Best products from r/ArtistLounge

It's actually a really nice printer! Although quite expensive I guess, but I got it in the january sale as I knew I'd be eventually branching out to prints. Here's a link https://www.canon.co.uk/printers/inkjet/pixma/pixma_pro-10s/ It actually has 10 cartridges! Which is pretty insane! But the quality is definitly there! I actually ordered some prints from a print on demand place(I think it was printful) before I bought the printer, and the quality and colours weren't as good, and my borders weren't even straight. Being a perfectionist, I just decided to buy a printer lol!

So as for paper, it seems to print on just about anything(including canvas apparently, although I haven't tried that yet)! I am currently using bockingford inkjet watercolour paper for my unicorn prints(my only prints atm) which allows that lovely paper texture to shine! I have also printed sketches on to arches hot press paper and painted over them with great success! Both these papers need to be set to "other fine art paper". You can usually tell which setting to use depending on the thickness and weight of the paper. Although a lot of papers have their own profiles which you can download too. Also the borders come out straight!! So I am very happy with it!

Oh I should mention, although you probably know this, but if you decide to do home printing, get a monitor calibration tool! Then your prints come out exactly like they appear on the monitor. I use this https://www.amazon.com/Datacolor-Spyder5PRO-Designed-Photographers-Designers/dp/B00UBSL31Q

I only have 4 prints at the moment which are a set of unicorns that I did for myself. They do have thick white borders, but I designed them that way for easy framing. I'm not sure if I will do it for the new series yet. If you are curious my Etsy is https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/KneeleyPillustration?ref=seller-platform-mcnav it really needs updating A LOT! Lol. But maybe you can see the paper texture from my printer?

I would love to see your work too if you feel like sharing! Although I understand if you don't. I'm usually pretty shy at sharing my work too, but I'm trying to get over that lol :)

Haha yes! It does feel like we have to wander around blindly a lot! But it's part of the fun I guess. Plus it is really nice to meet other artists too! It's also nice to share stuff with others who are interested, as my friends tend to glaze over a bit if I go off on a tangent about art supplies(I think I have an addiction to pens! lol)

Hi 'currently using bockingford inkjet watercolour paper for my unicorn prints(my only prints atm) which allows that lovely paper texture to shine! I have also printed sketches on to arches hot press paper and painted over them with great success! Both these papers need to be set to "other fine art paper". You can usually tell which setting to use depending on the thickness and weight of the paper. Although a lot of papers have their own profiles which you can download too. Also the borders come out straight!! So I am very happy with it!

Oh I should mention, although you probably know this, but if you decide to do home printing, get a monitor calibration tool! Then your prints come out exactly like they appear on the monitor. I use this https://www.amazon.com/Datacolor-Spyder5PRO-Designed-Photographers-Designers/dp/B00UBSL31Q

I only have 4 prints at the moment which are a set of unicorns that I did for myself. They do have thick white borders, but I designed them that way for easy framing. I'm not sure if I will do it for the new series yet. If you are curious my Etsy is https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/KneeleyPillustration?ref=seller-platform-mcnav it really needs updating A LOT! Lol. But maybe you can see the paper texture from my printer?

I would love to see your work too if you feel like sharing! Although I understand if you don't. I'm usually pretty shy at sharing my work too, but I'm trying to get over that lol :)

Haha yes! It does feel like we have to wander around blindly a lot! But it's part of the fun I guess. Plus it is really nice to meet other artists too! It's also nice to share stuff with others who are interested, as my friends tend to glaze over a bit if I go off on a tangent about art supplies(I think I have an addiction to pens! lol)', im DAD.

This. Just getting new supplies is often just as motivating as a tablet I think. A nice new pad of paper, a few nice new pens, maybe even a brush or g-pen and ink if you're feeling adventurous (definitely exciting, but possibly messy).

