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LESSON 1: The Toucan
THESE ARE NOT YOUR NORMAL MARKERS
Who does not have memories of nasty cheap markers that leave streaky lines on the page?
THESE ARE NOT THOSE MARKERS!
THESE MARKERS WILL MAKE YOU GIDDY
You will get really excited when you use these. I am not talking about the effect of sniffing them!
YOU TOO CAN DO THIS!
I know you are all groaning but you have to understand that Brits LOVE to pun.
What stops most people from buying anything more than cheap markers is that
1. They have seen what their kids do with those cheap markers
2. They have no idea what you would do with more expensive ones, so they do not see any value in them
3. They hate art or their kids do and they are reluctant to do any projects involving pens, paper and paint.
There is a myth that is instilled in children that is carried through to adulthood.
The myth is that you have to be "gifted" or have some special "art gene" to be good at the subject. Now, I know there is a "fat gene" because I have it but, I am happy to tell you that there is no such thing as an " art gene".
Anyone can learn to draw and paint. You just need to be shown how. We are not going to start with some boring lesson on perspective that sends you to sleep. Do not get me wrong, perspective is important but, starting there is well, snoozy.
If you and your kids get jazzed about a painting that you have done together you will want to learn more.
This lesson is a step by step picture that tells you how to end up with something that looks good. After you learn a few skills you can play with them on your own until the next lesson.
Do not be scared! Jump in and have fun!
LESSON 1: The Toucan
LESSON ONE. THE TOUCAN
LESSON ONE. THE TOUCAN
LESSON ONE. THE TOUCAN
This is a fun picture to start with. If you are a homeschool mum/mom like me, you need something less stressful than math lessons when it comes to art.
This picture can be done by a young child or a very senior citizen.
You will be amazed at what can happen if you follow each step.
STEP 1
LESSON ONE. THE TOUCAN
LESSON ONE. THE TOUCAN
Gather all your materials before you start. Three steps in, you do not want to spend half an hour searching for a pencil. If you are a homeschooler this is even more important. It will take you 20 more minutes to round up the strays that have gone off to play lego and then by the time you corral them back to the table they plead hunger, thirst or potty breaks.
MATERIALS
WINSOR AND NEWTON PIGMENT MARKER SET. VIBRANT TONES
WINDSOR AND NEWTON PIGMENT MARKER PAD
OR A WATERCOLOR PAD OF 140 LB PAPER
PRINT A COPY OF MY TOUCAN PICTURE TO TRACE
STEP 2
LESSON ONE. THE TOUCAN
STEP 2
Place a sheet of tracing paper over the image of the toucan that you have printed. Tape in two places at the top of the tracing paper so it is attached to the paper the image is on. You do not want the paper to move while you are drawing.
With an ultra fine sharpie or a ball point pen, go over the main image of the toucan. You do not need the small details just the main lines.
STEP 3
STEP 3
STEP 2
I did not upload my picture around the wrong way. You need to flip your image so it looks like this. The beak needs to point to the right before you go any further.
Tape the image to the back of a sketch pad or other smooth hard surface that does not have lumps and bumps in it.
Take the soft pencil ( 2B - 4B) and go over every black line with the pencil.
Before you do this, think how you are going to start and finish. Each line needs to have a pencil line so have an idea of your route.
STEP 4
STEP 3
STEP 4
Take the piece of tracing paper and flip it back over so that the beak points to the right. With the Sharpie write "front" on this.
You can easily get confused as to which side you are working on.
It is frustrating to do a whole step and find that you made the simple mistake of putting the pencil on the wrong side.
Do not rush this and make sure you pencil the side with the beak facing right and then flip back.
Your image is now ready to be transferred to the paper that you want to use.
Take a piece of the marker paper or other paper you want to use.
Do not use photocopy paper with these pens. They are very "juicy" and it will be so wrinkly it will be frustrating to work with.
Use the special marker pad or heavy sketch pad paper or "hot press" 140 lb water color paper. " hot press" is a very smooth watercolor paper.
STEP 5
STEP 3
STEP 4
Make sure that the tracing paper is taped firmly in place. Put a piece either side at the top so that you can flip it up if you need to. Do not tape the bottom end.
Now use a blunt object, like the back end of a fine paintbrush to gently go over every line. GENTLY! The goal is to move the carbon from the tracing paper on to the paper it is taped to.
