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Viewing: Blog Posts Tagged with: art supplies, Most Recent at Top [Help]
Results 1 - 12 of 12
1. New Sketchbook Skool Class by Penelope Dullaghan

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“Illustration Friday friends, hello!
 
I wanted you to know that I am teaching at Sketchbook Skool for the first time! Sketchbook Skool is an online video course (or ‘kourse” as they say at Sketchbook Skool) that lasts six weeks and has a different teacher every week. We made more than a dozen videos in which I appear telling stories, sharing pages of my sketchbooks and doing some demos. Here’s a video trailer about the kourse
 
You can learn all about the Skool at their website, sketchbookskool.com
During the week I am teaching, I will be right there with you, answering questions and comments and admiring the artwork you’ll share! It’ll be so fun!
 
One of the things I love about SBS is the wonderful, supportive community that has developed there. There are thousands of people from around the world, some are professional artists and illustrators, some are complete beginners, all collaborating and encouraging each other. It’s a great experience I think you’ll love, too!
 
Enrollment starts today and the kourse begins on January 15th. I hope to see you in klass!
 
As a special treat (and for the very first time ever) Sketchbook Skool is offering a 20% discount only to members of Illustration Friday — like you.  When you check out, just use the code: Pennyatskool2016 and do it soon — it expires on January 15th.
 
Can’t wait to begin!”
-Penelope Dullaghan

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2. 20 Pieces of Advice from 20 Illustrators

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In preparation for her awesome upcoming online workshop Building a Freelance Illustration Business, Illustrator Salli Swindell decided to reach out and get some thoughts from other artists. The question was “What’s one piece of advice you would share with other illustrators?” This is testament to the fact that Salli is doing her best to make the workshop as useful and helpful as possible, and she has graciously shared the results with Illustration Friday!

Meet 20 artists below and read what they have to say! Also be sure to check out Salli’s educational and inspiring online workshop: Building a Freelance Illustration Business here.

Coming soon: Part 2 – Advice from art directors.

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3. Incredibly Useful Digital Watercolour Tools for Illustrators

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If you’re a digital illustrator seeking a way to make work that looks handmade, you simply MUST check out this huge collection of digital brushes and tools from the great Nicky Laatz!

Equipped with just this pack – you will be an unstoppable watercolour design machine…without even picking up a paint brush :)

Get the pack here!

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4. How to chose and use your art materials wisely

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If you’re anything like the thousands of creatives out there, you’ll no doubt have something called “GotToHaveEveryArtSupply-itis”and its incurable. We get so excited and enthusiastic when the glorious sound of the art supply shop opens like an unknown force pulling us in against our will (not really), to when there’s a sale online we just have to get them all.Although with this vast growing collection of art supplies, in which we think deep down will bestow upon us great creative talent, comes being practical and responsible to.

 Each art material has its advantages and disadvantages, however its actually how you use them that will help you to produce great work.So here’s a few tips to really help  you choose your creative weapons of choice wisely and wield them like a true creative warrior!

1.  Combine materials that compliment each other – Just because you have an artbox filled with yummy supplies, doesn’t mean you have to throw everything into the mix to make the perfect receipe. Experimenting is key to know what works for you and your style to build your creative process. Look closely at the textures, contrasts and effects each material gives you and which would compliment each other nicely to create the perfect creative dish.  For example watercolours and coloured pencil work great together to create colour washes with beautiful tone work.

2. He’s got it so I need to have it to - No doubt you’ve done this to where your inspirational creative idol uses a specific art supply and  you feel the urge to possess it to achieve greatness. Although this isn’t to say its not the quality of product that gives them great results, bear in mind they’ve been honing their skills and processes with it for countless hours through “practice“. Not every art supply works the same with every creatives style and process, but experiment with different materials to see if introducing it to your creative making steps will benefit the pieces you create.

3. Invest within your budget- Last but not least investing and budgeting, understandably art supplies often aren’t cheap as they come in so many different brands, qualities and quantities at different prices. There’s also artist and student grade materials, however the key is be wise and stick to your budget. Test materials out and if you feel they have a permanent place in how you make your art then this gives you the option to invest in them further.