The Copic marker pad is some nice paper. Paper's a lot about personal preference though, whatever you get go to your local art store the next time and have her help choose one with you https://www.amazon.com/Copic-Markers-Alcohol-Marker-Sheets/dp/B000Q7G7S6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1481785351&sr=8-1&keywords=copic+marker+sketch+book

For a brush, I'd recommend one of these for sure: https://www.amazon.com/Winsor-Newton-Kolinsky-Sable-Watercolor/dp/B000YQG9ZK

For ink, this one is great but messy container: https://www.amazon.com/Speedball-2-Ounce-India-Super-Black/dp/B0007ZJ8TM/ref=pd_sim_201_5?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=DQKJEH36V4PAJVXBXQAC

A G-nib: https://www.amazon.com/Zebra-Comic-Model-Chrome-PG-6B-C-K/dp/B006CQW428/ref=pd_sim_201_5?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=MKPZYS4GTKG4MPMV5BKF
plus nib holder: https://www.amazon.com/Tachikawa-Comic-Holder-Model-T-40/dp/B000UF2774/ref=pd_sim_229_1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=JQ1R1E1GERQQ20KEYEVF is more traditional japanese style than a brush but I personally don't like it as much

And a few Copic markers would also be awesome, they're expensive but refillable and the best on the market IMO. A Skin tone set: https://www.amazon.com/Copic-Markers-6-Piece-Sketch-Tones/dp/B004XR92EG/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1481785568&sr=8-2&keywords=copic+markers

Plus maybe a floral set: https://www.amazon.com/Copic-Marker-Sketch-Floral-Favorites/dp/B005NB4IZ4/ref=pd_sim_201_5?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=JG9YQ4AVBM15NPXW4XRW would provide a very good base as far as markers go

> How would you handle this without angering the client?

Sorry that this has happened to you, alas it's very common.

This is not a question on how to handle this situation/client, it's a question on how to handle all commissions. There's not 1 way, but we all need to learn from our experiences.

This is what I do with my commissions:

• I try NOT to do commissions. I make art. I execute pieces, then I put them out there for sale.
  
• If you want to do exclusively or mostly commissions, you need to understand that you're in the "service" business, and not in the "piece of art" business.
  
• Outline a process, the best that you can think about, something that works for you and for your prospective clients. This is what I use (read following points)
  
• Initial talk with prospective clients to see if it's something that I am interested in doing. Must be something in line with my line of work, interesting enough to me, and that pays more than what I price my art.
  
• If I get good vibes and it satisfies the above, I continue under the following conditions
  
• I make 3 sketches/proposals. Something that outlines enough what was discussed, but won't waste more than 1 hour of my time. It highlights materials, sizes, pallette, timeline for delivery, pricing (always + shipping)
  
• If the client accepts the proposal I ask for 50% non-refundable deposit upfront via PayPal (or cash or check if they are locals).
  
• Once the piece is done, I show them the piece (in person, webcam, photos). If they accept it, payment is now due, and they need to arrange for shipping (I usually drop it at the nearest UPS store or FedEx store and the client deals with them directly). Yes it's expensive, but we're artists we're not in the shipping business, and we are responsible for our Art not for the shipping business. I ONLY sell framed pieces, or sculptures. I do not sell unframed pieces. My choice.
  
• If the client doesn't like it. Nothing happens, I keep the deposit and the piece is mine to do whatever I want, even sell it if I decide to do so. Or re-work it or modify it
  
• If the client has MINOR suggestions on re-touching re-work I might consider. I am an artist, I make art. It's my voice, my artistic expression, the outcome of my decisions. I am not a tool in the hands of someone else.
  
  I am not saying that this is perfect, I am saying that this works for me. I have adopted after talking with other artists more experienced than me, and this is the process that people who have commissioned art before understand.
  
  If you do commissions for low price and/or with people who have not purchased commissioned art before, 99% becomes a nightmare.
  
  Of course all of the above is outlined on my web site under "Commissions". And no, I don't get many "commissions" but I do get my fair share of "site-specific installations" which is what I like, and those are "commissions".
  
