Episode 64

Hello, dears!

In honor of it being less than three weeks until Christmas, today I’m going to show you guys a tutorial on how to make easy but beautiful Christmas-themed art. Grab some art supplies, turn on some Christmas music, and here we go! 😀

Art Prompt: Watercolor Nativity Scene

I hope this isn’t cheating, but the art prompt for today is actually my own art… XD I made a series of printables like this one for my Etsy shop, and liked making them so much I wanted to show you guys how you to paint it for yourselves!

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You Will Need:

• Waterproof pen (like Microns) and/or a pencil
• Blue, black, and white paint (I used watercolor)
• White gel pen (optional)
• Painting supplies (paintbrush, heavy paper, water, etc.)

1. First, let’s draw the stable. I’m using a pen so it will show through the watercolor better later, but you can use a pencil if you want. This part is pretty easy – make a simple house shape, and a line beneath it for the ground.

2. Next we’ll make the manger. Draw a rectangle with a thick “X” beneath it. Then draw a tiny face and half an oval for the body.

3. Start drawing Joseph. (I penciled in the whole thing and then outlined it block by block in pen so it’s easier for you guys to follow along.) First, draw a tall, narrow triangle with a blunt end. If this looks weird, don’t worry – we’ll fill in everything with black later on, so the lines won’t show.

4. Finish Joseph. Add a short line connecting to the stable wall for his legs, and a curved line almost touching the manger for knees. Draw what shows of his arm coming from about the middle of the blunt triangle. The head is the trickiest part – I always just redraw it until it looks good. XD I gave him a short headscarf thingy as well.

5. Start drawing Mary. We’ll do the same thing with Mary. Draw a slightly shorter triangle than last time.

6.  Finish Mary. Add a wavy line from her neck to the ground, and legs and an arm like with Joseph. As you can see, I had to extend the manger a little bit because she was too far away to reach it. XD I also tried to make her face a little softer than Joseph’s, with a more prominent forehead and less prominent chin, and then gave her a longer headscarf thingy.

7. Paint the background. The hard part is over! Now cover the top portion of your paper with blue paint. Try to make it darkest at the top and lighter towards the ground. You can use a paper towel or a clean, dry brush to lift some paint and make lighter spots for a more galaxy-like texture.

8. Add some stars. I used white gouache, but you can use other paint or a white gel pen.  Make sure the blue is mostly dry, especially if you’re using a pen. If you’re using paint, dilute it with a little water and tap the paintbrush handle to splatter it across the paper. While you’re waiting for everything to dry, you can go ahead and paint the ground in with black.

9. Paint in the silhouettes. This part is fun. 🙂 After everything is dry, fill in your outlines with black paint, touching up  the shapes if you need to.

10. Add details with a white gel pen. This step is optional, but I think it really makes the drawing pop! I added the Star of Bethlehem above the stable, a few rays of light over baby Jesus, and then outlined all silhouettes with white gel pen.

And ta-daa! You’re finished. Looks lovely, doesn’t it? I love this type of art. ❤ If you made a piece of art inspired by this post, we’d love to see it! Find out how to add to our Art Lab gallery here.

What did you think of the painting? Are you excited for Christmas? (Like that’s even a question… XD) Isn’t splattering paint an entertaining pastime?  And do you think you’ll make this piece?

Thanks so much for reading, dears, and have a lovely day!

***Allison***

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Episode 61

Hey guys! Welcome back to Art Lab! We all know that distressed clothing items are in right now, but what about distressed art? I got the idea of “distressed art” from an old pair of jeans while cleaning out my closet the other day. (who knew that old jeans could be art inspiration? XD) After a few attempts I finally got it right – and I’m super excited to share it!

Episode 60

Hello, folks!  I’m glad to be back here today to show you a new tutorial.  I’ve recently been interested in the regency era, and I found this beautiful picture on Pinterest, and I thought, “Why not paint it?”

I decided to make it ever harder by using pastels.  Now, before I begin, let me warn you.  PASTELS ARE MESSY.  And when I mean messy, I mean your whole entire floor will be green from that lovely dark green you used…If you don’t take precautions.  I would advise using something with a tray underneath it as you use pastels, and do it outside, or with newspaper on the ground.  Also, wear clothes you don’t care about, or cover yourself in towels, like I did.

Now, on to the art project!

You’ll need…

A pastel set (I have a set of 72 different colors my aunt gave me.)

Pastel paper

A pencil

Eraser

Fixative

(optional: tape)

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This was the prompt I chose.

So, first off, I taped my pastel paper to my music stand, which will be serving as my easel.  I had the choice of grey, or a more skin tone, and I chose the skin tone, since it was easier to rip out.

Now, the first rule I always try to follow (and usually forget) is when drawing, start with what’s closer, but when painting, start with the farther away things.  I’m really bad at freehand painting, and that’s why I always sketch before I paint.  Start with your person’s head.

I gradually sketch more and more…and then erase more and more. XD Just work with one line at a time, or one shape at a time.  I ended up erasing the whole head, and moving it back a bit, and then I erased the arm, and the shoulder…And you get the point. Just play around with it.

