Classy and Opinionated Lifestyle Mom Blog
Let me begin by saying outright that I love this cookbook! Deep Flavors: A Celebration of Recipes for Foodies in a Kosher Style by Kenneth M. Horwitz (Inspire on Purpose, October 2019) is unique and refreshing, with a diverse selection of recipes and a wealth …
Do you remember the last time you wrote or received a real pen-and-paper letter? Throughout history, letters have been an important way to connect with loved ones, friends, and colleagues, to exchange ideas, convey information, or express gratitude, sympathy, or love. Artists’ Letters: Leonardo da …
With the Holiday Gift Guide here at The Classy Chics in full swing, I have a great instruction book for you to consider for the artist on your gift list, or perhaps even for yourself. Allow me to present Modern Colored Pencil: A Playful and Contemporary Exploration of Colored Pencil Drawing by Chelsea Ward (Walter Foster Publishing, November 2019).
* Complimentary book received for review. This book is being featured in the TwoClassyChics 10th Annual Holiday Gift Guide. Post may contain affiliate links.
This book’s extensive introductory section has some of the best and most easily understandable explanations of tools, materials, and basic techniques I’ve seen. Rather than just giving a list of dos and don’ts, Chelsea Ward, the author, has a great knack for conveying the “why” of things, giving the reader a fuller understanding of the medium, how to get the most from their tools, and how best to achieve their desired results. She makes the whole process really interesting, in a fun way!
As you progress through the book, the drawing exercises get more complex, building on the skills and lessons along the way. First, Drawing Everyday Life focuses on individual items like fruit, glass objects, desk supplies, and houseplants, ending with an interior scene. The next section, Drawing Architecture & Landscapes, expands your view to encompass larger features with multiple elements. Once you’re comfortable with inanimate objects, you’ll move on to Drawing Animals. In this chapter, Ward describes how to capture movements through gesture drawing, as well as using a photograph as the reference when drawing your cat or dog, followed by step-by-step instructions for colored-pencil drawings of a pigeon and a giraffe. The final chapter covers drawing people, the most complicated figure to master. Using the tips and lessons in this chapter, you’ll learn to use proportion, as well as how to use colored pencils to recreate accurate skin and hair tones.
All in all, Modern Colored Pencil is packed with information, instructions, examples, and exercises to help and inspire anyone who wants to learn to draw with colored pencils. If your gift list includes someone who loves to draw, consider wrapping up a copy of Modern Colored Pencil for them. Add some supplies like a nice set of colored pencils, a sharpener, and a sketch book, and your recipient will be on their way to enjoying a lifetime of colored-pencil drawing!
Modern Colored Pencil is part of Walter Foster Publishing’s “Modern” series—you may recall that last year, we reviewed another book in the series, Modern Acrylic. The publisher describes this series as offering “a fun, contemporary approach to working with traditional art media, demonstrating that with the right type of instruction, encouragement, and tips, success can be achieved by any artist or creative type.”
P.S: If you like Chelsea Ward’s style, visit her website!
* This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, we may or may not receive a small commission which helps to support this site. Thank you!
Giveaway: One lucky winner is going to win a copy of Modern Colored Pencil, thanks to Walter Foster Publishing, an imprint of the Quarto Group.
Giveaway Details: This giveaway is open to residents of the US ONLY age 18 and over. Please read our Terms of Service & Disclaimer Policy before entering. This giveaway will close on December 3rd, 2019 at 11:59 pm EST time. No purchase necessary to enter or win.
Disclaimer: A. Bailey received a complimentary product for review purposes & feature on The Classy Chics blog. No monetary compensation was received. A. Bailey’s thoughts, opinions and words are 100% her own. Your thoughts may differ. Please read the blog’s terms of service policy before entering any giveaways. The Classy Chics are NOT responsible for prize fulfillment or shipping of any items won from this blog. This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase through an affiliate link, we may or may not make a small commission which helps to support this website. Thank you!!!
