Dehradun College of Art

“Sketching is almost everything. It is the painter's identity, his style, his conviction, and then colour is just a gift to the drawing.” Fernando Botero When you are a beginner to sketching, you might not feel comfortable with the pencil or the paper, but only practising can make you better at it. Many artists would advise to always keep a sketchbook at hand, but only filling the pages with doodles is not enough(although it is good for boosting your imagination and creative thinking) you also need to practise your skill and techniques. Some Tips which are sure to help in improving your sketching skills: Knowing what type of pencil to choose for a sketch is a basic skill for all artists. Their Hardness(H) or Blackness(B) is written on the top to signify the darkness of their colour. Pencil with harder core will lighter and vice versa. Hence a pencil a with a higher number next to H will mean it harder and thus lighter but for B the higher number means it is darker...

Most of the readers will be thinking ‘Everyone knows how to use it’ ‘It is for children’ ‘What is there to master?’ And they are not wrong since it is the cheapest of other mediums and everyone has used watercolour in school so you think you have mastered it, but let me tell you that there is more to it than that. Watercolours may be cheaper and easier to learn, but they are actually considered one of the hardest mediums to master because you cannot use white to cover your mistakes or paint light areas and a single drop of water can dilute the colour and ruin the detailed work that took hours to create. Here are some useful instruction on how to Master the Watercolours To paint solid shapes use ample amount of paint and make swift strokes, You can use the edge of flat brushes for making sharper lines and it works wonders for shadows or grasses, Don’t try to control it, improvise it. See how the colours interact and react with each other or the surface, experiment w...

http://DehradunCollegeOfArt.com Being an artist requires an active imagination which, sometimes can be tough and mentally draining. It happens to everyone eventually. Here are some ideas to reignite the spark in your creativity. Easy Access Make sure your supplies are easily accessible, ie, you don’t have to dig through closets to find your tools or move stuff around to have a working space which will also save your time because doing all these chores is tiring and is likely to make you feel less motivated to do something. Don’t waste time Even if you ‘don’t feel like it’ yo have to do something productive with your time like practising techniques, reading or just doodling. You can’t slack off and leave it for tomorrow, you need to do something even if only for half an hour. Take photos Whenever you find something or are somewhere interesting take a snap. Don’t look for photos on the internet(maybe for extra references), look into the real world, there is al...

There are many telltale signs when it comes to judging artworks. But it’s not just the quality of the artwork that separates the master from the novices. There are many factors to consider before stamping someone with a tag. Wasting Time Most amateurs will wait for inspiration to come but a professional will work on their art on a daily basis. It is not a bad thing to look for inspiration and make the best of your ideas, but you’re just wasting away if you don’t put an effort in your work and grow your mastery over the trade. Being Distracted An amateur will easily get distracted or stop too early in the process after making some headway in his work to ‘rest’. A professional will not stop until the last of his creativity has been drained and there is nothing left.  Lack of Focus Amateurs are always changing lanes and not focusing on one thing they want to master. But true masters know their strengths and continue to sharpen it EVERYDAY for their entire life. It’s a...