πŸ‚ Fall Leaf Tutorial 🍁

Oct 20, 2022
 

Honorable Mention and a Fall Leaf Study-Take The Challenge!

 

Hello Fellow Artist! 

Oh my gosh, what a crazy month!

The Blueprint Colored Pencil Course has been keeping me so busy, and our Chicago Chapter of the CPSA had the Annual Art Show and Awards Ceremony and yours truly received an Honorable Mention for my drawing "Hannah Love!" Yay! πŸ‘

But enough about me, πŸ€© 

I'm wondering...is your art improving?

Throughout my years of teaching, it's common to see frustration after the "beginners" stage.

 

Once you learn the basics and draw more, getting a little stuck in the phase of your artistic journey is expected. 

 

You may be asking yourself, Why isn't my art improving? How come I'm just staying the same as far as my art skills? 

 

I could tell you something technical like, "It's all in the values," or "Try making a more detailed sketch." 

 

But I'm not, at least not today! 

 

Today I'm telling you to make some ugly artwork!

 

What? πŸ€” 

You have to make a whole lot of ugly artwork to make some amazing artwork! 

 

Sure, it's about practice, but more importantly, it's about challenging yourself. You will get the same results if you keep doing the same thing.

 

If you keep watching beginner lessons, you will forever be a beginner artist 🀯

 

Challenge yourself, and don't be afraid of making ugly art! 

 

If your artwork turns into a minor catastrophe and you want to burn it in the fireplace, it's a successful piece! Why? 

Because you learned something during the process!! That's what art is all about:

  • You're one ugly drawing closer to an awesome one!
  • You're learning along the way.
  • Best of all; You're challenging yourself. 

 

So, my friend, I'm here to challenge you! 

 

 

We have the most fantastic fall color leaves this year πŸπŸ‚πŸƒ 

I picked this leaf from our yard, took a picture, and enhanced the colors with Photoshop. Or, these days, you can add a filter to a photo on your phone's photo app. Here's the leaf for you to download or print.

 

I made a bonus video tutorial for my students on drawing the leaf and about how I layered the pencils, some of the colors I used, and the slice tool technique to create some texture. 

 

And I'm sharing it with you in this video! πŸ‘ 

 

I chose this leaf for your challenge because there are many layers you must build up to get the rich reds and oranges. Let's not forget the super bright yellow that gives the piece fantastic contrast.  

 

I mentioned some of the colors I used, but it's not about which colors to use; I want you to use the colors you have and experiment. Draw the leaf two or three times using different colors, make mistakes along the way and have fun doing it! 

 

That's the challenge! That's it! 

 

I would love to see your leaf! Post the finished leaf or some WIP photos on our Facebook Group The Colored Pencil Nerds πŸ€“  

 

Please comment below and let me know how you liked the video and how it's going with drawing your leaf! 

 

Happy Drawing, My Friend!

Cheers!

Molly 🌻

 

P.S. My monthly Colored Pencil membership Blueprint opens up for enrollment on Nov.1st. Sign up here to be notified and get a Free month! ✍️

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