Good luck creatives and have fun wielding those art supplies!

Featured image by Amy Van Luijk  you can find out more about her work here.

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5. 10 Ways to Cultivate a Family Art Habit

On Twitter, Kim asked if I had any advice for a family getting started with sketching and art journaling. Did I ever! I’ve Storified the conversation, if you’d like to see how it unfolded, but I’ll recap it here as well.

My replies below, expanded a bit. Points #6 and 7 are the most important.

Yes, lots!

1) Koosje Koene’s Draw Tip Tuesday videos. She also offers classes in drawing and art journaling. (Here’s a post I wrote about her videos in November.)

2) Sign up for a free two-week trial at Creativebug and take Dawn Devries Sokol’s Art Journaling class and Lisa Congdon’s Basic Line Drawing. I wrote about how much Lisa’s class inspired me in my “Learning in Public” post.

3) A bunch of books to inspire you: Lynda Barry’s wonderful Syllabus; Danny Gregory’s new Art Before Breakfast (it’s a delight; I’ll be reviewing it soon) and the much-beloved The Creative License; the Illustration School series; the “20 Ways to Draw a…” series; Claire Walker Leslie’s Keeping a Nature Journal; the Usborne “I Can Draw” series. And a few more recommendations in this older post.

4) Maybe try a Sketchbook Skool course! They offer a free sample class (I mean klass) so you can get a taste of the magic.

5) Cathy Johnson videos. Rilla loves Cathy’s art and her gentle delivery.

6) Most importantly! Really just dive in and do it—if you do it, the kids will follow. Mine truly love to see me working & playing in my sketchbook. Actually, Rose was just commenting on it today, before this Twitter conversation occurred. She said she has really enjoyed watching me start from scratch (so to speak) and work at learning to draw. They all seem to love to see me trying, making mistakes, learning, improving. My progress excites them almost as much as it does me. :)

7) The REALLY most important piece of advice I can give: Allow plenty of TIME and room for mess. Many parents say “I want my kids to be creative” but can’t tolerate mess. Art is messy. Creativity is messy. You need space to leave work out and return to it. Supplies in easy reach. And big spans of time for messing around, staring into space, doodling, doing things that look unproductive. I can’t emphasize enough how important this is to any creative process. Time and room.

When I’m writing a novel, my most intense work happens while I look like I’m doing nothing at all. Sitting and staring blankly, chewing my nails, or filling an entire page with tiny lines and spirals. This is my body getting out of the way so my brain can get down to the real work of creating.

And for the visual arts, these totally tactile pursuits, you’ve got to have a place to spread out your paints, your pencils, your small objects that make you itch to draw. You know what’s nice and tidy and doesn’t clutter a room? A cellphone. If you want them to spend less time staring at screens (I’m not knocking screens here, you know I love me some screen time), you’ve got to grant them some real estate.

With that in mind, I make a point of keeping art supplies in easy reach. We have a dedicated kitchen drawer for placemats, paper, paint supplies so even the youngest kids can help themselves. Jars of colored pencils & crayons on table, a sharpener on the kitchen counter, a stack of art books on the shelf nearby. I want them to have constant free access to art materials. It’s also a good idea to keep a bag packed for outings. I described ours in this old GeekMom post.

8) And what materials do I recommend? For littles: good paper, cheap paints. I elaborated on my reasons in this post from several years back:

When my older kids were little, I read lots and lots about the benefits of providing children with really high quality art supplies. In some cases, I still agree: Prismacolor colored pencils are worlds better than your drugstore variety. The lead is so creamy and blendable. They’re expensive but they last a long time—we’re on our second set of 72 colors in over ten years.

But watercolors? Real watercolor paper makes a huge difference, but it’s expensive; that’s one reason I was so taken with Jenn’s idea to cut it into smaller, postcard-sized pieces. But when it comes to the paints themselves, well, I’ve been the high-quality route, absorbed the persuasive literature that talks about rich pigments and translucent hues; bought the pricey tubes of red, yellow, blue; collected jars for mixing colors; watched my children squeeze out too much paint and gleefully swirl it into an expensive puddle of mud-colored glop.

