Tag: Elements

The History Of Infinite Art Sand Painting
by David Burgess on 0

The History Of Infinite Art Sand Painting

It is believed that the first sand paintings were created by Native Americans. The Navajo people in particular are known for their intricate sand paintings. These paintings are used for ceremonial purposes and are often destroyed after the ceremony is complete.

The process of creating a sand painting is incredibly detailed and requires a great deal of patience. The artist begins by creating a design on paper. Once the design is complete, the artist transfers the design to the sand surface. The sand is then carefully placed on the surface using a variety of tools, including brushes, combs, and feathers.

The finished product is a beautiful and intricate work of art. The sand paintings are often used as a backdrop for ceremonial dances. They are also used as a means of telling a story. The sand paintings are believed to have a powerful spiritual significance and are used as a way of connecting with the spirit world.

The art of sand painting is a beautiful and ancient tradition. It is a fascinating art form that is steeped in history and culture. The process of creating a sand painting is an incredibly detailed and painstaking one. The finished product is a stunning and intricate work of art.

It is believed that the first sand paintings were created by Native Americans in the southwestern United States. These early sand paintings were used for healing purposes and were thought to have mystical powers.

The Navajo Indians were the first to create sand paintings as we know them today. The Navajo believe that the sand paintings are sacred and that they have the power to heal the sick and bring peace to the world. The sand paintings are created by hand, using only natural materials.

The sand paintings are made by sprinkling different colored sands onto a piece of cloth or paper. The Navajo use a special kind of sand called “crushed stone.” The stone is ground into a powder and then mixed with water to create a paste. The paste is then applied to the cloth or paper with a brush.

The sand paintings are usually made in the shape of a circle. The circle is symbolic of the sun and the universe. The sand paintings are often made with symbols that represent the four elements: earth, air, fire, and water.

The sand paintings are not permanent. Once they are completed, they are allowed to dry and then they are brushed away. The sand is then gathered up and used again to make another painting.

The Navajo believe that the sand paintings are a gift from the gods. They believe that the paintings have the power to heal the sick and bring peace to the world. The sand paintings are a beautiful and unique art form that is steeped in history and tradition.

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3D Nail Art: A Beginner’s Guide
by David Burgess on 0

3D Nail Art: A Beginner’s Guide

3D nail art is a fun and creative way to add some extra flair to your nails. If you’re new to the world of 3D nail art, don’t worry – it’s not as difficult as it looks. With a little practice, you’ll be a pro in no time.

Here’s a beginner’s guide to 3D nail art to help you get started:

1. Choose your design. There are endless possibilities when it comes to 3D nail art, so take some time to browse through pictures for inspiration. Once you’ve found a design you like, print it out or save it to your phone so you can reference it later.

2. Prep your nails. Before you start your design, make sure your nails are clean, filed, and polished. You’ll also need a base coat of nail polish to help the 3D elements adhere to your nails.

3. gather your supplies. In addition to your base coat of nail polish, you’ll need a top coat, a clear polish or gel, and the 3D elements you’ll be using for your design.

4. Create your design. Once you have all of your supplies, it’s time to start creating your design. Begin by painting your nails with the base coat, then add the 3D elements to your nails using the clear polish or gel as glue. Finish off your design with a top coat of nail polish.

5. Admire your work. Once your design is complete, step back and admire your handiwork. You can also take a picture of your nails to show off to your friends.

3D nail art is a creative way to add dimension and interest to your nails. It can be as simple as adding a few 3D elements to your nails, or you can go all out and create a full 3D design. If you’re a beginner, start with a simple design and work your way up to more complex designs.

Here are a few tips to get you started with 3D nail art:

1. Choose your design. There are endless possibilities when it comes to 3D nail art, so take some time to browse through pictures or nail art galleries to get some inspiration.

2. Gather your supplies. Once you’ve chosen your design, you’ll need to gather the supplies you’ll need to create it. This will likely include a base coat, top coat, polish, and some sort of 3D element like rhinestones, beads, or sequins.

