draw to smile - a newsletter for the artist in us - issue #1

Draw to Smile – A Newsletter for the Artist in Us – Issue #1

Kindred Souls,

Thanks for subscribing to "Draw to Smile."

I am glad to present my first collection of learning resources and inspirational artworks.

I spent the last month re-reading, fixing, enhancing, enriching, and publishing "Evolution of a Caricaturist - How to Draw Caricatures." Then I had to work on some illustrations for a couple of apps. And then my over-worked back went on a strike, rendering me partially incapacitated. Only recently my back and I got together and I could indulge myself in drawing a few caricatures and putting together this missive.

I am also happy to share that the book "Evolution of a Caricaturist - How to Draw Caricatures" (LINK: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HQM9HUO) is now available on Amazon as a Kindle eBook. If you are among those who have bought it, I request you to please leave a rating/review for it here. (LINK: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HQM9HUO/customerReviews)I respect my work and your right to evaluate it, and so I won't buy/swap reviews; which means unless real reviews come in, you will not see a rating on it.

I hope you enjoy this newsletter. If you do and you think that there are others among your friends and family who would benefit from it, let them know about it. Thanks again for subscribing. I hope that this newsletter too will evolve with every new edition.

Warm Regards,Shafali Anand

Email: [email protected]: shafali.wordpress.comFacebook: facebook.com/caricatures.by.shafaliTwitter: http://twitter.com/theCaricaturistAuthor of the Book: Evolution of a Caricaturist – How to Draw Caricatures(LINK: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HQM9HUO)

Subscribe to this Newsletterhttp://shafali.wordpress.com/monthly-newsletter-learning-to-draw-cartoons-caricatures-illustrate-

for-the-self-taught-artist/

Copyright 2014 © Shafali AnandBlog: shafali.wordpress.com Email: [email protected]

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http://shafali.wordpress.com/monthly-newsletter-learning-to-draw-cartoons-caricatures-illustrate-for-the-self-taught-artist/


http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HQM9HUO

http://twitter.com/theCaricaturist

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http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HQM9HUO/customerReviews



TABLE OF CONTENTS

This issue contains:INSPIRATION BOX

THE WORDS THAT COLOR PENCIL ARTISTS USE!

MATERIAL THAT COLOR PENCIL ARTISTS USE!ABOUT COLOR PENCILS

ABOUT PAPER

LEARNING SPACE

STEP-BY-STEP - SIMPLIFIED!STEP 1 - STUDY

STEP 2 – GET THE RIGHT MATERIAL

STEP 3 – OBSERVE THE SUBJECT AND IDENTIFY THE NEGATIVE AREAS

STEP 4 – START COLORING

STEP 5 – BUILD A POOR MAN’S BLENDER AND BLEND

STEP 6 – EVALUATE AND SHARE

ART: CORE SKILLS VS. GROWTH SKILLSTHE CORE SKILLS OF AN ARTIST

THE GROWTH SKILLS OF AN ARTIST

And…a Caricature to make you Smile


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Let us begin by getting inspired :)

Inspiration BoxCheck out the following links and marvel at the dexterity with which these artists use their color pencils. These images make me appreciate the full potential of color pencils and shame me into pulling out my box of pencils.

I still am miles from reaching anywhere near what you'll see if you clicked any of the links below. Yet as you go through these links, you'll realize, as I did, that each of these artists have a different style and they combine their unique art-style with the power of color pencils to create these marvelous artworks.

Here are 4 links to awe & inspire you :)

Fantastical Mermaids, Fairies, and Nymphs by Jennifer Healy LINK:http://designyoutrust.com/2013/05/colorful-pencil-drawings-by-jennifer-healy/Note the minimalist use of color - the shades mix but the colors stay subtle.

The Colored Pencil Drawings of Marco Mazzoni Depict the Cycles of NatureLINK:http://www.thisiscolossal.com/2013/04/the-colored-pencil-drawings-of-marco-mazzoni-depict-the-cycles-of-nature/Abstract Drawings, minimal mixing that allows the medium to make its own statement.

Color Pencil Drawings by Christina PapagianniLINK:http://webneel.com/hyper-realistic-color-pencil-drawings-christina-papagianniNote the bold use of color and also the white highlights. While the title claims that these drawings are hyper-realistic, they aren't. (Hyperrealism makes you mistake an artwork for a photograph.)

