Beginner artist in Virginia, paint resources??
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Hello!
(First I want to say thanks to Analise from SVS for taking the time to help me fix posting issues)
My name is Morgan. I'm 27 and I live in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. I just started SVS a few weeks ago after discovering (and promptly binging 3PP) .
I started learning to draw about a year ago, but never picked up much traction. Looking back, I think I spent too much time trying to learn how to render with pen and ink and not enough time learning how to actually draw.
The foundations in SVS are helping a ton and I'm excited to keep going and learn more.
I took up drawing/painting for two reasons. The first is that I am a visual thinker and tend to see the humorous side of situations and environments. I want to lean into that side of my personality and exercise my creative muscles to see more fun and humor in daily life via illustration.
The second reason is that I am a carpenter and I care a lot about well designed homes (which is a scarce thing in modern America). I hope to move in the direction of designing homes that are truly inviting spaces and have some of the nostalgic feeling that you get in old houses or even in the illustrated environments of children's books.Onto the nitty gritty:
I am terrified of color. I went through @Will-Terry 's Magic of Color course, but feel a bit paralyzed using expensive traditional media (gouache, watercolor) for the swatch exercises without any real knowledge of how to handle my materials.
Can anyone recommend books or online resources for painting with watercolor and gouache? Surely I can search through Youtube and the library, but I would love to avoid spinning my tires any more than necessary. Thanks in advance!
Attached are some sketchbook pages from the last couple weeks working through the foundations classes
Finally, thanks to the 3PP/SVS guys for making these resources available. You are making a difference!
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@J-Morgan-Looney welcome, mate! You'll get to where you want to be I'm sure. The classes are fantastic for the fundamentals especially. Oh, For some reason I can't see the images you've linked though.
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This post is deleted! -
@MarcRobinson Thanks for letting me know about the images, I posted a reply with better links. I snooped around your page and portfolio when I was trying to figure out how to post on here and I love your work!
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Hey Morgan!
Welcome!I don't have any videos to recommend but I thought I'd recommend getting a set of alcohol markers!
(Alcohol markers fade over time so there is a time and a place for them)Working in alcohol marker really helped me understand the kind of colour I like using and I find it very helpful to plan colour pallets. You can use a swatch sheet and then build out multiple test pallets to see how colours will play off eachother.
I really find it helpful to be able to build out colour pallets without the daunting task of mixing paints.
Although that might not help you in your goal of becoming proficient in watercolour and gouache, it might help you get comfortable playing with colour!
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@Tash thanks for the recommendation! I've been thinking of trying out colored alcohol markers. I have a few gray scale markers that have helped me learn value and shadow. Is there a color set that you recommend starting with, or is it more a matter of finding specific colors that I enjoy?
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@J-Morgan-Looney cheers mate. Your stuff is looking good.
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Hi Morgan! I teach watercolor and gouache to beginner adults. I think gouache is easier than watercolor for a newbie, but you can learn either or both it if you're interested -- it's worth learning if you like the look of it and want to incorporate that look into your illustration. For watercolor, I really like Emma Lefebvre (@emjlefebvre) and Lacey Walker (@rebelunicorncrafts) both on YouTube and Instagram. I do not get any kickbacks for recommending them -- just sharing some resources that have worked for me any students. Some people here have recommended alcohol markers and I agree that markers are easier for getting started with color. I don't have Copic markers, I wish I did, they are an investment though. I have played around with Ohuhu markers and I think they are good for the price. I have also heard Blick Studio markers are a good for the price (more similar to Copics).
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@J-Morgan-Looney I love your bug in a tin!
I use ohuhu, brush and chisel tips. You can get pretty big sets for a really reasonable price. Copics are also a tried and trusted brand, but they are very pricy.
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@J-Morgan-Looney Amongst the entertainment illustration community, James Gurney (of Dinotopia fame) is the most popular watercolor tutorialist. Here's the link to his YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@JamesGurney/videos
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@Tash thanks for the recommendations! And thanks, I had a dream that someone made me eat a tinned bug that was still alive, so naturally I had to draw it
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@willicreate thank you! I just got one of his books from the library, but did not realize he is so active on YouTube.
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@J-Morgan-Looney hahaha unhinged! I love it!
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@Erin-Hawkins thanks Erin! I will check out those chanels.
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@J-Morgan-Looney Hi! I am glad you are getting started with color! It is a ton of fun!
Here are my favorite books:
James Gurneys Color and Light
THE most useful book on color I have ever found is the Munsell Color Book especially if you can get the one with the paint swatches. It is spendy, but so helpful to try to match colors.
I'll try to think of more later- I have lots but I am in a bit of a rush. Hope that helps! -
@Jeanne-M-Bowman I am reading James Gurney's Imaginative Realism book now and the color book is on my list. Thank you for the recommendations!
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Hi Morgan. I'm not sure where your located exactly but if your near Staunton you should check out the Beverly Street studio school. They offer some beginning painting classes and one of the teachers is someone I went to school with who's a really great painter.
If you're interested you can check out their website here: https://www.bssschool.org/ -
Hi Morgan! I'm also new here, but I do know of a valuable resource for art materials (thats not amazon lol). There is a place called "Cheap Joe's Art Stuff", they are located in the US, and have a good website. They have everything art material related (just like BLICK) but much cheaper. They also have an insane return policy, you buy something from them, you have a whole year to return it!! Even paints that are half used. They are also on youtube for tips and trick on how to use the items they sell. Hope this helps!!
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@J-Morgan-Looney @Tash @Erin-Hawkins I got some Ohuhu Markers and WOW these are so much fun. Thanks for the recommendation. This will make it much easier to learn color.