3. Apply your base coat. This will help your polish last longer and prevent staining your nails.

4. Paint your nails. Once your base coat is dry, you can start painting your nails. If you’re doing a simple design, you can just paint your nails with a solid color. If you’re doing a more complex design, you may need to use a stencil or decal.

5. Add your 3D elements. This is the fun part! Add your rhinestones, beads, or sequins to your nails to create your design.

6. Apply your top coat. This will help protect your design and make it last longer.

And that’s it! You’ve now created a beautiful 3D nail art design.

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13 Ways to Engage the Photographer in Your Kids!
by Leland Richardson on 0

13 Ways to Engage the Photographer in Your Kids!

Kids are fearless when taking photos. Their creativity knows no bounds. But one of the most common questions moms ask me goes something like this, “How do I give creative direction to my kids, so I don’t end up with 100-plus photos of the family dog?”

Anyone relate? Your child gets a hold of your smartphone or camera, and you end up having endless photos of your hardwood floors. Never fear; there is an artist in your child that just needs a little direction. With Blaze and Pascaline’s permission, I’m sharing a handful of their photos along with Thirteen Ways to Engage the Photographer in Your Kids!

1: Set Your Child Up for Success

Before handing the camera over to the kids, set the camera settings to P (Portrait Mode) or A (Aperture Priority Mode). Either of these shooting modes will help soften the background while keeping the subject/object in focus. Depending on your child’s age, explain what the camera setting will do and have them try it out on flowers! If your kids are going to use your SmartPhone, encourage them to take photos near a big window so they have the most light possible for best results!

2: Defining Details

Defining Details is one of the key-story telling elements that I coach moms to capture in my book. But kids can do this too! The next time you have a special event or holiday, hand the camera over to your child and ask her to capture close up photos of all the special details, like Pascaline’s Dirt Cups with Worms at their lemonade stand! Depending on your child’s age, take the challenge up a notch and encourage them to get “as close as possible” to the object.

3: Copy YOU!

This is one of my favorite photo exercises to do with the kids. I take a photo, and then I show it to Pascaline and Blaze. They have to take the same photo I took. We don’t do this all the time, but when I am wanting them to experiment with where they put the sun in their photo, or how much empty space they leave in the frame, or where to stand to compose the shot, instead of giving them a big lecture, I ask them to copy me. Whether it’s blurry, dark, too bright, doesn’t matter. On a subconscious level, they are practicing all the wonderful basic elements of composition by trying to replicate what I’ve captured. Mimicking the masters is an old practice that we do in piano, violin and painting lessons. Photography isn’t any different. Blaze took this photo when he was five years old on a trip we made to Angkor Wat, Cambodia at sunrise. Click here to see the second photo down on a previous blog post from Cambodia. That’s the one Blaze was trying to copy.

4: Favorite Things

Give your child the assignment to capture 10 of his favorite things! This is a wonderful exercise to have him do every six months! You’ll find yourself smiling at what takes priority in his life right now. Six months ago it may have been trains, now it’s his Legos. And then there are those items that remain their favorites, no matter how much times goes by, like Blaze’s Ba-Bas.

5: Experiment with the Camera’s Picture Effects Mode

This is always a funny one for kids. Point-and-Shoots, SmartPhone apps, or DSLRs all have Picture Effects that you can now play with to alter your original photo. One of Pascaline’s favorite is to use the “partial color” effect on her SONY NEX 6. She can choose to have everything in her image be black and white, except for one color — like orange — to bring out the BEST side of her kitty!

6: Favorite Places

Encourage your child to take a photo of their favorite places around the house or outside. This can be their bedroom, mom and dad’s big bed, that cozy spot in front of the heater where they like to get dressed in the morning, or the neighbor’s yard. At the end of our block is an older couple, both grandparents, and for some reason the kids LOVE playing in their yard. I’m not sure if Pascaline meant to, but I LOVE how the neighbor boy has a Japanese bandana on with the neighbor’s Japanese maple behind him! You never know what they are going to get!