Lesson learned. The 99 cent Roseart or Crayola sets work just fine. In fact, dare I say I think my preschoolers like them better? Mixing colors is fun, but there is nothing quite so appealing as that bright rainbow of pretty paint ovals all in a row. When Wonderboy and Rilla make a mess of their paints, Jane cleans them up with a rag and they’re practically good as new.

For older kids—and for yourself!—my advice is to skip the student-grade watercolors and go right to artist quality. More expensive but the difference is immense. You can use the money you saved buying cheap paints for the preschoolers. ;)

We’re still addicted to Prismacolor pencils—no other brand will do for me. And I like Micron pens for line drawing. The ink is waterfast so you can paint over it (like my pumpkins in yesterday’s post). I also picked up a few gel pens—white, silver, and gold—and Rilla has had unbelievable amounts of fun with them. I love the white one for writing on a dark surface, like on the tag of my pencil pouch here.

pens

The sketchbook I just filled up was a Canson Mixed Media, 7×10 spiral bound. The size worked really well for me. I also have a small Moleskine journal with watercolor paper, but it feels so special I find myself hesitant to use it and reaching for the mixed media book instead. (I’ve just started a new one, same as the one I filled up.) That’s my real playground, the place I’m not afraid to (in the words of my personal hero, Ms. Frizzle) “Take chances and make mistakes!” But I’m getting braver every day and the lovely paper in that Moleskine is calling to me.

I’ve also found I love doing my first rough sketches with a brown watercolor pencil, very lightly. I go over it with ink afterward and then, when I paint, the pencil just blends in and becomes shadow. I don’t sketch this way every time, but for some reason it seems to free me up. I’m more daring with this pencil. It takes me to a confident place between graphite pencil—with its sometimes overly tempting eraser—and straight-to-ink, which is sometimes exhilarating and sometimes terrifying. The brown Aquarelle feels like my co-conspirator. I don’t know how else to describe it. I have even starting making some first tentative stabs at portrait drawing, thanks to this pencil. (I tried a selfie-a-day project for a week. None of them looked much like me, but this attempt on day seven could maybe be a cousin?)

my cousin me
Guys, I still feel so shy about posting my drawings! I mean, I have so many friends who make their livings as illustrators—heck, one of them even just won the Caldecott! (GO DAN! SO THRILLED!) Do you know how nerve-wracking it is to know pros are looking at your rookie work? Of course you do. Because what I’ve learned is everyone feels that way. Even my most brilliant artist friends look at some other person’s work and sigh wistfully, wishing they’d made that piece. I’ve seen it happen time and again. So bit by bit I’m getting brave enough to share my baby steps. 

9) Okay, so you have your lovely sketchbook and drawing implements, now what to draw?? Well, I guarantee Koosje Koene’s videos mentioned above will keep you and the kids busy for a good long while. There’s also this wonderful Everyday Matters Challenge list at Danny Gregory’s blog. 328 suggestions, so you’re just about good through 2016. And Kortney tipped me off to this most excellent Lynda Barry post (in Rilla’s words, I simply adore her) about keeping a visual diary.

10) And a last tidbit I almost forgot: A most beloved activity here (especially for Rilla and me) is to listen to audiobooks while sketching. Many of my happiest hours have been spent this way. We’re especially fond of Roald Dahl while drawing. Nobody brings on the whimsy like Dahl.

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6. Get 25% OFF 15 Steps to Freelance Illustration!

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“I get asked all the time how I’ve gotten to work with clients like The New York Times, WIRED, Pentagram, Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, and many others. The most complete and useful answer I could give is all included in 15 Steps to Freelance Illustration

- Thomas James, Illustrator and Author

Want to start your own Illustration business?

Not sure where to begin?

You’re in luck!

