I travel), foil candy wrappers (shown below), discarded tissue paper from a gift, you name it!

See this project being made in my cereal box art journal or create along with me.

Fabric

I once found this pretty fabric with an adhesive backing to it that peeled off like a giant sticker. I used that to create the background of this fun Bathtub Babe in my cereal box journal. Don't be afraid to think outside the box with the collage elements you choose!

Washi Tape

Washi tape is SO fun to use in mixed media collage. I love how there are SO many fun colors, patterns and thicknesses of washi tape. I use it a lot like how I use scrapbook paper. Sometimes it's strictly in the background. Other times I've used washi tape in the foreground as hair or clothing (like the tutu below) and it looks SO awesome!

Washi tape doesn't always adhere the best, so you'll want to go over it with a sealant to keep it in place.

Maps

Maps are becoming SO old school now, but they can be such a fun way to create an art piece based on a place you visited or want to visit. In this one, I have elements from a map of Inverness, covered them in gesso, and went to town.

Duct Tape

You may not even know this, but duct tape comes in SO many fun patterns now!! I've used this kinda like I use washi tape- in the background or foreground.

In this Mixed Media Retro Girl project, I carved out my entire girl so I could use this fun camper duct tape for her clothes, shoes and hair. So cute, right?!

Just a quick warning on using duct tape as a mixed media collage element - it's super glossy, so can be tricky to paint on top of. Just make sure you seal it so the paint doesn't peal off when you're done.

This is only HALF my list!!

Make sure you click over to watch today's video to find out what my other TEN mixed media collage elements are. I KNOW there are some you haven't considered yet and just might love!!

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Pastel Ohuhu Markers? YES, PLEASE! |Product Review, Demo & Face Shading Tutorial by Karen Campbell

1/11/2022

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I've been recommending Ohuhu markers for YEARS, so when Ohuhu called and asked if they could send me a pastel set of dual-tip alcohol markers, I was thrilled! I can't wait to show you how gorgeous these are in today's face drawing & shading tutorial.

I swatched all of my Ohuhu pastel markers on the swatch sheets that can be found at the back of my Skin Tone Secrets book on Amazon.

If you don't have a copy of the book yet, but have an art supply you'd like to swatch, you can also download my FREE Fun, Fab Swatch Sheet to get started.

Simply click on the button above, and I'll email it right over! If you've never done color swatching before, here's a video on how to use this exact swatch sheet if you need a little extra help.

If you're new to my world, I absolutely LOVE alcohol markers for shading faces. I've been collecting them over the years in all different brands to find out which ones provide the highest quality and best value for my students.

Tons of my students are retired and just can't spend $10/marker for Copics, so I I've been on the hunt for a great Copic marker alternative for years.

When I discovered Ohuhu's skin tone markers set, it was love at first sight. I couldn't believe how many colors I could get in ONE SET. Even better, when I tried them out for the first time- the quality was gorgeous. I've had ZERO guilt recommending them to my students and adding them to my alcohol marker collection ever since.

Since most of my alcohol marker art projects are faces, I've spent a LOT of time figuring out which alcohol marker shades blend well together to create gorgeous skin tones in all ethnicities.

Check out my YouTube series of face drawing tutorials, Whimsical Women of the World, or my latest book, Skin Tone Secrets (watch the page-by-page flip through here) for alcohol marker face shading tips and fail-proof color combos I love for shading skin tones.

This book actually revolves around my Ohhu 36 skin tone markers set. Each face I drew for my book was colored in a combo of three skin tone markers in a light, medium and dark shade. The color combos are noted throughout the book so you draw and shade simple faces right along with me as you read.

Skin Tone Secrets is great for artists of all levels who love drawing and want to learn how to shade faces using alcohol markers. Sometimes it's tough for artists who love working with pencil to jump into another medium like markers, or even to jump into color vs. black and white drawing. The book is PERFECT to help graphite artists make the leap with confidence into the world of color.