7: Photos of Mom and Dad

Time to get a dose of your own medicine! Your kids are going to LOVE this challenge! Think of all the thousands of photos you’ve taken of your kids — now it’s their turn. Give your child the challenge to capture mom and dad doing something they do every day. Encourage them to be sneaky, like spies! This makes it even more fun! And don’t worry about whether or not the photo is blurry. Some of my favorite, most inspiring photos are the blurry ones that the kids have taken.

8: Kid Self Portraits

Kids, especially at the grade-school age, love to take self-portraits. Ask your child to take six different photos of themselves throughout the day. They can take the photos in the backyard, in their bedroom, but challenge them to make each one different whether it’s a silly face, serious face, or a different room. Don’t worry about fingers getting in the shot: that too documents their stage of childhood!

9: Their Shadow!

Kids LOVE to see their shadows grow in height, especially as the Winter’s end draws near and days become longer. Give your child the photo challenge to capture five different photos of their shadow, and be as silly or tall as they’d like!

10: What Makes Me, Me

Ask your child to take ten photos of specific things that show who they are, and what makes them unique in the family. Kids love to highlight how they are different than the rest of the family!

11: Siblings Self Portraits

This is another personal favorite! I LOVE to challenge my kids with taking “Sibling Self Portraits”. The only rule, they can’t look at the camera. That simple, little rule helps enforce the idea of ignoring the camera when mom brings it out, as well as creating the cutest results! Pascaline held the camera down low and shot up for this photo of her and Blaze at the beach.

12: Play with Fun Lenses

Our kids love to experiment with lenses as much as we do, especially SONY’s Fish Eye lens that curves all the corners. To help ensure good care of your lens, set parameters, like a time limit and certain room, so your kids can experiment with a fun lens but not stress you out in the process.

13: A Day in the Life

Give your kids the photo assignment of capturing different photos that represent “A Day in the Life.” For little ones, they can take a photo of their meals, the park, their bed before bedtime. Older kids especially love this exercise! They fearlessly take photos of everything they do and feel throughout the day, like the satisfaction of convincing mom to get frozen yogurt! I guarantee you will be so entertained by their photo results! Want more photo prompts for your kids?! How about if Elmo and I help ever week between now and May! Sesame Street and I have teamed up to bring you and the kids a special photo challenge each week for the My World Photo Contest we are doing! Keep reading for more details!

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Wacom Bamboo Tablets: Differences and Reviews
by David Burgess on 0

Wacom Bamboo Tablets: Differences and Reviews

An Overview of the Different Types of Wacom Bamboo Series of Drawing Tablets

If you’ve never tried a drawing tablet before, but you’re looking to get into the world of graphic art, getting one of the Bamboo drawing tablets made by Wacom is an excellent place to start, because they are extremely functional and easy to use. However, if you’ve been looking around the market at all, you may have noticed that there are a few different types of Bamboo pen tablets out there, and it’s not necessarily that easy to tell the differences between them all unless you really devote some time and energy to research.

I’m here to lay it all out for you, giving you the specifics you need in order to decide which Bamboo drawing tablet is the right one to buy. Whether you’re looking for yourself or as a gift for a loved one, I aim to provide you with enough accurate and detailed information in order to make an informed decision that you’ll never regret. (Hint: you may also want to check out all of The Best Drawing Tablets.)

The Bamboo Connect Tablet

Wacom Bamboo Connect Pen Tablet (CTL470)

Key Features
– Size: Small
– Pen Eraser: No
– Multi-Touch: Not compatible
– Wireless Option: Not compatible

Free Bundled Software
Autodesk SketchBook Express

Review of the Bamboo Connect

The simplest and most lightweight Bamboo model in terms of size and functionality, this is excellent for either a beginner artist or someone who needs the ability to write by hand or annotate documents. It’s not great, however, for those who are looking to practice graphic art as a serious hobby or profession. If you’re looking to get your creative child something cool for a holiday or special occasion, this would make a great gift, but be aware that they may soon grow beyond the capabilities of this tablet.