15 Steps to Freelance Illustration is a Step-by-Step guide and Workbook written specifically to give you the best chance of getting started on the right foot.  Thousands of artists have already benefitted from this resource, and many Illustration professors have made it required reading for their students, because it tells you exactly what you need to do to be a successful professional Illustrator. Whether you’re just starting out or have struggled to launch your business with unsatisfactory results, 15 Steps can help you to build a strong foundation for your freelance Illustration career, guaranteed!

Simply choose either the eBook or Audiobook to get started building your own freelance Illustration business right now!

SPECIAL OFFER!

Use the promo code IFRIDAY for a 25% discount and get this useful resource for just $14.96USD!

 Rave reviews from Illustrators, Educators, and Art Reps:

“I think your e-Book is another great tool you are providing the artist who is interested in Illustration.  You are giving the budding Illustrator all the information he or she needs to become a professional.  It’s a tough business right now, and people need all the help they can get in the way of information.”

- Anthony Freda – Illustrator, Lecturer, and Graduate Mentor

“I am going to require it for my Illustration students at FIT this fall. Having the process broken down, like your book, is a great step to really embracing it all.”

- Melanie Reim – Chair, MFA in Illustration, FIT

“15 Steps to Freelance Illustration provides the check list needed as you tiptoe your way to entrepreneurial success. This book is a self-educational tool that will earn you a future.”

- Scott Hull – Artist Representative

Use the promo code IFRIDAY for a 25% discount and get this useful resource for just $14.96USD!

What’s Inside

15 Steps to Freelance Illustration is a downloadable zip file containing a 133-page eBook and Workbook that walk you through the essential steps of starting your freelance Illustration business, such as:

• Setting reachable goals
• Creating an efficient workspace
• Managing your time and money
• Deciding how much to charge
• Defining your brand
• Using social networking strategies
• Building a website and blog
• Assembling an effective portfolio
• Building a targeted contact list
• and more!

Table of Contents (Click to Enlarge)


Special Bonuses

15 Steps to Freelance Illustration also comes with these added bonus items:

• A supplemental Workbook that allows the artist to personalize the steps to fit their own unique business
• Select list of 85 essential resource links for Illustrators
• 6 hand-picked bonus articles to assist beginning artists
• Quotes from over 40 Illustrators answering the question “What do you wish you knew when you first started out?”Sample Contract

About the Author

Thomas James is an Illustrator and the Editor/Creative Director of Illustration Age and Illustration Friday. His work has appeared in the New York Times, WIRED, Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, and many other publications and has been recognized by the Society of Illustrators, American Illustration, and HOW Magazine.

Thomas has given lectures and workshops for ICON The Illustration Conference, the Graphic Artists Guild and the Stumptown Comics Fest, has written for Fuel Your Illustration, Design TAXI, and Vector Tuts +, and has been featured on Illustration podcasts and blogs such as Drawn 2 Success, Big Illustration Party Time, Chris Oatley’s Artcast, Art & Story, Zero 2 Illo, Workbook, Artsy Shark, and Ninja Mountain.

More reviews of ’15 Steps to Freelance Illustration':

“It’s thorough, yet not too complicated, and it’s very flexible for different types of artists of different experience levels.  I like the workbook too. It’s a great way to get your readers motivated and on task.” – Dani Jones – Illustrator and founder of the Artcast Network

“Thomas has done a great job of putting together the basics. I was pleased to see the amount of resources he provides at the end of the book. I’m sure this book will be very popular with freelancers everywhere.” - Bob Ostrom – Illustrator and co-host of the Answers for Freelancers and Creative Independence Podcasts

“Anyone that follows the Escape From Illustration Island blog and listens to the Podcasts regularly already knows that Thomas knows his stuff – imagine all of that knowledge and experience squeezed into a 15 step guide to getting your illustration business off the ground and there you have it…15 Steps To Freelance Illustration.

