Journey Art Supplies Blog
Tips, Tricks, Thoughts, and inspiration from across the art spectrum.
10 Ways to Pump Up Your Coloring Books!
Hello, everyone! This week, I want to talk about one of the greatest concepts to hit the market: grown-up coloring books! It's so simple, yet so revolutionary, I can't believe it took us this long to realize that coloring didn't have to be just for kids! Of course, everyone already knows how to color, but I want to show you ways to take your coloring to the next level! Here are my tips: No. 1) Use pencils! Whether it's colored pencils or graphite pencils, you're sure to get the greatest range of tones with these guys. Here's a stunning horse design from Art Nouveau Animal Designs by Creative Haven that I filled in with only 4 colors--teal, light blue, light violet, and salmon. It's only with colored pencils that I'd be able to blend the teal and light blues in the mane so seamlessly and easily. No. 2) If you're going to use markers, make sure they're fine-tipped and you have a WIDE variety of colors. Unlike coloring books for kids, coloring books for adults tend to have tighter spaces and more intricate patterns to fill in, which means your chunky Crayola Washables ain't gonna cut it. If you're serious about working with markers, you'll need to acquire some that'll reach those tough spots and also compensate for the lack of hues they'll give you. These beauties (also from Art Nouveau Animal Designs) were done in marker, and I think they turned out pretty well. --But that's because I followed rule No. 2 and rule No. 3, which is... No. 3) Vary colors slightly. With some designs, especially the Art Nouveau designs, the pictures can get a little too symmetrical and boring. The best way to break that up is to mirror similar (but not the same!) colors with each other. At the bottom, I used very slightly different shades of green for my lizards, and also the purple curly wurlies. It breaks the picture up just enough to keep your eyes engaged and interested. No. 4) Take it one step/color/shape at a time. I know that seems like something you should already know to do, but it's very, very easy to get overwhelmed looking at a blank design and deciding where to start and how you want it to look. For my horse, I started in on my favorite part first (the horse), then went to the background, and then onto this chain around it. This little monkey on the inside cover was a fun warm-up piece which I started by filling in all the things I wanted to be brown. Giving yourself small goals to accomplish--like "fill in all the brown"--rather than thinking of the entire page as one project will let you really take your time and focus on what you're doing since it'll seem like you've got less to do. And, after all, that's why we're coloring, isn't it? To avoid/relieve stress? So don't stress yourself out! No. 5) Limit your color palette Speaking of stress, sometimes having too many options can make a project seem daunting. My little monkey friend is only surrounded by browns, blues, and purples, but he's still very aesthetically pleasing! The limited palette also gives you the chance to dive into some whimsy--I mean, where on earth are you going to find navy-blue pears? Get crazy! Color your monkey turquoise! Color your sky yellow! The only limit is your imagination. And, well, your palette. And in the spirit of making the picture your own... No. 6) Add your own patterns and textures. Below my horse, there is some foliage. And as nice as those shapes are, I decided that the leaves needed a little somethin' somethin'... I colored them in with 2 shades of green, and then took a third, darker shade and made little lines on the outside. Adding textures and patterns with your pencils or markers is a great way to make your work stand out. Everyone thinks you have to color flat inside all of the lines, but it isn't so! In fact, that takes me to... No. 7) Add to the designs themselves! Here we have the brown parts of my monkey, including this dull-looking brown tree trunk. But I went in and added some lines with my Faber-Castell Pitt Artist Pen and gave that baby some sass! Coloring book artists will often say that they leave parts of their designs with open spaces to encourage the color-er to incorporate their own style into it. So take every opportunity you can to make your picture as unique as you are :) No. 8) Shade and blend! Shading is the easiest way to give your picture TONS of dimension and blending (with your choice of blending medium (mine is a colorless blender pencil, as mentioned in this blog post about blending colored pencils)) will give it the polished, professional look to set it apart from something a kid would do. Here, you can see the delicate care I took in shading the horse's head and body as well as the difference between using a blender (left side of the purple frame) and using nothing at all (right side). But don't stop here! Shading and blending are great tools when it comes to drawing, so why not... No. 9) Incorporate other drawing techniques! To break up the monotony of solid colors, I used used a bit of stippling on my little monkey friend's cloud. You could also try cross-hatching or coloring in swirled or lined strokes. Basically anything you'd do with your own original drawing, you can also do in a coloring book! The stippling on the edges gave it just the right amount of color plus the right amount of white. Which leads me to my final tip... No. 10) Don't be afraid of white space!! It's easy to think, "I have to color all of this in," when looking at a fresh page, but you really don't! I left white space with my monkey friend's cloud and a little on the edges of the page and that drew even MORE attention to the parts that were colored in! And if you still find yourself afraid of or dreading the white space, just...cut it out. I still had a ton of white space leftover on my horse picture, but I really wasn't interested in coloring any more of it in... So I cut out the part I did like and wanted to keep: Now I can paste this in my journal and do some more designs around it or incorporate it into another work of art, like a collage! With these tips, you can now go boldly into your coloring adventures!
