Do you Know the History of Crayons?

Alina Nibu MathewLeave a comment

“I must have been very young, but I have a clear memory of drawing on a cream brick wall… with wax crayons,” A famous Australian graphic designer Robert Ingpen once said this. Almost all of us have the same colorful childhood memory of crayons. 

Crayons are simply colored wax, chalk, charcoal, or other materials used for drawing or coloring. Those made from oiled chalk are called oil pastels and those made of pigmented mix with wax are called grease pencil or china marker.

Crayons are very easy to draw with, less messy, and are not harmful to kids. Thus made it a must-have elementary school essential.

Crayola was the first brand to sell kid’s crayons. Crayons were invented by two cousins, Edwin Binney and C. Harold Smith. The brand’s first box of eight Crayola crayons was made in 1903. It cost a nickel. The word Crayola was created by Alice Binney (wife of Edwin Binney). She added the French words craie (which means chalk) and oily (oleaginous) and combined them.

Europe is known to be the birthplace of modern crayon. The first contemporary, cylindrical stick crayon is considered to be a mixture of charcoal and oil. Later, it was replaced by powdered pigments of various hues. Then wax was substituted by oil in the mixture made crayon sticks sturdier and easier to handle.

Metallic Reflections: Some Tips You Need To Know

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metallic reflections

When light strikes a metallic object, it can reflect onto a nearby object and gives varying degrees of light and shadow. Incorporating these in your drawing can be a great way to add realism.

Some tricks to draw metallic reflections in the drawing are:

  • Place your objects in light: First, select some metallic objects and place them as light falling on one side. Then observe the light and shadowed areas and draw the basic shapes.
  • Get shading: Start shading with the object that receives direct light and then shade the object in shadow. Follow conventional rules of light and shadow in shading objects.
  • Add some shadows: Add ground shadows to your object. The object appears to float at this stage, so needs grounding.
  • Blend and soften: Using an eraser is an easy method to highlight areas where light is reflected. Finally, blend some areas using fingers for the effect. Learn these basics and make drawings beautiful.

Use these tips to get a memorable output.

Drawing Tips: What You Need To Know About Perspective Drawings

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Perspective drawing

Perspective drawings make objects look smaller as they move into the distance. It gives depth and dimensions to images.

Some tips for drawing perspective are the following:

  • Place the horizon line: It would be better to place the horizon line either very low or very high in drawing. When the horizon line is above character it gives users an impression of them being in a higher position. When the horizon line is below character it gives users an impression of them being in a lower position.
  • Utilize a one-point perspective: Try to avoid putting vanishing points right in the middle of the space of the drawing. It creates too much symmetry to draw and is a bit unnatural.
  • Create a two-point perspective: Place either one or both vanishing points outside the edge of the drawing. It gives a natural look to drawing. Also, try to up your skill using analog tools.

Incorporating these methods of perspective drawings will help you to improve your drawings.

The History of Portraits: What You Need To Know

Alina Nibu MathewLeave a comment

A portrait is simply an artistic representation of a person. It could be a drawing, sculpture, or photograph.

The artist who makes portraits is called a portraitist. Portraits often relate to a message, which the artist or sitter (person who commissioned the work) wishes to convey. 

When a portrait is made, the portraitist aims to show the sitter’s appearance along with some elements of their character.

The artist will carefully craft visual clues to tell the story of the person in the artwork. Portrait paintings can reveal the sitter’s place in society, their hobbies or occupation, or aspects of their personality or beliefs. The facial expression, gesture, settings, clothing, objects. There have been portraitures as long as paintings. 

The first portrait is attributed to artists of the Egyptian Old Kingdom (2700-2300 BC). Entirely dedicated to the dead, kings, and gods, these paintings are not made to be seen by the living but for the spiritual world. 

Later in the early AD’s, portraits of the Roman empire was made, known as “Faiyum Portraits”. They were used to insert to the bandages of the mummy face concerned. They are called funeral portraits.

Ink Drawing: Tips And Tricks You Should Know

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Ink drawings

Ink drawing is a process of using pens to apply inks for drawing. Ink drawing materials include ink, drawing pens, graphite pencil, eraser, and many others. 

Below are some tips for your ink drawing:

  • Choose the right pen for your drawing.
  • Get your grip right: It is good to hold the pen close to the tip and keep pen and paper at about 45 degrees.
  • Start with pencil sketches: Pencil drawings are easy to erase and drawings are easy to erase after the ink is dry. Give more attention to the eyes when drawing with inks.
  • Explore different textures: Try using different contrasting textures for a visual treat.
  • Try to clump your hair while ink drawing.
  • Try experimenting with silhouettes. You can also try some crow quills for drawing. Crow quills help to create different lines ranging from fine to extremely wide lines. Also, try to use some clean lines for face drawings.
  • The most important thing is to be careful while choosing the color.

