Of course, there are very many ways of using technology to create art – and I only know a tiny bit really – enough to create the work I want to create…. So we can’t cover absolutely all digital techniques here!

But I do want to share with you how I use digital art technologies to create art – and why I’m certain that this art form should definitely be considered ‘real art’.

My own artworks all actually start well away from the computer, which isn't always the case for digital art, but is still quite common these days as artists look to take the best of traditional and digital techniques.
​
I sit down with pen and paper – I draw and add colour. I use a black fine-liner pen, and Promarker inks. I find drawing in this traditional way allows me to draw naturally and in my own particular drawing style.

Easy artist colour theory for you to understand how to use colour practically in your art.

​Colour is one of those things that attracts us to creating art – it’s exciting and emotional and it gives our drawings life and personality.

It looks so easy… so why is it sometimes so damn hard?!

Let’s start by looking at some easy ways to add colour to our art –

• some ways to create realistic looking colour
• easy artist colour palette ideas
• using colour to enhance your drawing
• adding colour with markers – there’s a separate PDF resource for this here…
• adding colour with markers – there’s a separate PDF resource for this here…
• adding colour with coloured pencils or watercolour pencils – there’s a separate PDF resource for this here…
• adding colour with pastels – there’s a separate PDF resource for this here…
• adding colour with oil pastels – there’s a separate PDF resource for this here…

In this blog post, we’ll learn techniques for using colour to add form, depth, light, shade, and shape to your drawing – as well as the excitement of colour!

This is important, because as well as being an expressive tool to give emotion, feeling, and excitement to your artwork, colour is also a tool that you can use to give your artwork shape, depth, and form.

In the earliest parts of our drawing, we spend time looking at our subject matter and not our page so that we can draw the outline correctly…

We’ve done lots of hard work with our basic line drawing and may even have added texture and shade (mark making) with pen, pencil, or charcoal. So now we have that already in place, it’s the time to really immerse ourselves in the colour on the page or canvas.

You can apply the following ideas to any medium that you choose to use to apply colour to your artwork.
​
And you can adapt the ideas to suit your own style – and I would encourage you to do so.

Choosing colour for an artwork or design can be a really fun part of the creative process, but sometimes the sheer amount of colour choice available is just a little bit overwhelming, so here's a few tips I've learned over the past few years to help...
​
Of course, if the artwork or design is of flowers, animals, or birds I find the the natural colour of the flower, animal or bird is a great place to start, but for more abstract designs, or ones where you don't necessarily want the colours to look true to life, you can start by picking colours out of a favourite photo...
​
Here are some I tried from some of my own holiday snaps...

How we learn art matters!

Where some art teaching just teaches you specific art techniques so that you can recreate an individual artwork or copy the teacher’s style, I want to help you learn art to think like an artist, to be creative, and to learn art and drawing in your own way…

There’s so many benefits to learning a creative way of thinking, an artist’s way of seeing and thinking…

From the way that we can feel free to enjoy ourselves and not subject to judgement from ourselves and others as to if we’re doing art ‘the right way’…

To how we learn to flex and strengthen our creative thinking muscles!
​
Literally changing the way we approach problems in our everyday personal lives and potentially benefiting society as a whole as we bring new ways of thinking into the world…

We need to feel free when we learn art and we need to learn how to be creative…

Not just to learn to draw and paint but to learn how to be artists…

You might have noticed that I teach art and drawing differently to a lot of other artists. This is deliberate…

I don’t share my exact techniques and I don’t provide instructions for a quick fix so that you can quickly learn how to draw specific things…

Because, while this may allow you to make a fair copy of the original – which feels good, pretty satisfying, right? – it isn’t you and it isn’t creative!

Instead, I prefer you to learn art by me providing a basic instruction and understanding of the fundamental principles that allows you to go away and find out your own way of doing things…

Play a bit, get curious, develop your own drawing technique and evolve your own unique artistic style.

Last month, we were looking at understanding pastels (the different types of pastels, including oil pastels, and the different pastel techniques).

Today, we're making a more specialised pastel journey, looking at oil pastel techniques...

Oil pastels are less messy than traditional pastels and lots of fun with rich colours and textures that you can create with very expressively.

I do enjoy using oil pastels and I find I create with them quite differently than with my usual pens and markers.

In this Oil Pastels free PDF download we'll look at:

• oil pastel techniques including lines, shading and sgraffito technique
• oil pastel ideas
• oil pastel drawing demos

​Do you want 2020 to be the year that you get to be truly creative and learn to draw?

I'd love it if you joined me for my Start Drawing Your Way Essential Drawing Skills online course - for absolute beginners or those with drawing experience but who don't feel confident when drawing, my online PDF course helps you learn the skills you need to draw well and gives you the freedom to get creative in your own way, right from the start...

​Loads of practical exercises, loads of lessons, loads of creativity - start seeing things differently when you learn to draw...

Find out more about my Essential Drawing Skills online course (e-book PDF format) here...

Remember to make a note of code 25OFF2020 and use it on checkout to get 25% off - until end of Sunday 9th February only.

Would you love to have a go with pastels but aren't sure where to start?

Are you confused about which types of pastels to choose or uncertain about how to get those lovely blended colour effects?

Then my new Drawing with Pastels free PDF lesson is for you!

Understand:

• different pastel types
• how to use the different pastels
• pastel techniques

Follow my pastel drawing demos to learn the techniques and find a pastel style to suit you...

Your new coloured pencil drawing resource PDF e-book is now available on site with new information and tutorials including watercolour pencils and Inktense pencils too...

Jam-packed with info, techniques and drawing demos, if you're new to coloured pencils I think you'll find it of interest...
​
And best of all, it's totally free!