10 Ways to Pump Up Your Coloring Books!
Hello, everyone! This week, I want to talk about one of the greatest concepts to hit the market: grown-up coloring books! It's so simple, yet so revolutionary, I can't believe...
Tissue Paper Mâché!
Hello, everyone! This week, I wanted to put a new spin on everybody's favorite childhood craft: paper mâché! The differences here being that I'm using tissue paper instead of newspaper and Golden Soft Gel Medium instead of that gross glue/flour-water paste. This Spectra Deluxe Art Tissue is great for these kinds of projects because the colors bleed when wet and give an excellent sense of unity in your work. (For my bowl, I used the bottom 5 colors.) I started the way you would any other paper mâché project: by ripping up tons of little pieces of paper. I made the tears mostly pretty big because tissue paper is thinner than newspaper, so any overlapping and bubbling would be less noticeable. I also wanted the pieces to be organic shapes, not just rectangular strips because they would be contributing to the pattern as well as creating the bowl itself. So I made piles of each of my colors and blew up a balloon to a pretty small size because I just wanted a little catch-all bowl--if you have water balloons leftover from summer, those would work even better! First I put down a coat of my Golden Soft Gel Medium (Matte)... Then I placed pieces of my tissue paper all over to cover the wet spots and painted another coat of gel medium on top of that. Tip: Use matte finish for projects like this, because it will still give a little bit of sheen to your work, but it'll also reflect less light and make it easier to see and appreciate your beautiful paper! And I just kept adding layers like that! I found the most efficient way was to go layer by layer, rather than individual piece of tissue paper by individual piece of tissue paper. This was about as deep as I wanted my bowl to go, but I added a few layers that went further down my balloon because I'd need them later to make the base. Once I felt like I had enough layers (about 10-12), I flipped it upside down and let it dry in my handy little Halloween cat mug, which usually holds my turpentine--you're definitely not going to want to use a cup you still drink out of. I let that dry overnight and then came the scary part... It doesn't matter how old you get or how prepared for it you think you are, popping a balloon is STILL a pretty jarring experience. But, hey! The shape held! As you can see, the balloon came out cleanly and in one piece. Next, I made a line around the outside of my mold to mark off how deep I wanted my bowl to be, and then I cut the excess using a regular old pair of scissors. After sitting overnight, the mold was mostly dry, but still slightly flexible, which made it very easy to cut. As it sits, though, it will become dryer and more sturdy. With my excess, I trimmed it to clean up the edges and measured how much I would need to make the base of my bowl. Then I cut it and sort of bandaged the two ends together with some gel medium and a piece of tissue paper. I slathered on a generous helping of gel medium, applied some pressure, and let it adhere to the bottom of my bowl. When that had dried a bit, I started sticking more pieces of tissue paper around the seam to help fuse the two pieces together. After 5 or 6 layers on the inside seam, I put about 3 or 4 on the outside as well. Then I camouflaged the "bandages" with colors that corresponded with the pattern, to give it a more consistent look. With a final coat of gel medium on the inside and outside, my bowl was complete! I could have put more tissue paper on the inside of the bowl, but I really liked the way the colors bled together to make a less-intense version of the outside.
Tissue Paper Mâché!
Hello, everyone! This week, I wanted to put a new spin on everybody's favorite childhood craft: paper mâché! The differences here being that I'm using tissue paper instead of newspaper...
Painting with Fire!
