Beginners Oil Painting Tips - The Skill of Seeing Color

Color is the central component of painting. It is what makes it a unique art form. Therefore, it is essential that we develop the skill of seeing colors as they really are.

Prejudice - The first step in learning to see color correctly is to get rid of all built-in preconceived notions about color.

We must learn to approach the observation of each color as if we see it for the first time without prejudice.

Local Color - Each object has its own color which is sometimes called the object’s local color. It is the color of the object when seen in normal daylight.

Light - The local color of an object will be affected by the light that shines on it. We must realize that all surfaces are to some degree reflective. In other words, the local color of an object changes when subjected to light and we must be aware of those changes.

For example, let’s we have a perfectly red apple. That is, the local color of the entire apple is red. When a yellowish light shines on this apple sideways we will observe that the lit side takes on an orange undertone and that the side in the side receives a violet bias which is the complement of yellow. Note that the complementary color of a color is the color that lies opposite to it on the color wheel.

Harmony - A lit scene is naturally harmonized. The light that spreads over the scene has the effect of changing all the local colors in such a way that all colors become harmonized (i.e., simply put, the colors go together).

For example, the colors you observe in an actual landscape will always be in harmony. This is because the light source (the sun) drenches the entire scene. This is not the case when you put together an imagined scene in your studio. Indeed, it takes a bit of color theory knowledge to produce a harmonious painting.

Nomenclature - There is also the matter of nomenclature. People tend to use special names for certain colors such as lemon green, navy blue, etc. This is not the best way to go about describing colors.

A better way is to start with the three primary color names: red, yellow, and blue. Add to these the names of the three secondary colors: orange, green, and violet.

Then, a color that looks like red but has an orange bias is called orange-red. A color that is clearly yellow but has a green undertone is called green-yellow. Or, a green that has more yellow than blue in it is called a yellow-green. And so on.

Tertiary colors often have a clear secondary nature with a bit of a third color added. For example, we can speak of an orange-red with a touch of blue or white.

This way of thinking about color also aids us with color observation. When you see a color you can start by identifying the overall primary color. Then you can try to judge if there is a bias to that primary color. And finally, you can try to gauge if there are touches of additional colors visible in the mix.

At the same time, this approach also gives you a methodical approach to mixing the observed color on your palette.

In the end, as is the case with so much in painting, learning to observe colors correctly is a matter of practice and experience. The above tips, however, should help in this endeavor.

I am also giving useful tips about how to draw with pencil here.

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Posted in: Drawing Tips | Comments(0) | October 2008

Tips on Oil Paintings - The Qualities of Color

Any color in existence has three qualities that completely determine the color:

1) Hue

2) Value

3) Intensity

We will now precisely explain what each quality means.

Hue - The hue of a color is simply the name of the color. For example, yellow, red, green-yellow, etc.

Artists often talk about the temperature of a color or a painting. Temperature is really an element of hue. The warms colors are the yellows and the reds while the cool colors are the greens and the blues.

However, temperature is a relative term. For example although two different blues are both cool colors, one blue can be warmer than another blue.

For example French Ultramarine Blue leans towards the violet while Phthalo Blue leans towards green. Therefore French Ultramarine Blue is a warmer blue than Phthalo Blue although both blues are cool.

Value - Value refers to the lightness or darkness of the color. If you squint you will see that, for example, that yellow is lighter than blue. The value of a color is actually the most important property of a color in relation to painting.

Intensity - Intensity of a color refers to its brightness or dullness. The more saturated or the purer a color is the more intense it is. A color coming straight out of the tube is in its most intense state. Any mixture will dull the tube color and therefore make it less intense. It is however possible to make most mixtures more intense by adding a touch of one color or another.

Now, if you can nail down the hue, the value, and the intensity of a color you will have reproduced that color. Based on this observation we can outline a mental procedure to guide us with the mixing of colors.

Observe - First you observe the color. For example, is it a certain blue or is it red?

