Newsletter Launch

I often get asked by artists to let them know when knew drawing tutorials are released and also for hints and tips for working with coloured pencils. Over, the weekend, whilst at our youngest son's soccer breakup, it suddenly occurred to me that a newsletter would provide the perfect way of keeping everyone up to date. I spent much of the weekend compiling an email distribution list and putting together this first, short newsletter. I am hoping to make them a little longer and more informative in the future, but just wanted to put the feelers out for this first one. If you would like to be added to the email list, you can either send me an email, or message me via Facebook with you email address. I am planning to make this a monthly issue and would love to hear if you have any ideas for tutorials or questions you think everyone might like to know about. Happy drawing. :)

Pippa - Coloured Pencils on Black Mat Board

Pippa
8x11 inches
Coloured pencil on Black Mat Board

This gorgeous little girl is called Pippa and I have drawn her a few times. She is the daughter of my artist friend Andrea Knowles, who kindly allowed me to use this reference photo again to create a drawing tutorial. I have had a bit of a passion for drawing on black surfaces and quite a few artists have asked me about skin tones when drawing on black. This 27 page tutorial is available from my website at http://www.miniatureartbykhull.com/tutorials_36.html. I have done it predominantly using Caran D'ache Pablos and Faber Castell Polychromos. The Caran D'ache are more vibrant on the black support, but do tend to sit on the surface and leave more dust, and the Polychromos are wonderful for pushing the Pablo pigment into the black surface to give a smoother, more polished look :)

Collie Commission and Tutorial

Pete

8x10 inch commission

Coloured pencil on drafting film

Meet Pete! This commission brings back memories of childhood and watching Lassie on TV. They truly are magnificent dogs and my next commission is another Collie. The lady who commissioned this portrait asked for a step by step guide as to how the portrait was created and so I thought others might be interested as well. If you would like to try your hand at drawing this Collie dog, you can find this 16 page step by step tutorial on the tutorials page of my website 

Hoodie - New Art Tutorial

This latest 8x10 inch artwork is my darling little nephew Chris and was drawn with coloured pencils on drafting film. This time I used Faber Castell Polychromos on Grafix Dura-lar which gives a lovely smooth, translucent look to your portraits. You can purchase the 21 page comprehensive step by step tutorial from my website at http://www.miniatureartbykhull.com/tutorials_34.html. Watch this space for more tutorials soon.

Ebay Store Closing

After receiving an email from Ebay to say that the subscription for stores is now increasing from $25 per month to $50 per month, plus you still need to pay a listing fee, plus they still take 7% of the final value fee, I have no choice other than to close the Ebay store I have held for 5 years. I do hope this doesn't cause any inconvenience to my loyal and much valued customers. You can still purchase all my art tutorials and commissioned portraits from my website at www.karenhullart.com or from my Etsy store. If you have any problems with either of these sites, please don't hesitate to contact me directly. I will also be adding to my tutorials on a regular basis and they are being added to a range of new sites over the coming months.

Crazy Days

Lola

8x10 inches

Coloured Pencils and Zest-it on Pastelmat

High Tea

4x3 inches

Coloured Pencils and Scratchart on Scratchbord

The Window Cleaner

3x4 inches

Coloured pencils on Colourfix Suede

I must apologize for not posting in a while. We had our son's 21st Birthday on Saturday night and have been busy preparing for that and all the interstate family who were travelling down for the event. We then got a phone call on Friday to say that the caterers we had booked for the event had just gone into liquidation and so it was then a mad rush to get some food together for the 70 guests we were expecting. We got there in the end and it turned out to be a lovely night.

These are also some of the artworks I have been working on over the last couple of weeks. Lola was a commission and High Tea and the Window Cleaner were both done for the upcoming Australian Society of Miniature Art National Awards Exhibition.

On a different note, my tutorials can now be purchased from a brand new website that specialises in selling tutorials iPublicate. The PDF's will come as an instant download once your payment goes through and so there won't be any delay as there is on my other sites, where I need to send the tutorials through manually. If you are interested in purchasing my tutorials, please give this site a go.

New Step by Step Coloured Pencil Tutorial

Do you find working on backgrounds a bit tedious or challenging? This 26 page tutorial has two sections to it. The first will guide you through how to create a background using the free image editing software Paint.NET, which you can then print straight onto your Stonehenge paper (or your own favourite art paper). The second section takes you through a step by step guide on how to draw this gorgeous Meerkat using ink and coloured pencils. For more information about this and other coloured pencil tutorials, please visit either www.karenhullart.com or my Etsy shop.

Last Entry and Last Tutorial for 2010 - Selective Colouring Graphite Portraits

Without a doubt, the most popular of my commissioned portraits have been the graphite portraits with selective colouring, in particular for the eyes. In this latest tutorial, I show with progressive scans how to combine your graphite and coloured pencils on drafting film for a realistic portrait with a bit more oomph. This was one of my earlier selective colouring portraits and I would probably use different techniques today to achieve a smoother skin tone. I discuss this all in the tutorial - the actual techniques used here, and what could have been done to give a softer result. Once again, I must thank Juno Kughler Carlson for sharing her beautiful reference photos!!

