Whether you’re drawing or painting, there are many different types of techniques you can use in your artwork. Foreshortening is one of them. It is used in every two-dimensional art form from painting, drawing, illustration, graphics, and even representational quilting. Applied to everything drawn in perspective, foreshortening was a popular technique during the Renaissance. Learn… Read more »
You should always make art for the love of art, but getting a little extra money on the side doesn’t hurt either. While professional artists often rely on gallery representation to sell their artwork, hobbyists often need a simpler way. Thankfully, between the internet and local art shows, there are multiple ways to sell your… Read more »
Edges in art mark the end of one color and the beginning of another. Sometimes the transition is sharp, like that between one object and another; other times, the transition is subtle, like the gentle gradations of an evening sky. The concept of edges is deceptively simple, as many beginner painters struggle to capture a… Read more »
Paintbrushes come in all shapes and sizes. From round brushes to fan brushes, there are a wide variety you can choose from. The paintbrush shape you do choose, though, will depend on what it is that you’re painting. Acrylic, for instance, needs a different paintbrush than watercolor. Additionally, you can’t use a large fan brush… Read more »
Every artist looks for ways to improve their skills. One proven method is thumbnail sketching. These small, simple sketches are made quickly and with no corrections. They force the artist to rely on their memory and to work on crucial elements such as lines, shapes, curves, and more. Here are some more reasons why you… Read more »
Drawing from your imagination can be harder than you think. If you sit an apple down in front of you, you can see for yourself how the light falls across its surface, or how its shadow stretches out across the table. When drawing from your imagination, however, you need to make up for yourself how… Read more »
Now that you’re comfortable with drawing, it’s time to start thinking about painting. But where do you start? From acrylic to watercolor to oil, there are many painting mediums for you to choose from. Finding the right one, however, can be difficult, especially for beginners who may not know everything there is about each type…. Read more »
Take a look at a work of art. What do you see? You likely notice characters, actions, and scenery, but if you look a little closer, you will notice movement, contrast, patterns, and balance. These are the elements of composition—various visual elements that make up a painting or drawing. They are not to be confused… Read more »
For any type of artwork, the horizon line is an essential part of making your art more realistic. It helps you to scale the subjects in your drawing or painting properly, and it provides a sense of three-dimensionality to a strictly two-dimensional surface. As such, understanding what the horizon line is and how it works… Read more »
The word “value” can take on many different meanings in the art world. There’s the monetary value that a piece of artwork may have; there is also the cultural value that a painting or drawing may have as well. For this blog post, however, we are concerned with the third type of value: that in… Read more »