Art Fun Cheap

Landscape is the most important and popular subject chosen by artists, amateur painters and visitors to museums and galleries, this is mostly true because to such an extent landscape drawing or painting seems to give so much satisfaction as an artistic work to many people where they could find and enjoy the present of art in the art work.. A landscape can be drawn from any scene, but however landscape drawing has certain interesting features with regards to the making of shadow and light in the drawing itself.

Many landscape drawing or painting is done in a studio rather than directly at the scene location, working outdoor on the spot produces a spontaneity and dynamism with regards to rendering the beauty of the scene itself, while working in the studio will give much time to consider the composition of the drawing more carefully and details of the scene could be obtained from the photos taken at the refered scene. The artist has to decide for herself or himself which is most satisfying way to do. I myself do landscape work art drawing in studio which give me more time to work the composition and playing the colours as to make up the semi-abstract drawing or pop-art drawing with reference from photograph.

Before beginning to draw landscape it is good to first start with making sketch of the main areas which will help process of making the shading and creating contrasts in order to build certain dynamism between the light and dark areas of different forms. To increase the depth with respect to the distant planes the contrast in the foreground must be intensified and build more detail in the foreground and centre of interest, while more distant plane are made less detailed and less defined.  A good landscape drawing shall maintained the perspective which is obtained in the background with a horizon line imagination as well as the objects that can act as a reference points to established the perspective.

Abstract or realism

By definition abstract drawing is regarded as images which do not reflect visual reality, as opposed to realism which seeks to show exactly what the eyes see, while realism is an artwork that focuses on depicting subjects and objects accurately as they appear in reality. However both techniques have their own beauty whether you do the realism drawing or abstract drawing, as far as the art exists in the drawing as felt or seen by the viewer, then you know that you have revealed an art or something beautiful in the drawing.

I like abstract drawing as well as realism drawing due to both techniques have their own beauty so that is why in my drawing I used to combine abstract and realism to enhance more energy of beauty in the drawing. I do the drawing as abstract or semi-abstract.

Sometime I make the pop-art drawing, a kind of contemporer drawing technique that utilizes popular imagery and commodities as resources and inspiration. I do the pop-art landscape drawing style by first making up the sketch, then draw or put some colours in the light and dark gradation areas and shape of the landscape with the value and tone of colour pattern. Perspective is obtained by the way colours representing perspective, that is darker colours value represent less distant than lighter colours, so that the colours combination will give the perspective and the artistic drawing regarded as pop-art drawing.

Below is landscape in pop-art drawing technique done with pencil, coloured pencil and gouache.

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About the Author:
My name Ismujono, I write article about art of drawing, BW portrait drawing and popart portraiture.
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While photos on canvas can be a fantastic addition to any collection, collages can save people a lot of money as well as entice onlookers in a unique manner. This article focuses on a few ideas on how to make a collage yourself and print it using photos to canvas technology.

A collage is an artistic blend of a variety of photos that evoke an emotional response from a viewer. The specialty of collage is that it saves a lot space and money while providing much information to onlookers. In order to print photos on canvas a collage must first be created from the images that will be used to make it into a one large photo file.

It is a good idea to create collages based on themes. Although merging various themes is equally attractive, a collage out of a single theme would be very informative and meaningful. A good example of a collage would be one consisting of photos from a person’s childhood through adulthood. It is quite surprising for some to see the transformation from an innocent and helpless infant into a self sufficient adult. Changes viewed throughout a time line can provide great pleasure and also be a reminder of the great care that was provided by a person’s parents!

Selecting admirable photos from a collection of recent trips and immortalizing the entire episode in to one single work of art as a photo to canvas print is a wonderfully fulfilling exercise. One other idea is to bring together all of the icons that had been a great inspiration to a person’s life and make it into canvas prints.

Creating a perfect collage requires only a bit of imagination. Using image editing software applications (such as Adobe Photoshop) most anyone can create a fabulous assemblage of images. Many similar editing software applications are available as well. Using a service provider for a photo on canvas transfer can truly transform a collection of unrelated images into a work of art.

Are you looking to create canvas prints from your photos? As featured in the Wall Street Journal and Better Homes and Gardens, Canvas On Demand can help you create beautiful, personalized prints from your photos. With over five thousand satisfied customers worldwide, you are sure to be satisfied.

