The Everything Art Handbook

A comprehensive guide to more than 100 art techniques and tools of the trade

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• Publisher: Walter Foster Publishing
• Year: 2016
• ISBN:
  9781633223318
• Topic: Art
• Subtopic: Art General

Covering more than 100techniques and mediums for drawing, painting, and mixed media, The Everything Art Handbook is an all-inclusive, go-to resource for artists of all skill levels.

A refreshing, accessible compendium of art materials and techniques, The Everything Art Handbook is the perfect all-inclusive resource for beginning artists wanting to experiment and play with a variety of art mediums and techniques.

The Everything Art Handbook is divided into sections focusing on different types of mediums and art concepts. Each section includes a basic overview of the topic, instructions for selecting and working with the right tools and materials, step-by-step sample artwork, and helpful sidebars with advice from professional artists.

Expand and refresh your artistic skills with these and more topics:

• Getting started, including how to set up a studio and where to find inspiration
• Art fundamentals, such as value and light, perspective, and composition
• Color basics, including complementary colors, primaries, secondaries, and neutrals
• Drawing techniques for working with graphite, charcoal, colored pencil, pastel, pen and ink, and more
• Painting techniques for working with oil, acrylic, and watercolor
• Mixed media tools and techniques, including stamping, encaustics, and textures

Using clear, informative explanations for achieving the best results, The Everything Art Handbook is an approachable reference guide for contemporary artists of any skill level.

DRAWING

From simple doodles and geometric patterns to photo-realistic renderings, drawing can result in a vast range of styles and degrees of intricacy. But the importance of drawing isn’t about breadth—it’s about what the process cultivates in the artist.

You may have heard the saying, “Drawing is the foundation of all art;” this statement hits the nail on the head! Drawing (most simply described as mark-making on a two-dimensional surface) forces us to concentrate on the most basic of the elements and principles of art as we attempt to represent the world around us. Drawing promotes the study of proportion, form, light, shadow—everything you need to thoroughly grasp before moving on to other forms of visual art, such as painting or mixed media.

SURFACES & SUPPORTS

Over the years, paper has become an invaluable tool for record keeping and making art. Today a variety of papers are both affordable and readily available. Because drawing paper can vary widely, artists generally describe a paper using the following properties: material, weight, texture, finish, brightness, and color.

Papers made from cotton rags are called “rag paper;” these strong sheets are made up of the longest cotton fibers. Aside from art, rag paper is used for important documents that need to last or withstand wear and tear, such as money.

MATERIAL

The majority of paper today is made out of cellulose fibers derived from wood pulp, cotton, or a blend of the two. Generally speaking, the higher the content of cotton, the higher the quality of paper.

WEIGHT

Paper weight is measured in either pounds per ream (500 sheets) or grams per square meter (gsm or g/m2). Using gsm to describe a paper’s weight is more consistent and perhaps more descriptive; however, the pound system is more common in the United States. Remember: The greater the lb or gsm, the thicker the paper.

BRIGHTNESS & COLOR

Art papers are available in nearly every color imaginable. Most artists work on papers that range from bright white to cream; however, some artists use the tone of the paper as a middle value and apply the highlights and shadows using charcoal or Conté crayon. This is a quick way to produce dramatic results.

STANDARD PAPER WEIGHTS
35 lb / 50 gsm	newsprint
45 lb / 60 gsm	kraft paper
60 lb / 90 gsm	sketching paper
80 lb / 130 gsm	drawing paper
100 lb / 260 gsm	heavy drawing paper
140 lb / 300 gsm	watercolor paper
300 lb / 638 gsm	heavy watercolor paper

You may notice that some p...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Table of Contents
• Introduction
• GETTING STARTED
• SECTION 1: DRAWING
• SECTION 2: FUNDAMENTALS
• SECTION 3: PAINTING
• SECTION 4: COLOR BASICS
• SECTION 5: MIXED MEDIA
• Closing Thoughts
• Copyright