"Creativity takes courage." – Henri Matisse
And so we have come near to the end of our journey. This is part five and the conclusion of my series of posts on the fantastic, lovely, delicate, ambient, bold and beautiful world of shading. Over the past couple months we've talked about the tools of the trade, explored a rather painterly method of …
Continue reading "Where It Really Happens ~ the bold and beautiful world of shading"
Alright, my friends. We can't avoid this subject any longer. We need to talk about edges. When it comes to shading with graphite or charcoal, we're basically dealing with two fundamental subjects: value and edges. Value being how dark or light a certain object is (we talked about double checking your values/tones in my last …
Continue reading "The Joy of Finger Blending ~ the ambient world of shading, pt. 4"
Hey lionhearts! Welcome back to part two of a series of posts on advanced shading. In last weeks post, I discussed some of the basics to get you started before we dive in. So we're just going to get straight to the fun stuff. No brakes, full speed ahead. Today, we will be talking about …
Continue reading "A Study In Charcoal ~ the lovely world of shading, pt. 2"
Many moons ago, I wrote this post on creating an accurate outline. I was planning to follow it up with a post on shading your accurate outline. But then I began thinking of all the different methods of shading, and everything that goes into it... and I'll admit I got a little overwhelmed. The thought …
I've painted some murals in my time... Okay, so I've painted one (and two halves). But anyway, I figured it was time to talk about the art of wall painting, because with one mural (and two halves) under my belt, I think I know about all there is to know. (Note: sarcasm.) Anywho, if you've …
Continue reading "Painting On a Wall ~ everything you never wanted to know"
There's a lot that goes into creating a realistic portrait. You can master shading and learn how to draw hyper realistic skin and hair. But what will it matter if you don't have a base to start with? So, what kind of base is best for your drawing? That's up to you to decide. Some …
Continue reading "Creating an Accurate Outline ~ 3 tips for drawing what you see"
Inspiration is kind of something we thrive on as creatives. So what do we do when our well of inspiration has run dry? When we find ourselves sitting before a blank canvas, a blank word document, or a blank sketchbook... with nothing to say? Today I'm going to give you three tips for what do …
Continue reading "On Inspiration ~ the 3 tips I need right now"
Hello friends! Today... we're not going to be talking about the coronavirus. I know, I'm breaking the mold. It seems like the virus is kind of the thing to talk about these days. I know it's a very real and relevant problem, and I don't take it lightly, but honestly... everyone else is already talking …
Continue reading "Bringing Characters to Life ~ 4 tips for the artsy writer"
Hey friends! I'm back with another quick tip. This is probably one of the number one art tips that I would give myself if I could go back in time and talk to Dear Younger Me. But before I get to the tip, let me tell y'all a little story, just to put things into …
Continue reading "Fix It Now ~ a quick tip for Dear Younger Me"
Have you ever committed to a project, only to realize, once you got started, that you didn't actually want to do it? I'm not just talking about burn out here. I'm talking, you've taken breaks, you've filled up your inspiration tank, you've returned to the project and felt like crying, because you actually do not …
Continue reading "How To Push Through When You Feel Like Quitting"
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