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About the Author:
Are you looking to create Big Canvas Prints from your photos? As featured in the Wall Street Journal and Better Homes and Garden, Canvas On Demand can help you create a beautiful, personalized Photo Canvas. With over five thousand satisfied customers worldwide, you are sure to be satisfied.
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Every form of art has its own beauty. While carrying the special beauty, every art requires certain basic principles to be observed while doing the art work. So the art of drawing has also a set of fundamental principles like making the shapes of an object and doing the light effect of the intensity of light falling on an object. Art is like “love” hard to explain but you can feel it when it exists in a drawing or in other artistic objects. Drawing is the basis of artistic expression, drawing is defined as the art of representing objects or forms by lines, shading, and other means making a picture in lines.

Ability to draw something in front of you like portrait, figure or landscape is a great pleasure, to start a drawing all you need to do is prepare some paper and a pencil then begin reproducing something in front of you whether it is a portrait, figure or landscape. Drawing is usually carried out with  a pencil or pen, charcoal, pastel or other pointed drawing instruments.

Below is drawing of Balinese dancer done with pencil and pastel for the background .

Portrait Drawing In Black and White

Portrait drawing is one of the great challenges for artist, as capturing the likeness by means of line and value is not a simple matter, it requires practice and knowledge of drawing techniques. The construction of a portrait drawing requires times and thought with regard to the forms of the face of a model or from the photo, there is more than one methods of portrait drawing.

It is through a constant process of changes of line, value shading and distribution of light and dark value that form and likeness are achieved. I used HB, 2B and 4 B pencils to draw the black and white portrait from photograph.

Pop-Art Portrait Drawing

In general pop-art refer to art work that use the technique of commercial art and popular illustration, in pop-art portrait drawing work after making up the sketch and outlined the drawing of the face or figure in the portrait or picture then draw with felt tip pen, coloured pencil and gouache the gradation and shape of the flesh with the dynamic value and tone of colour pigment so that it will give artistic drawing regarded as pop-art portrait drawing.

The following is photograph of Princess Diana when she was young, which I want to make the pop art portrait drawing accordingly. First make up a simplified drawing with pencil and after making the sketch and outlines then replace the gradation and shape of the flesh with the value and tone of colour pigment by using felt tip pen, gouache and coloured pencils as appropriate, giving the final pop-art portrait drawing as follows:

Thank you for reading this article, reader interested in my drawing may find more drawings by visiting my blog “Art Of Drawing” at http://popart-drawing.blogspot.com/

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About the Author:
My name Ismujono, I write article about art of drawing, BW portrait drawing and popart portraiture.
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You may have heard of them, you may not. If you live in Paris you most certainly will have done. Wall Stickers are the hot new wall decor product that is heading over the Channel and we are very excited!

If you are imagining lurid Disney characters then think again. The new designs are the height of cool. From designs of Parisian rooftops to Zen inspired styles the new fashion is very grown up and sophisticated. If you want a dramatic effect choose a black silhouette on a white wall. Detailed chandelier’s work great in this stark contrast as do architectural features such as balustrades. Or why not choose a famous landmark like Big Ben or the Colosseum to add a real conversation piece to your space? For a softer look choose a pretty colors and a nature inspired design like floating dandelions or poppies. These can also look great in white on a bright or muted colored wall.

The beauty of vinyl wall transfers or decals (as they are also called) is the ease of applying them. No need to re-decorate. Simply apply to your existing wall and “Voila!” your space is instantly transformed. They can also be easily removed when you fancy a change. The prices are very reasonable so this is high fashion for the home that is available to all. For example you could choose a Winter Trees design which would fill a large wall for less than £80. I can’t think of another way of creating such an impact for such a low cost.

They can also be applied to items of furniture which is a great way to update a tired wardrobe or chest of drawers. Or why not try them on the floor?

So for an instant fashion fix take a hint from the French. Look online for Wall Stickers, wall transfers or wall decals and add some Va Va Voom to your home!

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About the Author:
For more information about Wall Stickers, please visit Zazous.co.uk
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Normal thinking, which we all do on a daily basis, can inhibit our ability to see clearly when we want to draw. Why does thinking prevent us from seeing clearly in the way an artist must to be able to draw realistically?

The two modes of perception

It is a well established medical fact that the human brain has two distinct halves or hemispheres. It is also established that each hemisphere predominantly processes particular types of information (although there is also some overlap or sharing of tasks). It is also known, although in less depth, that we process information on two main levels: the conscious and the subconscious. At the conscious level we are able to be aware of our information processing and to control, to a greater or lesser degree, how we react to that information. The information processing that takes place at a subconscious level we normally have either no control over or at best only a little control (although the level of control can usually be increased with specific training).