Hyper-realistic Color Pencil Art by American artist Morgan Davidson LINK:http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2503391/The-pencil-artist-21-accurate-portraits-mistaken-photographer.htmlAnd this is indeed Hyperrealism! While I am not a huge fan of hyperrealism because like many others I fail to see the point of putting in days of your sweat and blood to create something that ultimately is mistaken for a photograph, yet these hyper-realistic images indicate the power of color pencils.

If you feel inspired enough, let us go through a list of some of the terms that will help you understand the different color-pencil art tutorials on the web.


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http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2503391/The-pencil-artist-21-accurate-portraits-mistaken-photographer.html

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2503391/The-pencil-artist-21-accurate-portraits-mistaken-photographer.html

http://webneel.com/hyper-realistic-color-pencil-drawings-christina-papagianni

http://www.thisiscolossal.com/2013/04/the-colored-pencil-drawings-of-marco-mazzoni-depict-the-cycles-of-nature/

http://designyoutrust.com/2013/05/colorful-pencil-drawings-by-jennifer-healy/


The Words that Color Pencil Artists Use!

1. Optical Blending: Blending two or more colors or making a color spread more evenly using a dry blending tool that enables different color pigments to over lap and produce a blended effect. (A softer look.)

2. Physical Blending: Blending two or more colors or making a color spread more evenly using a wet technique (for instance water,) so that the colors actually mix to produce a blended effect. (A bolder look.)

3. Colorless Blender: A tool to smooth the mixing of colors. It comes in form of color pencils/pens. The pencils have a colorless core, and the pens have some sort of solvent in them.

(Learn About Blenders: LINK: http://www.mooresartgallery.com/colorlessblenders.html)

4. Hatching: the technique of drawing parallel equidistant lines for shading.

5. Cross-hatching: the technique of drawing two sets of parallel equidistant lines crossing one another, for shading.

6. Tooth of paper: The roughness of paper. (If you look at paper closely, you'll see that its surface isn't smooth. It has peaks and valleys, and it’s the valleys that hold the color.)

7. Lifting of color: Removing excess color. You may want to remove excess color to either provide a texture to some part of your drawing or to add a shine/sparkle to an element of your drawing.

8. Negative Drawing/Painting technique: Mostly used with watercolors and color pencils. You don't paint the light areas - thus, you achieve the result of light by painting around the light areas and overlaying the picture selectively with darker colors.

(Brenda Swenson has a fantastic tutorial on Negative Drawing. LINK: http://brendaswenson.blogspot.in/2012/03/negative-painting-with-watercolor.html)


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http://brendaswenson.blogspot.in/2012/03/negative-painting-with-watercolor.html

http://www.mooresartgallery.com/colorlessblenders.html


Material that Color Pencil Artists Use!

About Color PencilsThe two brands that I see most professionals use, are Prismacolor and Derwent. I've got Derwent's “Coloursoft” and “Watercolour” Pencils. Unfortunately, I don't have a blending tool so I mix the colors by creating tiny paper rolls. In fact, Derwent has a "Burnisher and Blender set", so if you can find it in one of your stationery stores, try to get it.

Beginner's TipIf you are just beginning to handle color pencils, try to get Staedler's Luna Color Pencils. They are inexpensive and quite smooth to work with.

About PaperFor color pencil drawing, you need a paper that has some "tooth"

(It feels great to use the terminology that we just learned, doesn't it?) Many color pencil experts think that Canson's drawing paper is the best; others think that they prefer Bristol board, and some profess their love for Stonehenge. I have a few sheets of Canson's drawing paper and I experimented with it. It's good, but frankly, I didn't find it a lot better than the paper of my normal sketchbook, and it is a lot more expensive. But then I am not a color pencil expert (not yet, but there aren't any taxes on dreams, so who knows.)

Learning Space

Here's a wonderful site to read about Color Pencil material, tools, and techniques. Moores Art Gallery – Color Pencil Tips and TechniquesLINK:http://www.mooresartgallery.com/colorpenciltips_techniques.html

I also enjoyed the following pdf provided by Prismacolor. Prismacolor Premier Colored Pencil Brochure (pdf)LINK:http://www.prismacolor.com/SiteCollectionDocuments/Prismacolor_Premier_Colored_Pencil_Brochure.pdf

Here's another tutorial that provides some information on how a face may be created using color pencils.Colored Pencil Tutorial at Portrait ArtistLINK:http://www.portrait-artist.org/color/colored-pencil-tutorial.html


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http://www.portrait-artist.org/color/colored-pencil-tutorial.html

http://www.prismacolor.com/SiteCollectionDocuments/Prismacolor_Premier_Colored_Pencil_Brochure.pdf

http://www.prismacolor.com/SiteCollectionDocuments/Prismacolor_Premier_Colored_Pencil_Brochure.pdf

http://www.mooresartgallery.com/colorpenciltips_techniques.html


Step-by-Step - Simplified!