Select - Then you select the color on your palette that resembles the observed color the best.

Analyze - Of course, as you would expect, the pure tube color on your palette will rarely match the color you observed. Therefore, we now must identify how the two colors differ from each other. In this, we need to concentrate on three things: hue, value, and intensity. Does the color need to be adjusted in terms of hue? Does the value need to be adjusted? For example, does this blue need to be darkened or lightened?

Finally, does the intensity of the color need to be adjusted? For example, does the blue need to be brighter or duller? One, two, or all three of these qualities may need adjustment.

In the beginning you will make many mistakes and the going will be slow. It is generally hard to judge the three qualities of a color and it takes practice. This is particularly the case with judging values and intensities. Nevertheless, you need to practice this procedure every day and over and over again. However, one day it will become second nature just like riding a bicycle. Also, in the beginning don’t be too fussy but try over time to become better and better at it.

Read more about the neighbor topic of pencil drawing. Plus, get extra tips on the tattoo art - upper back tattoos info.

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Posted in: Drawing Tips | Comments(0) | October 2008

Beadwork is most frequently found in jewelry, but there are many projects that can include beadwork other than jewelry. In the past, it was a craft for many people. It is still used to make money, but more people interested in beading are turning to it as a form of relaxation. Beading can be seen in many different projects including wall hangings, sculptures, pillows, and lamp shades. A great place to start when looking for great beading projects is www.beadhuddle.com.

A beaded pillow is a wonderful project that differs from traditional beadwork. Adding beading to a plain old pillow can transform it into something elegant. A trip to the craft store will provide all the necessary supplies, accessories and equipment including a beadwork pattern. It may be simplest to start a pillow from scratch. This would entail using the pattern to create the beaded design on the pillow prior to filling and sewing the pillow closed. This makes it easier to accomplish the beading. The completed project is a beautiful beaded pillow.

One of the most sought after and easiest beadwork projects is the beaded lamp shade. This project begins with an ordinary old lamp shade and is transformed into a handcrafted beadwork piece of art. It is a good idea to not attempt to overload the lamp shade with too many beads or it will end up looking cheap. Use a beadwork pattern to pattern the lamp shade and then glue or thread the beads. Beads can also be hung from the base of the lamp shade to add an additional touch of character. The best part of the beadwork lamp shade project is that the creative options are so abundant. These lamp shades are perfect in the home and given as gifts. This is also an ideal project for youngsters. A handcrafted beadwork lamp shade is a great starter project.

Beadwork bracelets may appear to be an easy beadwork project to tackle, but this can be deceptive. Yes, it is easy to string beads together, attach a clasp and call it a beadwork bracelet, but the fun is in designing and creating a truly unique piece of jewelry. There are a lot of beads available at beading supply stores, but those beads are often just not enough to be able to design and create something special and unique. There are some great online shops as well as retail stores devoted entirely to beadwork that will have the variety of beads necessary to create a unique beadwork bracelet. Beads come in all different shapes, sizes, and materials. The possibilities of combinations and designs are endless. Beadwork jewelry is the most common use of beads, but this is because it is very gratifying to create something that others will admire worn.

Beadwork crafts including pillows, lamp shades, and beadwork bracelets are great outlets for creativity. Even more projects can be found through online searches or a visit to the local craft store. Beadwork is an amazing skill that will provide endless hours of relaxation.

If you love beading and are interested in joining a new and exciting online beading community where you can share your passion, learn and meet other beading enthusiasts, then a great place to visit is BeadHuddle.com. At BeadHuddle.com, you can set up your own profile pages, post photos of your latest beading creations and designs, upload and share ‘how to’ beading videos, chat online, write articles and blogs about beading and beadworking, ask questions, share tips and participate in forum discussions and polls, post comments and rate other member’s contributions, take part in quizzes, post events and announcements about beading fairs, markets and shows in your local area, and so much more. Best of all, the site is free to join.