Full of practical and actionable steps to guide you on your way, the ebook and accompanying workbook are invaluable tools that should be in every aspiring illustrators toolbox. Well worth the cover price…and more!” – Jonathan Woodward – Illustrator and founder of Zero 2 Illo, ‘A Blog for Aspiring Illustrators’

Lifetime Satisfaction Guarantee

If you’re not completely satisfied that 15 Steps to Freelance Illustration is helping you to start your Illustration business on the right foot, just let me know and I’ll refund your money in full. No questions asked.

Download Your Copy Today

15 Steps to Freelance Illustration is ready for download right now for only $19.95 USD!  To get your copy simply click the ‘Download It Now‘ button below and you’ll be taken to a page where you can make your payment via PayPal or Credit Card and receive an email with your download link right away.

Use the promo code IFRIDAY for a 25% discount and get this useful resource for just $14.96USD!

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7. Tools of the Trade

Ever wonder what I work with?
I am always curious to see other artists' studios, the tools they use, even down to how they brush the paint on. It fascinates me.


I'm working on a project right now that has forced me to look closer at what I work with and why I work with it.

You can find commentaries on blogs, forums, and Facebook about how one artist will voice their favorite pencil, while another artist in the same field will swear by another brand. Call it the sport of art if you like (I'm sure there's an artist out there with a rabbit's foot).

Most of my tools have a story or memory attached to them. 

The oldest tool I've used every day in the studio is my kneaded eraser.

My dad is an art teacher most of my life, so I grew up with this wonderful tool laying around his art studio coiled up or made into small pyramids. Something to do while thinking or working. I was introduced to it very young.

The next tool oldest to me is a retractable Tuff Stuff! The moment I discovered this eraser years ago I fell in love and haven't gone back. It gets into the little spots and is always a clean erase. I don't go anywhere without it!

My pencils are newer to me. I have worked with mechanical pencils for at least 15 years now, but the one I used as a teenager...well....was great for a teenager.

Two years ago I did some research and tried Pentel GraphGear 500 on a whim. Love them! Great body weight, good lead selection, amazingly priced! The green Pentel is their most standard. Pentel P205...still a great drawing pencil!

Sketchbooks are personal, in every sense, like a diary. I have always favored the large Strathmore or Canson spiralbounds, 9x12 inch. I have several moleskines too that are smaller....and I adore them, but I like space for my hand when I draw, this allows it.

Color Theory wasn't around in the beginning for me, so I just picked colors that worked to my eye. This did not help in finding the best palette for me, or how to lay it out even.

All of my palettes up to several years ago were rectangle and felt rough to me. Nothing progressed fluidly for me, only manageable.

There was a teacher of watercolor where I work (The Des Moines Art Center) who had a round palette out during one of her classes, and I was introduced to the Stephen Quiller Palette. A circle! Imagine color on a wheel!

I took her class, several times, and have since learned how to better use my palette effectively.

The paints I use are a blend of  Daniel Smith and Winsor Newton.  I always have a messy palette, it's cleaned maybe once every two months. I also paint on primarily Arches Hot Press and Cold Press 140lbs. It's a comfortable inbetween weight and their brand is one of the oldest. I'm open to other papers, but I'm a snob about Arches. The brushes? Cotman series 666.

If you know my work you'll notice my use of white. This started in the phase of trying to keep the white of the paper and failing. I taught myself watercolor, so I turned to problem-solving (an illustrator's best trait).

First it was FW liquid acrylic. I would brush it on, but it cakes easily. Nowadays I usually water it down.

The other partner in crime is the white gel pen. Discovered this while watching watercolor videos on YouTube. Genius! I don't think I use the best one, your basic Gelly Roll, but will be ordering a UniBall gel pen and I'm looking forward to seeing how it works!

Last but not least, the infamous indigo colored pencil. 

I started using this prominently last year while working on Tangerine. I was first introduced to Verithin Colored Pencils by Prismacolor a couple of years back. They're fantastic because of the harder lead with less wax. Because I'm not a colored pencil artist, this worked great for sketching!

The indigo was an accident. I was sketching with it, and as I added color (without thinking of the muddiness it could create) I noticed how it's more dulled tone worked. After Tangerine I continued to sketch with it. The hue is attractive to me, mixed with graphite or color. It helps to provide me my shadows.