Last week I started a new YouTube series for my drawing channel of face drawing and shading tutorials using face charts as my face drawing references.

I found the face chart below on Pinterest and thought it was the perfect inspiration for today's drawing tutorial featuring my new pastel Ohuhu alcohol markers.

If you've been following me for a while, you already know I tend to reach for the boldest of colors, no matter the art supply. Doing an entire project in pastels definitely felt like a challenge for me, but I ended up loving it!

Like all my face drawings, I started this one off using my face drawing guidelines to keep the facial features proportionate. If you've never used guidelines for your face drawings before, download my free Semi-Realistic / Whimsical Face Drawing Guidelines (learn how to use them in this playlist of tutorials). They make SUCH a difference!

I drew both of the faces above, but if you compare them side by side, it's pretty obvious which one looks more amateur. I didn't use guidelines for the face on the right. Her eyes are too high, her nose is too low, and she barely has a forehead.

I used guidelines for the face on the left. Even though she was drawn in a semi-realistic, or whimsical style, she looks WAY more sophisticated than the drawing on the right. It's ALL because of the face drawing guidelines.

Back to today's video!

The alcohol markers in my new Ohuhu set of 48 pastel shades are all dual tips with both a brush nib and a chisel tip. I primarily use the brush nib because it feels very painterly to me (especially for drawing hair).

But I also love flipping to the chisel tip if I've got a lot of ground to cover in one shade, and want to move through it quickly.

I found two shades in the pastel set of 48 that worked well together as skin tones for today's drawing. As I got further into the project, I discovered a pink that complemented these shades as a beautiful mid-tone. Make sure to click over to the video because I flash the name of each marker shade on the screen while I use it.

If you end up buying the pastel set of alcohol markers by Ohuhu, you'll find that it comes with a colorless blender. Personally, I feel the best way to blend alcohol markers without streaking comes from mixing your marker shades together and layering your brush strokes in a variety of directions, so I never use the colorless blender. However, if you've been hoping to try it - you'll be excited to know it's a part of this set.

When I was finished laying down my color, I decided NOT to use my pentel pocket brush for outlining and doodling on top of my drawing because I was afraid the lines would be too bold for the pastel color palette.

Instead, I reached for my Pentel Arts Sign Pen with Micro Brush Tip because I can get much finer lines with it.

I'm SO happy with how this piece turned out! And I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my new pastel alcohol markers.

THANKS Ohuhu!!

If you're already starting to think about Christmas gifts, Ohuhu has got an amazing Black Friday sale going on already. Be sure to check that link often as new items drop here all the time.

Thanks for hanging out with me today!

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Mixed Media Art Examples I HAVEN'T SHOWN YOU YET in My Art Journal

25/10/2022

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Looking at mixed media art examples from other artists is a GREAT way to get inspired if you're ever feeling creatively stuck. As you'll see, my mixed media art journal is a place where I love to swatch, experiment, paint, collage, plan or teach online art lessons for Awesome Art School & SO much more!

Do you have an art journal, or have you always wanted to try it but didn't know how? Download my Kick-in-the-Pants Guide to Starting an Art Journal with inspiring quotes from one of my favorite people, Bob Ross. Simply click the button below and I'll send it straight to your inbox!

Once you've printed out your guide, meet me here to watch the series that goes along with it, or check out today's art journal flip-through first.

For me, art journaling is a place where I can swatch new art supplies, experiment, play, plan or teach the lessons I create for Awesome Art School.

This particular art journal is filled with fountain pen ink paintings like the one above, because I started experimenting with fountain pen ink right around the same time as I bought this journal.

I love to work big, so I always buy the 11x14 size, but there are some smaller ones available too. This watercolor sketchbook is filled with 140 lb. cold press (textured) paper and can honestly take ANYTHING I throw at it from watercolor pencils to full-blown, multi-layer "Hamburger Style" projects with collage, acrylics and mod podge.