  Read this book https://www.amazon.com/Art-Work-Revised-Updated-Everything/dp/1501146165/

If he's wanting to get into drawing, I'd suggest picking up a book or two from Andrew Loomis. They were written back in the early-mid twentieth century, and they're still popular among artists today, and for good reason. I personally have Drawing the Head and the Hands by Andrew Loomis, and it's a wonderful reference tool for drawing/painting the human face. [Amazon]

Another great artist's reference book is Color and Light: A Guide for the Realist Painter by James Gurney. [Amazon] James Gurney also has a great informational YouTube channel that's worth checking out.

Also, please don't start with cheapo supplies kits whether they're watercolors, acrylics, or oils. They're not well made and can be frustrating to work with for beginners and pros alike. Read or watch some reviews first (YouTube review videos are a great place to see a lot of supplies in action from real artists).

I think a fun medium to start with would be gouache (it's like a cross between acrylic and watercolors). Arteza is a good quality middle of the road brand (not cheap quality, but not pro grade either) that you can get for a relatively good price [[Gouache 24 pk on Amazon]](https://www.amazon.com/ARTEZA-Gouache-Premium-Artist-Paints/dp/B077Y6TVC8/ref=sxin_3_ac_d_rm?ac_md=0-0-YXJ0ZXphIGdvdWFjaGU%3D-ac_d_rm&crid=2JWZ3D4I54A2Z&keywords=arteza+gouache&pd_rd_i=B077Y6TVC8&pd_rd_r=942fb13e-2eb9-4ca8-b9a8-bd5e0b48cb65&pd_rd_w=a9GyB&pd_rd_wg=dNTqd&pf_rd_p=ed481207-4bea-4e19-bbad-73ed40fdc292&pf_rd_r=FKJM040T2XS3HPN4EJTA&psc=1&qid=1572883675&sprefix=arteza+gouache%2Caps%2C195), and they're fun to work with too. You'll need something to paint on too. Watercolor paper or multimedia paper/sketchbook are good to start with. A plastic or porcelain palette and some watercolor brushes will be needed too. You can pick up some of these at your local art store. Heck, I've even seen some artists using porcelain plates or deviled egg servers from a thrift store as a palette for their watercolors and gouache!

There are lots of tutorial videos on YouTube that you or he can check out. Skillshare, like some of the others mentioned, is a good learning resource too.

This might not be very helpful, but I'm gonna post anyway. I'm no expert with watercolor, but I've been creating art my whole life and love playing with new toys. It seems to be difficult to find any meaningful reviews about the markers you posted except for the ones on Amazon itself which makes me think that either these markers are so new that very few people have actually tried them and written a review, OR no one buys them.

With that said, I did see a lot of reviews and youtube videos regarding Arteza and Zig so maybe they'll a little better? The Arteza markers are also priced better on Amazon, so that could be something to think about.

Regardless of which set you end up buying, take comfort in knowing that it won't really matter which set you get your girlfriend, she'll probably just love the fact that you support her creativity!

​

iPads can work. Teoh on YouTube has a couple reviews on different ones that helped me a lot, but I'll link the one I think will help you most since it's from an artist's perspective.

I'm on mobile, so sorry for the formatting:

https://youtu.be/iVHlP0fEGso


(Note: I originally wanted the mini 5, but fell in love with the iPad pro 11.)

Otherwise, I also recommend the Gaomon pd1560. It's on sale right now for 285 and you can get another 19 bucks discount on it right now. I'm actually almost tempted to get one; it's just as good as a cintiq.


https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075WSRLC6/ref=cm_sw_r_other_apa_i_U.wWDbC51GN90


Edit: I forgot to add that I recommend going to a store and trying out the tablets. That's how I found out the 11 fit me best (did a number on my wallet though....)

Its never a waste of time if it is what you enjoy doing.

One of my favotite books that got me started a few years ago was The Slight Edge: https://www.amazon.com/Slight-Edge-Turning-Disciplines-Happiness/dp/1626340463

Its a really easy read and It is pretty cheap now. I think it could really help you.