To learn more about BeadHuddle.com, go here: Beading Community

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Posted in: Artist Creativity Friends | Comments(0) | October 2008

younger children and toddlers. Children who are exposed to arts such as music and painting develop pattern processing, analysis skills, and creativity much quicker than those who are not exposed to arts. An easy way for your child to experience art in a fun and active way is to introduce your child to painting with a childrens easels. Painting is a fun activity you and your child can can both enjoy. Besides a paint brush, paint, and a piece of paper or canvas, a children’s easel will have your child wanting to paint.

An easel is a wooden stand used to support canvases or other mediums upright and sturdy. When painting on an easel, your child can easily enjoy painting comfortably. You and your child can sit side by side, with easels in front of you and you can help guide your child’s creativity and bond with your child at the same time. Children’s easels are much like full sized artist easel except they are on a much smaller scale. Many children’s easels do not use canvases. Instead they may often times use chalk boards or magnetic dry erase surfaces. Children can express and grow their creativity using paint, markers, or chalk.

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Posted in: Artist Creativity Friends | Comments(0) | September 2008

Hobbies are something that you enjoy doing, it could be collecting dolls, coins, hot wheel cars, stamps, knitting, face painting, more less what ever you enjoy doing. We all have different hobbies and different ideas of what hobbies are. Some people make fishing and hunting their hobbies.

Does hobbies cost a lot of money to get started?
Some hobbies can get very expensive. Whilst other hobbies do not cost hardly anything to do. For instance coin collecting can get very costly. If you can’t afford to put money in on a hobby perhaps you should try to select one that does cost a lot such as knitting or something to do with crafts. There are a ton of things you can do that don’t cost much. Hot wheel cars only cost around a dollar. Maybe you can spend time in shops looking at hot wheels, purchase one and go back each week to purchase another. Hot Wheel cars in time will become collectors items. In fact, some cars are already collector items.

How do I get started with my hobby?
You have to find out what you enjoy, things that interest you like maybe collecting coins, or stamps or maybe you want to learn the history of them so this can be a good hobby for someone. Maybe someone likes to work with yarn and make things so choose knitting or crochet. Someone else might admired face painting designs and want to find out more
simple face painting designs
face painting designs
face paintings

Maybe someone likes to work on cars and that is a hobby of theirs. There is no real way to get started other then doing it and determining what you want to do as a hobby.

Sit down and try to figure out what you what to do for a hobby. Perhaps you will want to write them down and pick out the one you think you would like. There is nothing wrong with having more then one hobby or later on deciding that you don’t want to do this after all and find another one. Just remember hobbies can help you improve your life by helping you to beat stress and gain focus; and keep your mind clear of things so you can think more clearly. They also help contribute to your work-lofe balance.

Other hobbies include doll collecting. The older porcelain dolls are a common collectors item you may want to consider. You will find a wide variety of dolls online at Ebay stores and so on. Also, you will find the dolls are various collector stores.

To learn more about hobbies go online and review the different items collected, so that you can find out what hobby is best for you.

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Posted in: Motivation | Comments(1) | September 2008

Tip on Pencil Portrait Drawing - The Line Drawing

In this article we will focus on the importance of a line drawing in producing pencil portraits. I will also discuss the details of rendering such a drawing. We start with a gridded reference image that has the same dimensions as the drawing we will produce. A gridded image which has the size of your actual drawing, will usually be too large for most printers to handle in one piece. So, print out the image piece-wise on regular 8.5 by 11 inch paper.

The first step is to draw the same grid on your drawing paper that you drew on your reference image. Use an HB or F pencil with a sharp point and draw very lightly. Remember that this grid eventually will be erased.

Once we have drawn the grid we can start putting in the contours of the subject.

The advantages of using a grid are many. You can draw the content of one square at a time. All proportions and placements are easily discerned. Negative spaces become more evident. Rendering the correct perspective is greatly simplified.

Use these tips for drawing the outlines (line drawing) of the subject in the photograph:

For now, only draw lines, i.e., do not do any shading yet.