The Bamboo Connect was designed with the professional communicator in mind rather than the professional artist. It is perfect for people who are frequently in meetings online and needs to draw something to the screen. It’s also the perfect tool for making notes in documents, signing signatures, writing annotations, and other activities that require hand-written text.

From an artist’s perspective, it’s quite lacking. There are no extra buttons or shortcut keys in order to quickly move through in-program menus or change tools, and it doesn’t support easy zooming or scrolling control due to the lack of multi-touch. I would however, recommend this to anyone who travels and uses a laptop a lot. Because of its small size and weight, it’s very portable, and it is great for getting out a quick sketch or doodle when inspiration hits.

The Bamboo Splash Tablet

Bamboo Splash Summary and Review

Key Features
– Size: Small
– Pen Eraser: No
– Multi-Touch: Not compatible
– Wireless Option: Not compatible

Free Bundled Software
Autodesk SketchBook Express; ArtRage 3 Studio

Review of the Bamboo Splash

I like to think of the Splash as the older brother of the Connect. It can do all the same things and little more. It’s designed to be more of a step in the artistic direction, but the only notable difference is that it includes a copy of ArtRage. Don’t get me wrong, that’s a great deal, and it’s really good for anyone still working on building their skills as an artist. This extra feature may not seem like much, but it allows you to view the tablet in a new light. It teaches the user the basics of art programs (they all can do pretty much the same basic things), and any child who’s given a drawing tablet without an environment to use it in that’s geared towards art will probably be inclined to treat it as a toy instead of the sophisticated tool that it really is.

The size and weight make this just as portable, but it also allows it to be durable. If it gets dropped, thrown, bumped, or anything else, unless it’s been attacked with heavy machinery or dropped from a couple of stories high, there isn’t anything heavy or bulky about it to cause it (or anything else) any damage. This also makes the Splash quite easy to store away when it’s not in use.

The Bamboo Capture Tablet

Bamboo Capture Summary and Review

Key Features
– Size: Small
– Pen Eraser: No
– Multi-Touch: Compatible
– Wireless Option: Compatible

Free Bundled Software
Adobe Photoshop Elements; Nik Color Efex Pro Filters (Wacom Edition); Autodesk SketchBook Express

Review of the Bamboo Capture

As far as an artist is concerned with the Bamboo line of Wacom tablets, this is where it starts to get interesting. Of course, you can do all the same stuff that you could with the other models (annotating documents, signing papers, etc.), but this is the model where Wacom started to design things specifically for artists.

If you take a look at the software that’s included with this tablet, you’ll notice that there are two new programs: PS Elements, and Nik Color Efex. These programs are specifically designed for more serious photographers who want to spice up their pictures with effects, filters, cleaning tools, and more. As you probably know, Adobe is the industry leader in the field of creative software, boasting a track record that includes Flash CS, Photoshop, Illustrator, inDesign, and a ton more.

If you want to get into photography, image editing, vector art, and other popular design media, this is a great tablet to use to get started. Though, it’s not the perfect fit for you if you’re into digital art that looks more realistic such as painting, drawing, watercolors, and rubber-stamping. And it’s a bit overkill if you’re just looking to get your feet wet and not quite a serious artist yet.

The Bamboo Create Tablet

Bamboo Create Summary and Review

 

Key Features
– Size: Medium
– Pen Eraser: Yes
– Multi-Touch: Yes
– Wireless Option: Yes

Free Bundled Software
Adobe Photoshop Elements; Corel Painter Essentials; Nik Color Efex Pro (Wacom Edition)

Review of the Bamboo Create
This right here is the mother of all Wacom Bamboo Drawing Tablets. With an active work area of 8.5″ x 5.4″ it has the largest amount of work space you can get. This is definitely something for serious artists to consider, because it scales the best to whatever screen size you’re looking at, and it allows you to use full motions with your drawing.

While it still includes PS Elements and Nik for photography work and image editing, you’ll notice that it also comes with a copy of Corel Painter Essentials, which is an absolutely excellent program for any artist to work in if you’re more interested in classical media. Realistic oil, watercolor, pencil, marker, and other tools allow you to make full use of this tablet when you’re working to create your best works of art.