Here are some of the online sources that have helped me. You probably know some of them already.

https://www.schoolism.com/

https://www.proko.com/

https://www.nma.art/

Actually Noah Bradley wrote about the $10 Ultimate Art Education here with more resources linked :

https://noahbradley.com/blogs/blog/dont-go-to-art-school

https://www.wattsatelier.com/online/ is my favorite and Jeff Watts has an awesome video about this here: https://youtu.be/KX0MrnzBJ8M

Thanks for being cool. And good luck!

I really really like sketching in ink. It forces me to live with (and not erase) lines, so I think it helps me learn through sketching. I also like doing my finished work in ink, so it is good practice for that too.

I have been using a Pentel Brush Pen lately to good results, although I usually like to go back and finish with it. For just sketch sketching, I like a thinner line. I use fountain pens, or sometimes the Sakura Pigma Micron's.

For sketchbooks, I've been pretty happy with my current Stillman & Birn Epsilon. It handles washes of water color/ink pretty well, and generally is not too seethrough (so I can sketch on both sides of the page).

If you don't mind spending a little money, you might look at this. He assumes that you have Adobe Illustrator, but much of the material is good even if you don't. https://www.amazon.com/Vector-Basic-Training-Systematic-Precision-ebook/dp/B015NEX6L2/

The two big takeaways from the book are (1) placing the anchor points at natural extrema with handles that are parallel and perpendicular to each other (usually, but not always, horizontal and vertical) and (2) simplifying your workflow by using the addition/subtraction of shapes to create commonly used pieces.

Edit: If what you want to do is create really good custom lettering using the pen tool, you might look at Jessica Hische. I've seen her do a video (sorry, can't remember where) that covers the placement of anchor points and handles in lettering well. And for lettering, creating composite shapes for reuse (the other strong point in the book I cited) probably won't be relevant.

If you are interested in investing in a good sketch book that will be a very satisfying experience, I highly recommend the Moleskine art sketchbook. The paper is like butter. I will say it doesn't handle all markers the best (I think the heavy alcohol based ones like copic soak through to the other side of the paper), but it handles ink really well. It's ~$15 on amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Moleskine-Cover-Sketchbook-Plain-Large/dp/8883701151/

I've even used acrylic paints in the book and it holds up just fine (just don't use too much water if you do).

​

I've heard the RENDR sketchbooks by Crescent Creative Products are great for marker art as they don't bleed through the page, but I don't know that from experience.

The best way (I've found) is to start big then work your way down to the minutiae.

Proportions and gesture are the two most important fundamentals of figure drawing. Start with those. Even if you don't want to draw realistic people, say if you prefer cartoons or comics, learning proportions will still help you to exaggerate features in an appealing way. When you've gotten a good feel for creating dynamic poses with gesture and figures with proper proportions, then you can move to anatomy to learn how the muscles interact; where they lock and fold into each other. Although anatomy is a very complex science, once you have it - you have it. Everyone have the same muscle structure.

The head and hands are something completely different. I've found that the head and facial features are as hard and as valuable to get right as the figure is. In some cases it's even harder. Don't worry about the head at the beginning, get the figure right first. The face should be it's own study.

I wouldn't suggest mastering each body part individually. If you learn to draw all the body parts one at a time then piece them together, you won't get a feel for how they all play and work with each other.

Things like rendering, color, composition; they are all different fundamentals completely. Should you learn them separately? Maybe. Or maybe not. It depends on you. I'd say to slowly start adding more and more fundamentals to your figure drawings as you improve. Add a bit of shading to the muscles, play with some colors in the skin, see how the pose will affect the composition of an art piece. Just don't lose sight of what it is that you want to improve on and don't fall back to your comfort zone when things are getting difficult.