Since we have two main modes of processing information it should be clear that we perceive information in different ways.

Information processing

How we receive various types of information generally depends on which of our five senses are used. Once information has been gathered it is then interpreted by which ever hemisphere is best suited to the task. This is where things start to get difficult for people wanting to draw. For drawing or painting, the majority of the information we require is received through our eyes; it is visual information. However, since our left hemisphere tends to be more dominant than the right hemisphere, it is the left hemisphere that takes on the job of sorting out the visual information coming through our eyes. Unfortunately, the left hemisphere is not particularly well suited to visual information processing, even though it thinks it is! It is the right side of our brain that is best suited to handling and interpreting visual information and it is this side that, as artists wanting to draw or paint, we need to use most.

Thinking prevents seeing clearly

Since we do most of our conscious thinking with our left brain (that little voice we all have talks incessantly), when we come to draw we need to be able to stop our left brain from adopting the task of visual processing; which it does quite badly. We must be able to consciously engage our right brain so that we can see the visual information as it really is and not as our left brain misinterprets it. Since our left brain uses mostly symbols for things it recognises, these symbols are what we draw rather than drawing the real visual information that was received by our eyes. This is why too much thinking, i.e. using our left brain, prevents us from seeing properly which leads to adults drawing like children. The reality is: the more you think, the less you can see to draw!

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About the Author:
Find out more about how you can easily learn the skills needed to draw with me: Sketching Drawing – Why do we think so much but see so little?
You can also contact me direct and tell me what you think of this article at Sketching Drawing – Why do we think so much but see so little?
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Perspective in Art is a subject that has been studied, written about, and debated since it was first codified. Although you could study the theoretical aspects of perspective it really isn’t necessary for successful drawing (Phew, that’s a relief!). However, for the budding artist there is one crucial aspect of perspective that must be grasped…

The crucial thing to know…

Is to forget all the theory and books on perspective, they are not necessary! What is necessary is that you fully grasp what controls the perspective in a scene and how you can reproduce that perspective in your drawings. Listen carefully…

Perspective is controlled only by viewpoint!

Did you get that? If not, read that sentence again. Nothing else affects the perspective in a scene.

Perspective and viewpoint

Let us assume that you have a scene in front of you. Now, without moving your head, close one eye and observe the shapes, angles of lines, and relationships between objects in the scene. This is the perspective from this single viewpoint (the position of your open eye). Now move yourself 4 or 5 paces to the left or right and look again at the scene. Note the changes that will have taken place: the angles of lines will have changed, the relative positions of the objects will have changed, etc. You are now viewing the scene from a new viewpoint and you are seeing a new perspective. The perspective you see from the second position is totally different from that of the first position.

Les’ perspective game

Try this little game, close one hand into a fist and extend your first finger. Point this finger upwards and hold it about 6 inches (15cms) directly in front of one eye. Close the other eye; we only want one eye open. Now use your other hand, with a finger pointing upward, held at arms length and lined up behind the other hand so that you cannot see the distant finger at all (it should be hidden behind the finger close to your eye). You are seeing a perspective where the finger close to your viewpoint, your open eye, is hiding the other finger. Now, without moving your head, simply close the open eye and open the closed eye (change which eye is open). You should experience a dramatic change in the perspective between the two fingers you are seeing. Flip back and forth between eyes to see how the scene changes with even this small change in viewpoint!

Once you have trained your ‘Artists Eye’ to be aware of perspective and how it changes when your viewpoint moves, you will begin to really appreciate the subtleties to be found in even the simplest of scenes of subjects.

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About the Author:
Find out more about how you can easily learn the skills needed to draw with me:Sketching Drawing – What determines perspective?
You can also contact me direct and tell me what you think of this article at Sketching Drawing – What determines perspective?
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There is an old saying “You never stop learning” and this is so true when it comes to developing your ‘Artists Eye’. As with most skills of value, developing your ‘Seeing’ without appropriate help can take a very long time and so, when learning drawing, it is better to have a quicker method.

The ‘Artists Eye’

What do we mean when we say “with an Artists eye”? Usually, we use this expression to differentiate between the normal, day to day, looking at the world (which all normally sighted people do) and that special way of seeing the world that creative artists from all mediums use. When you look at the world through your artists’ eye you see much more than you do when simply going about your daily routine. This is because a trained artist has learned how to really see the world around them in terms of: light and shadow, forms, shapes, lines, colour, proportions, perspective, negative space, and the whole gamut of visual perception tools. With our artists eye we see the world in all of its glory!

