I just wanted to pop in really quick and wish you a happy Valentine’s Day!
You still have a few more hours to take advantage of a 40% off discount on any class in my teachable school with coupon code VDAY40OFF *Click “add coupon” at checkout and enter VDAY40OFF to get the deal. The offer ends on 2/15/23. Now here is a fun valentines marker tutorial for you!
Supplies (affiliate links used)
Markers, fineliners, and paper are from Sketchbar *Use coupon code lindsayweirich for 15% off the paper pad
Hi friends! This week for sketchbook Sunday (a day late on the blog I know LOL!) I decided to share the creating of the inktober prompt “Compass.”
You can see all of my Inktober daily drawings on Instagram. You can look at them even if you don’t have an account. I will do a wrap-up here at the end of the month though if you would rather wait. The prompts this year have been quite challenging but that’s what I like. It gets me out of my hum-drum typical box and has me doing drawings I otherwise wouldn’t. I think I’ve enjoyed this years challenge more than I have before. In the past there were many days where doing the challenge was just another task in a long to-do list but this year it has felt like a joyful treat I get to do when my other work is done. Isn’t it funny how our mindset can change?
Supplies: affiliate links used
Arrtx pastel tone markers (20% off coupons on Amazon at time of publication) Brush/chisel or Bullet/chisel
Thanks for stopping by today! If you are taking part in Inktober let me know! I hope you are having a fun time with it. Until next time happy crafting!
Hi friends! I did it, 31 drawings in 31 days! I am so glad I finished Inktober this year because I noticed improvement from day 1 to day 31. You can see the drawing in today’s video and learn a bit about the process. It’s long and chatty so be forewarned:)
I kept to my theme of drawing hands and also went with the Inktober prompts. With those strict guidelines I allowed myself some leeway with the supplies I used. They all contained some ink even if it was just a scant outline. Here are my go-to supplies but others were used as well.
Day 28 prompt “Ride” I use black fine-liner and watercolors with colored pencil accents on this.Day 29 “Injured” This was alcohol marker, black fine liner and pen and colored pencil accents.Day 30 “Catch I wanted to do a mystical scene (catch a falling star meets crystal ball fortune teller) I used fine-liner to outline my hand sketch and ball and painted the background with 2 layers of black watercolor, then lifted out smaller circles and added metallic watercolors and flicked on metallic watercolors for the background. I used watercolors, colored pencil and metallic watercolors on the hand. I like to draw watches, several of my hands were wearing watches, I rarely wear a watch tho LOL!Day 31 “Ripe” I drew a smelly sock (hubby’s idea!) but I wish I went with more of an athletic looking sock and used wavy lines rather than swirly flourishes for the stink-lines. I had to add flies to make sure I got the “stink” across. I used alcohol markers with colored pencil and acrylic pen accents.
I had to take a day off after Inktober and honestly I felt a bit of a let down not having a challenge to work on so I decided for November I am going to do a mini oil painting a day. I used to paint in oils all the time and I have loads of small canvas panels. Maybe some of them will be nice enough to give as Christmas gifts. I think I will shoot for 5 days a week, not every day because I would really like to take a day off per week. If you have been wanting to challenge yourself and grow as an artist I highly recommend trying a monthly challenge. There are so many to find online. If you would like to join a small group of artists that are growing their skills and get feedback from me on your current work check out my Critique Club and see if that is right for you. We would love to have you!
Did you do inktober? Let me know what you think below and til next time keep creating!
Hi friends! Today for sketchbook Sunday I decided to draw the same subject twice. Once in marker and once in watercolor. Watch the video and let me know what one you like better!
Supplies (Affiliate links used)
Mixed Media Pad Arteza 2 pack *Use coupon code PROMO20 if ordering from the Arteza website. Also available on Amazon
That’s it for me tonight! I am late getting this blog post up because I got to spend the afternoon teaching an amazing group of ladies how to paint lilacs in watercolor! What a fun time! I hope you had a great day too and til next time happy crafting!
Hi friends! I love corny jokes and puns so when I came across some Darcies stamps at the stamp show this year I had to grab a couple sets!
Then I remembered I had one set at home I got a couple years before that hadn’t even seen ink yet! (It was pre-Konmari, you will have to excuse me LOL!)
I like how the pickle and ketchup sets go so well together.
The puns mix and match well between sets. And they are so fun to color! I used the tri-blend markers but you can use whatever you like!
Watch the video to see how!
Supplies (affiliate links used)
Stamps: I used stamps by Darcies If you like the stamps I used they have dozens of different theme drawn in the same style and they are $8 a set. If you like to color and you like cute kawaii style images I highly recommend them! I used Stay cool,  Ketchup Soon set and the Big Dill set
Markers: Crafter’s Companion Spectrum Noir TriBlend. Each marker contains a light, medium and dark version of the color. I used a variety of markers in the project. Each marker is $5 which contains bullet tips of 3 shades: (3 mini markers in one) I used mostly: Dull green, Blue Turquoise, Fair Skin, light yellow, orange, citrus green, lavender, pale pink, bright pink and dark red. *These colors are within the Spectrum Noir coloring system so you might already have them (the colors) in your stash. You can use the refill inks to refill them too simply by pulling out the nib and dripping the ink in.