If you’re familiar with other Wacom tablets, you’ll probably already know about the Intuos series. What you should know is that this models of Bamboo is only a small step below an Intuos in that the only real differences are the potential in size (this only goes up to medium size, when an Intuos can go up to large), and in the shortcut keys. The Create only has a couple of buttons, but if you’re not yet a professional graphic designer or artist (and by that I mean making steady money off your artwork), then this is a fine investment for you to begin with. It will increase your productivity and allow for a vast improvement in the quality of your work, depending on your skill of course 😉

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Top Gifts for the Artist
by David Burgess on 0

Top Gifts for the Artist

Need a Gift for an Artist? Find One Here.

Photos of artwork by Gayle Dowell

What gift does someone get the artist friend or relative? I’ve listed a few ideas here. As an artist, I’ve always enjoyed getting gifts on holidays that I can use in my creative work. I’ve been a watercolor artist for 15 years. I’ve painted in oil, acrylic, and have created collage work. I’m now working with metal and creating jewelry. I find that a new book or new art medium can give me inspiration in work that I’m currently working on. On this page, I’ve listed the top gifts for artists of all mediums. You can vote or add your ideas as well. Leave your gift ideas in the comments section at the end of this page.

Sketchbooks

The Gift that Bridges All Mediums
No matter what medium your gift recipient works in, they can use a sketchbook to draw out their ideas, whether it be for planning a painting, a jewelry piece, or a sculpture, or to journal. My most cherished sketchbooks are those with quality paper that will hold up to both pencil and paint. They also have spiral binding so that I can bend back the cover when I’m outside which makes it easier to sketch without a table or drawing surface. It must also have a hard cover to withstand abuse. Here is my favorite sketchbook.

A Gift that Gives Year Round

A subscription to a great inspirational magazine that came to the recipients mailbox throughout the year, would be a great gift for an artist. I know of no other inspirational magazine that could top, “Cloth, Paper, Scissors”. I keep my back copies to look at whenever I need an art idea or to get me motivated to create.

A Camera?

A good camera may not come to mind as a great gift for an artist. But I use mine all the time. I’m constantly taking pictures of possible scenes to paint, textures to use in my designs or color combinations I want to remember. I love a good digital camera so that I can download pictures of my work to my blog or my online shopping site.

A Collection of Decorative Paper

I collect decorative paper. I use paper all the time in my design work. I do collage, scrap booking, greeting cards, experiments in watercolor painting…all requiring different types of decorative paper. When inspiration strikes, an artist needs different papers on hand.

A Book on Creative Living

This book by author Julia Cameron is the one I turn to first whenever I need to be reminded of how to live creatively. It is easy for an artist to live day to day and miss opportunities to keep their minds thinking creatively. This is a must have for those wanting to live a creative life.

Wacom Bamboo Create Tablet Review

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8CfxqIj4iQ

Wacom Bamboo Create Tablet review by Melonie Mac

Adobe Photoshop Elements 12

With Photoshop Elements I can do more than just enhance my photos, I can manipulate them to make digital artwork. Photoshop Elements also gives me tools to edit and combine my videos clips to produce a finished movie. My daughter recently used this software to create a how-to video using digital video clips she took and combined them with music. I edit my artwork and handmade jewelry photos before I upload the photos online. Great tools for the price.

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Art Glossary
by David Burgess on 0

Art Glossary

Explaining terminology from Art Forums

This art vocabulary glossary was made as an addition to /ic/’s Beginner’s Guide. It lists explanations of terms that are commonly used on art forums. We focus on visual art, namely paintings and drawings, in both the digital and traditional medium.

Note: work in progress. 🙂

Overview

A

Anatomy: the study of human and animal body structures. Artists study skeleton, muscles and fat distribution, as well as these functions in movement, in order to draw realistic looking figures or creatures.