Although indigo can create mud very quickly (it's not for the inexperienced), it does create a more earthy visual of color hues in the painting. I trust it so much I paint with indigo as well.

I try to sharpen always with a blade so that I don't go through the pencil as fast (taught by my dad), and the electric eraser was a gift to me. Never knew I would have a need of it until I discovered it erases the indigo colored pencil wonderfully!

Do you have a favorite pen or material that you use a bit religiously?

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8. What's on my wish list right now…

I wonder what she's wishing for. I don't know yet, but I know what I'm wishing for…books! What else? I'm currently wanting a whole bunch of Melissa Sweet books, this new book by agent, Lilla Rogers, I Just Like to Make Things, Grammar would have been more fun with this version of The Elements of Style, and finally this book, by Kelly Murphy.

By Kelly Murphy

Here's what was in the lovely package I received yesterday. My other favorite thing…art supplies!


I had a few colors of FW Inks. I was so happy to see how well they blend with my acrylic paints! They're just wonderful! I haven't used this paper yet, but it was recommended by Tracy Bishop, so I'm anxious to try it. I also got some Fabriano Artistico hot press paper.

Nothing's better than books and shiny new art supplies!


The above book links are affiliate links. How else can I support my book & art supply habit?

2 Comments on What's on my wish list right now…, last added: 1/25/2013
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9. Something Old, Something New

Here are two pieces that are already on the website, but represent a bit of a jump for me, creatively.

I'm recognizing that I work best when I give myself a few constraints. For my Alumni Sale paintings, I think, "What's a weird animal, and a fitting or fittingly unfitting thing they could do?" (Okay, sometimes it only makes sense to me, but it's a usefuly questions.) I was entirely thwarted by the advice to make a book dummy from a classic fairy tale (everyone will tell you to do that) but the idea of doing a nursery rhyme was really freeing. (More on that soon, I promise.)

Lately, my default parameter is "Why not make this an alphabet?" This isn't always an ideal approach, not just because I don't always want to do 26 of something. Plus, how many words start with X, really?*



I've managed two of these, anyway, the first being "A Bichon frise teaches Ballet to a Beaver, a Bunny, and a Baracuda."

I am ridiculously happy with this piece. I intentionally limited the palette (cerulean is the only blue) and I'm really happy with the vignette edges, among other things. This and the next piece are both on Fabriano watercolor paper, and I think I prefer it to my regular Arches.



"Peccaries Parade in Pompadours and Ponchos, Packing a Pineapple Pinata, Piggy bank, and the Parade Princess."

I'm less utterly charmed by this piece (not: cerulean blue isn't actually the answer to everything) but it was fun. I think the format, which is wildly inappropriate for my website, might mean that this works well as a repeat. We'll see.


Finally, an all new painting. I made this card for an entirely lovely wedding a couple weeks ago. I was really happy I had time to make this (and go to the wedding!), and when two separate speeches mentioned the couple's affinity for wacky cards, I was pretty relieved.



Inside, the card says, "You're going to build an incredible life together." Get it?

*By the way, I hate workarounds, especially in alphabets but also generally. When I was little I had a video that showed an alphabet of animal clips. When they got to X, why just showed an ox, and flipped the word horizontally. Even at age 5, I felt like that was a cop out.

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10. Expensive? Yeah, But It’ll Last Forever!

My husband says I’ve gone native on the subject of shopping. As far as we can tell, Germans don’t do a lot of recreational shopping. They make a lot of small trips to the market and bakery and butcher, but they don’t seem to spend a lot of time at the mall or dreaming about their next clothing or electronics purchase.

When they DO buy something, though, they’re apt to spend more to get better quality. A bargain is less important. And the phrase in the title is a frequently heard refrain, one that I seem to have picked up.