If you've never done a mixed media art journal before, or aren't sure what kind to buy, I'm in LOVE with this hardcover watercolor sketchbook by Strathmore. It's the journal featured in today's video and countless others.

If you're going to work with any type of wet medium, and want to work in an art journal, you always want to be working on watercolor paper because it's the sturdiest and will hold up to whatever you're using.

How gorgeous is that red fountain pen ink in these paintings? It's called Widow Maker by Noodlers. It is SO vibrant and fun to work with.

As I mentioned, an art journal can be a great place to experiment with art supplies and learn which ones work well together. Look closely at the painting below on the left.

Do you see a sheen to it? I tested adding pan pastels to my fountain pen ink painting and wanted to see if it would hold up to a sealer (in this case just mod podge). It TOTALLY did, and I think the mod podge layer made this piece even more vibrant than it already was.

I mentioned how sometimes I will plan out a potential project in my art journals too. This one is of a cute interior from Wardhill Castle, the turret bathroom.

How cute is that?! I scribbled some musings about the castle and my curiosity as to whether or not it's legit haunted off to the side :)

Make sure you click over to watch the full video because there are lots of other pieces in this journal that I didn't feature on the blog today.

I hope today's flip-through is giving you tons of mixed media ideas to try in your own art journal. And seriously, if you've always wondered about starting an art journal, but don't know how, or feel intimidated... you've gotta check out this series.

It's a gentle "Kick-in-the-Pants" from me with quotes from Bob Ross to get you creating!

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FREAKY Fashion Face Chart Drawing Tutorial - Just in Time for Halloween!

19/10/2022

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Halloween is right around the corner, so I thought it would be super FUN to create an original drawing with inspiration from TWO fashion face charts! Not sure what a face chart is? No problem. I can't wait to introduce you to them in today's Halloween Drawing project!

Go grab a sheet of bristol, a pencil, and let's draw!

New to drawing faces? Or have trouble making them look proportional? It's WAY easier than you think.

Simply click the button below to download my FREE Whimsical Face Drawing Guidelines. I'll email them right over!

Then check your email, print out the guidelines and meet me right back here for today's FUN Halloween fashion face drawing tutorial.

If you're TOTALLY brand new at drawing faces, you might wanna do this project first :)

What's a Face Chart?

If you're not familiar with what a face chart is - I want to explain that right off the bat. Face charts are basically drawings of fashion faces that have been used since the 80s by makeup artists to plan out the makeup they'd like to do on their clients.

Tons of these are floating around online from individual makeup artists to big makeup companies like MAC. I think they're gorgeous and often print them out as drawing references to inspire me with new drawing ideas. Isn't this one stunning?!

It one was done by someone I follow on Instagram, @sonya_miro. I used one of her Halloween makeup looks to inspire me for the spiderweb makeup in today's drawing.

If you'd like to get a copy of the face charts I'm using in this lesson, I've added them to my YouTube & Cheatsheet Library over at Awesome Art School. Use the coupon code YOUTUBESUB to save 25%.

How to Draw & Shade a Halloween Fashion Face

I started this face drawing as I do all of them with a bazillion ovals, then slowly sketched in my face drawing guidelines. Once those were in place, I began adjusting my final oval into a face shape similar to my references, with chiseled cheekbones and a pointy jaw.

Even though we're drawing a semi-realistic face, it will look more sophisticated if the facial features are proportional, so I follow my face drawing guidelines, and pencil in three ovals along the eye line to help me space the eyes out correctly.

As you'll see in the video, I look at both of the face charts I've printed out for guidance on eye, nose, and lip shape. I mix and match aspects I like from each face chart to create my own original drawing.

Once I'm happy with my main lines, I erase my guidelines and draw in some simple hair so we can start coloring with alcohol markers (my favorite part!!).

If you're new to alcohol markers, they're really fun to use and you can cover your drawings quickly, but there are a few tricks to them. Watch the video and I'll talk you through the layering process and how to blend. If you're a total beginner and need more help, this is a GREAT intro lesson to try first.