Draw lightly and loosely. Use maybe a 2B or 3B sharp pencil. Sharpen your pencils frequently.

Although you should concentrate on one square, but you should not loose sight of the overall structure of the drawing. For example, make sure that the subject matter smoothly transitions from one square to the next. Stand back once and awhile and inspect your progressing drawing from an overall perspective. While concentrating on a particular square, also use your peripheral vision to keep an eye on the neighborhood.

At this stage, accuracy is of the essence. All drawing at this point is judging lengths and angles within a single square. Use short soft lines which, if needed, you can easily erase.

Put a sheet of bond paper under your drawing hand so you avoid smudging of the already finished portion of your drawing or of the grid.

Also draw in the contours of the shadows and other worthy details you notice on your subject. At this stage your task is to produce a detailed map of your subject. We are actually in the process of readying the drawing for the next phase, i.e., shading.

Try to see in terms of shapes or masses and draw the contours of these shapes and masses. Drawing is doing two things simultaneously (actually, more than two). On the one hand, you need to concentrate on that one current line you are drawing (its length and angle) but simultaneously you should always be aware that this line is part of a shape.

Make use of the concept of negative space. Also, once and awhile, turn your reference image as well as your drawing upside down or sideways. This often gives you a better perspective on lengths and angles.

In fact, at this stage, try not to be aware that you are drawing a definite subject. Look at each shape as just a blob without meaning but with definite dimensions and a definite orientation. This will help you with seeing and reducing the involuntary introduction of preconceived notions about noses and such.

Look at your reference image frequently and carefully. Don’t forget that this might be a real portrait drawing.

Make some choices. What is important? What can you leave out? Drawing is often about elimination of unnecessary detail.

In this fashion, continue working out one square after another until you have a line drawing of your entire subject. By now, you should already see a fairly good likeness of your subject. Review in detail the entire drawing and make corrections wherever necessary. This is also the time to erase most of the grid. When you are satisfied, you can lightly spray the drawing with workable fixative, just enough so it does not smudge but you can still erase things if you have to. Congrats, you are close to to join the famous landscape artist group

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Posted in: Drawing Tips | Comments(0) | September 2008

I spent some time surfing the internet for famous painting of Pablo Picasso recently as I have just gotten hooked on his art. He is indeed one of the best known contemporary artists.

I was thinking of buying some of his paintings over the internet but was hesitant because there might be just a lot of fakes.

But if you are thinking of getting Pablo Picasso painting copies, that would be fine and I did some checking and actually found a lot!

There was this one site which had 3 notable paintings during Picasso’s blue period, since his art output is categorized in periods, which were phases in his life that manifested in his art. Check out Famous Paintings of Pablo Picasso.

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Posted in: Realistic drawings | Comments(0) | August 2008

Once you have finished a line drawing of your subject you are ready to start with the shading process. Shading has to give your subject three-dimensionality. When you are done with shading, your subject should look like it is anchored in space and is not just an object in a plane.

Values (or tones) are, by definition, degrees of darkness and lightness. It is good practice to develop a visual sense of at least five values or tones. To help you with this, I suggest making a five-value scale. Draw five boxes next to each other and make the first one on the left totally black while leaving the last one on the right completely white. Then, fill up the middle one with a value that is just in between black and white. This value is called the “halftone” or “medium gray”. Next, fill in the second box from the left with a value that lies between black and medium gray. This value is called “dark gray”. Finally, fill in the second box from the right with a value that lies just in between white and medium gray. This value is called “light gray”.

These five values are enough to start and can already do wonders for your pencil portraits. Practice these five values until you can recognize them instantly when you see them. Now, armed with the knowledge of these five values we can now approach our line drawing which has already mapped out various shapes with different values. We now can start the shading process (i.e., applying of values).

