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ART SUPPLIES
ARTIST OF THE MONTH
HOW TO DO VIDEO
ART-OUT-OF-THE-BOX WITH KATRIN
COLOR CICRLE
UPCRATEBATTLE

1. Artspaze Water color Brush Marker, 15 colors

This is a real brush pen with a bristle, soft tip. When pushing down the nip and turning the marker you can see the single nylon fi bers. Depending on the amount of pressure applied you are able to vary the line width from very thin to thick. The nib always returns to its original form. I included 12 different colors for you to enjoy this large range of colors. The water-based dye ink is odorless and perfect todilute colors.

3. Koh-I-Noor Polycolor 3800

These hexagonal, softwood pencils are made with an oil based core that provides color with excellent light fastness and water resistance. The 3,8 mm lead provides rich color without the need for heavy pressure. The core can be sharpened to a fine point for detailed works. The color range featu- res 72 colours that can be blended.

3 colors inside your box: 25- Meadow Green / 28- Golden Orche / 824- Cinnamon Brown

more infos about KOH-I-NOOR >>

2. Mega Nero soft pencil, black

Nero produces a shiny black, smudge-proof stroke. It is oil-based and, therefore, water-resistant. Available in five different grades.

more infos about CRETACOLOR >>

4. Water Color Paper Pad, A5, 300gsm

This artspaze watercolor pad is ideal for all watercolor and mixed media applications. The 300g/m2 thick paper does not buckle if you work with multiple layers or wet on wet techniques. The cold-pressed paper has a rough and a smooth side, which offer the best surface for your art depending on your preference. 

ARTIST OF THE MONTH:

Nathalia Velásquez

@puapualena

What is your artistic process like?

I really like connecting with my creative process while out of the studio, I’ve gotten so used to it that I could dare to say that the lines come out easier when there are many things happening around me, sometimes distraction also allows you to reach that moment of concentration and fluidity where you see what you want to achieve reflected on paper. Always carrying a sketchbook and pencils with me wherever I go allows me to never waste a good place to draw. It’s also about letting ourselves go, the artistic process I’m looking for is inaccurate, it’s mixing what I see a bit with abstraction, poorly made forms that play. Another method that is part of my process is drawing fast, that also gives it the fresh air it has, drawing fast forces you to make quick decisions and not think much about the final result. When you are looking for little precision it is a good tool. It’s knowing the rules and knowing when to break them 😉

What are your favorite tools?

It is difficult to choose but in the first place there would be the watercolor colored pencils, because they give double play and tend to be quite pigmented, I like that, also the water markers and the graphite cannot be missing.

How often do you make art and what does it mean to you?

I try to draw even if it’s a quick sketch every day, that always makes a difference because if you stay away for a long time the process of creating will cost much more. Lately I’ve been carrying a pencil case with 4, 5 different materials, but all black and gray to make faster drawings that need less time and so I have no excuse for not creating. For me, the most significant thing about my sketchbooks are the memories they carry. I collect them, and it’s quite an experience to start a new one, fill it up and then finish it, I’ve never lost one and I hope it doesn’t happen!

Tell us about your life away from art supplies. What else are you doing creatively in your life?

I really like crafts and using my hands, I have taken ceramic classes and I would love to take it up again as another way of creating. Right now I’m also about to finish a master’s degree in illustration so I don’t have much time left either. I try to invest time in my physical and mental health, so I’m in the process of taking physical exercise and meditating as a habit, not everything can be drawing! Even if I wanted…

Thanks for being on board for this upcrate. What was the most exciting part of your work with the box and what was the biggest challenge?

I think it’s super fun that you receive a box of materials without knowing what’s inside and that it will most likely take you out of your comfort zone and invite you to be even more creative, since they can be any type of material. The markers I received have a very good range of colors. I usually use colored pencils a lot so that was my favorite part and the black pencil with such a powerful lead allows me to make those dark lines that I like so much.

The biggest challenge was surely creating something only with the materials in the box, and even more so when you already have some default materials that you always use and that you know how to work with, sometimes it is difficult to give other alternatives a chance, but without a doubt you always have to try new materials to enrich our creative process.

Where do you find your Inspiration?

My main inspiration comes from what I have around me without a doubt.

I draw from observation in most cases and this allows me to appreciate much more what I see daily, it becomes a different experience. You see much further, in detail, and you are aware of what surrounds you. Many times we look when we go down the street, but we do not observe. You also realize how your eye perceives things, and how you translate what you see into your own language.

What are you plans for the future?

Another activity that I have pending to do is learn to tattoo, I would really like to see how I can develop my art in this way.

My plans for the future are to continue creating and traveling… traveling a lot, so I will be planning which are the most effective ways in which art and illustration allow me to live traveling.

#upcrate48 HOW-TO-DO-VIDEO by puapualena

ART-OUT-OF-THE-BOX

mit Katrin

@sarkasik

This box comes with incredibly good materials that you can take along while traveling. Especially if you enjoy creating a background with watercolors or markers, and then adding details with colored pencils. The watercolor markers are water-based and can be kept moist for a long time, allowing you to mix them with other colors even if they have dried slightly. You can dip them in water, create smooth transitions, and apply them in transparent layers. They are perfect for experimenting, but one tip I would mention is to always start with the lightest colors, as they may not stand out against the intensity of darker colors. However, an interesting effect you can achieve with this is to wash out a dark color with a lighter one. So, go ahead and start swatching!

After obtaining an overview of the less and more opaque colors, I like to conduct tests to observe how the pencil performs when applied slowly /1, quickly /2, with heavy pressure /3 (these pencils can handle it), lightly /4, and when diluted with water /5.

For the landscape with the small farmhouse, I start with warm colors for the hill. I sketch the shape of the hill, the negative shape of the house, and some color areas using the lightest color, a soft orange.

Gradually, I apply the additional colors to the paper, aiming to create a slightly mottled landscape. I use lighter colors to blend the sharp edges, making them softer. By varying the pressure while applying the colors, I can introduce interesting textures, such as rough areas in the bottom right and top left where the orange is.

I repeat the same process with the green color for the trees, adding colors alternately and blending them until I’m satisfied with the result. I need to be cautious not to mix too much dark color too quickly, as it can overpower the lighter areas, making it difficult to lighten them again. Taking it slowly and gradually will help maintain control over the tones and highlights.

Now comes the magical part! With colored pencils, we can add the necessary details to give contours and character to the landscape. I like to start with black to define the contours of the hills and finish drawing the farmhouse. Additionally, I use black to draw the tree trunk, which is occasionally interrupted to indicate that leaves also cover it. I use the colored pencil colors to bring movement and life to the leaves and hills. Maybe add a few bushes here and a couple of bare trees there, and we’re done! Have fun recreating this 🙂