I've tried out ALL the alcohol marker brands over the years and discovered they really all work the same and can be used together interchangeably on a project, as you'll see in today's video.

I needed ALL my greens today so grabbed everything I could find, from my Copics, Ohuhus, Artezas, and ArtBeeks to the cheapies I recently found at Five & Below!

The way I shade a face with alcohol markers is very systematic. To show dimension on a face I typically use at least three shades of the same color in a light, medium, and dark.

Then I either make up a shading pattern of highlights and shadows for the face I'm drawing, or look to a reference image (WAY EASIER!!), like the green face chart (by @moiseartnyc on Instagram) I'm using today.

Isn't the reference image above gorgeous?!

The pic below, on the other hand... not so much! LOL.

This is what I lovingly refer to as "the ugly stage." It happens to ALL of us in EVERY project. It's the point in your project when you pause, look down to see how it's going, and freak out. It's the point when you decide your work looks like garbage and think you should probably throw it in the trash.

DON'T!!!!

This is "the ugly stage," and it's trying to get the better of you. Accept it, acknowledge your work isn't finished yet, and KEEP GOING.

If you KEEP PUSHING THROUGH till the end of the project, you will have another art experience under your belt that you've completed. Whether or not you love your finished work, you've gained experience and it's made you grow as an artist.

Take a look at my next picture....

As soon as I started adding in eyebrows and drawing eyelashes, my character started coming to life, and the ugly stage disappeared.

Once I finished my outlining and details in black, I added some white colored pencil on areas of the face that needed highlights, and got ready to start the crazy spiderweb makeup!

Make sure you click over to the video because the spiderweb makeup is in real-time (no timelapsing!), so you can see exactly how I do this, step-by-step.

I'm not gonna lie... I was pretty nervous adding this part in!! But in the end, it's just a drawing, right? And it's just FOR FUN!!

SPOILER ALERT: The spiderweb makeup turned out great!!

I hope YOU draw along with me today!!

And please, if you do... take TWO pix of your drawing for me so you can share them in the Facebook Group. Take one of your ugly stage (I know it's hard - but we're ALL doing it!!), and one of your finished piece.

It's gonna be SO encouraging to see all these posts.

It's also gonna be more than a little hilarious to scroll through all these ugly stages at once, am I right?!

See ya there!!

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MIXED MEDIA ART: Definition

4/10/2022

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Have you ever heard the words "Mixed Media Art" and wondered what the heck that even means?! Today's YouTube video is FOR YOU!

I'm sharing my super simple mixed media definition to eliminate ALL confusion and make mixed media feel more approachable - especially for beginners because it's SO MUCH FUN!

If you're new to mixed media, struggling to understand your art supplies or how to layer them so you can create a MASTERPIECE instead of a hot mess - you need to download my FREE Cheatsheet outlining my signature mixed media technique called the Hamburger System.

Simply click the button above, and I'll send my Hamburger Cheatsheet straight to your inbox. Once you've printed that out - meet me right back here to learn just how simple the definition of mixed media art is, and how much FUN it can be!

Wanna learn see the Hamburger System step-by-step, in action? Check out my Hamburger System series on this playlist next.

I loved doing this series so much, I turned it into a book!

Now that you know WHAT mixed media art is, I hope you feel empowered to try it - even if you're a total beginner.

YOU CAN DO THIS!! Need more resources to get going?

❤️ CHECK OUT ALL my art books on AMAZON
❤️ CHECK OUT ALL my online art classes @ Awesome Art School
❤️ MY FAVORITE ART SUPPLIES on AMAZON
❤️ MY BELOVED FACEBOOK GROUP

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UNBOXING Blackwing Volume 7 Fiasco + The BEST BLACKWING PENCIL for Drawing

27/9/2022

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What's the deal with Blackwing pencils anyway?! Lots of drawing artists love them, but why? Today, I'm talking ALL things Blackwing in this product review, will show you which Blackwing pencil is best for drawing, and can't wait to share the unboxing of my FIRST Blackwing Volumes Subscription Box!