If you press with a heavy hand you will make deep marks in the paper. If you used a very soft pencil you will not need to press hard.
Before you remove the tracing paper, flip it up to check that all the lines were transferred. If you missed a line put the tracing paper back down and go over that line again.
STEP 6
STEP 6
STEP 6
You now have a toucan image on your paper. This image will be a little "fuzzy" because you have used a very soft pencil.
Take the hard HB pencil and the putty eraser. A putty eraser is a special art eraser that will not damage the paper like a normal eraser. It mops up the carbon.
Carefully push that eraser on to a line and then pull it up. You should still see a faint line. Go over that faint line with a light pencil stroke using the HB pencil.
Do this for the whole image.
You now have the image completely transferred and ready for color!
This whole process can be done by just drawing the image free hand. If you are confident with your drawing skills then do that. If drawing is a skill you have yet to master then use the tracing paper.
STEP 7
STEP 6
STEP 6
Take the yellow marker and color the areas shown above. These markers are very "wet". It is almost like painting. You can go over the image twice to get a very even coat.
Let it dry.
The paper will wrinkle when it is wet. Watercolor paper will not wrinkle but it is not a vibrant white like the marker pad. The sketch pad and marker paper were much less wrinkly when they dried.
STEP 8
STEP 6
STEP 8
You are now going to layer colors on the beak and color in the eye.
Take the Phthalo teal light marker and color in the beak where it is not yellow.
Let it dry
Now go over the yellow with the scarlet marker. This will give you the orange color because yellow and red makes orange!
Let it dry
Color the tip of the beak and the middle and bottom line of the beak with the magenta marker ( red).
Let it dry
Go over those areas with the teal marker, leaving some pink showing.
Let this dry and then use the white blender marker to add some white highlights to those areas
STEP 9
EXAMPLE OF A LOST AND FOUND LINE
STEP 8
Color around the eye using the sap green marker.
Below the yellow breast, layer teal, let dry then then scarlet, let dry and then teal again.
Use the top flat edge of the marker in small strokes like the picture.
When this is dry use the white blender marker to add flecks to the yellow breast area. These will look like feathers. You can do a few or cover the whole area.
If you want the marks to be white draw with the blender on a scrap first to clean of any other color residue. Additions of residue can look very cool, so play around a bit with this one.
STEP 10
EXAMPLE OF A LOST AND FOUND LINE
EXAMPLE OF A LOST AND FOUND LINE
Before moving on to the next step, just make sure lids are firmly on your Pigment Markers.
Take the Fine point Sharpie to color in the black areas.
When doing the feathery body and head area use quick small strokes to give a jagged edge so it does not appear heavy. Practice on a scrap first.
On the middle line of the beak do what is called a "lost and found" line, rather than a black solid line.
With the very tip of the marker do a short line and then pullup the marker and leave a space before proceeding.
Your brain is tricked in to thinking that there is more information there than there actually is. This method works really well for drawing fences too.
EXAMPLE OF A LOST AND FOUND LINE
EXAMPLE OF A LOST AND FOUND LINE
EXAMPLE OF A LOST AND FOUND LINE
Practice these lines before you draw them on your finished piece.
You should now have a beautiful toucan picture.
Let it dry before you frame or store it.
These markers are bright and stunning. They have a fat end and a fine tip the other end so great for large areas and small details.
They are not cheap but, are worth the cost. You will love them, your kids will love them!
Stay tuned for more art lessons!
KEEP PLAYING
BUILD ON THESE SKILLS
In this lesson you learned some basic skills that will enable you to go and play and make some more fantastic pieces. Find some images you like and use the tracing paper technique to transfer them to a blank sheet of paper.
DO NOT BE AFRAID TO COPY AN IMAGE
You can use a painting or photograph to practice. This is not wrong. Making a copy to practice is not a bad thing and has been a method used for hundreds of years. You cannot however say that it is yours and exhibit or sell it. That is wrong. Do not do it.
THERE WILL BE MORE
In the coming weeks and months I will be posting more art lessons. I hope you enjoyed this one and had fun. Art should be fun. Enjoy!
Ta ta for now,
The Brit Lady
Disclosure, when you order through my links, you’ll get the same discounts and deals I got and I’ll get the credit for referring you.*