How to develop your own Artists eye

The problem when learning drawing is that it takes time to understand and then control the role of our dominant left-brain and its affect on our ability to see in that special artists way. Another issue we have to contend with is how we actually see our surroundings. When we look at a scene we do not take in the whole scene at one go (like a camera does when making a photograph) but instead gather the visual information in smaller units. These parts are then assembled in our mind to form the full impression of the scene. Our eyes actually use a method of rapid movement called saccadic eye movement; your eyes constantly scan the scene to gather information from the various parts to form the whole picture. This is perfectly natural and essential.

However, for an artist wanting to draw a scene or subject it is necessary to concentrate our attention on a limited part of the scene, the area within our format limits, and gather the information necessary to make our drawing. Part of your development as an artist needs to be focussed on increasing your observation skills. Learning to really see the world; and not just look at it.

The best ‘Artists Eye’ tool

In my experience of teaching art subjects, and drawing in particular, I have found that the single most powerful aid to developing your artists’ eye (and your ability to concentrate on the essential part of the scene) is a viewfinder card. A viewfinder can be the simplest and cheapest tool you will ever use. The viewfinder is simply a rectangular (or square) piece of thin black card with a rectangular hole in the middle. The viewfinder card can be any size (I use a piece about 10×8 inches for drawing and a smaller 4×3 version for practice purposes) with an appropriate sized rectangular aperture in the centre. Try the 10×8 inch card with a 5×4 inch aperture in the centre (whatever size of card you use you need a fairly wide black border around your centre aperture).

To use the viewfinder for training your artists’ eye, simply hold it about 12 to 15 inches in front of an open eye (close the other eye) and carefully compose a pleasant scene within the aperture. Move around to change your viewpoint and explore various subjects and compositions. You will be amazed at how this simple device helps you concentrate on what is important in the composition and exclude everything else outside the scene.

The viewfinder works because the black border isolates within the centre aperture just the area of the larger scene that you want to include in your composition. Once you have practiced with the viewfinder for a short while, you will begin to see things that you hadn’t noticed before. This indicates that your powers of observation and your artists’ eye are developing.

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About the Author:
Find out more about how you can easily learn the skills needed to draw with me: Sketching Drawing – The best artists eye tool
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I read recently that the difference between sketching and drawing was that sketching was more freehand and drawing was like using a ruler to produce architectural renditions. To quote Declan “Dec” Donnelly (of ‘Ant & Dec’ fame) on the 2009 ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ show, when Simon Cowell said he knew Susan Boyle was going to be good: “What a load of tosh!

Sketching Drawing – The 3 main differences

1. Sketching is usually looser and freer

When people sketch it is usually to produce a quick rendition of a scene. This is often done because the scene isn’t static, such as a café scene with people coming and going. This type of fluid, constantly changing situation, lends itself to a rapid approach to drawing we refer to as sketching. In this type of sketching the objective is to get on paper the main forms and lines of the scene. These lines and forms are often simple but beautiful in their very simplicity. This form of rapid drawing is akin to pure perception drawing and requires a skilled eye and a quick interpretation of the fluidity of the changing scene.

The ‘looseness’ of the lines in such sketches and the purity of line and form that skilled artists can achieve often instils a great energy into the finished piece.

2. Sketching used for reference

Many artists use quick sketches to explore the various qualities and forms of a scene for later use as reference material for a more in-depth drawing or painting. These quick sketches can be as simple or as detailed as the artist requires but they are usually not considered finished pieces in their own right; although once an artist has been made ‘famous’ such sketches often become valuable. Sketch books are a popular method of collecting these types of reference sketches.

3. Drawings and details

A drawing is usually considered to be more of a finished piece than a sketch. This generally means that a drawing will contain more visual information by way of detail and tonal rendition than a sketch. However, this is where the line often becomes blurred; at what point does a sketch become a drawing?

Drawings are also usually complete statements of a scene or subject compared to the fleeting nature of many sketches. Since drawings of fluid scenes, such as the café scenario previously mentioned, are not really practical the final drawing of such a scene will often be done away from the scene i.e. back at the artists studio, using sketches as reference.

