Book Review: Urban Watercolor Sketching {Blogging for Books}

This post contains *affiliate links. See Disclosure/Policies.

Urban Watercolor Sketching by Felix Schienberger*

ISBN: 978-0770435219

Paperback, 160 pages

Publisher: Watson-Guptill ("preeminent publisher of how-to books in the arts: drawing, painting, sculpture, design, collage and mixed media, comics, sequential art, cartooning, manga, and animation.")

Retail: $22.99

About the book:

A guide that shows painters, drawers, doodlers, and urban sketchers how to bring their drawings to life with colorful, bold, yet accessible painting methods.

COLOR YOUR LIFE

Bring new energy to your sketches of urban scenes with this fresh and simple approach to watercolor painting. Whether you’re an amateur artist, drawer, doodler, or sketcher, watercolor is a versatile sketching medium that’s perfect for people on the go—much like pen or pencil. Accomplished designer and illustrator Felix Scheinberger offers a solid foundation in color theory and countless lessons on all aspects of watercolor sketching, including:

Fundamentals like wet-on-wet, glazes, and washes

Materials and supplies to bring on your travels

Little-known tips and tricks, like painting when water 

isn’t handy and seeking out inspiration

Vibrant watercolor paintings grace each page, and light-hearted anecdotes (why do fish make great subjects to paint, you may be wondering...) make this a lively guide to the medium. With an open mind and sketchbook, you will be ready to capture the moments around you in luminous color with confidence, creativity, and ease—no matter what your skill level may be.

Read a short excerpt here: 
http://www.randomhouse.com/book/234394/urban-watercolor-sketching-by-felix-scheinberger#excerpt

About the author:

FELIX SCHEINBERGER is an illustrator, artist, and designer. He is the author and illustrator of two other books on watercolors and has illustrated more than fifty children’s books in the last decade. His work has appeared in magazines including Harvard Business Manager and Psychology Today. He lives in Berlin, Germany.

My thoughts:

This is definitely not your typical watercolor book! Or rather this is not what I would expect from a watercolor book. I don't know exactly what I was expecting actually. 

I do not know how to watercolor even though I would like to. I chose this book to review in hopes it would help me in this endeavor. One thing I like about the book is the images given, done by Felix Scheinberger, are not realistic interpretations, but instead are impressionistic (?). This makes it seem like my own work doesn't have to be 'perfect'. 

Watercolor involves techniques that require some time to fine-tune. It does not, however, take much time to actually paint with watercolor; it is a very fast, immediate medium. Nevertheless, no matter how little time it takes to paint, it's important to take the time to practice and get the hang of the techniques. ~p. 8

The book is separated into seven parts:

1. Introduction- this explains briefly where the components of watercolor come from (gum arabic, pigments) and tips for the pigments.
2. First Attempts- talks about designs, glazes, washes, mixing techniques.
3. Excursion in Color Theory- pretty much ALL about color.
4. Your Own Style- suggestions, tips, nudges to help find own style.
5. Basics/Tools- paintboxes, pencils, paints, brushes, paper, etc.
6. Out & About- painting in all sorts of places and settings.
7.  Tips & Tricks- exactly that.

The writing style is very easy to follow and what I would imagine an artist to speak like. In colors, textures, and, all the while, senses. Some sections have more words than others but the whole book is full of color. 

Pigments are the true soul of the paints. ~ p. 13

What you feel while you paint a picture is far more important than what is commonly thought. ~ p. 89 

Something I noticed about this book as compared to another book on drawing or painting is that while Felix does talk about paints, where they come from and how they are concocted, he waits until near the end to suggest different paints to buy. I like that. It gets the reader, the artist, to think about the process before putting the tools in their hands. That's how I saw it anyway.

I like this book and plan on using it to get started in my own watercolor journey. I think it would be good for middle/high school students as well. Some of the images are strange but none are inappropriate. 

*Disclaimer: I received this book for free from Blogging for Books for this review. See Disclosure/Policies.

