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: realistic art
Quick Tip: Overlay
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”
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”
Pollinators in Danger
Last year I was approached over the Christmas holidays to produce some art centred around pollinators that are threatened by climate change and human activity. While I was aware that pollinators and bees in particular have been declining in numbers, I didn’t know which bees have been most affected. I assumed that honeybees, the mostContinue reading “Pollinators in Danger”
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”
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”
A Fear of Drawing With Colour
One of the things I’ve noticed in my own work is that I tend to desaturate my subjects. By that I mean I make my portraits less vibrant and colourful than the references I’m working from. The reason for this is fairly simple: you can always add more colour, but it’s quite difficult to takeContinue reading “A Fear of Drawing With Colour”
Getting Started with Coloured Pencils
I’ve seen a lot of posts online lately asking how to get started with coloured pencils, so I thought I’d share some of my thoughts. I started using coloured pencils a few years ago, and I was terrible at it. I’d only really done watercolour and ink up until that point, and had no conceptContinue reading “Getting Started with Coloured Pencils”
Making Time for Art
If you want to get better at art, you have to practice. One of the reasons my art has gotten much better over the past few years is that I draw almost every day. The trouble is, very few of us can afford to be full time artists, so how do make time to practice?Continue reading “Making Time for Art”
Adlaya's Art 