B

Basic Shapes: the basic shapes are the sphere, the cube, the cone and the cilinder. Everything in life can be simplified to these basic shapes or variations of them.
When learning a new subject (proportions, perspective, lighting, …), it is useful to start with basic shapes.
Blending: mixing paint on canvas, mainly used in the context of painting digitally or with oils. This is an important part of rendering.
How to blend digitally

C

Chicken Scratch: the same as “hairy line”. Drawing a line consisting of multiple small scratches or going over a line multiple times to mask mistakes. Not to be confused with loose, sketchy lines. *example picture to be added
Canvas: the surface you paint on. For a traditional painter this is the fabric he works on. For digital artists, the canvas is the total image dimension he is working on. (better explanation for “digital canvas”?)
Color/Colour: considering painting techniques, colour refers to the whole of hue, value and saturation (also called chroma). This is an in depth guide to colour: The Dimensions of Colour.
Comfort Zone: keeping to the skills you already have and not trying new things due to fear of failure. For example, artist might restrain themselves to a single colour palette, or drawing the same subject over and over again.
Composition: arrangement of the elements in a pleasant manner. Or unpleasant, if you suck at composition. *explanatory video link to be added
Concept Art: mainly designing. Usually part of a larger process (creating a movie, game, …).
Construction: building the subject of the painting or drawing from a basic structure. This could be basic shapes which are later on refined, or the key elements of the subjects. For example, a very basic construction for the human figure might be composed of the head, torso and pelvis, with sticks for the joints.

E

Eyeballing: judging by eye, as opposed to measuring with rulers, drawing grids, colour picking, …

F

Fair Use: use of copyrighted works within legal limits.
Flatness (or flat drawing): the works lacks a sense of depth. In many cases, this is due to a poor value range or using strictly contour lines.
Flow: relaxed, zen-like work state of full concentration. For the photoshop tool “flow”, see this post.
Freelancer: self-employed professional.
Fundamentals: things you have to know before you can move on. The crawling before walking and running.
Figure Drawing: drawing humans.

G

Gesture: you probably heard before that non-verbal expressions are the most important element of conversation. That’s what gesture is about. The gesture of a figure, animal or even object can express a wild variety in emotions and actions. Gesture studies are a necessary complement to anatomy studies, to prevent your figures from becoming lifeless.
Graphic Design: the visual art that focuses on convey information. Fields like web design, logo design and typography are important to graphic design.
Grayscale/Greyscale: black-and-white. Consisting only of grey shades (from white to black). Sometimes short for “an image in grayscale”. Value painting/drawing.

H

Hairy Line: the same as “chicken scratch”. Drawing a line consisting of multiple small scratches or going over a line multiple times to mask mistakes. Not to be confused with loose, sketchy lines. *example picture to be added
colour hue Hue: this term is difficult to explain, as it corresponds to “colour” for those unfamiliar with colour theory. This is the third aspect of colour besides value and saturation. For example: red, green or blue are hues. Adding white or black will not change the hue.

I

Illustration: art accompanying another product. For example, illustrations in a book, on game cards, … Nonetheless, an illustration often has stand-alone artistic value.
Illustrator: artist making illustrations, either as a freelancer or employee.

L

Layer: in tradtional painting, this is literally a layer of paint. In digital painting, this is the layer in the painting program, on which one or more elements are kept. Painting on a single layer is also possible. Digital layers can be swapped, moved around and edited individually.
Life Drawing: also “drawing from life”. Drawing a real life object or person, as opposed to drawing from photo reference and drawing from imagination. The three most common life drawing practices are still lifes, model drawing and sketching people from life. The most beneficial aspect of life drawing is the increasing sense of value and 3D perception.
Loomis: usually heard in a phrase like “needs more Loomis”. This refers to the figure construction method as taught by the famous art teacher Andrew Loomis.

