I like to use a sketch pad or a pen/pad which makes it easy to write the artist’s name in the grid so that people can see it on the grid instead of getting lost with an alphabetical one (you can find these in your local art bookstore if you need to). Sometimes I prefer to find a more random pattern for my letters.
How do I find my color palette?
Most often I just look for the most vivid colors and use colors from the palette as I want it to stand out. If my colors are very similar but very different or if I keep moving the colors around that may make them stand out (more of that in the “What is my painting?” section in the next section).
If you have a particular way of doing things (for example colors, colorspaces, etc.) that interests you, I suggest using that as a starting point and experimenting to see how it works.
How do I draw shapes into my pictures?
The way I see drawing shapes into my pictures is a combination of my own personal style and the technique of other people I find interesting.
I often find it helpful to think about how other people draw things and what they look for when they draw shapes. Usually the shapes they look for are the same shapes that I don’t really use that often, such as a round circle, an oval, an ellipse, etc.
If you happen to have a really good sketch of a figure which you know exactly what you like it to look like then I encourage you to try to draw shapes that are a bit like it. Most of the time you can just copy and alter what the original artist draws.
However, if you’re very good at drawing then I strongly suggest drawing shapes that are based on shapes you don’t use at that level regularly. Try drawing shapes you don’t use everyday, or shapes that come up in the drawing but that you already know are the most commonly used shapes when drawing shapes in general. I want you to be able to draw shapes you do get used to.
Then try to think about what makes these shapes stand out from other shapes and see if you can figure out what you’re doing, and be able to come up with ways of avoiding making them the way the original artist did.
For my own personal example I like to draw shapes that are more simple and have rounded points or edges. However, if you do the same when drawing shapes which you only use
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