The Crossmaker DVD Giveaway {See the Light}

Recently I posted our experience with See the Light and their DVD “The Crossmaker”. Have you been waiting for the giveaway I mentioned? Well, here it is! This will be a super simple but somewhat quick giveaway. I’m using Rafflecopter to make it easy for you to enter.

Here’s the rules:

• The giveaway starts today (03/14/2013) and ends in one week (03/21/2013).
• The winner, chosen by Random.org for Rafflecopter on the morning of the 22nd, will receive the DVD from See the Light “The Crossmaker”. I will email the winner and wait up to 48 hours* for their mailing information. I will then send that information to See the Light and they will ship the DVD to the winner.
• *If I don’t hear back from them in that time frame, to the minute (I’ve had a problem with this before) then I will choose another winner, following the same steps above.
• To enter you only have to say you would like to win the DVD. That is a MANDATORY entry; without that, all other entries do not count.
• There are other ways to receive entries, though, so have a look at the Rafflecopter widget below and starting the entries.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Review: The Crossmaker, Easter Story & Art Lessons {SEE THE LIGHT}

Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful!

I was approached by Pat Holt of See the Light to do a review because my kids are interested in art. We had a look at the Bible Stories projects and we chose The Crossmaker Bible Story. The DVD includes the following (from the website):

THE CROSSMAKER (story)– Dominic, the son of a carpenter, finds himself drawn into the unforgettable trial of the man called Jesus. Share in this amazing adventure that takes Dominic from Christ’s crucifixion to a place of redemption, and a face-to-face meeting with the risen Christ. (16 minutes)
SEE THE LIGHT chalk artist Gloria Kohlmann draws her stunning interpretation of the Easter story.

Art Lessons:
GLORY! See The Light artist Heidi Shorts teaches on the art of Creative Lettering. (28 minutes)
HIS IS NOT HERE! HE IS RISEN! See The Light Art Club Master Teacher Pat Knepley leads budding young artists in a step-by-step drawing lesson using chalk pastels. Plus, create your own black light reveal!
(32 minutes)
THREE CROSSES ON A HILL. See The Light’s Jim Pence gives a tutorial in water colors as young artists discover The Joy of Art. (25 minutes)

Bonus Features*:
REVEL in the original contemporary music performed by “Breathing Room” recording artists Jan Roper and Kevin Dukes while watching Gloria Kohlmann draw her remarkable art expression of the Easter Story.
WATCH AND HEAR the plan of salvation, clearly and creatively presented as you have never seen it.
HEAR See The Light chalk artist Gloria Kohlmann’s commentary as you watch the Easter scene being created.
MEET the See The Light team.

*We only watched HEAR. I watched MEET by myself. 

I had reviewed a few of the DVD art lessons from See the Light in 2011 and really enjoyed them so I was very pleased to be able to review this as well. Here is what we did and what we thought about it.

First, we watched the story of the Crossmaker and the art lesson on Creative Lettering. I had intended to use this as an art lesson during school but it didn’t work out that way! The kids (and I) loved the art lessons so much that we wanted to do them whenever the whim hit us. We started with the Creative Lettering –after the school day was over –because we didn’t have the extreme colored pencils and we thought that it was important –which it adds to the art but isn’t imperative- but we wanted to do something. Even my ‘art-o-phobic’ son (he enjoys art but lacks confidence)! You can see a portion of what we did for our Creative Lettering in my post here. (Feel free to just skip down to the bottom of that post, that’s where the image is.)

CREATIVE LETTERING LESSON
Materials Needed

• A #2 pencil
• Good white or gray kneaded eraser
• A pencil sharpener
• White or light colored 8-1/2” x 11” or 9” x 12” paper
• A 12” ruler
• A box of colored pencils
• Crayola EXTREME colored pencils*
• A black light*

Next, we watched artist Gloria Kohlmann’s Easter scene being created (a bonus feature). That inspired us to search out chalk pastels in more earnest. We watched it twice- it’s wonderful. We would absolutely love to be able to create a scene as she does. Finally we watched the last art lesson: “Three Crosses on a Hill” with Jim Pence.

