Explore mixed media illustration with professional Copic Marker artist and art instructor, Amy Shulke. Drawing and coloring tutorials, lessons, and tips for alcohol marker artists, beginner to advanced. An alternative, realistic approach to marker sketching -- using color theory and fine art painting techniques. Honest art supply reviews using chemistry and experience to prove what really works and why shortcuts often fail.
I had an art teacher for one term at a school before I moved and even though I was only 11 and I'm now several decades on from then, I still remember her and the amount she taught me and how fast my skills improved. She was the only art teacher that actually taught me skills and explained things, all the rest were just "grab some paper, have a go". We never learned techniques, how to use different materials, it was literally just practice with nothing to underpin it or focus it. She also used to read to us while we worked which was so lovely.
Hello! So glad I found this channel! I have lots of watercolor paint and Faber Castell pencils. I saw a botanical artist, Wendy Hollender, who uses watercolor paint and pencils. Love her work, however, it's way too complicated for me as a beginner. Since I have invested in these materials, I want to use them and not buy the markers. Would your courses work for me using watercolor and pencil?
Excellent message that translates to any medium! I’m not a marker or colored pencil artist but your video came across my home page and I’m so glad I watched. It’s so easy to go down a tutorial rabbit hole and think you are learning all the things but in reality learn very little. Thank you for the enlightenment!!!
Great point! Rabbit holes are seductive because with very little effort, it feels like you’re going somewhere. Thanks for adding to the conversation!!!
Hear hear! Well said! Anyone who has ever learned a musical instrument knows that just sitting down and playing around on the instrument, or even playing through a piece of music the same way you always do, is NOT practice. Practice involves familiarising yourself with a certain way of doing things and deliberate exploration +/- correction. It involves development of NEW neural pathways and strengthening of them. It involves self assessment and deliberate variation to change (?improve) the outcome …
I think you’re wondering about the unpainted pencil? Prismacolor Dark Purple can turn hot pink when it contacts pencils with white pigment in the formula. I substitute Derwent Lightfast “Purple” or “Violet” for Dark Purple. In this video, I was using Violet.
When did the definition of practice get so corrupted? Practice is when we take a new to us technique and put it through its paces, pushing it to the limits, and developing muscle memory. If people are just repeating stuff they alredy know, that ain't practice, that's repeating.
I have a theory-- I could be totally wrong but the timing fits-- the confusion has always simmered in the adult coloring community but it really started to blossom during Covid lockdowns. You're not dinkin' around with a coloring book if you're !!Practicing!! I do think people are earnest about it but there's a definite gap between the art community and the coloring community. Many terms have gotten twisted in translation and the concept of practice is a big one.
@AmyShulke could be. I alway think of music when I hear the word practice. If a person is playing a song they alredy know, they aren't practicing. But they are still adding beauty to the world. Same with art.
Great video. I always learn something from you. I find myself returning and rewatching your videos on specific aspects of coloring to better understand what you said and what you meant, then try to follow your advice.
I think this is a topic that everyone has to understand for themselves. I am guilty of this kind of "practise" because I didn't know any better. Today I would call it playing. And that is the most satisfying when I accidentally find a solution to a coloring problem. Real training is hard, frustrating and sometimes boring. It can also seem very time-consuming. But most of the time it is actually time-saving. One of the problems for beginners is finding good video tutorials and weeding out the ones that don't help you. The other difficulty is being honest with yourself and realizing what you need right now. It also takes time to see your own mistakes or accept what the teacher tells you. Sometimes you can't do that until weeks, months or even years later. I always stand there and think, "Why didn't I see that back then?" Even with works that I was initially happy with. The answer: experience. I wish I had discovered you sooner. especially this video. 😮💨But wait... I have seen videos of yours before. but it didn't leave such a lasting impression. I guess I wasn't ready to hear what you can teach us all🙄 nowadays I am so grateful for your way of telling the sometimes uncomfortable truth. I like your way of expressing it even if I don't like the matter. I never feel humiliate, but that you care about passing on your knowledge. I usually manage to accept and internalize what you have to say. nowadays I am so grateful for your way of telling the sometimes uncomfortable truth. I like your way of expressing it even if I don't like the matter. I never feel patronized, but that you care about passing on your knowledge. I usually manage to accept and internalize what you have to say
Thank you so much. I appreciate such detailed feedback and hearing your experience. I think you've also suggested a very good video topic here, the whole "Why didn't I see that back then?" is an excellent topic worth exploring. Thanks!