If you want an in-depth, comprehensive look, I recommend both "Figure Drawing for All It's Worth" and "Drawing the Head and Hands" by Andrew Loomis. Those are the books that helped me. They really go in depth on not just proportions, but rendering and clothing as well. Here they are if your interested:

https://www.amazon.com/Figure-Drawing-All-Its-Worth/dp/0857680986/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3UIR07P1BNGJT&keywords=figure+drawing+for+all+its+worth&qid=1567575739&s=gateway&sprefix=figure+dra%2Caps%2C133&sr=8-1

https://www.amazon.com/Drawing-Head-Hands-Andrew-Loomis/dp/0857680978/ref=sr_1_2?crid=3UIR07P1BNGJT&keywords=figure+drawing+for+all+its+worth&qid=1567575739&s=gateway&sprefix=figure+dra%2Caps%2C133&sr=8-2

tl;dr

Gesture -> proportions -> bone structure (manikin) -> anatomy -> face & hands

Prismacolor and copic are what I use. I get different shades from both brands so I can't recommend one over the other. I started with a few prisma color grays and then got a pack of 24 colors. From there is was like an addiction picking up single markers every time I went to the store. Give me about 20 min and I'll update this post with some good starter packs. :)

UPDATE:

For gray's I would start with Copic Neutral Gray - 6 set. If you have a Hobby Lobby near you they have a 40% off coupon and you can get that pack for $25. Check their site offten because they have that coupon a lot. Or you could get The prismacolor neutral gray

For just skin tones you could get Copic Skin set1 but I only use 3 of the markers from that set for skin. I use Copic E00 E11 YR61 R20 and Prismacolor Light Peach for skin. You could easily get away with just E00 and prismacolor light peach. Thats all I used for the skin in this picture.

If you're looking for a full color set this is what I have.

If you don't want to make a big investment I'd say grab a prismacolor cool gray 30%, Prismacolor warm gray 30%, a Prismacolor Light Peach, and a copic E00 skin white. Those 4 markers are a great starter set imo.

You may also want to grab a colorless blender, they come in handy for smoothing.

A few things about Prismacolor vs copic. You can buy refills for copic but in my experience copic dries out faster than prismacolor. You can also buy replacement tips for copic markers.

You can refill BOTH markers with a little rubbing alcohol when they start to dry out, but over time this can ruin the tips.

Sorry if this is TMI.

TL;DR I really like markers.

It really depends on your budget, what were you thinking? Obviously there's a lot of directions to go in. Whatever path you take, I also recommend getting better pencils and paper from an art supply store. It's important to do digital and physical. Both skills will always be handy for an artist. I'm using a Surface Pro 4 great for what you mentioned, and it's mind blowing. The Surface Pro series is going to be a bit more economical compared to the Wacom stuff. The reason to go more Wacom/Surface Pro is the same others have already mentioned. Pressure sensitivity! It can detect more, and get more detail. There are two kinds of digital drawing. Drawing directly on the screen (preferred, you can see what you're doing) or drawing off screen on a sensor pad, that's attached through a USB chord (cheaper). With the Surface Pro you can draw directly on the screen. For programs I'd recommend Photoshop or Clip Studio if you want something a little cheaper that's arguable to be just as good if not better to inking Manga and Comics. Another reason to avoid Ipads and Phones, etc. is that they don't have the software to run normal computer programs, they run slimmed down versions which only give you a little not a lot. That's a bit of my take on the computer stuff. If you're curious for physical stuff at all, I'm using a brush pen from Pentel and another from Copic which would be good for anime/manga art as you mentioned. Right now I'm also drawing some comics physically with it, and it's doing the job of like 10-20 pens I would normally use. Plus they are both refillable. Inking lets you get crisp lines and you can erase the pencils away afterwards. Here's the paper I'm using, which already comes with light blue guide lines printed on it (the lines are the standard comic formatting for American Comics). They are easy to get rid of while scanning.

it's definitely not a natural thing, it is a learned skill. the problem is that most people don't know enough to understand and notice it, how it behaves and how it can be affected by everything around it.

this book is also incredible https://www.amazon.com/Color-Light-Realist-Painter-Gurney/dp/0740797719

even if you are not aiming to be a realistic painter, the excerpts are easy to understand and explains some very basic fundamentals in interesting ways.

check this free resource out. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3WmrWUEIJo

lighting studies. understanding how light works really helps me imagine it on the fly.so i did this exercise for 2 weeks.

once you have watched the above video and memorize its contents, pick a simple cube with some good lighting, and try to complete an almost completed study in 30 minutes, at best as possible.

once you can do an accurate 30 min study accurately, move onto something more complex, like a sphere or a another subject. apply the same 30 min study rule, if you can do it accurately in 30 mins move on to other subjects.

rinse and repeat, and eventually you will gain an understanding of how light acts, so you can improvise with the knowledge.