After finally finding some chalk pastels we decided to try “He is Not Here! He is Risen!” with Pat Knepley. Possibly Fox’s most favorite part of this: breaking the chalk! We didn’t draw an angel on our picture because we don’t have fluorescent chalks and did not want to mess up our picture. I really loved how as we watched the video together and applied what we learned, our pictures all came out different. I will note that we used construction paper because that’s really all we had. I wouldn’t necessarily suggest that as a wonderful option; the chalk doesn’t ‘stick’ well and the paper is too …fragile. Here are our final projects:

CHALK PASTEL LESSON
Materials Needed

• A #2 pencil
• Good white or gray kneaded eraser
• Medium tone 9” x 12” paper
• 12 chalk pastels
• Fluorescent pastels*
• A black light*
• Baby wipes
• A box of tissues
• Paper towels
• An old shirt"

We plan on doing the last art lesson, “Three Crosses on a Hill”, tomorrow. But we do not have black permanent markers. We plan on using either crayons or colored pencils. Both are water repellent –at least we hope –and should work okay with the project. I hope to come back and update with images of that art lesson soon. We even purchased the extreme colored pencils for this! (I certainly hope we get more use out of them than just this- that goes for the chalk pastels as well!)

MIXED MEDIA LESSON
Materials Needed

• A #2 pencil
• 2 jugs of water (1 for clean water, 1 for dirty water)
• Paper towels
• Watercolor paper
• A round brush
• A craft foam brush

• Permanent markers
  (1 fine point, 1 broad point)
• A pair of scissors
• A set of 16 watercolors
• Crayola EXTREME fluorescent crayon (lemon glacier)*
• A black light*

*These items available at www.seethelightshine.com/store/materials. Also, they aren’t necessary to complete the lessons, they add to them though!

We really, really enjoyed this DVD. I will mention that we do not listen to contemporary Christian music and since we know the plan of salvation, we didn’t watch that portion of the DVD. This is for any age group, young or …old *wink*. We did like the story of the Crossmaker but my kids are teenagers and they had questions such as, “Would there really have been a ‘crossmaker’, a carpenter, to make Jesus’s cross?” And when Pat Knepley read the story of “He is Risen” in Matthew, they were quick to get their Bibles out to compare. I enjoyed that it made them question, not the Bible, but the interpretation of it. We enjoyed discussing the art we were making as well as the story behind it.

Having this DVD to review did a few things for us; for me. First, it reminded me of See the Light. My ds, who I mentioned earlier is self-conscious of his art, yet wants to do more art- not just looking at it. We’ve been slowly working through another program that is helping him with the pencil drawing and realism aspect. I like See the Light because it has such a range of techniques that it shares and teaches.

Another thing See the Light did was to remind me that all art originates with God. This particular DVD is about one of the Bible stories (Jesus’s Resurrection), but in the Creative Lettering, Heidi Shorts talks about how wonderful God is (I’m not recalling her exact words but I know that it made me think of all the beauty that God has created –art is just one!).

The final thing it did was to get them excited to do art. Not that art is a dreaded thing in our family but it’s just so-so. I’m a drawing artist, with pencil. I have somewhat ventured into colored pencils within the past year but I’m still primarily drawing. And realistic drawing. These lessons have stretched me to let go of the ‘perfection’ mentality; creating art is something that glorifies God, no matter what it looks like. It’s the attitude and heart that counts.

Anyway, long story short (or not so short?)- we really liked this and I’m seriously considering purchasing some of the Art Projects from See the Light, as well as other Bible Stories (the kids want to see what other words are done with Creative Lettering). Both my kids really enjoyed this.

You can purchase a Bible Stories DVD from See the Light for $14.99 individually or as a 5-DVD set for $74.99 that includes:

1. The Crossmaker- Easter Story
2. Shipwrecked- Apostle Paul Story
3. God’s Runaway- Jonah Story
4. The Gift of Love- Christmas Story
5. God’s Special Surprise- Moses Story

See the Light also offers Art Class (Year 1, The Fundamentals, 36 lessons) and Art Projects (Year 2, The Next Level, 9 DVDs). See their website for current prices and specials.

You can read more about See the Light (who they are and why the do what they do), see who’s who at See the Light, follow along with their blog, facebook and twitter.