I went the way of collecting my Copic markers during the pandemic and then letting them sit there without a clue how best to use them Recently pulled mine out for Inktober and realized some were already dry which led me to your channel and I am really enjoying learning from you. Got a scale and some refills and fresh nibs and RIP to a couple that were long gone and bone dry. I have a couple wallets and want to put together a landscape set using some of your your beginner blending recommendations. DId I understand that you are looking for another acrylic marker alternative to Posca? Have you tried Molotow brand or are the colors not natural enough for your work? I am getting some Karin Decobrushes acrylic markers because i fell into a huge sale on a set and can share once i use them.
I have tried Molotow. You're correct, the colors are too bright for me but they also didn't stick as well as Posca. Please let me know about the Karin Decos. I've looked at them online. The colors are right but I'm seeing indications that they're not opaque which is why I haven't ordered them yet. I'm also looking at the Arrtx markers in the new pen-style body which could be an improvement over the current version. That feed worked well with the Sharpie fabric markers so I'm glad to see Arrtx use it. Also happy to see them improving a product because I worry that they're a new company and could be gone tomorrow. If they're improving, maybe they'll be around for a while. More than once, I've converted students to a good product and then the company went bust. I hate wasting student's money and avoid new unheard-of companies for that reason.
Man... you're really good at shining light on uncomfortable truths and putting words to things I might have felt but never thought about enough to really elaborate on.
Amy, that's so true. I would invest every cent in one of your courses again. They are excellently methodically prepared, very encouraging, full of humor, full of valuable knowledge and you get honest feedback. A lot of thought goes into the preparation, certainly also with the free videos like this one. I'm a huge fan. Why? Simply because you are educated in what you teach and - even better - you can teach it. Chapeau! Guys, book one of Amy's classes. To be, or not to be, that is no question here. You can see it in the growing number of subscribers. There is content here that really has value.
Great video. So true . I always think the same. I only call practice, when i tried to achieve sometime special. My practice sheets are always messy. Thanks for telling me, I always ask myself "why my practice sheets don't look so good, like the other artists ones? " now know
Nebulous "practise" is one thing I warned some people about in a basic overview of learning art - I encouraged them to identify the specific aspect they wanted to improve on and focus on that. Athletes don't do generic exercises to build up their skills - they have specific routines and training to build up specific and key areas of focus. If they're lacking in one area, they will do training drills to develop that skill Thinking on it, training drills is probably a far better phrase than practise 😄 My goal is to get better at rendering works - not necessarily in the perfect photorealistic sense, but to develop a better understanding of form, shape, lighting, and shade. Am I using markers and coloured pencil for that? Yes because I've identified that those are the most tactile for my learning, and also loops in lessons on doing underpaintings, blocking out colours, and then refining and adding detail to them all I hope that (aside from a few test swatches and notes) the _entire_ sketchbook I've reserved for this will be filled up with an assortment of foods, properly rendered, and showing progress
Kind of an odd question, but does it curl or buckle when wet? I paint with various media and am always looking for a cheap practice/scratch surface that i dont have to primer first. Marker paper having that foil inside, maybe it can take a few layers of smooth flat (not thick or impasto) paint without warping? I know acrylic/oil painting pads exist, but i did say cheap.
Yes, there's a slight buckle when dampened with alcohol which eventually flattens again. It's not designed for use with water so it does pill. I've seen worse pilling and I'm not sure how it'd do with acrylic-- but I know I'd never use watercolor on it and I'm iffy about gesso.
Have you bought into the PracticeMakesProgress trend? Today's video asks a difficult question: WHAT are you practicing? And hey, if you want to practice acorns with me, the project details and supply guide are here: www.vanillaarts.com/blog/practice-acorn
"Which candy corn color is the right one" really calling me out 😂 I know all this and yet i still fall for the nonsense. Need to listen to this on repeat every time i get up my own butt about how i "should" be able to draw x, y, or z purely from memory.