Wanna learn how to draw an easy face in pencil? Download 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 and I'll send it straight to your inbox!

Once you print your cheatsheet out, meet me here to draw and shade the face below...

I'm OBSESSED with Blackwing pencils! The one above is my absolute fave and is what I'm drawing with in all of my videos (unless I need a finer lead and the weight of my mechanical pencil).

If you're new to Blackwing - these pencils are basically the "aristocracy" of the graphite world. Some people only care about that, but I'm definitely not one of them.

What I care about is the drawing experience a pencil provides for myself and my students.

I've discovered working with one single Blackwing pencil gives me the experience of having an entire pencil set and specialty eraser - packaged into a single pencil. Most importantly - it gives me FAB results!

I often see the trio above of white, gray and black packaged together as a set on Amazon. Make sure you click over to the video if you want to learn more about the difference between the Blackwing pencils in this set and see how they write.

Each pencil from this set has a different "hardness" to the graphite inside it. The white one is called Blackwing Pearl and has the hardest lead. It creates the faintest/thinnest lines. The gray one is a Blackwing 602 with medium soft lead and creates medium bold/slightly thicker lines than the Pearl. This one has been a favorite of musicians, authors, and artists since the 1930s! Two of the 602's most passionate followers include John Steinbeck and Shamus Culhane (animator for Disney's Snow White - who asked to be BURIED with his Blackwing 602!).

The black one above has the softest lead and is my favorite. It's the Palomino Black Matte and gives me the greatest range of light to dark for shading. Depending on how much pressure I use on my paper - I feel like this one can give me anything from a low H to an 8B. ALL of those values packed into one pencil make this one extremely valuable!

Another thing that makes Blackwings unique is their eraser. The Blackwing pencil eraser has a rectangular shape that reminds me of working with my Tombow mono eraser. Even better - the erasers are totally removable and replaceable. You can flip the used side over to start using the opposite side, or slide it out completely to replace it. So cool, right?!

The cheapest way to try Blackwings out is to grab one at your local art supply shop (typically around $4/each), or to drop a box of 12 into your Amazon cart.

I know they're expensive, and the price point's not for everyone. If they're not in your budget, FINE! Pick up any old pencil you have lying around your house and draw with that. Who cares what YOU draw with! The most important thing is that YOU DRAW :)

When you're ready and have a few extra bucks - experiment with a pencil set like this from Amazon or your local craft store.

If you're in the market for MORE than a pencil set - you might just LOVE the set of drawing supplies I curated with Jerry's Artarama called The Fun Fab Illustration Set.

The pencils in this kit are by Cezanne and provide a super dark 12B - which I never even knew existed before I tried them!

If you've been following me for a while - you know I'm a busy girl and kinda love flying by the seat of my pants! If I've got somewhere to go and want to bring my sketchbook ... for me - it's SO much easier to fly out the door with one pencil (that does literally everything), instead of fumbling around with an entire set.

Make sure you click over to the video to see the great reveal of what's inside this month's Blackwing Volumes Subscription Box! It's my very first one, and happens to be Blackwing Volume 7 - a tribute to animator Chuck Jones (illustrator of Wile E. Coyote).

I have a feeling there might be some limited edition Blackwing animation pencils inside! So excited to check it out...

Come on!!

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

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FUN & EASY Mixed Media Project for Beginners with Derwent Graphitint Watercolor OVER Pencil

20/9/2022

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Today's mixed media project is PERFECT for mixed media beginners, watercolor beginners, and anyone curious about the Derwent Graphitint Paint Pan Pocket Set.

Adding watercolor over pencil drawings is a super FUN and EASY technique that can really make your drawings look more sophisticated.

Grab your watercolors and your fairy drawing to create along with me as I lead you step-by-step through simple face shading, creating magical hair, and an easy background in watercolor!

