Free eBooks

Mixed Media Painting Techniques: Combine Media to Create Inspired Mixed Media Art

Courtney Jordan — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 20:10:11 GMT

Our newest free eBook, Mixed Media Painting Techniques: Combine Media to Create Inspired Mixed Media Art profiles two artists who blur the edges between media to create some really standout work.

Janet Cook's paintings of New York City pulse with life and rhythm, partly due to the fact that she is able to mix the vibrant colors of pastel with the expressive fluidity of watermedia. It gives each of Cook's scenes a sense of drama that the artist really craves, and allows her to create detailed underpaintings that have a strong enough structure so that she can put a lot of gesture and movement into the final pastel layers.


	Steppin' Out on Broadway by Janet Cook, 2009, pastel over gouache and watercolor on paper, 27 x 20.

For Russell Irwin, painting is more like mosaic art, as he uses mixed media collage elements like torn paper in combination with acrylic paint to form a richly textured surface on his paintings. The artist acknowledges that this process forces him to approach his work as if it was abstract art, where the relationship between shape and color dominates.

11 Reasons for Drawing Models & Attending Life-Drawing Sessions from Artist Daily

Courtney Jordan — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 18:12:45 GMT

Life drawing is a consistently rewarding artistic experience because there's hardly a more inspiring—and challenging—exercise than drawing models.

There's just so much to take in! Every time a model makes a move, there's something to glean and work on—shadows and gesture to skin texture and how the limbs extend. Every life drawing pose reveals a whole new avenue of artistic pursuit.

If you are thinking the same thing and want to delve more into your own life drawings, 11 Reasons for Drawing Models & Attending Life-Drawing Sessions from Artist Daily is sure to spur you on. Author and artist Sharon Allicotti has a whole list of reasons why life drawings should be part of every artist's repertoire, and points out that drawing models isn't just for students. In fact, making life-drawing sketches a part of your career can result in better art for us all.

By taking life-drawing lessons, you are able to network with other artists, save substantial amounts of money on model fees, and most importantly improve your overall drawing skills of gauging proportion, assessing space more accurately, and understanding the landscape of the body.

"The body can be conceived as analogous with the manifold living and nonliving forms of the natural landscape: It's no coincidence that we speak of the trunks and limbs of trees, and find in hilly terrain the undulating forms of a reclining nude," says Allicotti.

This article contains artworks of nude figures. Parental discretion is advised.

Shading Techniques Beyond Cross-Hatching: Artist Daily Pencil Shading Tutorial on Modeling Gradations

Courtney Jordan — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 23:37:25 GMT

Using a pencil feels so simple, doesn't it? I mean, it's the first thing we learn to write with when we are kids, so what could be more familiar and comforting than that? But I've found again and again that using a pencil or graphite for certain types of shading can get pretty complicated. For example, with cross-hatching you don't need to be as particular about pressure and gesture, but it can be a real challenge when you go beyond that to subtler shading effects. I needed some help when it came to shading techniques that didn't appear heavy-handed or inconsistent, and that's where Shading Techniques Beyond Cross-Hatching: Artist Daily Pencil Shading Tutorial on Modeling Gradations comes in.

I had been missing a part of the puzzle until reading this eBook because I didn't realize that the best way to conquer gradation was to practice shading shapes like cylinders. Artist and instructor Jon deMartin points out that drawing convincing forms and figures means becoming a master of gradation. And you do that first by starting with a form that curves in one direction, like a cylinder. From there, you can go onto more complicated forms and the figure.

DeMartin discusses how to make smooth gradations, how surfaces relate to a light source, and how to breakdown an object or figure's planes in order to identify how to model it. What I found most interesting was learning that to really make a cylinder look round, I don't just smooth away edges, but instead truly gradate the values appearing on the form.

All that and more is in Shading Techniques Beyond Cross-Hatching: Artist Daily Pencil Shading Tutorial on Modeling Gradations. It is a crucial chapter in the book of drawing fundamentals, and it is one I know I'm going to revisit again and again. The information is too valuable not to. Download your copy of Shading Techniques Beyond Cross-Hatching: Artist Daily Pencil Shading Tutorial on Modeling Gradations now and rediscover the methods that separate good artwork from great. Enjoy!

And if you have anyone who might be interested in the drawing methods in Shading Techniques Beyond Cross-Hatching, feel free to send this link to them so they can learn pencil-shading tips, too. They are sure to thank you!

