Beginner Art Techniques

A Portion of my 

Art Portfolio

Beginer Techniques

   I'm not a professional artist, but there are a few techniques I learned from school. Of course, these are

 commonly used techniques, but it's the creative idea that can really set it apart. Art is easier to show

 than talk about so I'll just get to the pictures!

 

This is actually a drawing I found on an art blog, but drawing portraits in negative space of newspaper

 always is a nice play on portraits.

My art work

 This was a mutation technique I tried for class. What I 

learned from this drawing was that using charcoal over acrylic paint actually gives a nice affect and 

shadow to the darkened areas. I frequently used mixed media because certain media come off as 

different visuals than others. Using different mediums can really make certain parts of the drawing stand 

out. I drew this from a model in a magazine and just transformed the picture. I think mutation art is a 

great way to get out of your comfort zone. I generally work with self portraits so doing something a 

little morbid was a nice change.

 These last two drawings were actually for a 

domestic violence bulletin at work. It was a direct drawing from the original, but splashes of color on

 black and white portraits are visually interesting. I also drew light flecks of color in the eyes.

 This drawing was used with paint and Prisma color pencil. 

Making texture in the creases on white shirts with charcoal always look very realistic.

 

Used with charcoal, but the difference in starting these charcoal portraits is that instead of using 

charcoal on white paper, you shade the background with vine charcoal. Vine charcoal can be easily 

erased, but adds a nice texture to the background, also it acts as the medium tone of the skin. Erasing 

highlights will be more prominent considering the background is grey. Another thing I found eye 

catching is drawing portraits that aren't so picture perfect, drawing interesting faces or off guard shots 

are always interesting to look at.

 This is called a wrapping technique, this also works on 

drawing animals, this was my first time attempting this method on a portrait, I didn't want to 

stereotypically draw animals which are commonly used for this method.

Hope I was of some assistance.

~Stay Beautiful