M

Master: an artist of great skill. An “old master” would be a great artist from the past, such as Rubens or Van Eyck. A “master work” is an artwork of high artistic and technical quality.
In the broadest sense, a master is any artist whose skill and accomplishments you admire. Doing a “master study” refers to studying the work of a master in order to learn from it.
Muddy drawing Muddiness (or a muddy drawing): the colours or values aren’t cleanly rendered. The most common causes are:
1. painting with a lot of short, small brush strokes instead of fluid large strokes.
2. Poor colour choice, for example shading by adding black.
3. Smudging.

N

Negative Space: the space surrounding the object of figure. Drawing negative space means focusing on the outer edge. This is most helpful to fix proportion errors.
Notan: balancing areas of light and dark in a harmonious whole. This concept is great importance in traditional ink paintings.

O

Opacity
Overlay

P

Pen Pressure: when using a tablet for digital art, you can turn pen pressure on. This responds to how firmly the stylus’ tip is pressed against the tablet surface.
It’s similar to how a pencil gives darker lines when pressed harder into the paper, but you can link pen pressure to a variety of settings. It is most commonly linked to line thickness and opacity.
Perspective
Photo Study: doing a study using a photograph as a reference. The goal of the study can be anything from lighting to anatomy.
Professional: an artist earning full-time income from his craft. Also refered to as “pro”, though “pro” is sometimes used for any artist of great skill.
Proportions

Q

Quick Pose: figure sketching done whilst setting a timer for each pose. Most common are quick gesture sketches, using 30 to 60 seconds for each figure. The purpose of quick poses varies.

R

Reference:

S

Saturation:

Self Portrait: drawing oneself in front of a mirror. Drawing yourself using a photo reference is usually regarded as a photo study.
Sketch: this is either an unfinished, rough drawing, or a drawing done as preparations for a bigger art work.
Sketchbook: there are physical sketchbooks with bound blank pages used to draw in, often done outside. “Sketchbook” could also reference to a regularly updated forum thread devoted to the art and progress of a single artist.
Skill: acquired technique and knowledge. The ability to do something.
Smudge: smudging is a blending process by rubbing with your finger or some material on the canvas. It is very common practice in pencil drawing, but often with poor results.
Speedpainting: a quick painting, usually between 30 minutes to 2 hours. Currently also used in the context of time lapse videos of the painting process.
Still Life: drawing or painting objects from life.
Studio:
Study: drawing or painting a reference in order to learn from it. The goal is to acquire knowledge and skill to use in one’s own artworks. Methods vary wildly depending on the aspect focused on.
Symbol drawing: drawing one’s representation of something instead of a realistic depiction. For example, drawing an almond shape and a circle for an eye.

T

Talent: the notion that one’s skills aren’t acquired by practice or studying. By some used to indicate great skill, but keep in mind that this could be an affront to hard working artists.
Thumbnail: a small version of an image.
Tutorial: short instructive guide. A tutorial could be in any format, from video to plain text. Usually tutorials are a combination of step drawings and explanatory text.
Tracing: putting a transparent sheet or a new layer on top of a picture and directly drawing over the lines. On the ethics of tracing, check out this link.

V

Value: when putting the colour on greyscale, value is the range it falls in, with pure white being 0 and pure black being 100. As some programs use different numbers, the value can also be expressed as a percentage, for example 10% grey.
Value is regarded as the most basic and important quality of colour, and beginners are encouraged to start practicing in greyscale before moving on to full colour. The two other aspects of colour besides value are hue and saturation.

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How to draw water – a drawing tutorial,tipps and tricks
by David Burgess on 0

How to draw water – a drawing tutorial,tipps and tricks

Drawing water – tipps and tricks

Water is transparent like glass if it is clear and the surface quiet. The water itself therefore often appears as “not visible”. Natural water in creeks and rivers is mostly not 100% transparent. Anyhow drawing water can be a challenge no matter whether it is without color or not and moving or not.

What is visible when we look at water are the reflections on the water surface and those things that one can see under the water surface. Big masses of water like the sea appear in opaque colours, often it is the reflected color of the sky or a muted variation of the sky color mixed with the color of th water. Also the waters of a big river can look opaque. Depending on the situation there are different strategies to depict water in a drawing. Unfortunately in the most cases the water you want to draw appears in a very complex and always changing mix of reflections and transparencies. On this website you will find tips and tricks how to depict water in a convincing way.