Be watching also because I have a giveaway for this coming very, very soon!

***Disclaimer: I received the above reviewed DVD from See the Light in exchange for this review. No monetary compensation was given. All opinions are my own or those of my family. See Disclosure/Policies.***

Progress of a Pencil Drawing…

This from a girl who was adamant she could not draw realistic.
I had meant to get a photo from the very start but didn’t.

Highlighting Links by Subject for Schooling: Art #2

Each week or so there will be a post {or two} highlighting some links that have been collected and compiled on the Links by Subject for Schooling page on my blog. At this point, I plan to go alphabetically through the subjects because that’s how I am but the websites most likely won’t be alphabetized…sorry for any confusion!

Art

This round will feature online art galleries.

CGFA Art Gallery- A virtual art museum.

Olga’s Gallery- A collection of over 300 painters with over 12,000 works.

ArtCyclopedia- Although not a real ‘gallery’ it does feature many works and the artists. Get to know more about artists and their work.

Garden of Praise Art Gallery- You can visit the second gallery here. Also there are “art lessons” that feature quite a few works also.

Avalon Arts- This goes to a gallery of children’s art! I included this to let kids see that they can be an artist, too.

Google Art Project- Search for artwork, or by artist, and search users collections.

Those are all of the links for Art Galleries that have been collected. Stay tuned for more link ‘highlights’ every so often.

Fun Art Project

You probably saw this photo in my weekly wrap up post. It is just turning out so neat that I had to include it. I took the photo with my camera that should explain why it is not very bright and is gritty.

It’s a fun idea that will last for awhile! Lee found this in the March 2012 Family Fun magazine (we’ve been getting it since 2001!). The section is called Make Your House More Fun, page 60.

It’s really simple to do. You need a large poster, markers and something to tack the poster to the wall with. Starting with a large poster, draw a border of at least one inch around the edge (so that the wall doesn’t get colored on). Now draw random lines. Diagonal lines, squiggly lines, curves, sharp angles –whatever!

Soon you’ll see shapes appear. Tack the poster where everyone can easily reach it (we just used Scotch tape at the corners). When the shapes take ‘shape’ {haha, punny} use colored markers to fill in the shapes.

We’ve had our work of art up since the beginning of February and you can see it still has a lot of white space. The markers are easily accessible and whenever the fancy strikes us we doodle on our poster.

Highlighting Links by Subject for Schooling -Art

Each week there will be a post {or two or three} highlighting some links that have been collected and compiled on the Links by Subject for Schooling page on my blog. At this point, I plan to go alphabetically through the subjects because that’s how I am  but the websites most likely won’t be alphabetized…sorry for any confusion!

Art

Drawspace- This site offers over 200 free lessons on drawing, from beginner to advanced. Choose solo lessons {free} and/or guided learning courses {payment required}. Certification is also available through guided courses directed by professional art educators.

HodgePodge’s Free Pastel Tutorials- Wonderfully done pastel tutorials presented by “Nana” at HodgePodge. The lessons range from a mug of hot chocolate to a chickadee to a Medieval castle to tree reflection. These can be implemented with any age.

Watercoloring Painting- That link goes to the tutorial page where there are step by step illustrations for different ‘skills’ of watercolor. You can also click on the Learning tab on the page to ‘look, read, learn to make art’. Really, have a look all around the site; it is a great resource.

Learn to Draw Portraits- YouTube videos by “EclecticAsylumArt” that give some good tips for drawing portraits. Each video is about 10 minutes in length. My daughter went through the ‘series’ and thought it was helpful.

Jan Brett’s How to Draw…- The name says it all This is a collection of videos from Jan Brett showing how to draw various characters, from her books. The videos are not exclusively of her drawing but are generally short.

Those are some of the links for Art that have been collected. Stay tuned for more link ‘highlights’ every so often.

TOS REVIEW: Artistic Pursuits (Senior High Book 1)

My daughter likes to draw. No, scratch that- she loves to draw. But what she seems to draw most is anime (not that I’m saying there’s anything wrong with that) and generally doesn’t like to branch out to other things (it’s one of those we-are-our-own-worst-critic type things).