WANT 30 FUN Mixed Media Project Ideas with SIMPLE, tried, and true art supply combos like Watercolor over Pencil? Click the button below to download my FREE Hot Dog Packet!

Each mixed media idea in The Hot Dog Packet reads like a recipe with ONLY 4 art supplies, so it's perfect for mixed media beginners! Click the button above, and I'll send it straight to your email.

Use whatever watercolor set you have on hand to paint along with me. Today I'm trying a new set - Derwent's Graphitint Paint Pan Pocket Set.

If you've never heard of Graphitint before, it's a "unique blend of graphite paint with color for dramatic tonal work," according to the package.

To me- this set feels like muted nature tones, which is perfect for today's mixed media project.

As soon as I start to swatch these watercolors, they remind me of my granulating watercolors by Daniel Smith. They also look kinda dirty, which isn't a bad thing - you can just tell they have gray graphite in there for sure.

There isn't a skin tone in this set, but I feel like the shade called Russet will work. Watch as I add a light wash of this onto my fairy face drawing. (Wanna draw this fairy? Watch this first.)

I'm using my Polina Bright watercolor brushes (get 10% off Polina's watercolor brushes here) for this project. They're the only thing I use now! Find out why here.

Next I added a little Autumn Brown to accentuate the nose and creases of the eyes to add dimension. I love this technique of adding watercolor to an already shaded drawing. It's got this messy, grungey feel.

It's so freeing because you don't have to be "precious" about your work - just get in there, drop a light wash where you want some color, and call it a day.

I switched to a larger Polina Bright watercolor brush to do the hair in meadow green. If you struggle with how to paint hair (or draw it), I add color from root to tip, leave some white space, and add more color from tip to root.

Make sure you click over to the video to see this in action. It's such a cool effect, and SO easy to do - even if you're a beginner.

If you've been following me for a while, you know I HATE to mix watercolors. I know - it's ridiculous. I'm the only professional artist who won't do this. LOL.

I'm just lazy like that - I love to work straight from the pan, tube or whatever. It's faster and there's no guesswork about what color I'm gonna get!

I feel like this Derwent set could've used a nice dark forest green. Since it doesn't have one, I went out of my way (LOL) to mix one for the leaves in my fairy's hair.

I'm kinda loving my new Derwent Graphitint Paint Pan Set! It's perfect for doing projects like this - just adding some color to a graphite drawing.

If you've been following me for a while or are a student in one of my art clubs, you know I'm obsessed with my pentel pocket brush for drawing eyelashes and outlining.

I know many of my students are intimidated by it because it can be unpredictable and take some getting used to.

Recently I discovered a little sister product, the Pentel Arts Sign Pen with Micro Brush Tip. This is perfect for adding some finishing touches to today's piece.

I think it will also help those students intimidated by the Pentel Pocket Brush. This one has a much thinner bristle tip and is way easier to control to create daintier lines.

I hope you enjoyed today's full-length mixed media tutorial! Remember, if you want to draw this fairy- watch this video first:

When you've finished your drawing, watch this one to watercolor her:

Thanks for hanging out with me today! If you enjoyed this lesson, you might just LOVE my entire #50FunFabFairies drawing challenge. Here's the playlist in case you wanna check that out.

❤️ 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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Easy EVIL FAIRY DRAWING Tutorial in Pencil with Karen Campbell [#50FunFabFairies]

19/9/2022

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Already starting to think about Halloween? You're gonna LOVE today's TWO-PART evil fairy drawing tutorial! This full-length drawing lesson is step-by-step, simple enough for beginners, and challenging enough for seasoned artists interested in drawing faces at different angles.

When you're finished, hop over to my mixed media channel to add sophistication to your drawing with a layer of watercolor in PART TWO of this lesson.

Grab a pencil, eraser, blending stump, and a sheet of watercolor paper to draw along with me for our final lesson of the #50FunFabFairies drawing challenge!