Follow these simple drawings and create beautiful ink drawings.

How to draw landscapes: Tips You Should Know

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The major challenge while drawing landscapes is that you have to illustrate several different textures and compositions in your drawing. 

Today, let’s see the different steps to draw a perfect landscape composition.

To begin with, observe your references closely. Draw and practice different textures you see in it. As a second step, plan your drawing. Choose an angle that will give depth to it.

Use basic shapes like ellipses and polygons to make a rough sketch first. Arrange the lighting and shadows in your rough sketch to have a clear idea about the same in your final work.

Recreate your rough sketch on a canvas. Start with rough linework using lighter pencils when you do this. 

Then add details with textures. If you’re using pencils, cut the lead at an angle to get the perfect tool for texturing. If you’re using paints, using a variety of brushes at different angles can do the trick.

If you’re using pencils, pens, or watercolors, build the drawing from lighter shades to darker shades. However, if you’re using a bit more opaque medium, feel free to accentuate the highlights at last.

Art Block: How to Get Over It

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Art Block

Anyone who has experienced an art block would know how badly it affects their creativity. Art block is essentially a lack of inspiration to create art. Let’s see some ways to overcome the art block.

Keep drawing: No matter how small or imperfect it feels like, it can stimulate your creativity to make something bigger and better.

Change your media: Try using new media. For example, try oil paints if you usually use acrylic. Be adventurous.

Try a different style: Find new artists and explore their art style. Try to follow their art style for a change.

Visit a new place: Go somewhere you have never been before. Unfamiliar sceneries and people can always inspire to create new art.

Keep a journal: Writing a daily art journal can help you be consistent with your works. Jot your ideas down in the book so that you can refer to it later when you need the inspiration to make a new piece of art.

Art block is almost unavoidable at times. But, following the above steps can help you to get through them relatively better.

Drawing Pen Art: Tips That You Should Know

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pen sketches

While drawing with a pen, even a small wrong stroke can create undesirable blobs and marks that could ruin the whole drawing.

The common mistakes committed while working with pen and ink are detailed below.

Lack of control over the medium when compared to other mediums: Instead of anticipating an error in each step, learn to convert that error into a unique feature. When drawing realistically, the wrong values can make the picture look unpleasant. To solve it, practice consistently. Draw from observation and train your eyes to absorb each detail.

Prevent mistakes at all costs: It’s hard to correct mistakes and even harder to maintain workflow when errors happen. Prevent possible mistakes using a pencil underlining. 

Smearing is never a happy accident: Make sure your ink is dry before moving your drawing around. Using waterproof ink is also ideal for preserving the work.

In case any of the said mistakes happen, it can be corrected in the following ways:

  • Try to make the mistakes a part of your drawing.
  • Use inks, gouache, or acrylics to cover your mistakes.
  • Use gel pens for correcting smaller mistakes.
  • Remove the mistakes with a blade.
  • Avoid this mistakes to master pen art.

Keep these tips in mind before you start with your work.

The Fundamentals of Painting With Watercolors

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watercolors

Watercolors are fun to work with, provided you know a few fundamentals about this medium. So, before you start painting, read the following things which any beginner watercolorist must know.

Do not draw on regular paper: Get thicker paper intended for watercolors. 100% cotton paper at least 200 gsm thick is the most suitable for watercolor art.

Get the right brand of watercolors: Always consider quality over quantity. Do not buy cheap student quality watercolor if you are serious about watercolor art.

Swatch your watercolors: Printed color swatches are deceiving. Make swatches of your color palette to ensure that you are using the right shade. 

Keep the pencil sketches light: You can also erase the linework using a kneadable eraser so that lines won’t show through the painting.

Keep brighter areas unpainted: You can also use masking fluid to protect the whites.

To make your painting perfect, plan your painting well, and build darker values with each layer of paint. Allow each layer to dry properly before painting the next layer. Replace the water frequently so that your brushes remain clean every time you switch colors.

Grab that drawing pad and color palette now, and unleash your creativity.

How To Draw Anime: Tips And Techniques

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Draw anime

Anime drawings are complex but enjoyable. The key factors which define anime drawings are facial features and facial structure.

Some basic techniques that you should know when you start to draw anime are detailed below.  

First, learn the basics of drawing. Learn drawing simple things like straight lines and basic shapes like circles and squares.

Next is to learn perspective drawing. In perspective drawing, images get smaller as they go in distance. You can practice perspective drawing by drawing three-dimensional objects like cubes and cylinders from different angles.

After this, learn some basic anatomy. Knowing the proportions and placement of different body parts helps you improve drawings.

Learn how to shade as well. To do shading, we need to know how light reflects in different shapes and surfaces. The basic rule is an object facing a light source is drawn more lighter.

Finally, learn how to use color. Learning some basics of color like warm and cool complementary colors will help you make your drawings beautiful.