Now, I’ve added a bit of the detail.  I don’t want the girl to be too detailed, or else I’ll get distracted.  Just a rough outline.  Now, you’re ready for pastels!

I decided to start with a light blue for the background, and then mix a light grey with it.

This is what it should look like once you mix it all up.  I portioned the painting off because I wanted to. (Haha.) You can do whatever you like with the background of your painting.  I find the less detail, the better and easier, especially with pastel.

For the top part of the background, I used mostly a dark red, blue, and a very dark grey.

I have a lot of pictures of this in progress, but I’ll give you this one.  I used the darker color more in the corners, and left a gap in the mid-left side.  If you look at the prompt, you can see the light reflecting.  That’s why I left that spot there.

Part of the reason pastels are so messy is that you use your fingers to smear, and smear, and smear some more.  Honestly, if you love mud, and dirty hands, this is the art project for you!  (I actually enjoy those things…Sooo…) Smear your colors together, and bring them as close to the lines you’ve made as possible.

I used lots of different blues, and white for the light reflecting, and then I took more of the red.  Smear those together.

These are the different yellows I used for the thin strip in the middle of the background.

I took the darker yellow, and outlined the outside, and used the lighter yellow for the inside.  Another good thing about pastels are that they’re really forgiving…And they let you continue to work with different things.  I also added more white to the background, with a bit more red.

I took some orange that I felt needed to be used to outline the outside a bit more, and then the brightest yellow for the inside.  Smear it together.

I used a purple, and the same blue for the background to make the dress.  Just slather them on there, and smear ’em together.

The dress in the prompt has a lot of lines, and folds.  I used a blush pink to draw them, and the white to highlight the ones up top.  (Don’t worry if you end up smearing them…I did.)

I decided I needed more light and dark contrast, so I used a lot of white on the left side of the dress, and a lot of an eggplant color on the right.  Use as much white as possible, but be gentle with the dark colors.  Dark colors aren’t as forgiving as the light colors. 😉

It took me a long time to get satisfied with the dress.  Just play with it for a long time, and step back every once in a while to get a new look at it.  Then, add the white for the gloves and sleeves.

I used a yellowish creme color for my person’s skin…At least, to start the skin.

Add the blush color you used on the dress, some white, and a brighter yellow where you think the shadows are.

I decided I didn’t like how bright the background was, so I paused on the skin and slathered white all over the background, and smeared it all together.

The background ended up like this.

Take a bit of dark grey, and accentuate the shadows before taking a bright blue to outline the girl.  You don’t have to use blue…I’m just drawn to blue, since it’s my favorite color.  You could use a yellow, or a lighter color, or even a green.  It’s up to you.

Then add whatever color you want for her hair.  I’m partial to redhead. 😉 I couldn’t get the mirror to suit me.  Even now…I reluctantly admit that the mirror isn’t what I wish it was.  But I needed to post this for Art Lab. XD

I played with different colors, and played with the mirror.  Then, I left it like this for a while.

After a while of letting it sit, I came back to it and added more red, and grey.  Sign your name…

You have your finished project!  I will be the first to admit that this did NOT turn out like it should have, or like I wanted it to. *sigh* But…Let me know what you think.

Have you ever used pastel before?  What is your favorite historical era?  Do you enjoy messes?

~~Amie~~

Episode 59

Hello folks!

Do you ever feel lost about what to paint or sketch? Do you ever find yourself without inspiration? Today, I’ll be sharing some fall inspiration through photography!

Pictures courtesy of Google

 

What do you do to gain inspiration? Here’s what I usually do:

• browse the web
• look outside
• eat a snack (food is important)
• listen to music
• read art blogs
• flip thru old sketchbooks
• grab a magazine
• read a favorite book–Anne of Green Gables, Little Women, Fablehaven
• take an artistic hiatus–DO THIS EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE!

I’ve created a special printable! To download, sign up for my newsletter here and grab it in my freebie library!

 

Mockup copyright bydawnnicole.com

 

Live creatively!

 

 

Episode 56

Hello friends! Today I’m excited to be back with another Art Lab post! Since fall has officially begun, I thought it would be fun to celebrate with a neat watercolor leaf tutorial. It’s super easy, yet super cute!

I’d recommend practicing a little first, as if you’re not an expert watercolor painter (like me) then the leaves shape can be a little tricky at first. But then again, if you’re an expert……

Basically just paint some random leaf shapes, if you want you could also lightly pencil them out.

But of course all of this is just your personal preference.

Next, paint some leaves on your actually canvas, ATC, sketchbook page, or whatever material you’re using. You can make them as simple as you want, or as complex as you want. I’d recommend trying a few colors and sticking to them, rather than just using whatever colors you want at the moment. Although that could and couldn’t turn out neat. Remember, there is no wrong way to do art.

After the paint is dry and you are happy with it, then you can start adding details with a fine tip pen, such as stems, veins, etc.

Once you are happy with the pen details, then you’re finished! Congratulations!

Also, if you did try this technique, I’d love to see it, just email me at theartlabblog@gmail.com to share a picture! 😀

-Hannah