Want easy access to today's fairy drawing reference and even MORE fairy drawing ideas? Join my FREE #50FunFabFairies drawing challenge over at Awesome Art School!

Simply click the button below to receive instant access to ALL the fairy drawing images for each drawing prompt, plus info on supplies, cheatsheets, and more!

Wanna become a better artist? Do today's lesson (and every lesson of the challenge) five times, making a few creative alterations of your choice, and watch your skills soar as you practice fairy eyes drawing, fairy and ears drawing AND fairy hair drawing 50 different ways.

Today's fairy drawing reference comes from a cool art magazine I picked up a couple of months ago called Sketchbooks. I love the downturned head of this creepy fairy! If you've never drawn a head tilted down like this - don't worry, I've got you! Click over to the video and I'll show you how to do it step-by-step.

Typically I start my faces off by sketching a zillion ovals, but today we're starting with the hair because it's key to replicating the head tilt in our reference photo.

Lots of people are intimidated by drawing hair, so if this is you - you're not alone. When students tell me they're not sure how to draw hair, I teach them to break it down into "clumps," as I do in this lesson.

As you'll see in the video, we're keeping things simple and not getting into the nitty gritty of drawing every hair strand. In fact, most of the clumps I draw are kinda like long skinny triangles. Easy, right?

If drawing eyes evenly is something you're trying to work on, watch how I sketch the eyes in for this fairy. I often tend to go back and forth between each eye - drawing one line at a time, then mirroring what I just did on the first eye to the second.

I've found this process of building both eyes up at the same time is much easier than drawing one whole eye and trying to draw the second eye to match.

If you feel like your eyes are still coming out uneven, don't stress. None of us are exactly proportional as humans anyway. Just keep practicing - sometimes that's all you need!

After I get the main lines of our fairy sketched in with my mechanical pencil, I switch over to my Blackwing pencil to add a little face shading. I'm obsessed with these because they're SO soft and make shading a breeze.

These are fairly expensive, so don't feel like you have to buy them in order to be successful. Blackwings feel like a 6B or 8B drawing pencil to me, so reach for one of those if you have a drawing pencil set already. If you don't, that's fine too! Use what you have on hand. A #2 school pencil is totally fine!

My face shading technique for today is super simple. Just grab a dirty blending stump and "moosh" the graphite around wherever you want to add shadows. If you don't have a blending stump, a cue tip or your finger will do the trick.

Did you notice I forgot to draw in some fairy ears? ?

Head over to PART TWO of this project to sketch those in, and learn how to add a layer of watercolor to really make your drawing pop!

When you're finished drawing her, watch this video next to add watercolor!

If you're OBSESSED with fairies and fantasy art like this, you might just LOVE the Celtic Collective over at Awesome Art School that I run with my Scottish bestie, Lucy Brydon. Add your name to the waitlist to be notified when it's open for enrollment.

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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HOW to COMBINE INSPO from TWO FAIRY DRAWING IMAGES to Create Your Own Masterpiece!

2/9/2022

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Ever combine inspiration from 2 fairy drawing images to create your own magical drawing? I do it ALL the time when I'm drawing faces and fairies! If you've never done this before, I can't wait to show you how simple it is in lesson 9 of my #50FunFabFairies drawing challenge.

Today's fairy drawing tutorial is step-by-step and easy enough for beginners. Don't have tan toned paper or a fancy drawing pencil? Use the back of a paper grocery bag, a school pencil, and draw along with me anyway!

Want easy access to today's fairy drawing images and even MORE fairy drawing ideas? Join my FREE #50FunFabFairies drawing challenge over at Awesome Art School!

Simply click the button below to receiveinstant access to ALL the fairy drawing images for each drawing prompt, plus info on supplies, cheatsheets, and more!

I'm using this face drawing reference (by artist Anna Tsvell), to inspire the face shading that I'd like to do today in my own drawing. I love this messy, edgy approach - like how Anna used the side of her pencil for a little shading in the hair, and how she's created funky lines to indicate shadows on the face.

