*This post contains affiliate links. I receive small commissions for purchases made through these links at no extra cost to you. These commissions help me keep this site up and running, in order for me to keep providing helpful and inspiring art content. :)
Why is it important to plan colors before starting a painting? How is a limited color palette useful? How will learning about the Color Wheel help us create more successful and professional-looking artwork? In the video included within this blog post, I'll be sharing how I go about selecting my colors prior to starting a new piece. I'll share my thinking process as I go through this method and will be offering lots of tips pertaining to color. In past blog posts and YouTube videos, I have mentioned how color is an essential Element of Art to learn about as a beginner artist. The reason? When we're looking to create a visual composition, we have to think about how different parts fit together into a whole. And color plays a huge role in making a visual composition look harmonious and cohesive. When it comes to a visual composition, all individual elements are connected. Each one has an effect over how we perceive the elements around it. And just like how you wouldn't throw on an outfit with a ton of different colors and textures that don't mesh well together, you have to think about how things will look like in a painting when appreciated as a whole. It's not about one element in the piece, but how the different elements included intermix to effectively transmit the idea or message we're trying to get across. It's incredibly important that any beginner artist who is serious about improving their painting makes time to learn about the Color Wheel. This is an incredibly important tool that allows us to understand relationships between colors so that we're not only able to create effective color mixtures during the painting process, but also prepare color schemes that work well. Limiting the amount of colors that you use in a painting is also very useful because the more colors you use, the more disorganized your palette will be, the more likely color mixtures will lead to mud, and the more incoherent the end-results. Whatever you do, stay away from randomly selecting colors during the painting process and dedicate at least a bit of time to plan for your painting. I promise you, there's much more of a chance that you'll end up with great results. To get immediate access to classes on Art Fundamentals and direct feedback from me, join us on Patreon!
If you enjoyed this video, make sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel! I share a new video every Friday with art tips, drawing and painting tutorials, and encouragement for aspiring artists.
Watercolor Supplies Used in the Video
Become a Patreon community member to get access to: -Real-time drawing/painting tutorials with full walkthrough commentary -Downloadable outline drawings, reference pictures and supply lists -Weekly sketchbook prompts to help you stay consistent and progressing your art skills -Direct feedback from me -Instant access to a growing vault of original reference pictures that you can use for your own art -Special thanks in YouTube videos and opportunities to get your work shared -Live Q&A sessions -Live classes on Art Fundamentals and Monthly Creative Assignments + much more! *Click below to learn more! 
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*This post contains affiliate links. I receive small commissions for purchases made through these links at no extra cost to you. These commissions help me keep this site up and running, in order for me to keep providing helpful and inspiring art content. :)
Do you need fancy supplies to progress your drawing skills and create the artwork you'd like to share with the world? How does one go about drawing a believable face? Why is keeping a sketching habit important for artists of all kinds? In the time lapse video included within this blog post I share my entire face drawing process, starting with creating the head shape, moving onto laying down guidelines to help with the effective placement of facial features, sketching in individual elements and finishing up by adding quick shading using a combination of hatching and crosshatching. Drawing believable portraits (and any part of the human figure) is challenging, as it requires us to not only have decent drawing skills to be able to render form/three-dimensionality as well as different textures like hair and skin, but it also entails having a good amount of knowledge on proportion. You see, faces are probably what we see most as human beings. Due to this, even non-artists are usually able to tell when something looks off, even though they may not know exactly where the error is. In my past blog post/YouTube video titled How to Draw a Face (for Beginners), I take you step-by-step, through drawing a simple, forwards-facing portrait and explain basic facial proportions. *This is, in my opinion, an essential place for beginners to start. In my blog post, How to Draw Faces at a 3/4's Angle-My 4 Step Process, I get into starting to understand the head shape as a three-dimensional form, why it's useful to understand the underlying structure of the face (the human skull), and take you through drawing a portrait at an angle. Though I primarily sell my paintings, I'm a huge sketching fan. I consider drawing to be the basis for all kinds of art and really believe in keeping a sketchbook habit. Even quicker sketches created consistently will help keep your observation sharp and continue progressing your artistic skills. Not to mention, sketching is also incredibly practical as we don't really need much besides drawing paper, a few different pencil grades and an eraser. There's no need to take out your painting supplies and go through your whole set-up if you're short on time.