Pastel Painting Techniques with Artist Daily: Making Color Work in Every Pastel Drawing

Courtney Jordan — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 18:21:36 GMT

I'm also happy to report that I learned a boatload of pastel painting lessons from Frank Federico, an artist and pastel painter from Connecticut, who shared his dynamic approach to color in our latest free eBook, Pastel Painting Techniques with Artist Daily: Making Color Work in Every Pastel Drawing.


McLaughlin Vineyard by Frank Federico, pastel painting.

Federico is inspiring to learn from because he loves color as much as much as I do. And he has the experience with color to back it up. He discusses how all paintings--landscapes as well as portraits--need creative and exciting color choices. For him, that means starting a painting with a layer or glaze of color like yellow, to see how colors that are put down after will appear next to this ground. He also creates his underpaintings with just two blues, two yellows, two reds, and white. With these alone he gets a range of hues and values that allow him to paint anything he wants, but with bold effects.

Federico also stresses that color can be used as shapes and values, so an artist only needs to place them thoughtfully and see how they interact with one another. It all grows from there. To get all the details from Federico, download your free copy of Pastel Painting Techniques with Artist Daily: Making Color Work in Every Pastel Drawing now and enjoy!

Painting Flowers with Artist Daily: How to Paint Flowers and Create Dynamic Action in Floral Painting

Courtney Jordan — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 19:30:44 GMT

I certainly know there have been times when I wasn't as excited as I am now about painting flowers because I didn't know what it was capable of teaching me. But floral paintings are not just exercises in how to paint a rose. There is so much more! And when I put my own take and personality into it, it allowed me to explore my art on my own terms. It gave me the freedom to experiment un-self-consciously, and I was able to work on painting essentials like form, light, and color that I can carry with me to all the other paintings I'll ever create.

From a sensitivity to color combinations to gaining confidence in the way I put down brushstrokes by mimicking the organic forms of flower buds, stems, leaves and more, I've really grown as a student of art through painting flowers. Most of all, I've discovered how creating a really interesting flower oil painting composition has made me attuned to composing scenes almost instinctively, which is progress for me! The more I paint without thinking the process to death, the freer my work looks.

In our latest eBook, Painting Flowers with Artist Daily: How to Paint Flowers and Create Dynamic Action in Floral Painting. Artist and writer James Sulkowski analyzes his own floral paintings in terms of their compositional arrangements and forms.

Sulkowski gave me such solid instruction and really interesting tips for identifying unique compositions, and it has allowed me to start painting with more confidence and surety--and those aren't feelings I often have about my work. That's why I'm especially glad to share Painting Flowers with Artist Daily: How to Paint Flowers and Create Dynamic Action in Floral Painting with you. Download your free copy now!

--Courtney

Pencil Drawing Lessons: 27 Ways to Use Values to Create Dramatic Pencil Drawings

Courtney Jordan — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 15:03:45 GMT

Artist and instructor Dan Gheno reaches for examples of amazing drawings, past and present, to illustrate what every draftsman should know—how to turn a ho-hum drawing into something memorable. Download our free Pencil Drawing Lessons: 27 Ways to Use Values to Create Dramatic Pencil Drawings now. Enjoy!

How to Draw Perspective: Drawing Using Three-, Two, and One-Point Perspective Techniques

Courtney Jordan — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 19:58:01 GMT

Free video tutorial, Perspective Drawing: How to Draw Using Three-, Two-, and One-Point Perspective. It’s a starting point to help you understand why linear perspective is useful and how it can lead to a convincing perspective drawing.

It all comes down to remembering that your best bet is to trust yourself and paint what you see. That and a little perspective know-how can make all the difference in your art, so enjoy your free access to Perspective Drawing: How to Draw Using Three-, Two-, and One-Point Perspective.

Plein Air Painting Techniques: 18 Tips for Outdoor Painting from Artist Daily

Courtney Jordan — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 17:06:57 GMT

Discover the tips and tricks to painting outdoors with success. From practical know-how from seasoned artists to beautiful examples of outdoor painting artworks that are sure to inspire, this free eBook on plein air painting techniques will have you geared up and ready to go for your next venture outside the studio.

Pencil Sketch Drawing Lessons: 32 Sketching Techniques to Learn How to Sketch with Expression and Power

Courtney Jordan — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 15:39:15 GMT

This eBook will give you a comprehensive approach to pencil sketch drawing with purpose.

