I need some pointers...

[thetimesgoneby]

ok... decided to ask my favorite group to help me out a bit...especially since I've seen such beautiful work by all of you. Now, I'm not much of a "painter".... I've always been able to draw things, but I truly need to be looking at them to draw them properly. I notice how so many kind of develop their own little character faces... and all of mine look completely different...does that make sense? I'm thinking I've not developed my own style or something yet, I don't know. I would like to be able to paint better... although, I don't really have the necessary supplies probably. I usually use watercolor pencils if I have to paint something in... but I always draw it out first with pencil. (regular pencil I mean)... Mine don't blend well... what am I doing wrong? They're grainy, liney... that make sense? I'm using watercolor paper...and I've blended with both alcohol and q-tips.. and just with water on my brush, but they never look like everyone else's. I must be doing something wrong. I love altered art aceos.... but I would still like to see some of my "drawings" sell.. or be able to paint them with a little skill. I've never had art classes, so I may be a little art ignorant. I've just always had sketch pad and did lots of doodling...etc. I can't seem to draw a decent man... because he always looks like a woman without breasts. LOL Anyway, any tips would be appreciated!

[thetimesgoneby]

you know what I like to use best..... gel pens. Gawd, I love gel pens! But....I truly need to improve my painting skills.

[*colorific*studio*]

Hey joanna, I buy all my seven well palettes here on ebay, they're REALLY inexpensive. I have several of the plastic ones so that I can keep several projects open and going. I use acrylic so by the time I'm done painting a card, the paints have dried in the wells too and all that's left to do is just peel the color off, voila! Clean palette 🙂 Ready to do again! skyM now if I could only get my dinner dishes to do that!!

[suejo0101]

Oh heck Sky - just let the dog lick them clean & put them back in the cupboard! Who's to know? lol:^O Sue

[thetimesgoneby]

LOL

[bonesbglowin]

Penny-start out with something with a good selection of colors---maybe get one with the watercolor cakes and one with the tubes and see what you like better. 🙂 As you can see we all have our preferences which is why it's so cool that there's so many options and brands!

[*colorific*studio*]

lol! the only problem with that is I might have to clean rainbow colored poo outta my carpets! skyM

[cricketdiane]

I found out that my flesh tones were grainy because of using cadmium red in the mix. So, if something like that - graininess or paints not working to suit you happens - try using a different color for the mix - like alizarin instead of cadmium. Apparently, regardless of manufacturer, certain things are used for the pigments that have different properties, like graininess which is especially evident in watercolors. And paper makes a difference, too. Watercolors can be used on bristol or illustration boards but it is soaked into the surface and set quickly. Watercolor papers all have slightly different treatments - so cold press acts differently for washes and detail work than hot press. There is a paper sampler offered by several brands in a small size like 9x12 or 11x17 - which could allow you to try a whole bunch of different ones very reasonably. For me, the best brushes I have are 18/0 because it allows me to get into the spaces around eyes which every other brush is way to big to do. For aceos, definitely invest in at least one good brush that looks like it only has two hairs in it - or "bristles" to be proper. It will save more headaches and frustration than anything else you can have. And I want to know more about the iridescent paints - are these watercolors and do the scans pick them up at all? - Cricket Diane

[drawdog5]

Yes, the irridescents are watercolors (Dan Smith also makes oils & acrylics in the same shades), but no, they don't show well on scans. On the one ACEO where I used a lot of the paint, I had to take a separate photo where I held the card at an angle to pick up the irridescence. It's the "Midnight Pegasus" in my store, if you want to see the scan & photo. They also make "duochrome" paints that shift color depending on the angle and "interference" paints that allow an underlying color to show through, but add, for example, a red sheen. They work really well over dark colors. here's the link to all these types of Dan Smith paints (they call them "luminescent") www dot danielsmith dot com/categories/paint/watercolor/ds/luminescent-watercolors/default.asp -Ann

[thetimesgoneby]

Will do Amanda. 🙂 ::head is spinning trying to keep up with all this advice:: LOL Thank you guys!