Drawing tool: Col-erase pencils

I realised that I sometimes talk about differents drawing tools that I’m using. As someone who’s been drawing for a long time, I tend to take for granted that theses tools and ways of working are known by everyone.
Which couldn’t be less true.

Each of us have our own experience with drawing and art. We live in different countries, therefore, not all materials are known or available in different places. We’ve been to different schools and developped different ways of thinking depending of the program we went to study to. We have a  lot to share so I decided to do even more with the new “Drawing tool” blog category.

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When I studied film animation, years ago, I learned that animators were drawings mostly with Prismacolors col-erase pencils. It is also used by architechs for blueprints.

Why is this tool so loved by animators & architechs ?

• It doesn’t “stain” as much as a regular HB pencil, so you can work more on your drawing’s structure before it starts smudging.
• Of course, easier to erase than HB pencil.
• The lighter colors doesn’t shows on scanners/copy machines.
  Which can sometimes be useful when you’re cleaning a drawing. (Inking, re-drawing, etc.)

To this day, I still use col-erase pencils for most of my sketches.

Remember that illustration I posted? Here’s the final draft I did with a col-erase pencil.
I like to use a lighter color at first and enhance the details with a darker one. In this case, a light and dark blue.
But what’s even  nicer is that you can get the pencils in pretty much any color, depending of your mood and fancy. 😉

Blue is the color’s that is the most used. I am guessing that it is because it is a softer color, which is better for the eyes after you’ve spent hours in front of a drawing. And also because most people can see blue and it’s different shades. Gotta love blue!

So, if you’ve been drawing for awhile and haven’t tried this tool yet, head over to your local art shop supplies and try them. They cost around 1$ and are worth the try.  🙂

ArtRage: inexpensive and easy software drawing

One of my teacher in graphic design once showed us a very interesting drawing software: Artrage.

It has a very user-friendly interface (Kids can use it!) and it is very inexpensive compared to the other drawing softwares around. (20$US for Artrage 2, 40$US for Artrage 3 and 80$US for Artrage Studio Pro).

If you’d like to try it out, there’s a free demo right here, it will last you 30 days.

I yet have to figure out all the amazing things that can be done with it, but so far I really like it’s fun features.
I even did my inking with Artrage 2 for this poster:

Mama mia! Italian restaurant poster!

I’ve cropped the poster so you could focus on the drawing instead of the other part of the poster that’s been done with Photoshop.

I just got the new Artrage Studio Pro and can’t wait to try it more seriously as they have a new tool especially made for inking.

I found that Artrage 2 is great if you’re planning on doing more sketches or painted-style drawing, but I did have some trouble using it’s inking tools to get a clearer drawing. I was happy to find out that they improved this very important function.

Take note that this is a drawing software and it will be best used for this kind of work.
If you’d like to get a photo editing software (Such as photoshop) to make, say, blog banners. 😉 I recommend you use a software more like Gimp, Picasa or even Picnik.

Let me know if you try it out and what you think about it.
Happy drawing!

Freebies: Santa & Rudolf coloring page

A couple of years ago, I teached drawing to kids at the local library in my hometown of Napierville, a small village near the USA/Canadian border.

With the library, I also organized some craft workshop. One of them included this Santa & Rudolf drawing that I  made. They would color, cut and paste it on a paper gift bag. It made a nice personal Christmas bag to wrap a present in.

You could always do this craft, but I also made this drawing just as a regular coloring page.
And I added a speech bubble for the fun factor! ^-^

Do I need to mention you don’t need to be a kid to enjoy coloring this page? 😉

Click here or on the image to start the download. (PDF format)

5 questions to ask yourself before starting a one-drawing-a-day blog

Before starting this blog, I was thinking about making a one-drawing-a-day blog type.

I did a Beta version for more than a week and realized this wouldn’t be possible for me during this time as I am too busy with my full time job and school schedule.

By trying it, I discovered I need to ask me some important questions on starting such a project. And I am gladly sharing them with you! 😉

Why do you want to do start this kind of blog?

For fun? For it’s creative challenge? To get recognition from your peers?
Just ask yourself “why” and see what is you reply. This will give you a good direction on starting your blog.

Will you post different drawings subjects or will it be the same?

Posting different drawings is easier than choosing a specific subject. You have endless possibilities and, if you’re too busy at some point, you may very well scan something from your old sketchbook to make up for it. :-p

But let’s say you decide to draw apples every day. After just a week of drawing apples, you may find it a little harder to draw it in a different perspective.

The good thing on posting about a specific subject is that it will help you get out of your creative comfort zone. You may look for different mediums that you’ve never touched. Try different drawing styles and use colors you are not attracted to, usually.

Do you have the time?

The idea of starting a one-drawing-a-day blog will get you exited with this brand new project and you won’t stop thinking about it… at least in the beginning!

You need to be extremely honest with yourself and calculate how much time you have for your blog. Remember, you’re human (as far as I know!) and you need to sleep, rest and have a social life.

If you’re not sure, do as I did; make a Beta Version to try it out for a couple of weeks.

When will you post your blog drawings?

Wil it be 7-days a week, 5 days a week or just when you think about it?
It comes back to the time you decide to put in your blog, as well.

For how long will you run this project?

Usually, when you start this type of blog, you choose  to do it for a long time. Many one-drawing-a-day blogs have a one year deadline.

But it doesn’t mean you have to do like them and may want to do it for a couple of months and see how it goes.
Most of us are afraid of such a time commitment project and, instead of just trying it, we don’t even start it.

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If you decide to start a one-drawing-a-day blog, do let me know as I would love to hear about your experience on the subject. 🙂

5 drawing rules to live by

Picture from Tygrax.

So, you’ve decided to pull up your sleeves and start drawing again. I’ll make it a little easier for you to start with thoses 5 simple rules to follow. With theses tips, there’s no way you cannot get over your matchstick characters addiction!

1) Practice, practice, practice.

 It’s the basic rule for every art field; practice makes perfect. No matter how talented you were at the beginning, practice is the one golden rule to live by.

2) It’s okay to copy… with the eyes.

You’ve certainly heard from the “no copy” rule. I’m certainly not telling you to copy directly, (even thought it can be an interesting exercice for the coordination!) but to copy with your eyes. Everyone drawer I know learned how to draw by drawing from something next to them. Either a comic book character or from a picture. So go ahead and start drawing that Spiderman! I know you always wanted to. 😉

3) Stop comparing yourself.

Don’t get discouraged because it’s not good like –insert name of famous artist here-.
It took them years, you cannot compare yourself to them. It’s like comparing oranges and apples. The only thing you can compare is the evolution of your work through the years.

4) Take constructive comments, not negative ones.

Negative comments gives you nothing and make you loose your precious drawing time. Not everyone will love what you do and some may never will.
Constructive comments will give you something to think of and will help you get better. It’s food for the drawing brain!

5) A good drawer is versatile.

Sure, you can have a “speciality”, but if you wish to be a really, really good drawer, you should be able to draw everything and anything. From portraits to landscapes and from Batman to Mickey Mouse. Once you can achieve this, you have one strong chord to your arc.

With theses rules, not only will you get better at drawing, but it will make everyone around you wonder how you got good so quickly! 😉