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 of a Pug Dog Portrait

Here is the next in my series of step by step tutorials. This one shows you how to draw a head study of a pug dog using coloured pencils on drafting film. Drafting film is the perfect surface for drawing animal portraits in coloured pencil. It's smooth surface means that your pencils stay sharp for a long time, and so when drawing individual hairs as I have done on this pug dog, you get a lovely realistic appearance. Many people mistook this portrait for a photo. If achieving a photorealistic look in your pet portraits is your goal, then please have a look at this tutorial which is available, either directly from my website, or else from my Etsy or Ebay stores.

On a different note, I would like to offer our thoughts and prayers to all our friends in North Queensland who have been affected by the current floods. We hope and pray that the rain stops and that the waters subside very soon and that your losses are kept to a minimum!!!

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.

Goddess of Autumn - just for fun

Goddess of Autumn

8x10 inches

Coloured pencil on matte board

I am always extremely grateful for commission work, but it is so liberating and fun sometimes to indulge in a bit of art just for the sake for being creative and playing. I hadn't planned on picking up any pencils or doing any artwork for several weeks, but then the bug bites and I can't relax until I put a little colour on the board and let somes ideas come to fruition. So this artwork has been done for no other reason than to play with colour and because I love to draw beautiful faces.

I do hope everyone has had the most wonderful Christmas and that you all have the opportunity for a little R&R now.

Last Commission for 2010 and a very Merry Christmas to all!!!

Beagle

Commissioned by the Coin Club of Australia

Painted with Corel Painter

My final commission for 2010 and all ready for Christmas - what a wonderful feeling. This year has been such a busy year, (as I'm sure it has for all of you), as I searched for a sense of direction and purpose with my art. The illustration work, thankfully has taken off and this helps to pay the bills and provides that sense of 'purpose', but my goal for next year is to have more balance. Balance between the 'bread and butter' work and then time to work on the art I love doing the most, which at this stage is the miniature art and the coloured pencil work, and finally balance for the people in my life, which were sadly a bit neglected this year.
To all of you, I wish the most wonderful Christmas full of blessings, love and laughter with the people you love the most and may 2011 bring much success and happiness to each one of you.

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.

A few commissions

Black Rhino

Commissioned by the Coin Club of Australia

Painted with Corel Painter

Logan

5x7 inches

Coloured pencil on drafting fiilm

Isn't this a crazy time of year!!! I can see from everyone's blogs that you are all madly trying to complete commissions for clients for Christmas. Here are a few that I have been working on over the last week or two and I am hoping that I have only one more commission to complete before taking some time off for the summer holidays. Hopefully then, I can catch up on all my sadly neglected internet sharing and blogging and commenting. But I know you all understand!!! :)

Step by Step tutorials

Some of you may recognise Fry on the cover of this months issue of Fine Art and Decorative Painting and inside you will find a step by step tutorial on how to draw him.

After some discussion with the editor of the Fine Art & Decorative Painting magazine and after rereading through my contract with them, I have since discovered that I can actually sell copies of these tutorials from my website, so long as the wording is all my own. So, from early next year, I will be posting all the tutorials created so far (and hopefully some more to follow) for sale as a download from my website. If you have something in particular that you would like to see in a tutorial, please don't hesitate to contact me and I will see if I can create a tutorial to suit.