My second drawing reference today is by artist Monika Andruszkiewicz. I'm in love with the braided hairstyle and glowing eyes she's drawn!

For today's lesson, I'm using some random craft paper I had lying around my studio. There's nothing special about it - it's just what I had nearby. Use the back of a paper grocery bag if you want, or if you have a pad of tan toned paper at home - use a sheet of that. I don't care what supplies you're using, I just care IF YOU'RE DRAWING ALONG WITH ME, because that is how you'll grow as an artist.

I'm using my favorite blackwing pencil to draw for this lesson. Blackwings are super fancy drawing pencils, and feel like butter on your paper. You totally don't need them. It's fine to use whatever pencil you have on hand.

After I sketch in my oval for the face, I drop in my face drawing guidelines. If you're not familiar with face drawing guidelines (I NEVER draw a face without them!), these are available for FREE in my #50FunFabFairies classroom (also FREE) over at Awesome Art School.

Never drawn a face before? Here's a quick face drawing tutorial for total beginners that shows you exactly how to use my face drawing guidelines. Feel free to check that out and then pop back to this lesson to try drawing a fairy.

Make sure you watch this video to see the drawing process in action - especially when I sketch in her eyes. They're very angular and widely spaced compared to what I typically do.

Neither of these awesome reference images have fairy ears, even though I'm using them as fairy drawing references. That's totally fine, because I love to go rogue and make stuff up as I draw.

If you're unsure how to draw fairy ears, click over to the video because it's all step-by-step.

I haven't drawn braids in forever, so I'll really be studying my drawing reference with this hairstyle. I'm a firm believer in using reference photos and drawings for anything and everything you don't know how to draw.

There is NOTHING wrong with studying a photo or someone else's drawing to learn. Never feel bad about it! You are developing your own observational skills as an artist.

The only thing that could be wrong with using someone else's work as a reference, is if you copy every single detail of the reference and try to pass your work off as an original idea, or worse yet- if you try to sell it. Copyrights are there for a reason and SO important to artists. I'm a huge stickler about always crediting original artists.

If you're just learning to draw at home and using a piece for inspiration and your own enjoyment - don't worry about it. Just make sure to always give that original artist credit if you ever share your work online as many do in my Facebook group.

When I got to the eyebrows for today's fairy, I decided to try the look from one of my references of a really thin, scraggly eyebrow. Look at how these completely change her expression (above)! My fairy looks super timid now, which I wasn't even going for, but now love.

After the drawing was complete, I started adding funky lines to the braided sections to get the shading started. I kinda love this whole "not being precious" theme for about my project today! I hope you're giving this a try with me at home - especially if you're someone who is ALWAYS "precious" with your art ;)

If you've been following me for a while you know I'm obsessed with my pentel pocket brush pen for eyelash drawing and outlining. I really love it because it has actual bristles like a paintbrush instead of a marker nib that's shaped like a paintbrush tip. Depending on how you change your pressure as you're drawing - you'll get different line weights, all from one drawing tool. Super fun!

Not sure how to draw eyelashes? Watch this video and grab my free eyelash drawing cheatsheet.

I felt like my drawing needed more contrast so added shading with my black stabilo all pencil, China markers, and my white posca pen. I also got super crazy and added color to my fairy's eyeballs with straight-up acrylic paint!

Thanks for hanging out with me today! I can't wait to see your version of today's lesson in theFacebook group:)

If you're OBSESSED with fairies and fantasy art like me, you might just LOVE the Celtic Collective over at Awesome Art School that I run with my Scottish bestie, Lucy Brydon. Add your name to the waitlist to be notified when it's open for enrollment.

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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Karen Campbell

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Scrapbook Paper

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​How to Draw & Shade a Halloween Fashion Face

Karen Campbell

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How to Draw & Shade a Halloween Fashion Face