Here is my Six-Step Process for Color Pencil Drawing :)

Step 1 - StudyGo through the links in this newsletter and make relevant notes. (It's important to make notes. I know that artists don't like to, but they help you gather your thoughts and keep them safe until you need the information.)

Step 2 – Get the Right MaterialBuy a box of color pencils. As your first set of color pencils, I'd recommend buying a box of 24 or 36 water-soluble pencils. I think that they are best buy for a beginner because they give you two

distinct color effects for the price of one. You may decide to color your drawing and let it be, or you may want to either selectively or completely color it by moving a wet brush over it.

Step 3 – Observe the Subject and Identify the Negative AreasFind a simple, accessible subject - an apple, a banana, a chair, or a face, and then draw it. Focus on two things.

1. Find the areas that either have highlights or light colors, and mark them out. (Use the negative drawing/painting technique.) You won't be coloring them yet.

2. Use a light-color pencil to create the outline of the subject.

Step 4 – Start ColoringLook for the dark areas. Color those - even if you have to overlay the previous colors. While overlaying colors use cross-hatching (move your pencil perpendicular to the direction of the first layer of color.)

Step 5 – Build a Poor Man’s Blender and BlendUse a blender to blend the colors. If you have none, use a paper roll. You can make one using a sheet of handmade/any other soft paper. Work it enough by crumpling it again and again, and then rolling it up tightly into a neat little roll. You can use a rubber band to keep it from unrolling.

Step 6 – Evaluate and ShareStep back, wonder, go back, mess it up a little more; step back again, squint. If the drawing looks bearable, keep the drawing, scan it, post it, share it, and send me a link to publish in the next issue. If the drawing looks intolerably messy, throw it in the dustbin and start again.


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Art: Core Skills vs. Growth Skills

An artist possesses many different skills and depending on personal preferences, environmental influences, and industry requirements, he or she selectively acquires new skills or hones the existing ones.

An artist’s skills can be divided into two broad categories: 1. Core Skills, and 2. Growth Skills.

The Core Skills can be further sub-divided into two distinct kinds of skills: The ones that require practice (I call them "Applied Core Skills",) and the ones that require thinking and mental processing (these I call, “Cognitive Core Skills.”)

The Core Skills of an ArtistFollowing are some of the Core Skills that artists possess:

The Applied Core Skills1. Draw Portraits 2. Draw Caricatures3. Draw Landscapes

and so on...

(Note that the above skills require tons of practice (and so they are "Applied Core Skills", but they would be pretty useless if they weren't supported by the following "Cognitive Core Skills.")

The Cognitive Core Skills4. Determine proportions and identify the right ones5. Distinguish between colors (if you are into color drawings)6. Appreciate how colors work together7. Appreciate the effect of light on volumes8. Visualize compositions

and so on…

The Growth Skills of an ArtistThese skills are the ones that multiply the value of your work. Some of these are the skill to use/do:

1. Oil Painting2. Water Colors3. Crayons4. Color Pencils5. Sculpting6. Digital 2D painting7. Digital 3D modeling

and so on….


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Note that without adequate Core Skills, there's no point acquiring Growth Skills. For instance, there's no point learning the technicalities of using oil paint, or using Photoshop, if you can't draw, or if you have no sense of the effect of that light has on different volumes.

So identify your Core and Growth Skills and work on them

In the future issues of this newsletter, we will explore different Core/Growth Skills in random order. This is so because the audience of this newsletter varies from talented greenhorns, to hobbyists, to art professionals, and one newsletter cannot present the content in the right order for everyone in the audience. Yet, I strongly recommend that you must rate your own capabilities in your favorite Core and Growth skills and try to improve yourself in one Core and one Growth area. Trust me on this. If you try skilling up on more than one skill in each area, and you'll lose your focus.

And…a Caricature to make you Smile

I'll meet you again, next month - with another issue of Draw to Smile. Until then, Good Bye and Keep Drawing Shafali


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Subscribe to this Newsletterhttp://shafali.wordpress.com/monthly-newsletter-learning-to-draw-cartoons-caricatures-illustrate-

for-the-self-taught-artist/

And if you are interested in learning how to draw caricatures, check out “Evolution of a Caricaturist – How to Draw Caricatures” on Amazon (LINK: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HQM9HUO)

(LINK: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HQM9HUO)


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