The definition of a drawing definitely does not mean they are done with a ruler! Sure, purely architectural technical renditions are produced that way, but a drawing, whether of architecture or not is generally done freehand to produce the sensitivity and feeling the artist wishes to express. Pure architectural rendering rarely exhibit artistic passion!

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About the Author:
Find out more about how you can easily learn the skills needed to draw with me: Sketching Drawing – What is the difference.
 
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There are almost as many ways to hold a pencil for drawing as there are artists using one. However, let’s take a look at three of the more useful ways to hold your pencil for drawing and what the differences are…

1. Hold it like a writing tool

The majority of beginners who learn drawing hold their pencil in the same way that they hold a pen for hand-writing. The fingers are clasped quite tightly near the point end of the pencil shaft. This is simply due to habit from years of using a pen. This way of holding a pencil is great for fine-detail work where you need the most control of every pencil mark. However, this same grip on the pencil can make it difficult to control the pressure applied to the paper; most beginners actually apply far too much pressure resulting in dark lines that dig deep into the paper surface.

With this pencil grip you also have a tendency to rest the heel of your hand on the paper surface. This restricts the fluid movement of the pencil resulting in more definite detail work but can also smudge other parts of your drawing and also leave skin oils on the paper. You can avoid these issues by using a clean sheet of paper between your hand and the drawing surface.

2. Hold it vertically in your palm

Holding your pencil vertically so it lies on your fingers (your fingers are held horizontal), and is held lightly by your thumb placed on top of the pencil shaft, allows you to draw much more freely and with sweeping movements. Since your hand does not touch the drawing paper you can move your entire arm to produce energetic and dynamic curves and lines. This is a great way to loosen up your drawing and to produce rapid fire sketches.

This method is also useful for bigger drawings on large sheets of paper as it allows you to stand further back from the paper.

3. Hold it horizontally in your fingers

With you hand held horizontally as in 2, lightly grip the pencil with your finger tips and your thumb. Move your entire hand from the wrist joint in an up and down flowing motion to draw lightly on your paper. This method allows you to produce drawing strokes that fall in-between the other two methods; you can produce good detail but also sweeping, flowing longer strokes when necessary.

The tone of your pencil strokes can also be finely controlled using this method by simply moving your pencil either further into your hand (so you hold it closer to the point) or further out (so you are holding it away from the point). The further away from the point you hold the pencil, the lighter your pencil strokes will be; it is quite hard to apply too much pressure when holding the back end of the pencil!

Experiment with each method and use the most appropriate one for the drawing you are doing. This is especially important as you develop your personal style of drawing.

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About the Author:
Find out more about how you can easily learn the skills needed to draw with me: Sketching Drawing – 3 Ways to Hold Your Pencil.
 
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Costume play is a hot leisure activity today. People love to put on clothes specially crafted for holidays like Halloween and some big events. There, you will never mind the trend. Allurement on hot styles ceases too. Unlike other fashion accessories, cosplay costumes are worn on some peculiar occasions, instead of daily commutation.

Artists make people’ s fantasy come true with these visible & tangible clothes. Anything you can not achieve in reality gets done on a costume show. Do you dream to become a man revered by others despite your character is so mild? Do you find the attire on the princess in a certain anime really fantastic and appealing? Today, both mellow and powerful versions in most comics are brought to the reality. You can become the hero or queen once you like.

Manufacturers and suppliers detect the large demand for costumes on today’ s market. Among those hot sellers, Final Fantasy cosplay costumes can not be ignored.

As the name implies, special clothes for Final Fantasy play are made according to styles in the anime. Or you can call it a virtual game because soon after the publication of comic, it was designed to be an online game.

Final Fantasy clothing covers all roles in the anime, including Sara, Sazh Katzroy, Yuna Lenne Song, Tifa Lockhart and so on. To hold or attend a costume show, you need to find clothes and props for all roles surely. Select any cosplay shop; you will find costumes, wigs and weapons offered by it. Till now, it’ s really easy to make up for a costume show. Ready-made wigs prevent you from dyeing or cutting your hair. Plastic or wooden weapons help you completely understand the role you love. Attires with perfect similarities and luxurious fabrics make you look funny and feel comfortable.

As long as you love it, you can do it. This is the same with anime show. Just pick out the attire for the role you prefer to play; you will create the same look with him or her easily and instantly.

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About the Author:
A creditworthy Final Fantasy cosplay shop offers an extensive collection of Final Fantasy clothing to you. You will be delighted there.
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