Hi, everyone! One of the draws of alcohol ink is its looseness and unpredictability--so what if we amplified that and added a little danger? This week's project was inspired by a video I saw on YouTube where an artist applied alcohol inks to a ceramic tile and then lit it on FIRE! The movement of the flame allows for truly unique designs as well as an extremely fast evaporation time. In the video, she mentioned using this technique to create backgrounds for future works, but I think the result looks great enough on its own, so I used it to make some tile coasters! For this project, I picked up some plain white ceramic tiles (4" x 4") and a slightly larger tile (9" x 12") from a hardware store--super cheap, and you can sometimes even find them in thrift stores. I already had my stash of Tim Holtz Adirondack Alcohol Inks and Blending Solution and a lighter stick, so I was good to go! I started as I would with any other abstract alcohol ink piece by just tossing color all over my surface (the colors I used here are Clover, Stream, Aqua, and Shell Pink). To get the colors to start moving around, I added a few splashes of Blending Solution. Then I lit it with my lighter stick and let the flame burn down on its own (about 20 seconds)... And here's what I got! I wasn't entirely happy with the amount of white that was still showing through, so I tried again! One of the best things about alcohol inks is their ability to be reworked when you're not happy with the result. Even though the alcohol was burned off from the flame, I was still able to add MORE inks and blending solution to the tile and it reactivated it! Here's what I got the second time around and I was much happier with this result! For my next tile, I used Shell Pink again, Cool Peri, Wild Plum, and Watermelon. Added my blending solution... And lit it up! A lot of my color got burned off the first go around, so I threw on more Watermelon and Wild Plum the second go 'round and got this! My third tile was a crazy mixture of Cool Peri, Wild Plum, Indigo, and Cranberry. I'll never get tired of taking pictures of art on fire. Oof. This one came out REALLY dark. But no worries! I only added light tones (Cool Peri and the blending solution) the second time. Let it do its thing... And it brought back my brighter colors! My last tile was...a learning experience. I'm not sure why I thought this color scheme would be a good idea, I guess I was riding a bit of a high from the pyromania. For whatever reason, I picked Cool Peri, Sunset Orange, Sunshine Yellow, and Citrus... Oh, what a mistake that was... Here's the unfortunate mess I got with those colors. I think it might have turned out okay, had I not included the green... Rather than chalk this up to a total waste, I used it as an opportunity to experiment. I had forgotten that metallic Silver was in my arsenal and didn't even consider using it on the three prior tiles, so I threw it and some blending solution on top of this wreck just to see what it would do... So, essentially, the silver just danced around on top and didn't meld in with the other colors. I like the look of it, though! I'd like it more if it wasn't on THIS tile... I made another attempt by JUST adding blending solution, to see if it would burn anything off, and it mostly just got kind of burnt... No worries, though! After a little rubbing alcohol and some light scrubbing, I had a clean tile again! This time, I stuck with a combination of colors I knew would look good together: Cool Peri, Aqua, Stream, and Indigo. Some blending solution, of course. And presto! This one was pretty okay with me, but I still wanted more coverage on those white areas. I added some more Cool Peri and blending solution... And ended up with this! Much better than that orange-green train wreck... Once they were all dry (not long at all, since the fire evaporated most of the moisture), I painted the sides of them with some Joe's Prime Really Good Lightfast Acrylic to match their schemes. Then I sealed them with a few coats of Liquitex Soluvar Aerosol Varnish (Glossy). And when THAT was dry, I stuck these little footsies underneath so the unfinished bottoms wouldn't scratch up my tables. If you have some felt lying around, that would work great. But I just picked up these furniture pads while I was getting the tiles. Here are my finished products: If you attempt this project, PLEASE make sure you do it in a well-ventilated area and not under any low ceilings! While the flame doesn't extend more than about 2.5 feet, it could still catch onto things around it. And also make sure your inks are a safe distance from your open flame. With those things in mind, this project is entirely safe and tons of fun!
Painting with Fire!
Hi, everyone! One of the draws of alcohol ink is its looseness and unpredictability--so what if we amplified that and added a little danger? This week's project was inspired by...
Trash to Treasure!
Hey, everyone! This week's blog post goes out to those who want to decorative-paint the mundane things in their life, but have trouble making it happen. Whether it's your skill level, lack of time to dedicate to a big project, or you just don't know how you want to paint something, there is an alternative: paper! The Cheap Joe's Outlet Store has a fantastic selection of handmade paper, and some of it is for sale on our website! Check out these that are made from bark or these packs that have their own color schemes (I used one pack in this post!) You can also get crazy with layering tissue paper--hmm...that might be a future blog post! This used to be a plain black bookshelf. But thanks to a few sheets of this gorgeous handmade paper I found in the Outlet Store, it's now a stunning work of art! I also used an assortment of papers to give a collage effect to this smaller shelf. The decorative paper method is one that I love and have had great success with--the best part? It's so easy! For my example this time, I used this totally bare trash can cover/holder that my dad (Hi, dad!) made me hide this ugly old bin--and also keep my cat from knocking it over again... I started by planning it out, of course, in my handy dandy Hand•Book Journal. I knew that I wanted to incorporate a solid accent color with the decorative paper I chose (an all-over pattern would take away from the print and make it harder to distinguish its shapeless is more sometimes!), but there were so many design possibilities! Once I figured out which look I wanted to go with (top middle), it was time to make it happen! The first step was priming all over. After two coats of Joe's Prime Really Good Gesso, I dragged this bad boy out into the yard for some spray painting! I used Montana Gold Professional Acrylic Spray Paint in Shock Red for the sides and back of my holder. I went with Montana Gold for a few reasons: the red matched my paper perfectly and the drying time and coverage for spray paint are insanely better than fluid or heavy-body acrylics. You're also much more likely to get an even coating--no brush strokes! Once the outsides dried, I painted the inside of the lid and a few inches down into the holder, that way you wouldn't just see bare wood when you opened it up. When those parts dried as well, I brought it back inside to apply my paper to the top and front with Golden Soft Gel Medium. I cut the sheets a little bit larger than what I needed, just to make sure I could cover everything completely, but then I only adhered to the parts that I wanted to cover. With everything good and stuck on, I used an X-Acto Knife to cut away the excess and glued any loose edges back down with my Gel Medium. To protect the outside and also give it a nice finish, I covered everything that was painted red with Golden Soft Gel Medium (Gloss)--in case you can't tell, I love using this stuff. It's so versatile! The final touch was to reattach my handle... And I was done! What a happy little trash can holder :) It is much better looking than a black piece of junk, and it only took part of my afternoon!
