As the holiday season approaches and I start to get requests for portraits, I thought I’d share a little bit about what goes into making a portrait. Partly because I thought it would be an interesting subject, but also as a reminder that if you’re looking for a portrait as a gift, especially if youContinue reading “Creating a Portrait”
Tag Archives: Coloured Pencil
Drafting Film
For the last few months I’ve been experimenting with a new type of paper called drafting film. Specifically I’ve been using Dura-Lar Grafix paper, which is a little different from true drafting film (from what I understand), but for simplicity’s sake I’ll just refer to it as drafting film. I wanted to write a postContinue reading “Drafting Film”
Adlaya’s Art: Origins
Looking through the blog posts I’ve done on this page, I realized I’ve said very little about how I got started with art. So I thought I’d share a little bit of how I’ve developed as an artist, as well as how my business came to be. I’ve always loved to draw, and I haveContinue reading “Adlaya’s Art: Origins”
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”
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”
Behind the Idea: Bugs and Birthstones
A few summers ago I undertook one of my most challenging and most enjoyable projects to date. Most of you have probably seen my Bugs and Birthstones work, and today I wanted to share a bit about how I came up with and developed the idea. It started with Guelph Bug Day, a local eventContinue reading “Behind the Idea: Bugs and Birthstones”
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”
Individual Hairs Made Easy
One of the hardest parts about drawing in coloured pencil is how difficult it is to use a lighter pencil on top of a dark one. Though you can to a certain extent, I’ve found I don’t get the nice crisp, clean lines I’m looking for. I thought today I’d share some of the techniquesContinue reading “Individual Hairs Made Easy”
Adlaya's Art 