I haven't used it myself, but this sub might be useful:
http://www.reddit.com/r/artbuddy

If you are used to University level critiques, I think they are hard to find outside of the actual University classes.

But, if you need deadlines and structure, THE NATURAL WAY TO DRAW is a great resource. I feel like it changed my life. http://www.amazon.com/The-Natural-Way-Draw-Working/dp/0395530075

Well, "creating awareness" is more of an Art per se and not a science (not replicable process) so you need to squeeze those creative juices and come up with your own creative process to "create awareness" as you call it.

About "insta, FB" and other social media, that is not awareness per se, it's a measure of awareness. It's not the whistle that pull the train.

Some people say that it's about being at the right place at the right time, and - personally - I agree with that. Here's the rub: we don't know when it the right time and we don't know where is the right place (physical place and online place). So all we can do is to be in as many places as possible, as many times as possible. And yes it is a lot of work, really a lot of hard work, long hours with uncertain success rate. There's no silver bullet, no paint-by-numbers process, no $19.99 book or $99 course (or $999).

There are some resources out there to gather some info and then go out there and try try try try till you succeed, my 2 favorites are:

• https://abj.artrepreneur.com/
  
• https://www.amazon.com/Art-Work-Revised-Updated-Everything/dp/1501146165

The colors are really nice, but, going forward, it may be worth doing some anatomical sketches on the side. Any art instructor worth their salt will point out that photos often lie when it comes to lighting, form, color, etc. (Think about the last time you tried to snap a pic of an awesome sunset!) That's why, if you do work from photos, it is so helpful to work from life as often as possible.

Not sure if this will help, but I'm finally getting around to reading an old copy of The Natural Way to Draw: A Working Plan for Art Study. Kimon Nicolaides has broken down drawing into a self-directed study course that will allow you to strengthen your drawing skills on your own schedule!

I'm a big fan of George Bridgman's "Complete Guide to Drawing from Life" and Gottfried Bammes "Complete Guide to Life Drawing" is also pretty great.

Also, here are all of my figure structure drawings from college. It's a little sloppy, but it's free. :)

https://www.amazon.ca/Epson-Canada-Perfection-Photo-Scanner/dp/B00E1O74SW/


"Effective pixels: 54,400 x 74,880 (6400 dpi), color bit depth: 48-bit internal/external"
Wow. That's a HUGE image resolution! The scanner looks nice, lots of stuff I don't understand.
Looks like the max paper size I can scan is 8.5 x 11 basically. How thick of paper/ Could I fit a small sketchbook in the scanner or do I have to remove pages from my book?

You own the copyright, you can licence it out for a specific use like prints etc. You can still use the piece in your portfolio. The exception is if you give up/sell the copyright. Then it is no longer yours and the client can do as they wish with it. 'Work for hire' contracts normally ask for transfer of copyright. You can use it in your portfolio if they give you permission.

Always have a contract. Join the associationofillustrators (uk) or graphic arts guild in the usa for advice on this. The society of authors has info too.

Royalties are common in publishing, but not many other places as far as I know. It will depend on the contract. Book covers or one-off illustrations don't usually give royalties.

Try here for some basic info, it is a huge topic. https://www.writersandartists.co.uk/artists/advice/169/an-artists-toolkit/essential-information/copyright-law-for-artists

There is also these books, which might be helpful

https://www.amazon.com/Illustrators-Guide-Business-Practice-Association/dp/0955807603

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Graphic-Artists-Guild-Handbook-Guidelines/dp/1507206682/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_14_t_1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=XR6V8TWF2JWQ74TSDPJD

I don't advise any artist use Fiverr. It's a race to the bottom, price wise. Bad for artists, bad for the industry (imho).