Trash to Treasure!
Hey, everyone! This week's blog post goes out to those who want to decorative-paint the mundane things in their life, but have trouble making it happen. Whether it's your skill...
Don't Throw in the Dowel!
Hello, everybody! Here at Cheap Joe's, we love using products in unconventional ways, so it's no wonder that I looked at our stock of dowels rods and thought, "I can totally use those.
Don't Throw in the Dowel!
Hello, everybody! Here at Cheap Joe's, we love using products in unconventional ways, so it's no wonder that I looked at our stock of dowels rods and thought, "I can...
Extreme Rug Makeover: Spray Paint Edition
Do you know what really bums me out? When you can’t find an area rug you like that’s also within your price range. Sure, you can get a 5' x 7' rug for $40, but I’ll bet it’s either gonna be plain or not have a pattern you like. But what if you could makeover that rug in an inexpensive way? Being an employee of “Cheap” Joe’s Art Stuff, I absolutely appreciate a bargain–so what about 10 bucks?
Extreme Rug Makeover: Spray Paint Edition
Do you know what really bums me out? When you can’t find an area rug you like that’s also within your price range. Sure, you can get a 5' x 7'...
Leave Your Mark
Hello, everyone! This week, I have a fun craft for all you scrapbookers and stationary lovers out there–stamps! Though, this isn’t solely for those crafters because the best and easiest way to quickly add a personal, handmade touch to something is to use a stamp! But isn’t making your own stamp
Leave Your Mark
Hello, everyone! This week, I have a fun craft for all you scrapbookers and stationary lovers out there–stamps! Though, this isn’t solely for those crafters because the best and easiest...
Do You Doodle?
Well, you should! This week, I wanted to talk about a subject that I know everyone has been familiar with at least once in their life–doodling! Studies have shown, and even NPR has reported, that doodling has several benefits for your mind, body, and soul!
Do You Doodle?
Well, you should! This week, I wanted to talk about a subject that I know everyone has been familiar with at least once in their life–doodling! Studies have shown, and...
Colored Pencils: Feel the Blend!
There are some who don’t consider colored pencil works to be art, but I know an entire Facebook group that would heartily disagree with you. In fact, colored pencil artists have some of the most technical hands around because their medium is rooted in realism and depends on complete accuracy–there is very little opportunity for reworking in colored pencil.
Colored Pencils: Feel the Blend!
There are some who don’t consider colored pencil works to be art, but I know an entire Facebook group that would heartily disagree with you. In fact, colored pencil artists have some...
Gouache Squash
If you’ve been following the blog for a while, you may remember the post that Mona Lisa did explaining gouache. If not, and you’re not familiar with gouache, I suggest checking it out! People will tell you that gouache is basically “just opaque watercolor” but it’s a true and an entirely different beast altogether
Gouache Squash
If you’ve been following the blog for a while, you may remember the post that Mona Lisa did explaining gouache. If not, and you’re not familiar with gouache, I suggest...
5 Tips That Will (Probably) Improve Your Drawin...
Want to avoid panda-monium in your drawing and sketching? Consider some of these tips I’m about to throw at ya! These are tips that I either learned from instructors–or just realized on my own–and they can be used for realistic drawing or simply sketching your subject accurately.
5 Tips That Will (Probably) Improve Your Drawin...
Want to avoid panda-monium in your drawing and sketching? Consider some of these tips I’m about to throw at ya! These are tips that I either learned from instructors–or just...
The Answer to Your Brayers!
Have you been interested in printmaking, but were a little hesitant due to the cost? Well, you’re in luck!
The Answer to Your Brayers!
Have you been interested in printmaking, but were a little hesitant due to the cost? Well, you’re in luck!
