Express Yourself with Colored Pencils
Simple art supplies fascinate me. Colored pencils have been my favorites recently. They are so easy! There are no worries about making the pages too thick even if there’s a lot of layers.
Colored pencils seem to be used for traditional artwork mostly. I think they are as suitable for improvising as any other media, like watercolors. In this post, I will show you few easy techniques for expressing yourself with colored pencils.
1) Color by Doodling
Starting with a blank page or paper, draw circulating and continuous lines to color a small area. Then change the color and continue. Create layers and let the colors intersect. You can get a wide range of colors with layering. Think your pencils as doodling tools!
2) Rotate the Page while Coloring
You will get more variety and interest to the page if you rotate it while working. Work one area at a time, changing the orientation once in a while. The areas can be fairly large as in my page, or smaller.
Here’s the page before I used the eraser …
3) Use Eraser to Create Lighter Areas
Erased areas bring light to the work. In an art journal page, use the eraser for the areas where you want to write the journaling.
4) Add More Clarity
I am a big believer of finishing. When you improvise, the result may be self-explanatory for you without the finishing touches. But if you want to communicate with others too, then sharpening some areas and adding some layers here and there for more intensive color is a minimum. I realized that my page had some animals in it so I made them easier to see. Like the photos include sharp and unsharp areas, you do not need to work through the page. Picking the focal points and working with them is often enough.
Coloring with Pencils is Like Painting by Drawing
By discovering these easy techniques, I have learned to love colored pencils. It is like mixing painting with drawing. With colored pencils, you can have a gorgeous art journal or a unique greeting card collection! Show your free expression with colored pencils!
Express yourself with colored pencils! >> Buy Coloring Freely!
Find Where You Belong to
It took just a few seconds looking at the pictures of folk dresses to become almost overwhelmingly inspired. I hurried to my fashion themed Smash book and created this art journal spread.
And then I had to make even one more page. Folklore and folk art always make me feel like this: fabulous! They give me both the sense of belonging and the sense of freedom. I feel that I am one part of the long chain of all the women, of Finnish women, of my mother and grandmothers. At the same time I am not defined by them, just empowered by them. With folk style, I can express my roots and origin without constraints.
They say that one of the basic needs is to belong to someone, to somewhere. I think that creating art can greatly enforce that feeling.
What kind of art makes you feel like that you are included? Maybe enjoying creating is not so much about finding one’s personal style but finding ways to feel belonged.
If you want to develop, it will be insufficient to create art that touches only you. You will want to get connected to other people as well. I claim that the deeper you go in your own self-expression, the more you will also touch others. Our mothers and grandmothers may have very little in common but we can share the goal to create something new and original from our heritage.
We do not have to think shapes or lines. It is often enough to dive into the colors. For me, colors represent the feeling. Shapes and lines are just to support them.
Find the colors from your origin and mix them with the colors of your present life. You are free to create any combinations! The best colors give you the sense of belonging. They will also inspire you to create art that is filled with meaning.
See this journal fully finished! >> Watch the flip-through video!
Draw Your Own Fonts
“I am very much down to earth, just not this earth“, says this little art journal page which I made for my fashion themed art journal. The quote is from a famous fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld. I kind of relate to his quotes and predict that my art journal will be full of them! Namely, I have found creating lettering so much fun! These two great books have inspired me for that.
The books are:
1) Draw Your Own Fonts (also with a name Draw Your own Alphabets) by Tony Seddon
2) Creative Lettering by Jenny Doh
Both of these books try to bridge the gab between graphic designers and art journalers. If you want simple exercises and skeleton like starting points, I would recommend Tony Seddon’s book.
Draw Your Own Alphabets introduces each font as a simple concept which you can alter easily. It is also a workbook where you can practice drawing the fonts. I find this book easy and practical and every skeleton inspires me to create my own version of it. Clearly, if you are a graphic designer wanting to learn how to create elegant fonts, this book is not the best for you. But if you are an art journaler or card maker who wants to have fun with lettering, this book is just what you need to get started.
All the fonts shown in the art journal page are based on Draw Your Own Alphabets.
Another book that I have and like is Creative Lettering. It introduces 16 artists who show their way to use alphabets. The artists have very different styles from each other, which is great and which really inspires to use alphabets in different ways.
Creative Lettering is more beautiful than the previous one and it is still pretty easy to pick ideas from it. I am quite picky when purchasing books but these two I can warmly recommend!
(If you wondered how did I made the background of the page, it is explained in the blog post a while ago.)
Collage Birds
My new year’s resolution: in 2014 I am going to make an e-book showing my techniques and sources of inspiration. I have begun to create collage birds that I am going to include in the book.
I have always admired birds. I have four budgies as pets, and they have proved me that birds can be smart, skillful and full of compassion. I want to add positive feelings to my collage birds too.
Update in 2017
The e-book about collage birds never came true, but it was a seed for my most popular class Inspirational Drawing.
>> Sign up for Inspirational Drawing 2.0 here!