One thing that you should always keep in mind as you shade is the location of the light source or light sources. In the beginning it is best to work with only one light source. Every value you observe should be seen as a function of where the light source is located. Each value you apply should make sense in relation to the light source. Assign each of the areas on your line drawing one of the five values you have internalized. You do that through careful observation. Later, the boundaries between the differently valued areas will be blended together yielding a so-called transition area which has a value in between the two values of the adjacent areas.

You can think of the different value areas in terms of the five elements of shading:

1. The Halftone - This is the value in the middle of your value scale. You can think of this value as representing the true value of your subject without the effects of direct light or shadow. It is neither light nor dark.

2. Full Light - This is the value of areas where the light hits the subject straight on. It is the white of the paper. This sort of value is also called a highlight.

3. Cast Shadow - This is the darkest value which is the black in the first box on the left of your value scale. This value occurs in places that are completely shielded from the light source or any reflections. These areas are usually to be found among the shadows the subject casts on other surfaces.

4. Shadow Edge - This is the dark gray located in the second box from the left on your value scale. This is for the parts that are not quite in the cast shadow areas but are beyond the halftone. Typically they are between a halftone area and a reflected light area or between a halftone zone and a cast shadow zone.

5. Reflected Light - This is a value corresponding to light gray, the second box from the right on your value scale. Reflected light can often be found as a small band between a cast shadow and a shadow edge. It is the light that bounces back onto your subject from surrounding surfaces. The bottom of the jaw often shows reflected light. Be sure not to make this sort of value totally white because it never is. These reflected light areas are important to notice and to render because they contribute significantly to the appearance of roundness and three-dimensionality of your subject.

In conclusion, a satisfactory line drawing together with your knowledge of a five-value scale and the five elements of shading should give you a good start at developing your shading skills. Work with short strokes and blend the adjacent areas into a value that lies in between the two areas. A ball on a table lighted by one light source is a good setup for practicing the five elements of shading. This will help you to understand the real beauty of the paintings done by a famous landscape artist or the portrait artist.

These tips will help you to reach real mastery in portrait drawing.

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Posted in: Drawing Tips | Comments(0) | August 2008

There is nothing more rewarding to a parent than seeing their child interested and applying themselves in a science project.

The project your child works on becomes the doorway to creative ideas, visionary planning, drawing, painting, and sculpturing. Kids like to get involved with something to occupy their time. You know, they like to do things with their hands. Otherwise they will get bored and eventually they will find something to do and it is usually something that leads to mischief.

Projects in science are great to stimulate a young kid’s creative imagination. Even teenagers will find satisfaction in something new. It’s amazing how quick a child’s mind is focused on visual learning and extremely attentive to items and things being created by their own hands.

The secret is to get them started on an easy project when they are young and making sure that they will succeed in completing the task. The first step is to get your child in a routine of thinking and experimenting with science. Only then are they ready to face the challenges of larger science projects by expanding their creative skills.
 

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Posted in: Creative, Ideas, Insightful, Inspiration | Comments(0) | August 2008

Yes, how do I perfect my drawing skills? The answer is simple, you practice, practice and then practice some more. Sometimes we forget that the old advice of practice makes perfect is still the correct way to improve our skills.

Practice is also about observing your style, broadening your mind, focusing on details you missed and expanding your knowledge of a particular subject.

An artist’s greatest asset is patients. Only through months and years of constant drawing will you be able to see a difference in your art work. Even drawing the same thing over and over will increase your awareness because of a different approach from the few times before.

Improving your drawings does not happen over night. It comes by experimenting with new techniques and trying new ideas. Even looking and trying another media like paint or pastels will spark new creative insight.

The key secret to perfecting your drawing skills is to stay creative and motivated with new and inspiring ideas which can only be improved by constantly staying active with pencil and pad in hand.

Draw anything and everything that comes to mind. Even doodling can perfect your style because that’s when your mind is free to experiment and you are not afraid to mess up.

Basically it comes down to a choice and how much you want to improve because the formula is still the same, you have to practice.

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Posted in: Drawing Tips, Improvement, Insightful | Comments(2) | August 2008