Learn How to Draw People: 40 Expert Tips on How to Draw a Person

Karyn — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 18:30:32 GMT

Learn How to Draw People: 40 Expert Tips on How to Draw a Person

Artist Daily’s newest free eBook, Learn How to Draw People: 40 Expert Tips on How to Draw a Person, gives readers an essential tutorial on how to draw portraits in a classical manner, the best ways to capture the character of the sitter, drawing hair successfully, the pitfalls and benefits of working from photographs—and more.

Learning how to draw a face or figure that is memorable and unique is an artist’s greatest challenge, but when done successfully, also one’s greatest accomplishment. Learn How to Draw People: 40 Expert Tips on How to Draw a Person will put you well on your way to the successes and goals you have planned for yourself. Download your free eBook now!

Human Figure Drawing Tutorial from Artist Daily: 13 Gesture Drawing Techniques

Courtney Jordan — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 18:28:50 GMT

Using a model as the stepping off point, Hannaway creates human figure drawings that emphasize pivotal moments of action where the figure is about to move or is in the act of doing so. In Artist Daily’s eBook, Human Figure Drawing Tutorial: 13 Gesture Drawing Techniques, Hannaway shares even more details of her drawing process and gives insight on how her approach has enhanced her career as an animator and fine artist.

If you perfect your ability to render the human form—from gesture drawings of the body to specific studies on how to draw hands or the nose and mouth—your skill in drawing almost any other subject matter will likely increase as well. Hannaway’s instruction in our free Human Figure Drawing eBook allows readers to solidify their drawing skills with a thoughtful, informed instructor while learning an approach that focuses equally on rendering well and seeing dynamically.

How to Paint a Portrait: 38 Portrait Painting Techniques from Artist Daily

Courtney Jordan — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 14:09:06 GMT

Learn the fundamentals of portraiture with our latest eBook, How to Paint a Portrait: 38 Portrait Painting Techniques from Artist Daily. In it, Janet Rogers explores how to capture a model's gesture in a watercolor portrait. I knew I liked her style when I read a few of her tips, one of which was "keep the painting simple and don't try to say too much." Rogers also gives a few great painting tips on how to test background colors while in the process of painting.

And for oil painting lessons, none other than famed artist John Howard Sanden's paintings are used to show how a professional portrait artist works. I was especially interested to learn that Sanden uses three values of neutral mixtures on his palette, made from combinations of Permalba white, ivory black, and yellow ochre. Plus there's a step-by-step demo that Sanden does that makes the whole portraiture process seem so accessible.

Get all of these tips and techniques to add to your art instruction library by downloading your free copy of How to Paint a Portrait: 38 Portrait Painting Techniques from Artist Daily. Enjoy!

Artist Daily Beginner Painting Tips: Learn Acrylic Painting in 7 Steps

Courtney Jordan — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 13:47:50 GMT

The art lessons in our free eBook, Artist Daily Beginner Painting Tips: Learn Acrylic Painting in 7 Steps, cover the benefits of using acrylic paints, including the fact that acrylic paints dry much quicker than oils, allowing an artist to create depth and a sense of volume by adding successive layers of color to the painting canvas with only minutes in between for drying time. There is also a step-by-step painting demonstration from Alabama artist Ronald Lewis that takes the reader from rough drawing to finished painting.

The eBook is ideal for both the beginner—one who is painting for the first time and looking for reliable, experienced painting instruction—as well as the more advanced student who has an interest in the range of approaches to acrylic painting, from a loose representational style to one that is more detailed.

Landscape Painting Techniques: Painting Light and Shadow in Your Landscape Art

Karyn — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 14:11:37 GMT

Work on perfecting your landscape painting techniques with Chris McHenry and Joseph Bohler. Each discusses how they approach painting landscapes within their chosen medium. Bohler is a watercolorist with an eye for simplified compositions and objects and places that are timeworn. McHenry has a background as a billboard sign painter and puts his experience to good use in his landscape art, focusing on how to evoke a place without a lot of detail and how to paint patterns of sunlight and shadow while sticking to big shapes.

New content was added to this eBook in May 2011.

Watercolor Lessons on Depth and Luminosity: 10 Watercolor Painting Techniques from Artist Daily

Karyn — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 14:56:49 GMT

Watercolor Lessons on Depth and Luminosity: 10 Watercolor Painting Techniques from Artist Daily is all about skin tones and colors that shine: Ali Cavanaugh discovered the ways and means to create richly nuanced figure paintings in watercolor.