Enter Artistic Pursuits. We are always excited when we see a new drawing/art book in our house I will be honest and say that Lee wasn’t as excited as I was when she discovered it was not Book 2, which deals with color. Personally, I think she has color down well, and some basics she doesn’t. I thought this was a good fit for our family.

We received Senior High Book 1, Elements of Art and Composition (for grades 9-12). What the title doesn’t tell is that this book also goes through quite a bit of art history.

   

This first half of the book focuses on space, line, texture, shape, form, value, contrast and unity. The second half of the book looks at composition: balance, rhythm, depth by overlapping, depth by position, one and two point perspective, atmospheric perspective, proportion and the face, proportion and the figure, and clothing the figure. Each unit (and there are 16 units) includes Visual Vocabulary, Art Appreciation and Art History, Techniques, and Application.

They do have a suggested schedule of two classes a week that are about 1 hour long for 32 weeks. Thankfully, they also say that it is flexible. A point they make is that this an independent study (and it truly is) so the time that is scheduled is the student’s not the parent/teacher’s. I’m not sure there are any suggested schedules that our family follows exactly- this one isn’t any different. I’ve let this be a totally student-directed subject. She decides when and for how long she does the class. Some assignments take less than one hour and others…well, she can really get into drawing!

At the end of the book is an evaluation sheet to help when grading art work. I do not ‘grade’ art work but did have a look at the sheet when looking at dd’s work. It is very simple: completed the work, obtained objectives= 25 pts; completed the work, obtained some objectives= 20 pts; completed assignment, did not obtain objectives= 15 pt. It is repeated thus for understanding of concepts, understanding and use of materials/techniques and for following instructions on the Application project in each unit. Unless they do not do the work, they cannot fail.

I like that- unless they do nothing, they’ve not failed, even if there is room for improvement (isn’t there always?).

To complete the assignments in the book, additional items will need to be purchased:

First half of book:

• 2- 2H drawing pencil
• 2- HB drawing pencil
• 2- 4B, 5B, or 6B drawing pencil
• 1- vinyl eraser
• 1- metal handheld sharpener
• 1- drawing pad

Second half of book:

• 6 to 12- sticks of charcoal
• 1- jumbo stick vine charcoal
• 1- package of compressed charcoal
• 2- charcoal paper pads
• 1- blending stump
• 1- kneaded eraser

The art supplies can also be purchased (in a pack) through Artistic Pursuits. They’ve made it easy to gather all the necessary items you’ll need. It’s like your one stop art instruction shop

some additional supplies that are recommended in the book:

• drawing board
• hairspray
• cotton ball or cloth
• ruler
• exacto knife or cutting tool
• 12” x 12” cardboard box

We’ve not progressed far enough to use the second list of supplies but we had everything from the initial list already in our house.

Lee’s AP work VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

What did I like about this program?

One thing that I enjoyed were the student submissions throughout the book as opposed to having only famous artists’ works or even the author’s work. This gives the student more confidence that if others can do it, so can they. Also the inclusion of many assignments (well, three or four in a unit) helps the skill to grow. And I like the varied art presented to help the student visualize the concept. The book is spiral bound with bright heavy weight paper. The images are good quality.

What did my 15 yo dd think of this program?

It’s good. You learn some art history as you go through the lessons. One thing that is both good and bad is that they do not give you step by step instructions on the assignments. You end up developing your own style as you go. (in her own words- emphasis mine)

What I would like to see included-

Well, actually there isn’t anything in the program itself that I would suggest as a change that would be an improvement.

Other points that I’m mentioning:

Printing on both sides of the paper in the book would be a good idea. This book isn’t terribly expensive (at $42.95) and it is a good program but by printing on both sides of the page, it could cut down the cost even more. It would also be slightly slimmer- if that matters to some with space issues. The book has 88 pages. I don’t know if they single sided printing is so that the student can draw on or take notes on the blank page. I didn’t see any reference to it when I was reading through the book. Perhaps it was to preserve the quality of the images printed (sometimes double sided printing warps the page, sometimes messing with the images?). And just because I’m picky about how my books smell (actually I have ‘allergies’ to different scents)- this book smells so …strange… that it gives me a major headache. I’m sure it’s the ink they use in printing. My daughter doesn’t seem to mind, however, which is great since it is her book.