What you see when you look at water an analysis before drawing

What you see when you look at water an analysis before drawing
The appearance of water, especially of moving water, can be very confusing. I commend to sit down and watch the water flow and to make notes of what you see:

1. Reflections of the surrounding landscape and sky

At Harmony lake you see the typical mirror effect of a flat water surface. Clouds and trees are reflected on the water. The reflections of vertical elements converge towards to the viewer, as the trees are in far distance that effect is not visible that much.

The mirror effect can be perfect on a totally quiet water surface. If there are ripples the reflected forms are interrupted in a certain typical pattern. Tree trunks are deformed to wavy lines or even interrupted by bright reflections of the sky colour on the ripples. The contours get blurred or frayed as you can see in the black and white image of tree reflections.

2. Stones, sand and other things at the bottom of the water, changed in color by the turbidity and light

The beautiful view of the chalet at a lake is a very difficult subject as the water is very clear and reflections of the landscape above water level and the lake bottom are visible and overlap in an intriguing mix.

Almost any water surface, be it a river or a lake, shows a dark line directly at the bank. In the image of a quiet lake you can see that thin dark line, a shadow of the bank. When you look at the water surface yiou will notice that the closer you get to the bank the more the muddy colour of the water gets mixed intot the reflected color of the sky.

Water pen sketch

In this sketch I tried to depict a water surface with the reflections of a post. From left to right there are more and more ripples. The more the water moves the more difficult it gets to draw water. Appart from horizontal lines or short strokes flat elliptic lines can evoke the impression on water.
The reflection of the post gets more and more blurred or distorted the more the water moves and the bigger the ripples are.

If you experiment with horizontal and elliptic lines to represent ripples on the water you will get a feel what works and what not.

Helpful books on drawing water, river and seascapes

Amazon offers several books that deal with drawing and painting of seascapes and rivers and ponds as frequent and interesting elements of landscape drawing.
“Down by the sea” got excellent reviews and so does “drawing sceneries” more a compendiium of various landscape types.

Online Tutorials on how to draw water

Diane Wright is an experienced artist. She has written a number of great tutorials on landscape drawing. Her tutorial on drawing water is comprehensive and covers the subject very well.

DRAWING WATER – tutorial by Diane Wright
DRAWING WATER tutorial by Diane Wright. Artist Diane wright has written a great comprehensive tutorial on drawing water that covers all aspects very well.

Observations on moving water – analysis before drawing

Moving water is more difficult to draw as the ripples or waves will not mirror the surroundings as quiet and complete as a flat lake for example does.

One can see different patterns of ripples, depending on the water follow. However once the appearance of a ripple is understood and seen correctly drawing moving water becomes easier as all ripples show the same characteristics.

Simply spoken ripples always have a bright top and a darker flank. Ripples vary in direction, curvature and width. In the darker flanks the surrounding landscape is mirrored as more or less thin colour bands, whereas the bright tops reflect the sky and /or might be white because of foam.

Reflections on a pond in the woods

Gouache sketch in the forest diary
In June 2011 Im sketched a pond in the woods. When looking at a water surface from a low view point there is almost no transparencies to see, one can concentrate on the pattern of reflected colours and froms on the surface.

Pastel sketch drawing of moving water

This is one of my early humble attempts to sketch water. I have a vivid memory of thoset 30 minutes I stared into the water, concentrated and tried to draw what I saw. Suddenly I understood the Hermann Hesse novel Siddartha much better, contemplating on a river or stream changes your mind and way of thinking. It was a happy afternoon and for that reason I kept this humble sketch as a souvenir. The water was flowing quickly between those big stones near the river bank creating a confusing pattern that changed and re-shaped again and again…

Stunning realistic drawings of water

Emma Stibbons creates amazing works in charcoal. Her Upstairs gallery portfolio contains impressive seascape drawings in big size.

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