If you enjoyed this video, make sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel! I share a new video every Friday with art tips, drawing and painting tutorials, and encouragement for aspiring artists.
If you're not new to my blog posts or videos, you're probably already aware that I'm a huge fan of keeping it simple when it comes to art supplies. I'm a big fan of artists who are able to create amazing work using basic, and even limited, tools. There's no need for anything fancy in order to make immense progress in your drawing skills. The supplies below are what I usually have on hand when I'm drawing or sketching. *I'm not a big fan of kneaded erasers and have replaced them entirely with my Mono Zero eraser that I acquire via Amazon. I use blending stumps only when I'm creating more realistic drawings such as the one in this video. Drawing Supplies Used in Video
I hope you enjoyed this post and learned something new, or got inspired to go and create a sketch for yourself. I wish you tons of progress and enjoyment in your artistic journey! :) Thanks so much for popping by today!
Become a Patreon community member to get access to:
-Real-time drawing/painting tutorials with full walkthrough commentary -Downloadable outline drawings, reference pictures and supply lists -Weekly sketchbook prompts to help you stay consistent and progressing your art skills -Direct feedback from me -Instant access to a growing vault of original reference pictures that you can use for your own art -Special thanks in YouTube videos and opportunities to get your work shared -Live Q&A sessions -Live classes on Art Fundamentals and Monthly Creative Assignments + much more! *Click below to learn more! 
Do you love creating art but often get frustrated with yourself because the outcomes of your drawings or paintings aren't what you expected them to be? Are you constantly comparing yourself to other artists you come across online or through social media? Do you feel anxious to get to where others are, even though you know they've been at it for far longer than you have? “Artists who seek perfection in everything are those who cannot attain it in anything. ” -Eugene Delacroix Today I'll be sharing a video in which I explain why artistic perfectionism is something that we should do our best to move past. I'll also be sharing a couple of my own experiences as a recovering perfectionist and specific tips that will help you overcome this harmful habit so that you can make faster progress. I believe perfectionism is amongst the worst habits that we can have as creative beings. It oftentimes paralyzes us from even getting started or stops us from creating the amount of work we should be doing in order to truly progress artistically. As artists, we shouldn't be striving to achieve masterpieces with every-single-piece we create and should give importance to the entire creative process, not only the end-product. This includes explorations and smaller studies we may have to do prior to starting a larger piece. It's these imperfect, messy works that allow us to get to know ourselves artistically, as well as what we want to put out into the world. Hope you enjoy!
If you enjoyed this video, consider subscribing to my YouTube channel. I share a brand new video every-single-Friday with art tips, drawing and painting tutorials, and encouragement for aspiring artists!
I hope you enjoyed this post and learned something new, or got inspired to go and create a sketch for yourself. I wish you tons of progress and enjoyment in your artistic journey! :) Thanks so much for popping by today! Become a Patreon community member to get access to: -Real-time drawing/painting tutorials with full walkthrough commentary -Downloadable outline drawings, reference pictures and supply lists -Weekly sketchbook prompts to help you stay consistent and progressing your art skills -Direct feedback from me -Instant access to a growing vault of original reference pictures that you can use for your own art -Special thanks in YouTube videos and opportunities to get your work shared -Live Q&A sessions -Live classes on Art Fundamentals and Monthly Creative Assignments + much more! *Click below to learn more! 