See, that's what makes me mad about the myth. Drawing from memory is such a pointless skill and it's so rare to be excellent at it. Every historic artist I admire used references. Even Picasso used reference when he was reducing people to basic geometry. It's such a dumb expectation and I'm sure people quit or never reach their full potential because they believe it.
Oh my goodness, less than 8 mins in and you explained why I dislike the old style marker paper because I'd tried to do exactly what you described - new school blending on old school paper. As much as I love the quick sketchy architecture and fashion design images it's definitely not what I want as my main paper. I think I have samples of the Stillman & Birn papers so I definitely need to check that out, and also pull some of my bristol board out as well - but I'm definitely going to add some X-Press It paper to an online shop to check that out
Awesome! Let me know what you think after testing your paper stash. I don't love any of the other greek letter S&B papers for markers. Zeta works the best with markers but I do like the other versions for sketching.
@@AmyShulke I managed a little bit last night and kinda did things the "wrong" way as I tried the S&B paper first and didn't see what was so amazing about it, but then I tried bristol board and The Wall paper, and finally the old sketchbooks I'd been using and I _then_ noticed the difference I have all the copic markers so I did the same colour testing you did and it seems like so far The Wall is going to be good for me to get into the habit of using markers more often and developing skills, while the S&B book leans towards more detailed rendering with many more layers on it so we'll see :)
I've seen some really good stuff done on Wall. It's not for me right now but I know if I'd had it back in college, it would have been my nothing-compares-all-time-favorite back then. Good luck to you!
@@MezeiEugen The refill is currently about $1 less than a Sketch marker and holds enough to refill my marker about 15-20 times. Economically and ecologically, or even just for convenience, refillable markers are by far the smartest option.
Do you mean formal study at a college or university or more like hobby level adult education? Actually, now that I think about it, the best answer is the same: Drawing 101 class at your local community college is a great place to start. Drawing and painting/coloring are two separate skills so after you take a few drawing classes, then move to a painting class which will cover the "coloring" aspects. Everything I do stems from either drawing or painting. If you want to a degree, every school has different names for their program. I was in an Illustration program and at my school, this was part of the Graphic Arts department. Back then (early 1990's), Graphic Arts covered Illustration, Product Design, Typography, and Art Direction. "Graphics" nowadays would mean something more computerized and likely includes animation. You could also go the Fine Art route for painting/drawing but it would also require study of 3D art forms like sculpture and ceramics which didn't interest me as much.
I stumbled upon to your channel and videos by the algorithm and you've helped me with a LOT of information that I either didn't know, or knew but didn't understand why. Thankfully I also weighed my new markers to get their fresh from the factory weight and refill them up to 14 grams like you, but I definitely need to get on with cleaning them and also following your tips in other videos
Glad I could help! Thanks for watching but also, thanks for telling me about how you found me. It helps to know the algorithm isn't some evil beast plotting my downfall, LOL.
I'm under no misconceptions here....I know I need a reference. However, that candy corn prank had me trippin.' You didn't have to point out how unobservant I am like that 🤣
I'm so glad you commented on this! I knew there was an issue with remembering the stripe order because so many search results had photos with the orange and yellow reversed-- I double checked before starting my version too. I took a chance that colorists would have the same issue but then nobody mentioned it. Hahahaha, I got kinda worried when nobody said anything.
Hi Amy! I took one of your classes for colored pencil about a year ago. I want to thank you because it has completely changed my life! It was like being handed the keys to open the doors for everything I couldn’t figure out. I started trying more complicated pieces as I improved, but I couldn’t take it to the next level. Things kept going wrong and I couldn’t figure out why. That completely changed with your class and I will be forever grateful! You’re amazing!
Kim Jung Gi was one of the rare masters that didn’t use reference. His visualisation and method was an ability that is unnatural to 99.9% of the art community. Anyone else who says they don’t use reference are lying to everyone and themselves. Great video🙏
Yes! I thought of him when I was working on my script outline. Just couldn't figure out a good segue into him and his freakishly rare ability. Thanks for bringing him up for others. He's well worth the query: ru-vid.com?search_query=kim+jung+gi
This channel is wonderful! I was looking for one with the bookmarks only theme and couldn't find it, but after a while searching without success, RU-vid recommended your channel. I feel very happy to have found you. Thank you very much for sharing your knowledge. 🥰