Hi friends! Today for Sketchbook Sunday I am painting peaches with alcohol markers and colored pencils:
It was so fun to draw! You can find the real-time narrated full lesson to this art in Critique Club where you will also find over 11 hours of real-time drawing/painting lessons from my sketchbook Sunday series in real time and fully narrated lessons. In addition to all of the lessons and creative prompts, you can upload 2 paintings a month for an in-depth critique from me if you want! The goal of this membership is to keep you practicing, motivated and help you grow as an artist. You get all of this for $5 a month and you can end your subscription anytime. I hope to see you in Critique Club!
Before you go a word about markers and supplies in general. I don’t want anyone to think you have to have brush tip markers for this. You don’t. If you have a variety of yellows, orange, pinks, and reds you can do this! Try using the chisel end for the large areas and the bullet tip for the fine areas. the honest truth is that you can create beautiful artwork with either type as long as you spend time learning how to use them. The set of 48 brush tip ohuhu markers I used as part of this illustration and lovely but the brush tip is not going to last as long as the bullet tip on the classic style and they are more expensive per marker and you get a smaller color range. I started off with Bic Mark-its and Prismacolor markers which were bullet and chisel tip markers and I still love those today. It is just what you get used to. If you have a set of markers already I bet they will do you just fine if you play with them and get used to their working abilities. I see a trend of jumping on the newest and greatest supplies without exploring what the stuff we already have can do. I get it, I love to try new supplies but the more I try the more I am convinced that most are equal to what we have already and with markers you really should use up what you have before they dry out. Then try the latest and greatest (or find refills.) I had some cheap Studio 71 markers that were well loved and I was going through them the other day to see what was still inky and what tips were frayed and I found about 10 markers with frayed tips. I almost tossed them but I decided to order some replacement Copic nibs I found on sale and I am going to see if I can repair the markers and I am going to see if I can make my own custom ink. Wish me luck and let me know if you would like to see a video of my experiment (if it works anyway LOL!)
I basically want to say that I don’t want to to feel like you have to have exactly what I am using because the pencils, paper, and markers in your stash are probably pretty darn close, there are only so many ways to make a marker or pencil. Only upgrade when you hit the limit of what you can do with them. And as always happy crafting!
Hi friends! Remember how much fun it was to color when you were a kid? Well, it’s still fun as I am sure you know but it can be frustrating too. Today I am going to share tips and techniques for coloring with alcohol markers and you can try along with me using the markers you have.
I will have a download for my bird of paradise drawing in the supply list below the videos. I broke the lessons into two videos, the first is a primer on alcohol markers and what other supplies you might need to begin coloring. If you are familiar with the supplies you can skip to the coloring tutorial in the second video. I also go over the differences between the different kinds of markers available (brush, bullet, and chisel nib) as well as compatible paper and ink in the first video so if you are considering getting started and you do not have supplies yet it will be very informative.
In part 2 we will finally get to color, yay!
This video is sponsored by Bianyo offering Superior art product at affordable prices *Check out specials/coupon codes below! *The links below contain the discounts mentioned and the discounted price will show at checkout.
Other resources for stampers: Card stock for markers: Neenah Classic Crest Solar White Super Smooth #80 or #110, Stamping Ink for alcohol markers: Memento
Here is a photo of the Bianyo markers arranged the way I like them. The plastic inserts in the box keep each marker in place. After arranging them I made a new swatch to represent the order.
You can organize your markers in whatever way that makes sense to you. Also, alcohol markers can have a steeper learning curve than other coloring media so make sure you are fair to yourself and give yourself time to learn and practice. I hope you enjoyed today’s video lesson and you learned some skills to use on your next project! Til next time happy crafting!
Hi friends! Today I played with markers and it was fun! This was actually supposed to be posted for Sketchbook Sunday but I got busy and didn’t realize I forgot to blog it until 10pm and I was too tired to type.
I was inspired to sketch these oranges because they looked so cool sitting on the cutting board. I accidentally bought Cara-Cara oranges instead of navel oranges at the store last week and this was the last one. None of us are a fan of this type orange hence it was still on the table after the kids left for school. So before I tossed it out to the birds (the crows like them apparently) I thought I would draw it. It also gave me a chance to try out a new set of markers I will be using for an upcoming tutorial.
I am excited to work more with these markers. It’s ice to try something different once in a while and see where that takes you. I find when I do this I come back to my other work more energized and refreshed. It’s like cross-training for your crafty muscles LOL! If you have a suggestion as to what flower to draw for the in-depth marker tutorial please let me know in the comments below. thank for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!
The Frugal Crafter Blog 