Train Your Eye: Easy Method to Improve your Drawing and Painting Skills

Unlock Your Artistic Potential: From Photo to Painting with Proven Techniques

This course equips you with life-long artistic skills to bring your own artistic vision to life! Learn a powerful, step-by-step method to transform any photo into a beautiful painting. I'll guide you through the entire process with real-time instruction, empowering you to create artwork you're proud of.

We'll start with accurate drawing, using a grid system to meticulously transfer your chosen image. This technique isn't just about copying; it's about developing your eye for angles, proportions, and how shapes relate – a skill applicable to any photo you want to draw or paint in the future. Forget tracing – this method teaches you to see!

Next, we dive into value studies using grayscale markers. Understanding values (lights and darks) is crucial for representational painting, forming the very structure of your composition. This is a fundamental skill, especially for beginners, and one you'll use in all future painting sessions. In fact, seeing lights and darks is often more important than color!

Finally, we'll learn how to accurately enlarge your drawing onto watercolor paper. We'll then bring the scene to life with accurate colors, adding a touch of artistic freedom with creative color choices in the shadows.

Throughout the course, you'll develop essential skills that will transform your photos into stunning paintings.

Materials You'll Need:

• Graphite pencil
• Drawing paper (suitable for markers)
• Ruler
• Sharpie (or permanent marker)
• Clear Acetate sheet (optional)
• Painters tape or washi tape
• Watercolor paper (I recommend Baohong Academy cold pressed)
• Watercolor brushes (pointed round brushes are great for detail; Silver Black Velvet #12 and #8 are favorites)
• Watercolor Paints (I use Daniel Smith, but any similar quality will work):
  • Manganese blue (or cerulean blue)
  • Buff titanium (or a mix of titanium white gouache, burnt umber, and yellow)
  • Ultramarine blue
  • Amethyst genuine (or any purple)
  • Deep scarlet (or any red)
  • Lamp black

Want to explore further?

Check out my other in-depth classes for drawing and painting nature:

• [Foundations Class - Sketching Nature: Rocks, Trees, Skies & Clouds]
• [Water & Reflections]

Connect with me:

• [Instagram](link to Instagram)
• [Website](link to website)
• [Blog](link to blog)
• [Youtube](link to Youtube)