Good luck!

Same happened to me. I used to paint digitally before. Got home from college, sat in front of the pc with headphones on, my Wacom and Photoshop/Sai and go for hours and hours, sometimes even past midnight. It was my cathartic activity. Nothing made me happier than putting some stuff on paper. Then I quit for [life stuff] and for like 7 years not much happened. Also, I decided I wanted to do traditional so not being able to ctrl+z was kinda frustrating.

Here's what I have done lately to get myself to do that more regularly:

I bought this girl https://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/10324278/#/20011413

and laid all supplies on it (I don't have a desk and limited space, this was my solution). But the point here was to put everything out and within reach so all I need is to sit down to start, instead of "taking out the stuff".

Check this book, also: https://www.amazon.com/Daily-Painting-Creative-Productive-Successful-ebook/dp/B00KAFXAL6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1525379880&sr=8-1&keywords=daily+painting

It's about just going at it often and small rather than overwhelm yourself with big projects. (one of the things that -I think- prevents me from drawing more often is that I've become more and more perfectionist, and the lack of practice turns into a kinda self-fulfilling prophecy of never doing anything).

Idk what your medium is but just grab the paper and start doodling. Doesn't matter if you don't have an idea, just start, even if it's just circles. If I'm listening to music usually thoughts will come up and I'll start pouring them onto the paper. One of them will call you and you can transfer them to a real sheet of paper and see where it takes you.

Whatever happens, learn to just pitch it if you don't like it and move on, start again or just draw something different. Don't get attached to them, that's one of the things the book mentions. And I think they make a good point.

Hope that helps some.

Georgia O'Keeffe https://www.amazon.com/Portrait-Artist-Biography-Georgia-OKeeffe/dp/0671016660

Her life was full of rich experiences from NY to VA, TX, NM trying to find herself in art ... she created her own unique place in the Modernist movement. She had a convoluted relationship with Stieglitz that promoted her work but had a negative affect on her personally and her art. She found herself in NM after his passing in the work we are most familiar with. Her success gave her independence.

Different era of course, but the emergence of an art movement, gallery influence, all with trying to be an artist with a singular voice ... a path that wouldn't happen today but really interesting.

The ones you posted are pretty good, but i prefer these https://www.amazon.com/Watercolor-Painting-Flexible-Coloring-Calligraphy/dp/B01N9IY5QF they blend better in my opinion plus you get 27 more colors for less money.

I like the Pental water brush here's a tutorial since they are pointed you can do fairly thin and thick lines, I would say fine sharpie sized. Ultra Fine will take a steady hand.

I would definitely also consider a few brushes and India ink, as it won't fray as much. There is also the less adjustable Brush Pen which will smoothly go over paint, but is less adjustable and only comes in black.

The Graphic Artists Guild publishes the Handbook: Pricing and Ethical Guidelines. You should find a copy.

I've been doing ink and watercolor sketches in a sketchbook lately and have been using microns (which you can find at Michael's) and One of these Pentel brush pens (that I've been loving). brush pens also let you vary your line thickness more than the set size microns, I think they work well together though.

James Gurney (of Dinotopia and Color and Light fame) has an excellent blog that provides tons of information on plein air painting and hand-made pochade boxes and easels.

He uses this sketchbook for most of his plein air work (watercolor, gouache and casein paints) It is small and versatile.

• Figure Drawing for Artist: Making Every Mark Count
  
  
• Color and Light: A Guide for Realist Painters
  
  
  From the Library I've taken out
  
  
• Eliot Goldfinger's Human Anatomy for Artists and Portrait Painting in Watercolor by Charles Reid.
  
  
  
  

I don't have that original and don't remember exactly, but I think it was 5.5" x 8". This is the Pentel pen I have.