My name is Zara Toms, based in Hampshire in the UK. I specialise in detailed pet portraits and wildlife art in pastels and acrylics. My RU-vid channel is packed full of painting & drawing tips and techniques. If you're beginning your art journey, a hobbyist or an advanced artist I'm always happy to answer any art related questions. If you'd like to grow and develop your art further I offer in depth, considerably slower, often real time tutorial in pastels and acrylics on my Patreon. My Patreon has a large range of domestic pets for members who are looking to expand into pet portraits themselves. With a range of breeds demonstrating the tips and techniques I use to transfer into their own portraits. There is also a wide range of wildlife subjects so there is something for everyone :).
I upload videos to RU-vid every Tuesday & Saturday.
Brilliant video and very helpful. I'm trying to do a portrait of a very dark, almost black Shepherd. Your underpainting underpainting technique is helpful too. How do you sharpen your pencils? I struggle to get a good point without breaking them...
Hi Zara, thanks for such a good description and demo of how this Canson paper reacts to pastel and pan pastel. It looks as though, as you mentioned you can plan to draw certain subjects that would suit the Canson paper in the future. But it's clear to me if you want to achieve the fine details as you can Zara, it's going to be best to use the Pastelmat paper. 😀
@deniseclarkart my pleasure. So pleased the video was helpful =). I think the more the Canson paper is used we'll know more about what it can do. I certainly struggled getting the fine, smooth details I love to capture in my drawings which I have no issue with at all on Pastelmat but whether adjusting techniques on the Canson might mean that also would work is going to be a bit of trial and error. I absolutely love the paper colours in the Canson - they're gorgeous but the finer, lighter details were far more difficult to achieve. I do love just how many layers, delicate pencil details that can be achieved on Pastelmat.
Thank you so much for a highly detailed comparison! You are very generous with your tutorials and knowledge. I will keep using Pastelmat for the time being and maybe check out the new paper once it is widely available. That was a very interesting video! ❤
@Lizziebird-pg4gj my pleasure =). So pleased it was helpful. I'm going to plan a few more projects on the Canson just to see whether adjusting a couple of techniques will work better on that paper but I certainly have no issues layering fine, light details on Pastelmat. I'll have the full time lapse video with voice over of the Pastelmat version here on RU-vid soon =).
Thank you for this review, Zara, very useful. And the panda is amazing as always :) would be interesting to see a Koala from you, our something less furry, like a hippo. :)
@andreakaraszi3311 my pleasure =). So pleased it was helpful. Absolutely! Both are great suggestions. I actually have a Koala photo I've been meaning to use so I can make that happen 😁
I found the Velvet to have brighter tones...when you get into other colors...they really pop more than Pastelmat. I also like using sticks and mark making with the velvet. Ooh and you can wash it off too!!❤
@mkb458 I'm really keen to plan different animals on the Canson paper and continue to see how it works. I definitely preferred how the colours pop on the Canson. Absolutely stunning colour saturation and bolder as well. I love the paper colours in the Canson velvet as well. Very much looking forward to trying them and maybe planning another white fur subject to try a slightly different technique to get more clarity on the white details. I haven't tried soft pastel sticks on it yet so will definitely give thar a try 😁
As much as this is not where I am at with our teacher. I find all the tutorials very easy to follow and know when I get there I will be looking this up-wonderful videos! Thank you.
This is so exciting to see! I bought a pad of the Canson paper to test out and have been hearing good things. It was really cool to see this side-by-side comparison - those background colours really popped on the Canson.
@hollyrichensart the background really did surprise me. I wasn't expecting that at all because up to this point I thought Pastelmat showed colours well but the Canson was just another level. Can't wait to plan more tutorials on it 😁
@audreyhogg9488 thank you 🥰. I'm going to plan more tutorials on this Canson paper. I'm really looking forward to continuing to test out different fur types on it. And I LOVE the paper colours it comes in. Some of them are just stunning.
Oh my goodness, how beautifully done! Just found you by chance, you now have a new sub. Thank you so much for sharing. Absolutely gorgeous! Lynda 🧚🏼♀️💕
Thank you for this video. I had purchased a couple pads of the Clairefontaine PaintON to play with but haven’t decided what to do with them. Now I feel inspired to try my pastel pencils on it. I am also wondering how it will handle colored pencils.
Hi everyone. Can someone explain me what is she doing in the minute 3:54. What is she applying in the last leyer? It is whater or and additional layer or brown? 3:54
@josefabio15 that is a glaze. I use water and the desired colour I need to adjust the colour of the fur. I have a video here all about glazing where I show how I like to use them for different purposes.