Is Etsy a good online marketplace to start selling your art? What are the essential things to know about as a newbie just starting out on this popular platform? Selling art online is as easy as just uploading your work and waiting for the sale, right? As an artist just starting to make the transition from selling my paintings locally to selling online, I know how confusing and overwhelming it can be to try to make sense of all the information available to us about selling art via the Internet. Even picking a platform to start on can seem like an impossible task. What if we start on one and it turns out to be a huge waste of money, time and effort? And there's so much to wrap our heads around, even beyond selecting a platform or marketplace. We need to learn about online marketing, which is a monster topic in itself that consists (among many other things) of creating a personal brand, building up an audience, learning what works on different social media channels and selecting the one(s) that works best for us, as well as consistently sharing our work/message with the world. We need to learn about taxes and accounting because, make no mistake, as artists we are creative entrepreneurs. If we want to get to a point at which we're creating a consistent income from our work, we need to start seeing what we're doing as a business and not be afraid of stepping into our entrepreneurial shoes. As business owners, we must be willing to consistently step out of our comfort zones, accept that we need to pivot or try something new when things are not working, and not be afraid to invest in different parts of our businesses. For some of us, this may even include looking for specialized courses and/or coaching. Finally, and most importantly, we need to consistently work on our mental and physical well-being because our brands/businesses are an extension of ourselves. The more time I spend working on building up my own business (which consists of many things aside from selling art online), the more I find this to be true. It takes a lot of mental strength and deep-rooted determination to stay persistent with learning and implementing. To show up everyday, even when things aren't growing as fast as you'd like them to. To keep believing in oneself and consistently providing value, even when negativity is thrown your way. I find caring for our mental and physical health is even more important as artists because, not only is what we do so personal, but most of us are working on both our art and all of the aforementioned things alone. We don't have assistants or a team to share our worries (or even wins) with. I share the specific things I do on a weekly basis to stay happy and productive as an artist in my blog post/YouTube video titled 5 Essential Self-Care Tips for Artists and Creatives. Because of all this, I'm incredibly thankful that we have the opportunity now-a-days to connect with other creatives around the world and learn from people who are willing to share their experiences/knowledge. Today, we have writer and seamstress Annabelle Carter Short, who's had her own handmade business for many years, sharing a lot of useful information about selling on Etsy with us. Let's get into her article! The Pros and Cons of Selling on Etsy + 5 Key Tips
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Many independent artists struggle to start selling their work. Not because they're not inspiring or creative, but because they lack an understanding on how to actually sell their art. If you're looking to make money off your art, consider trying Etsy marketplace for a start. According to Etsy 2018 numbers, the platform has approximately 35.8 million active users, 1.98 million sellers, and over 50 million products listed for sale. With sellers all around the world, Etsy is a marketplace that is well-known for facilitating sales of arts and handmade products. But, what are the advantages and disadvantages of selling your art through Etsy? And, is it right for you? Advantages • It is convenient and has a more accessible set up than building your own website or physical shop. • Through the years, Etsy has worked hard on its branding. It is already trusted and respected by customers looking for handmade goods. This is a huge help for starting businesses that haven't yet built up an audience or fanbase. • Etsy has a blog, forums and a lot of resources for users on everything from product photography, customer care, packaging, taxes, branding your shop and much more. • This platform has a targeted customer base. The audience here is not looking for mass products, and not necessarily for the cheapest ones either. Uniqueness (and quality) is what will sell. • You can open up your shop for free in a matter of minutes and the fees taken by Etsy when a seller uploads a new product, as well as what it takes when a sale gets made, are very low compared to other selling platforms (like Amazon and eBay) or setting up your own e-commerce website. • When you get a sale, the money is transferred to you immediately, as opposed to other markets like eBay. Disadvantages • Etsy has frequent updates and you will need to always keep learning and adapting to change. • Competition is fierce (especially for certain niches like jewelry, hair accessories, printables, etc.) and you cannot rely on the platform's search field to be your one and only traffic source. This means that you have to be very hands-on about sharing your work and growing an audience that you can promote it to. • Though Etsy's fees are a lot lower than other marketplaces like eBay and Amazon, you will have to take them into account, as well as your shipping costs, when you are setting your prices. • Having a shop on Etsy, means you have your shop on someone else's property. According to their Terms of Service, they can choose to suspend or close your store at any point in time if they feel you aren't playing by their rules. This means, you have to take time reading these documents carefully. *Verdict If you're looking to start selling your art online, Etsy is a great option. Through this experience, you'll be able to gain knowledge on the basics you need to succeed online like pricing, customer service, shipping, taxes, and marketing products effectively. A lot of handmade businesses start on Etsy and move on to creating their own website/e-commerce store after gaining such experience and traction. Many of them keep selling on Etsy even after setting up their own independent shops, because they know the unique opportunities this presence can bring them. To start on the right foot, you'll need to put some effort into understanding the platform, and how to maximize your business potential. As mentioned above, the competition is high, but that doesn’t mean there is no space for you. You just need to learn how to make people notice your shop. Here are five essential tips for you.
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