Bottomline:

Good program and worth the cost. I would definitely recommend this to others.

Artistic Pursuits offers art instruction for Preschool through High School (and I see no reason that it could not be utilized by adults that have never had art instruction).

Have a look at what others have to say about products from Artistic Pursuits at the TOS Homeschool Crew Blog.

***Disclaimer: I received the above book from Artistic Pursuits via the TOS Homeschool Crew in exchange for an honest review. I was not given any other compensation and all opinions are my own, or those of my family members. See Disclosure/Policies.***

Stuck… but Hopefully Not for Long.

My thoughts are quite disorganized today. I’ve been going back and forth between different thoughts all day.

I definitely need to concentrate! (which, wouldn’t you know, is the topic of one of the suggested readings from the Charlotte Mason Blog Carnival)

It is Saturday but it doesn’t really feel like it. (Not that Saturdays usually feel so different than other days) This morning was wonderful. The air was nice and cold. Yes, cold. I couldn’t see my breath but there was a moisture in the air that prevented it from being crisp which to me made it feel cold.

Autumn is coming….and thank goodness!

I talked to my hubby (who is in Ohio) and he said it is still hot and muggy there. Well, it will cool off soon enough. I hope I will be content with the cold this year It seemed last winter was so wet and bone chilling that I could barely stand it.

After hopping around the world wide web and seeing this blog post on lily pad with pastels, I’ve wanted to do some art. But not just any art- pastels. Which I’ve never used in my life (well, that I can recall- I’m guessing in elementary school they probably had us use it…maybe?). Tonight the sky and the lighting was beautiful at dusk. The grass on the lawns were a shade of green that you only see at dawn or dusk. The sky was orange, pink and blue- perfectly blended- with a sliver of moon, stark white, against the blue.

Of course that post above and the urge to be artistic makes me think of this post about ‘degrees of separation’ (or I think, ‘scent of life’). Being outdoors is important. The beauty of nature leads to so much more in ones life! (from linked site: “research in Australia has linked a spike in nearsightedness to young people spending less time outdoors, where their eyes must focus at longer distances.” Interesting.) But honestly, it is something mostly I’ve read about. Being outdoors so much and enjoying it so much. I love to be outside but we hardly do it. I could use the excuse that I live in the “city” and there are limited opportunities to enjoy nature. But that is just an excuse.

We can see from other CMers experiences of life in the city. Take a look at one of the last photos on that post…beautiful. Of course, that post makes me think that I am not including another important aspect in our homeschool- art. We do draw and we do enjoy looking at others artwork but we treat is as an expendable.

Sigh, our family is technology driven, nature ignorant. We can download, upload, html, bbcode, etc. But we cannot identify birds that frequent our backyard or what thrives in the river that is about a mile from our house. We are rarely in our backyard which has a plum tree and an apple tree. We used to have a small garden but the grasshoppers (which we avoid) ate pretty much everything last year and we didn’t try again (we also knew that we were going to move).

The kids do play outside. I don’t want to give the impression that we sit (rather that they) inside on a couch or chair in front of a computer, tv or some other electronic device and do no physical activities outside. They do. But generally it is play that revolves around what they see on tv or their games. Sometimes it is in reference to the books they read.

I have a long way to go until I can say that we really implement CM methods in our home. But it is what I want to be able to say. We have gotten other parts of it into our days…but I think we are missing a huge important part by not making opportunities to enjoy nature and art.

I know that when we move we will be outdoors much more than we have been previously and I am looking forward to it. I am also impatient.

Not long ago I discovered that we have a pack of pastels. That is what started me thinking about all of this in the first place. All of the blog posts in the blogosphere that aligned with my thoughts were simply coincidental. Or were they …?

Art! Books and Supplies and Etc. I Recommend

Whoa! Long time no... post? (instead of 'see', get it?)

Anyways, my mom suggested I make a post about which drawing books and etc. I use and recommend. So, here you go...!

