Art Fun Cheap

By Kathleen Gresham

A year or so ago I wrote about Koh-i-Noor Magic FX pencils. The lead is a checkerboard pattern of three colors. The pencils come in several color combinations. They are great for making textured backgrounds on paper.

Since then I have found several other multicolor pencils that you may also want to look for. 

Magic FX Multicolor Pencils

At the time I first wrote about them, Magic FX pencils were pretty easy to find in hobby and craft stores, discount stores, even in drugstores. Last autumn, however, LaQuita wrote in a comment that she could not find them locally and asked if they can be purchased on line.

The short answer is Yes, they can be ordered on line. One place to find them is Texas Art Supply. The trick is to finding them on the web site. So here is a direct link to Magic FX pencils on the Texas Art Supply website. 

Quattro by Cretacolor Junior 

Since then I have found another interesting pencil that does the same thing, the Quattro by Cretacolor Junior, made in Austria. This you would most likely only find at art supply stores. Texas Art Supply sells it, too.

The Quattro has a four-color lead, with red, blue, yellow and green arranged like the wedges of a pie chart. In the picture below, the Cretacolor Junior Quattro pencil is at the top, and a Koh-i-Noor Magic FX pencil is below it.  As you can see, the Quattro is a little slimmer than the Magic FX.

Rainbow Swirl Pencils by RoseArt

A few months ago I found similar pencils at a Target store (a discount chain in the U.S.). In these the colors are arranged in random swirls instead of a checkerboard pattern, but they should do about the same thing.

They are called Rainbow Swirl pencils. They are made by Rose Art, which is a good-quality cheap brand that is sold by several discount stores in the United States.

True to Life Pencils and Twist-Up Crayons by Crayola

At Target I also found two brand new products by Crayola: True to Life pencils, and True to Life twist-up crayons.

So far, I have only seen these at Target, but Crayola does sell their products at their web site, http://www.crayola.com, so you should be able to order them there.

If you find any of these or similar pencils, especially if you are outside the U.S.A., please leave a comment, letting everyone else know where to buy them. IMPORTANT: Put no more than one link to a web site in each comment. Otherwise, my SPAm filter may delete the comment before I ever see it. But feel free to leave a comment for each source that you find. Thanks!

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By Artfang, guest blogger

As far as easels go whatever you might decide upon make sure that it is definitely sturdy. The folding ones are a superb choice to invest your money in. An easel is not really an essential item, but these can prove very useful if you need to move around. These you can take anywhere to suit your needs.

This gives you the freedom to head out to the countryside, town squares, gardens, parks, homes, etc., wherever you like. It gives you total freedom.

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By Artfang, guest blogger

In this day and age where valuable free time is so precious, where do we find relaxation, peace or solitude from the frantic life of today with all it’s trials and tribulations. People use this time in different ways but I am convinced that many opt for some sort of peace and tranquility.

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By Artfang, guest blogger

Often you see pastel paintings in exhibitions and wonder how the artist arrived at the finished product?

PENCIL - When you go to a shop to choose pastels they often appear quite gaudy colours or very dull, so I think people are often unsure which to choose.

As a contemporary artist I would say you are better not to choose too many colours to start with. In our modern times you can choose ready selected boxes to suit a certain type of subject. It rarely happens that you need to use all the colours in the box.

Generally you are better to choose just a few colours that you know you will use. For example - initial colours for say landscapes, a nice variety of different greens, but some neutral colours maybe to blend in or to highlight various areas.

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By Artfang, guest blogger

Materials are important to the artist and like most things in life, it is better to obtain the best that you can possibly afford. Painting isn´t always an easy craft—so your tools are very important to you.

For example, if you choose mediocre materials the final result obtained will probably reflect this.

If you go for quality it should certainly obtain improved results.

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By Artfang, guest blogger

As a contemporary artist I only know too well that oil paintings always ought to have varnishing. Firstly they need protection.

Once varnished the painting has a strong layer over the paint, so it is easier to handle as it can then be cleaned. If the painting is left unvarnished it may easily get damaged. As the painting dries out the oil paint tends to get duller and gives a matt finish. However, you cannot varnish until the paint is completely dry and this can take a considerable amount of time.

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By Artfang, guest blogger

To craft interesting fluid portraits that radiate life you must appreciate the effect of the spine on the head and shoulders.

To create a relaxed feeling in your portraits quite often you will need to sketch the head tilted. Most people when they are at ease will view with their head slightly tilted. In this article we will point out what to look for and how to tackle the tilted skull.

In the tilted skull view the model will show a clear change of direction from the action of the torso to the tilt of the skull. Also take note of where the shoulders are. The subject’s shoulders will approximately be aligned with the bottom of the nose.

With this information in mind, the first step is to gauge the angle of the skull’s tilt (from the bottom of the chin to the top of the skull) before drawing the arabesque. To do this hold your pencil (or a knitting needle) at arm’s length, closing one eye, and adjust the angle of the held pencil so that it relates to the angle of the slant. Keeping your arm straight and locked you can now transpose this angle onto the sketch.

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By Artfang, guest blogger

Art presents itself in various shapes and forms today—to me it is always interesting and gratifying to appreciate other people’s art. You don´t necessarily have to like it personally to accept the hard work that has gone into it and the thought behind it.

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By Artfang, guest blogger

Posing your model surrounded by a few props can add much interest, dimension, and appeal to a portrait and goes a long way to describing your subject. A prop can add appreciably to the composition of the portrait. Sketching a portrait with a prop, such as a hat or even ear muffs, obliges you to above all pay attention to the complete arabesque.

Quite often the starting artist will be tempted to approach a prop as a separate entity or an afterthought so that rather than complimenting and blending in a supporting role with the subject’s face, it looks artificial and overwhelms the model or is incorrectly proportioned or sketched.

In this expose you will learn the expert approach to drawing a prop entity that frames the center of interest even with a supporting entity that is bigger than the face.

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By Remi Engels, guest blogger

Once you have hatched the primary value masses of your portrait it is time to blend and “remove” the lights with a kneaded eraser.

A stump is a cylindrical tool tapered at the ends and generally made of rolled paper. Stumping then is to smear or blend your hatchings with a stump. The point of blending is to produce gradations and halftones and to give certain tone regions a softer look.

Blending can be done in different ways. You can utilize tissue paper or even your fingers or both. When utilizing your fingers be sure to wipe off any oily deposits with a tissue.

Stumping must be done in a painterly manner. You should literally cut out the form while keeping in mind both the structural anatomy and the changes of the planes. As you sketch name each anatomical element. This is particularly advisable when you work on complex structures such as the nose and the eyes.

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