Finally, thankyou to everyone who has taken the time to view my blog. It is a humbling experience to find that anyone might be interested in my art and creative journey and all the support and wonderful comments mean more than you can know; and they also spur me on to try to improve and develop as an artist and as a person. I wish you all a very safe and Happy New Year and may 2011 bring each one of you much success and happiness!!!

Step by Step Coloured Pencil Tutorial - The Little Flower Girl

Firstly, I have to thank Juno Kughler Carlson for allowing me to use the gorgeous reference photo for this step by step tutorial. If you are not already familiar with Juno's amazing coloured pencil work, please take the time to visit her site - her work is truly inspirational. She was very generous in allowing those of us who belonged to the Coloured Pencil Network (no longer operating) access to many of her beautiful reference photos, and this one caught my eye.

The image on the front, as shown, is actually my artwork and the reference photo (which is even more beautiful) is included within the tutorial. This 15 page tutorial includes many progress scans, along with detailed instructions on which coloured pencils and techniques were used to draw this image. I have had many enquiries from other artists regarding how I drew the straw hat, and I have dedicated two pages detailing how to go about achieving a realistic texture on the hat. I had so much fun drawing this artwork, and I hope any of you who purchase the tutorial will enjoy it just as much. The tutorial is available either directly from my website, or from my Etsy or Ebay Stores.

Step by Step Drawing Tutorial - Animating your Animals

The final tutorial in my current series of six, this 12 page tutorial discusses how to make your realistic animals look a little more animated and provides a comprehensive step by step guide on drawing this cheeky meerkat. This tutorial also has more hints and tips on using coloured pencils on drafting film and includes a list of all materials used. You can purchase this PDF tutorial either directly from my website or from by Ebay or Etsy stores and it will then be emailed to you within 24 hours for your enjoyment.

Step by Step Drawing Tutorial - Pencil Cat Portrait

Unlike all the other tutorials in my series so far, this tutorial provides guidance on drawing a realistic head portrait of a cat using coloured pencils on matte board. In the same way that many pastel artists prefer working on a coloured surface to give a more creative result to their artwork, coloured pencils combine perfectly with matte board, particularly if you would like to do a portrait of an animal with a white or pale coat. This 11 page tutorial is available for purchase, either directly from my website, or from my Ebay or Etsy stores. I was so smitten by the beautiful eyes of this gorgeous kitten, that I have used him as a reference a couple of times for my artwork. This tutorial will take you through step by step, listing all materials and show you how you can draw this charming face too.

Step by Step Drawing Tutorial - Graphite Dog Portrait

This tutorial is a lengthy 17 pages long, with numerous progressive images to guide you through doing a graphite pencil portrait of a dog. This tutorial is also available as a PDF either directly from my website or from my Etsy or Ebay stores. It has a comprehensive list of materials used and provides many hints and tips on how to work with drafting film which can take a little getting used to at first, but is well worth persevering with. Drafting film allows you to draw with very fine detail and makes a photorealistic looking portrait quite easy to achieve.

Step by Step Drawing Tutorial - Venetian Carnivale Mask

Some of you may recognise this tutorial which used to be available as a mini tutorial on my website. I have now converted this to a full colour 10 page tutorial with much more detailed and comprehensive information on how to draw this striking mask. This tutorial is available for purchase as a PDF which will be sent via email, either directly from my website, or from my Etsy or Ebay stores. The artwork was originally done as an ACEO (artist cards editions and originals) and so this tutorial discusses how easy it is to achieve the very fine details on the drafting film which is perfect for smaller and miniature drawings and artworks. This artwork has been done using ink and coloured pencils and there are multiple images to guide you through if you would like to draw this mask yourself.

Step by Step Drawing Tutorial - Detailed Eye Drawing

This is the second in my Step by Step tutorial series which are available for purchase either directly from my website or from by Ebay or Etsy stores. Your 10 page tutorial will then be sent via email as a PDF file. This tutorial covers how to do a detailed drawing of an eye using coloured pencils on drafting film and features multiple full colour illustrations to guide you on the way. People often comment on the way I do my eyes and ask how I get that realistic glassy look to them. Working on the drafting film makes achieving this realism very easy, but it does take a little getting used to, as the film accepts pencils quite differently to other surfaces.

Step by Step Drawing Tutorial - Graphite Baby Portrait

In response to all the requests I get for information about drawing on drafting film, I have put together a series of step by step tutorials which are available as a PDF for purchase either directly from my website, or from My Ebay or Etsy Stores. Your tutorial will then be sent via email within 24 hours, (but usually much earlier), allowing for time differences.

This first tutorial is 10 pages long and guides you, with step by step images, on how to do a graphite portrait of an infant using graphite pencil on drafting film. One of the advantages of working with the film is the ability to create very soft shading with an almost seamless result. However, the drafting film is quite different to any other surface I have worked on, and is not without it's challenges. This tutorials provides tips and hints that I hope will make the process a little easier.

My aim is to produce further tutorials down the track and I would love to hear from any bloggers who have suggestions about what they would like to see covered in a tutorial.