The Color of the Day Is...Yellow Orange

Sunshine go away today. I don't feel much like dancin...Obviously, someone was singing this and doing a little bit of ye good ole rain dance, cuz the only place to find sunshine here in Iowa is right here on this blog. That's right!...Direct from Etsy.com for your viewing pleasure...It's Yellow Orange!!!

If you need a card to send to a friend, then simplyexpress has just the one you need:
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=10125803



Need to knit some sunshine into your life?...check out ThePaintedTiger's shop:
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=10360523



Go and grab yourself this sunny NotYerAverageLobster from sojournquilt's shop:
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=313624



Already have sunshine in your neck of the woods? Then go check out pinkmarshmallow's shop for this way cool flip flop/t-shirt ensemble!
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=10567701



And how about a matching pair of earrings to wear with it from SOUNDandFURY's shop:
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=10033997



You know, I was plugging away at this cute little flower fairy, proud as a peacock at not only my choice of colors (which wasn't even an original idea lol) but at how well I was layering them on the paper, when I had an idea that would just look so cool...so I thought. I decided to outline the inner most red/orange part of her wings with the blueberry pencil. Let me tell you about bright ideas...this one wouldn't have lit up the refridgerator.



So....now what?!! It's dark blue/purple over pink and red! I can't just erase it, but I can't just leave it there and hope no one sees it. Actually...quite by accident I learned this neat little trick to fixing fully saturated swatches of colored pencil...but you have to use a light touch for this one.

Take out your handy dandy exacto knife, and put any blade your are comfortable with. Of course, I've forgotten if mine has a #16 or #11 in it, but they both work smashingly! GENTLY scrape off the colored pencil from the paper until either you get rid of the error, or until you have exposed your drawing surface. Then go in with the color you needed, in this case, I colored back over the red/orange/pink of the wing and made it as good as new.





This is a better trick on Illustration Board than it is on drawing paper, but with the right touch, you can do it without tearing it. And, this trick comes in handy not just for mistakes, but for changes made mid-stream, as you will see a bit further on.

I decided to make the Fairies clothes a bright yellow...same color as my pick for today, actually. I did this because it went with the rainbow like theme of the wings. It also really brightened up the entire drawing. I actually use 3 shades of yellow-orange for this, plus light brown and brown for the shadows. I also used Pale Flesh and the same browns for her skin. I think she turned out quite lovely.



Flowers always look best in odd-numbered groups. I'm not sure why that is...but there it is. I drew a grouping of 3 Morning Glory blooms, and decided to make them lavender and dark purple, with yellow centers. ALWAYS use your lightest color first...purple will cover yellow, most of the time, but yellow only turns burnt sienna when placed over purple. The yellow went down first, starting at the center and in a sunburst fashion, out from there. Then the lavender next to the yellow. If you put enough layers of yellow down first, the first layer of lavender glides over it, leaving no mark unless you push hard to make it leave a mark. This characteristic is what makes it easy to see where your colors are at. Then, I blended the dark purple into the lavender around the very edges of the flowers. They turned out really lovely, but something was missing.

I took my exacto knife out again and scraped away a little circle spot in the middle of the flowers. With the dark purple, I filled it in, giving it little rays into the yellow. You see...nothing is really permanent, is it?



I'm almost done with this little drawing. The completed drawing will be offered in my shop, as soon as I decide how I'd like to do it. I still have a sale on the drawings in my shop, and will be adding more nature photographs as well. Go check it out!

The Color of the Day is....Purple!

Well, all right then. I haven't been on the ball this week, for which I feel quite ashamed of myself. I can't get the word out about Etsy and its wonderful community of crafters if I don't make a more serious effort, can I?

Today, it's all about Purple! Lots of cool stuff out there comes in shades of purple...purple mountains majesty...purple people eaters...you know, stuff like that :)

Here is a great purple and cream pair of leg warmers from LanaHandknitting's shop:

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=9709761


Here is a wonderful flannel lobster from sojournquilts' shop:
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=6145251



This is an exceptional lavender travel candle from GoodScents' shop:
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=8911362



This beautiful inspiration bracelet is from carolinesdesign's shop:
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=9931776



And last for today, but definitely not least, is a beautiful bracelet from struckmyfancy's shop:
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=10035140



I also intended at the start to give tips on drawing with colored pencils. There are so many styles and techniques that I feel a bit overwhelmed with this task. I do that more than I should...think too hard about something and make it larger than it should be. So I made myself rethink my original idea. Obviously, I can't teach anyone something that I don't know how to do, right? So here goes...

The very first thing one should do when they want to create a masterpiece is decide on the subject matter. To draw a realistic looking piece of art, you must have a very good reference, whether that means drawing it out on the spot, or using reference photos as I do. If you use reference photos, be sure that they are clean and crisp so you can see the details, or at least know your subject well enough to be able to make an educated guess on something that doesn't show up well in your photo. I take my digital camera with me everywhere...and I mean everywhere. I've got hundreds of reference pictures saved to disc that I print out on my inkjet printer.
Proportion is everything when it comes to realistic drawings. I prefer to sketch from the photo I've taken, but if I need to make my main subject larger or smaller, I'm not against graphing off my picture and my drawing surface. I'll get more into that in my next blog.

What kind of colored pencils to use? That one is easy! Whichever kind you want to use. Some are softer than others, and blend more easily, but because of that, it is more difficult to get a crisp, sharp edge. (I didn't say impossible, just more difficult) If you are on an unlimited budget and money is not a factor, buy the best you can. Prismacolor is just one of the many great, yet expensive, colored pencils out there. I happen to be a starving artist, so Crayola is my pencil of choice. They have harder leads, but with practice can be manipulated quite well. On the down side, they will accept fewer layers without getting 'muddy'.

Colored pencils need a surface with some tooth to it. Rough artist paper is a good choice. Rough illustration board is more costly, but well worth the investment. Pencils must be layered at times, and maneuvered in other ways, and while artist drawing paper is good for a few layers, it does flatten out and get a 'warp' to it's surface if you push it too far. Illustration board is more forgiving than a mother is to a wayward child. Again, that starving artist rears its ugly head, so I draw with acid free artist drawing paper.

When it comes to sharpening my pencils, I love my handy dandy electric pencil sharpener, but it doesn't play well with the softer leaded pencils such as Prismacolor...so I keep a good hand held pencil sharpener in my art bin as well. Mine has a removable stainless steel blade that I can remove and put an edge on if necessary. The cheaper plastic ones from the dime store are not recommended for quality pencils, as you have to twist the pencil to get them to sharpen, which will most likely break the lead inside the wood casing.

If you are outlining with your pencil, get as sharp of a point as you can, using care not to press too hard on your drawing surface at first. This also helps get that crisp edge. If you are laying down wide areas of color, use the side of the pencil, laying it more horizontal to the paper. (yeah, I know...everyone knows that, don't they?)

Well, that is going to have to do you for now. Stay tuned for my next exciting installment of 'How to Get Realistic Effects With Colored Pencils Without Losing Your Sanity'