Improve your traditional art skills today! In Practical Painter volume 2, top artists share their tips, tricks and advice to help you master your medium of choice and learn new techniques in oils, watercolours, charcoal, acrylics, gouache and much more.
Welcome...
Gallery • SHOWCASING THE FINEST TRADITIONAL ARTISTS
David Palumbo • The easel life The Philadelphia-based illustrator talks cats, camera gear and costumes as he opens his studio doors tick
Lora Zombie • Pop culture The effervescent, self-taught, Russia-based artist’s studio space is as vibrant as her paint-splattered artworks
Vanessa Lemen • World of art The Californian painter shows us around her bustling studio space, where her art shares first billing with her homelife
Jim Pavelec • Hell boy He’s known for his demonic art, but this painter’s studio is far from hellish
SKETCHING BASIC ANIMAL SHAPES • BRYNN METHENEY shows how working from general to specific is an effective technique for drawing animals
UNDERSTANDING SKELETONS • BRYNN METHENEY shows how, when drawing animals, getting the skeleton’s general shape and gesture correct will help with the proportions
DEPICT MUSCLE GROUPS ACCURATELY • BRYNN METHENEY explains how seemingly complex muscle groups can be simplified into large basic shapes, helping build up an animal’s form
DRAWING ANIMALS IN ACTION • Posing animals is all about line of action and gesture, says Brynn Metheney. Don’t feel intimidated about getting everything right on your first go
DEPICTING ANIMAL COLOUR AND DETAIL • The animal kingdom is full of colour and unique ornamentations, and depicting them is crucial to creating realistic animals, says BRYNN METHENEY
COLOUR THUMBNAILING • Illustrator ANAND RADHAKRI SHNAN demonstrates how to fix an effective colour scheme during the planning stages of your painting
USING A MASTER ARTIST’S PALETTE • Illustrator ANAND RADHAKRISHNAN paints a narrative picture using colours from the palette of 19th-century Italian master Antonio Mancini
USE THE COLOUR OF YOUR IMAGINATION • Illustrator ANAND RADHAKRISHNAN shows how he approaches painting in colour from imagination, and his use of references to strengthen the finished piece
RENDERING FORM USING COLOUR • CHRIS LEGASPI demonstrates how to quickly and efficiently use colour to render form by adjusting the temperature of his limited palette
PREPARE TO PAINT WITH GOUACHE • PETER CHAN takes you through his compact painting kit, which enables him to paint both indoors and outdoors
STILL LIFE PAINTING TECHNIQUES • PETER CHAN shares his approach to painting indoor still life – a great way to become comfortable with the medium and get you ready for plein air studies
PAINTING A STREET SCENE • Taking his kit on the road, PETER CHAN shares his fill-in-the-shapes approach to gouache to capture a simple neighbourhood scene
PAINTING FROM LIFE ALLA PRIMA • Illustrator ANAND RADHAKRISHNAN reveals his process of painting a live model in oils and also talks about his colour choices while depicting skin lit by sunlight
USE LIGHT TO TELL THE STORY • DAVID PALUMBO shares his favourite methods for getting more drama from his models through lighting
CHOOSING YOUR ART MATERIALS • Before you start painting, you need to make some decisions about what you’re going to use. DAVE KENDALL explains how to choose what you’ll need
How to paint with watercolours • Watercolour painting can be tricky to master, but can produce wonderful results. BRYNN METHENEY walks you through the basics and shares some expert tips
THE BASICS • Watercolour painting is all about layering and texture. We explain how to get it right...
HOW TO PAINT WITH ACRYLICS • Versatile, vibrant...