When I’m working on a portrait and I can tell something isn’t quite right, but I’m not sure how to fix it, one of my best strategies is using Photoshop. I’ll scan or take a picture of my art, import it into Photoshop, and then overlay it on top of the original reference photo. ByContinue reading “Quick Tip: Overlay”
Tag Archives: artist help
Trying New Things
Mastering a skill tends to involve years of practice and effort. So it’s no surprise that many artists find a favourite medium, and specialize in it. I’m certainly one of those — now that I’m very comfortable with coloured pencils, that’s my go-to medium, and I rarely work in anything else. And there’s nothing wrongContinue reading “Trying New Things”
Looking Back
One of the really challenging things about being an artist is self-doubt. It plagues us all, and often times that nagging voice that tells us we aren’t good enough is hard to silence. I’ve written posts that touch on this before (Am I Good Enough?, Staying Motivated), but today I wanted to focus on oneContinue reading “Looking Back”
Tool Tip: Pencil Sharpeners
I’ve gotten a lot of questions recently on what kind of pencil sharpener I use for my coloured pencils. For a long time I was using a basic metal sharpener, which did the job just fine, until my pencils started getting really short. Once they were about half of their normal length, the majority ofContinue reading “Tool Tip: Pencil Sharpeners”
You’re So Talented
When I share my work, in person or on social media, it’s always gratifying when someone tells me how much they like it. I put hours of careful work and detail into each piece, so I love getting positive feedback. One of the things I do hear about my work is ‘you’re so talented!’ WhileContinue reading “You’re So Talented”
Sharp Pencils
A lot of artists I follow online suggest having razor sharp pencils for drawing fur, to get those wonderfully soft thin lines that make fur look realistic. Unfortunately, keeping your pencils super super sharp is a great way to use them up really fast, which adds a lot to your costs. So today I wantedContinue reading “Sharp Pencils”
Preparing to Draw
Today I want to talk about how I get ready to draw a portrait, and my techniques for laying down a basic sketch. I’ll preface by saying that I am quite lazy, and thus don’t put in as much prep work as some artists I’ve seen. Still, what I do works for me, and that’sContinue reading “Preparing to Draw”
Product Review: Faber-Castell Polychromos
It’s been a while since I did a product review, so I think it’s about time I did another one. My last review focused on Prismacolor Premier coloured pencils. Since that post, I’ve done a lot of work in coloured pencil, and the main brand that I use has shifted. So today I thought I’dContinue reading “Product Review: Faber-Castell Polychromos”
Is It Done?
I find that no matter how much time I’ve spent on a piece, or how meticulous I’ve been, there’s always a part of it I feel I can still work on. When I look at one of my portraits, I always see something I could refine, something I could do better. So how do IContinue reading “Is It Done?”
Drawing White Fur
Getting colours right in fur is always hard, but I find two of the colours people struggle with the most are black fur and white fur. I had a period last year where I found myself drawing a lot of white animals, and thought I’d share some of what I learned here, in the hopesContinue reading “Drawing White Fur”
Adlaya's Art 