Recently I went to my favorite little claustrophia-inducing neighborhood art shop in search of kid’s art supplies. There’s no Crayola there, folks. The crayons are pure beeswax. PURE. We opted for some fat colored pencils, which were 15 euros a pack. Yes, that’s 10 colored pencils for the equivalent of over $20! I know, I know. I justified with the handy phrase above. And you know what? The kids looove the pencils. They had some old ones from a cheap American box store (a place I love, it must be said) which they never used because they were just plain lousy. These colored pencils have deep, rich colors, and they use them all the time and carry them everywhere. I think we’ll be getting our money’s worth.

I was telling some friends about the pencils and remembering my own set of Swiss colored pencils given to me by my aunt and uncle when I was about 9. I treasured them and STILL have them. In fact, they’re here in Germany with me:

I have this pathological need to keep the colors in the same order in which they arrived. Thanks Aunt and Uncle! It was money well-spent.

In other news: check out this student review of Slowpoke at Kiss the Book.

Also, there’s a month-long feature about crafts inspired by children’s books over at “Once Upon a Thread” by No Big Dill. My favorite is the Dot shirt, inspired by The Dot by Peter Reynolds. The project is by Meg of Elsie Marley. Now I just need a craft project inspired by Slowpoke…….


2 Comments on Expensive? Yeah, But It’ll Last Forever!, last added: 3/8/2011
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11. New Old Art Deco Ink Well


This ink well arrived yesterday from an eBay purchase and I've been using it all day and I think it's brilliant. I had wanted an ink well for the wider mouth, which it has and is even better then I had anticipated but it has the added bonus of being extremely heavy and hard to topple. I got it for a very decent price from this seller and I recommend hunting one down your self if you work in pen and ink.

2 Comments on New Old Art Deco Ink Well, last added: 2/5/2010
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12. Backyard Art Supplies

Yvonne asked,

“What brand are your sketchbooks? They look wonderfully sturdy and kid-friendly. I have never thought to take watercolors outside, your pictures make it look so simple (much simpler than inside painting) I must try it.”

We’re using these 8×8″ recycled sketchbooks from Stubby Pencil Studio. We like the small, square shape and the sturdy cardboard covers (plain brown, easily decorated). I bought them to give the kids for Christmas and forgot about them. I remembered I’d also bought and forgotten these neato-bandito “Smencils“—#2 pencils with yummy scents like cinnamon, orange, and root beer—and when I dug the box out from under my bed where I’d hidden it, the sketchbooks were there too, a nice surprise.

This is the same place I got the Crayon Rocks that so delighted Wonderboy on his birthday.

As for our outdoor painting supplies, the watercolors are just the cheap Crayola sets.

painters2

When my older kids were little, I read lots and lots about the benefits of providing children with really high quality art supplies. In some cases, I still agree: Prismacolor colored pencils are worlds better than your drugstore variety. The lead is so creamy and blendable. They’re expensive but they last a long time—we’re on our second set of 72 colors in over ten years.

But watercolors? Real watercolor paper makes a huge difference, but it’s expensive; that’s one reason I was so taken with Jenn’s idea to cut it into smaller, postcard-sized pieces. But when it comes to the paints themselves, well, I’ve been the high-quality route, absorbed the persuasive literature that talks about rich pigments and translucent hues; bought the pricey tubes of red, yellow, blue; collected jars for mixing colors; watched my children squeeze out too much paint and gleefully swirl it into an expensive puddle of mud-colored glop.

Lesson learned. The 99 cent Roseart or Crayola sets work just fine. In fact, dare I say I think my preschoolers like them better? Mixing colors is fun, but there is nothing quite so appealing as that bright rainbow of pretty paint ovals all in a row. When Wonderboy and Rilla make a mess of their paints, Jane cleans them up with a rag and they’re practically good as new.

paints

Jane’s taking a watercolors class herself, and for that I was happy to buy nice quality paints. But for casual backyard painting for my other five kids? No more tubes.

One last note—we really like to use painting boards under our paper. A long time ago I bought a box of dry-erase markerboards very cheap. They were scratch-and-dent discount items. I wish I could remember the website. Anyway, these make fabulous painting boards. They clean up easily, if you’re inclined to wipe them down. We usually aren’t.

paintboard

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