If you crave fresh brewed coffee but don’t want to make a whole pot, now you can brew coffee right in your mug with Steeped Coffee. Basically, Steeped Coffee is artisan quality coffee in an environmentally friendly single-serving filter bag. All you have to do …
Watercolor artists looking for a creative new way to express themselves need look no further than the soon-to-be-released book Colorways: Watercolor Animals by Shaunna Russell (Walter Foster Publishing, December 3, 2019). The subtitle says it all: Tips, Techniques, and Step-by-Step Lessons for Learning to Paint …
Do you have a budding artist on your gift list? Let me suggest a book they’re sure to enjoy, full of fun ideas for creating line drawings of people and anthropomorphic animals. It’s Draw 62 Characters and Make them Cute: Step-by-Step Drawing for Figures and Personality by Heegyum Kim (Quarry Books, November 2019).
* Complimentary book received for review. This post may contain affiliate links.
This book is not the usual drawing instruction book. In fact, the introduction is only one page of text, mostly devoted to ideas for getting you drawing rather than lessons on how to draw. Tips are scattered throughout the book to provide more ideas and suggestions for creating certain effects in your drawings. Other than that, you’ll simply find page after page of examples of all different types of characters, shown from the first outline of their faces to completed characters doing cute things.
Each of the 62 characters in the book is featured in a two-page spread. The first page gives step-by-step examples of how to create the character, starting with an outline of the face and ending with the character complete with clothing and accessories. The second page gives some ideas for how to bring the character to life, showing it in different poses and doing different things, sometimes with captions; this is the “make them cute” part, where you infuse the character with its own personality.
To give them even more personality, each of the characters has a name and an occupation or quirk, which serves as a jumping-off point for creating that character’s story. Take Jeff the Frog Chef, for example. Jeff’s first pose shows him in outline, wearing a chef’s hat and an apron, with his arms crossed. But as we get to know him, we see him posed with different kitchen tools, like a soup ladle, some spatulas, and a skillet. But he’s at his cutest in a side view, eyes closed, wearing his chef’s hat and apron, using oven mitts to carry an overflowing pot, and saying “Presenting the masterpiece!”
Some of the other characters include Yasmin the Yogi Kitty, Argo the Wandering Astronaut, Ephram the Elephant Plumber, Bianca the Baking Pig, Patty the Platypus, Granny Greta, and Lex the Lumber Jack. Once you get the hang of drawing all types of characters, you’ll be off and running, using your imagination to create your own characters (and yes, making them cute, too).
Draw 62 Characters and Make them Cute is part of the “Draw 62” series from Heegyum Kim and Quarry Books. If this book appeals to you, you might be interested in Shelly’s review of the first book in the series, Draw 62 Animals and Make Them Cute.
* This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, we may or may not receive a small commission which helps to support this site. Thank you!
Giveaway: One lucky winner is going to win a copy of Draw 62 Characters and Make them Cute thanks to Quarry Books, an imprint of the Quarto Publishing Group.
Giveaway Details: This giveaway is open to residents of the US ONLY age 18 and over. Please read our Terms of Service & Disclaimer Policy before entering. This giveaway will close on November 21st, 2019 at 11:59 pm EST time. No purchase necessary to enter or win.
Disclaimer: A. Bailey received a complimentary product for review purposes & feature on The Classy Chics blog. No monetary compensation was received. A. Bailey’s thoughts, opinions and words are 100% her own. Your thoughts may differ. Please read the blog’s terms of service policy before entering any giveaways. The Classy Chics are NOT responsible for prize fulfillment or shipping of any items won from this blog. This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase through an affiliate link, we may or may not make a small commission which helps to support this website. Thank you!!!
If you’re reading this review, chances are that either you or someone you know is on a ketogenic diet. Since a keystone of this diet is eliminating carbohydrates, bread-loving keto dieters can find themselves feeling deprived. Thankfully, there’s a new book to remedy that, called …
I have a fun suggestion for the Downton Abbey superfan on your gift list, a cookbook they’ll love to read as well as cook from. It’s The Unofficial Downton Abbey Cookbook, Expanded Edition: From Lady Mary’s Crab Canapés to Christmas Plum Pudding—More Than 150 Recipes …