Remember, I'm a manga artist, so I'll put stuff relating to manga up.

Books:

How to Draw Manga, by Katy Coope

 Ok, so, this book is really for beginners. I mean, really. If you already are skilled at manga drawing, skip this book. But if you are starting out, I suggest this. This is the book I first used, and I really liked it. It goes step-by-step and makes things very simple. I suggest this book for those who want to start drawing in the manga style. After you master this style, well, I suggest just looking at anime and manga pictures of other manga artists and choose what you like about their drawing style and add it, gradually making your own style. The reason for this is because I reeallly haven't found any good manga drawing book. They're all kinda lame and don't help much. But of course, you are free to look around and prove me wrong! If you do find a good manga drawing book, do tell me!

Drawing People: How to portray the clothed figure, by Barbara Bradley

This is more for the advanced artist, I guess. It deals a lot with, well, real people and drawing them while they're standing in front of you. The reason I like it is because it has a nice section on folds of clothes. Also, it teaches a lot on shading and proportions and poses and... Well, anyways, I think this book could help with manga, which is why I like it.

Well, that's all the books I like. So, now onto supplies...!

Supplies: 

Prismacolor Premier Colored Pencils, 24 Assorted Color Pencils 

These. Things. ROCK! These pencils are kinda expensive (normally around $40!!), but sooo worth it. Very soft, you don't need to press down much. The color goes onto the paper very smoothly. Compared to, say, Crayola colored pencils, the colors are vibrant. The thing with their softness, though, is that they dull down quickly, and I'm a chicken when it comes to sharpening pencils (pencil sharpeners just love to destroy pencils, didn't you know?). I suggest sharpening them, very slowly, with a hand-held pencil sharpener. I don't have much else to say about these... You have to get them to appreciate them!

My mom also has these (I think hers is a larger set?), but I don't use them much. They are harder pencils, but the colors are just as awesome.

Sakura Pigma Sensei Manga 6 Piece Drawing Kit

This set comes with a 0.7 mechanical pencil (my preferred size), four different sizes of pigma pens (one each of 0.3mm 0.4mm 0.6mm and 1.0mm), and a vinyl eraser. Pigma pens are pens much like markers. They are normally black, but you can get colored ones. They are very good for outlining your drawings. I like to use the 0.3mm first, erase my pencil marks, color my picture, then go over the drawing with pen again, varying the size depending on the area I'm outlining (for instance, I use the 0.3mm for the eyes, but the 0.6mm for the hair). This is a nice set, because this is basically all you need for drawing manga (other than colored pencils). Everything in it is very high quality. 

Well, I think that's all. That's basically all I need and use. You don't need a whole lot of fancy stuff to be an artist!

Hopefully I will post again soon...! But if I don't, well... Ooops!

My Creative Kids

I was supposed to post this photo daaaaays ago ;) We got a pack of new dry erase markers so they had to be broken in.

Lee's eyes "0.0" heehee...

And a few days ago Fox made this ship- out of Legos and without instructions (as far as I am aware- lol he'll probably tell me later that he had a step-by-step guide! oh well!)

Art for Tuesday

I will post our WWAT later but wanted to post our Art for the day. I love drawing. Just love it... Fox doesn't like it as much and Lee is very good but extremely critical of herself. Well, they both are critical of themselves unfortunately. I think they do very well. Lee draws all the time but Fox just is determined that he 'cannot' draw. Well, here's proof that yes, he can :)

We were studying different sizes of spheres and textures. I think however that this will be a repeated exercise. We got the sizes down but the texture is difficult! They both did very well on the baseball threads; you can definitely see that it is raised on the ball. I love the different angles all of our drawings are from.

And we will be participating in Sketch Tuesday after a long delay! Check out what the theme is. Our last 'official' day of drawing seems like a long time ago...just goes to show it's like riding a bike- you never really forget how!

Art

Sketch Tuesday: Bubble Time (I know it's not Tuesday yet but they are done already!)



Art today:

Castles for Sketch Tuesday

Finally! I can post their castle sketches!

Lee:
Fox: