I love the real distance you take from the pencil tip with your fingers on the barrel to get that feather light application. It took me ages to trust the control that much, but it was worth it. Nice to see someone doing it. I thought this was very nice and you had a lot of control and finesse over the "out of focus" green background. Do you ever use brushes with the solvent, or do you just like the Q-Tips? I used them at first, but I do like brushes for tiny places and edges.
First time I saw the picture in the thumbnail, I legitimately thought it was a photograph or a print from National Geographic or other. I could lavish you in praise bordering on the obsequious for what awe and magnificence you've accomplished here, but my paltry, pitiful words fail in comparison to what you have accomplished here. It's so good that there is a part of me that sours with envy and resent at the sight of it, but that would just be petty and spiteful, so instead I feel only anguish and despair, of having to live with the bitter burden that I will never, *ever* have the talent to create something as beautiful as this. There is something about realism that my cursed, weak, wretched mind cannot fathom, nor my maladroit hands replicate, and at this state in my disgusting life, I doubt I ever will. So repugnant are my bafflingly deficient "skills" that I can't even blend a flat wash with gamsol. And even if I could make something even half as good as this, the time it would take to finish is so appallingly extensive that it begs the question whether or not it was even worth the investment at all (it isn't). How long did this take you to finish? Ten hours? Twelve tops? Because something like this would have taken me over *_FIFTY,_* and it would've looked like a god damn cartoon by the end of it. The snarling, noxious contempt I feel towards myself could be abated if only I could prove it wrong with works of immaculate splendor, but I cannot. I am nothing more than a worm, staring up in awe at the monuments of man, wishing I could fill the hearts of others with such reverent wonder, but knowing only that I never can, so I only weep as I return to feasting on my own feces.
Oh trust me, this took me many hours. Maybe even a month to finish. What you just wrote is oddly beautiful but at the same time I don't know how to respond to it at all. Keep at it though, we all have our own strengths and weaknesses, and using something like gasmol takes some practice too so don't beat yourself up about it!
@@AlexisCassandraArt Forgive me (or don't); self-destructive, indulgent wailing like that truculent treatise I wrote is the result of what happens I lose control of my life-long, insatiable, seemingly interminable inferiority complexes. When feelings of failure and worthlessness overwhelm me, I have a terrible habit of looking at the beautiful, breath-taking works of others, and using them as a mere, crude cudgel to assault myself with, cursing myself, asking questions I cannot answer, like why I can't make something as gorgeous, or why it takes me so unforgivably long to make something that someone with actual talent could do twice as resplendent in only half the time. Just writing this is making that door that my demons dwell behind creak. I know that it's been said that comparing yourself to others is an eternal enemy of finding peace with yourself; even Jesus Christ's Parable of the Talents implicitly condemns such behavior, but knowing, feeling, and doing are all vastly different actions. I struggle trying to disprove my own dark as deep space thoughts of existential nihilism, which are based on the belief that the soul itself has no intrinsic value and that it is only deeds that give it some pittance of vicarious worth. So when I feel I have egregiously failed, coupled with my horrific self-loathing, well, things can get ugly; _I_ get ugly. I thought I was gaining control of it. I thought wrong. I'm sorry for darkening your doorstep and day with my despair, though perhaps you could take it as a macabre, schadenfreude compliment; your art is so astounding that it inspires that much internalized hatred for myself that I can't be as good as you. So, now that I don't sound as much like a dog kennel during that time of the month, perhaps I could steer this conversation in a more productive direction. So how is one supposed to get a flat wash with colored pencils and gamsol? I've been using Prismacolors on Strathmore Series 400 colored pencil paper (100lb, acid free, medium weight, white), and either I'm doing something wrong in the coloring process, or the paper has gained sentience and is actively working against my efforts to color it in with the level of contempt and disdain I usually reserve for myself. Layering doesn't work, blending sticks don't work, burnishing doesn't work, even the mighty white colored pencil cannot conquer it. When I have tried using gamsol, the graphite on the paper either streaks with the brush strokes, or it just stains the paper, effectively making it so that instead of the spots being white, they're just colored now. Are uniform, flat mattes even possible with those mediums, or do I just suck too much to do them properly? (Oh, there it goes again...)
Your art is fabulous and very realistic, and your method of teaching or explaining what you do and why, is very well done. You are so easy to listen to and understand as you explain your process. Awesome and amazing.
Well that was a load of tosh I just messed up, a heart felt comment , see that's what happens when you start a new hobby, at 77 I hope you will ignore my blunders and again perfect thanks Marilyn Handley not knackered just yet!!!
You deserve so much more views! I absolutely love your drawing, just mindblowing that you´re able to create this with just color pencils! Love from Amsterdam!♥
Your art is very beautiful. I love the Macaw you did in another video. I am always wishing for videos of beautiful birds and flowers - and large cats. Seeing your reference photo and photos is so valuable to see how you interpret them and make your personal changes.
I'm not sure of the exact colors anymore sadly:( I had a color chart for this drawing at one point. If I come across it again, I will list them for you! it looks like I used venetian red and sanguine for some of the shadows though.
Alexis, thanks for a good informative video. Over the past couple of years I have gravitated from oil paint to Prismacolor pencils. I have no formal art ed./exp. so I am always looking to further my limited education in books, videos and talking to other artists. Two subject I would like to see on a video or videos are 1) explanation of different types of paper used with colored pencils and 2) mixing media on one art piece. Thanks again for helping me.
Oil paint to colored pencils is definitely a big change up! I am still figuring out for myself the paper dilemma as colored pencil acts so differently on different paper. some paper it seems to work well on is strathmore bristol vellum 500 series, hot pressed watercolor paper (I used Arches), and some Mixed Media paper if you prefer a texture. If you prefer less texture, the paper I used in this video (Legion Stonehenge) worked as well. Thank you for the video ideas as well- the mixed media one could be interesting!
Amazing piece! You definitely tumbled down a reptile rabbit hole having to make those scales. I would like to see a completed piece done with a totally non toxic solvent like almond oil or something.
Thank you for sharing your technique and knowledge. This information helps a great deal. What weight and type of paper should be used with the solvent? I’ve wondered about that and having it bleed through. Your assistance is greatly appreciated! I love your artwork. The snaked is beautiful and looks more like a photo than a drawing. Fran
Im glad this video was helpful:) you definitely wouldn’t want to use thin paper that “flops” a lot when you hold it up by the edge. This paper did fine, it’s the Stonehenge colored paper and it’s only about 90lb/250gsm. Mixed media paper also works as well as watercolor paper(they’re more around 140lb) . Bristol paper should work too. And thank you, this snake is one of my favorites to this day💜
Daniel Gilkarov thank you!! Well if you’re working with watercolor I’d definitely recommend you use the wet-on-wet method for the background, to get the blurry effect.
@@AlexisCassandraArt but the amount of detail that would go into the actual scales, how would I accomplish that wet on wet?, I figured that would all just be detailed work wet on dry
Thank you I am glad you find this interesting! I have recently done a macaw, and currently working on an iguana! There is both a feathers and a new scales tutorial up:)
Great video. Thanks very much for this. I am new to coloured pencil sketching and I just wanted to know, would this solvent be OK with papers such as Strathmore toned tan paper, or cartridge paper 140gsm? If not could you recommend a good paper to use for coloured pencil and solvents? Thanks
Solvent should be ok with mixed media toned tan paper! The strathmore one is about 184 lb or 300gsm. If you have thinner paper I’d recommend experimenting with solvent on them and if it doesn’t work switch to mixed media or even a hot pressed watercolor paper if you have some of that!
Stupid question, but is solvent safe to 7se with all brushes or should some not be used? Also, does the softness of a brush's hair bristles matter? I have tried using cotton swabs with solvent and had a hard time with it and want to try brushes next, but I want to make sure I know if it's not safe to use it on certain brushes just in case (obviously my fanciest and most expensive brushes aren't going anywhere near it but I still wanna be prepared).
I would probably designate one or two brushes only for the solvent, because it is hard to wash out once you started using! I think I used a brush before that was too soft and wouldn’t blend the solvent so I switched to a slightly firmer brush. Maybe even just buy a super cheap set of brushes (the ones that come in packs) and experiment with those! I think synthetic material brushes are safe to use with it. I know that oil painters use something similar to thin their paints, so I’m sure it’s ok:)
Haider’s Art thanks you😊😊 ooh I have heard about that before. I actually don’t even have any baby oil so I haven’t tried it, but the effect should be similar to using a solvent probably ! Let me know if you try it
She shows what she uses at the beginning of the video. It's the bottle of clear liquid with the white label that's says Gamsol. I can vouch for gamsol as well. A lot of professional artists use gamsol for this purpose
ah noo don't give up! If you saw my first few sketchbooks you wouldn't be saying that, trust me😂 I've been practicing art for like ten years now, and colored pencil was the hardest medium for me to learn for sure
I thought this was a photo when I first saw it.
Gorgeous!
Thank you! It’s still one of my favorites :)
I love the real distance you take from the pencil tip with your fingers on the barrel to get that feather light application. It took me ages to trust the control that much, but it was worth it. Nice to see someone doing it.
I thought this was very nice and you had a lot of control and finesse over the "out of focus" green background. Do you ever use brushes with the solvent, or do you just like the Q-Tips? I used them at first, but I do like brushes for tiny places and edges.
Love how your picture turned out. Very beautiful
Thanks so much!
Thank you for the narrative as you demonstrated how to use the solvent. I’m looking forward to applying this technique.
I’m happy to hear it helped :)
Great work on the snake. Useful tips too.
thanks so much!
I have never used solvent and your video helped me to understand. Thank you. Looking forward to more videos.
So glad this could help. Thanks for watching!
First time I saw the picture in the thumbnail, I legitimately thought it was a photograph or a print from National Geographic or other. I could lavish you in praise bordering on the obsequious for what awe and magnificence you've accomplished here, but my paltry, pitiful words fail in comparison to what you have accomplished here.
It's so good that there is a part of me that sours with envy and resent at the sight of it, but that would just be petty and spiteful, so instead I feel only anguish and despair, of having to live with the bitter burden that I will never, *ever* have the talent to create something as beautiful as this.
There is something about realism that my cursed, weak, wretched mind cannot fathom, nor my maladroit hands replicate, and at this state in my disgusting life, I doubt I ever will. So repugnant are my bafflingly deficient "skills" that I can't even blend a flat wash with gamsol.
And even if I could make something even half as good as this, the time it would take to finish is so appallingly extensive that it begs the question whether or not it was even worth the investment at all (it isn't). How long did this take you to finish? Ten hours? Twelve tops? Because something like this would have taken me over *_FIFTY,_* and it would've looked like a god damn cartoon by the end of it.
The snarling, noxious contempt I feel towards myself could be abated if only I could prove it wrong with works of immaculate splendor, but I cannot. I am nothing more than a worm, staring up in awe at the monuments of man, wishing I could fill the hearts of others with such reverent wonder, but knowing only that I never can, so I only weep as I return to feasting on my own feces.
Oh trust me, this took me many hours. Maybe even a month to finish. What you just wrote is oddly beautiful but at the same time I don't know how to respond to it at all. Keep at it though, we all have our own strengths and weaknesses, and using something like gasmol takes some practice too so don't beat yourself up about it!
@@AlexisCassandraArt Forgive me (or don't); self-destructive, indulgent wailing like that truculent treatise I wrote is the result of what happens I lose control of my life-long, insatiable, seemingly interminable inferiority complexes. When feelings of failure and worthlessness overwhelm me, I have a terrible habit of looking at the beautiful, breath-taking works of others, and using them as a mere, crude cudgel to assault myself with, cursing myself, asking questions I cannot answer, like why I can't make something as gorgeous, or why it takes me so unforgivably long to make something that someone with actual talent could do twice as resplendent in only half the time. Just writing this is making that door that my demons dwell behind creak.
I know that it's been said that comparing yourself to others is an eternal enemy of finding peace with yourself; even Jesus Christ's Parable of the Talents implicitly condemns such behavior, but knowing, feeling, and doing are all vastly different actions. I struggle trying to disprove my own dark as deep space thoughts of existential nihilism, which are based on the belief that the soul itself has no intrinsic value and that it is only deeds that give it some pittance of vicarious worth. So when I feel I have egregiously failed, coupled with my horrific self-loathing, well, things can get ugly; _I_ get ugly. I thought I was gaining control of it. I thought wrong.
I'm sorry for darkening your doorstep and day with my despair, though perhaps you could take it as a macabre, schadenfreude compliment; your art is so astounding that it inspires that much internalized hatred for myself that I can't be as good as you.
So, now that I don't sound as much like a dog kennel during that time of the month, perhaps I could steer this conversation in a more productive direction. So how is one supposed to get a flat wash with colored pencils and gamsol? I've been using Prismacolors on Strathmore Series 400 colored pencil paper (100lb, acid free, medium weight, white), and either I'm doing something wrong in the coloring process, or the paper has gained sentience and is actively working against my efforts to color it in with the level of contempt and disdain I usually reserve for myself. Layering doesn't work, blending sticks don't work, burnishing doesn't work, even the mighty white colored pencil cannot conquer it. When I have tried using gamsol, the graphite on the paper either streaks with the brush strokes, or it just stains the paper, effectively making it so that instead of the spots being white, they're just colored now. Are uniform, flat mattes even possible with those mediums, or do I just suck too much to do them properly? (Oh, there it goes again...)
Thank you Alexis! This is my first time seeing your video and I've signed up to subscribe to them.
I’m so happy to hear that😊 thanks for watching
It looks so real - I thought it could hiss at me any moment. Beautifully done!
thank you!💙 it is still one of my favorites ive done i think:)
Your art is fabulous and very realistic, and your method of teaching or explaining what you do and why, is very well done. You are so easy to listen to and understand as you explain your process.
Awesome and amazing.
Aww thank you so much for your sweet comment! I’m so glad you enjoy watching my videos and I really appreciate your support😊💙
Absolutely perfect. I very never put gamsol or the like on my polystyrene, perhaps I will try it. Well done indeed. Marilyn Handley
Well that was a load of tosh I just messed up, a heart felt comment , see that's what happens when you start a new hobby, at 77 I hope you will ignore my blunders and again perfect thanks Marilyn Handley not knackered just yet!!!
This is so beautiful!!! Great tutorial as well!! Thanks for showing it in real use instead of just swatches.
Thank you, so glad its useful to you!
Thank you very much, I do not understand the English language, but I do understand you with my feelings 👌
I am glad this has helped you:)
Amazing.
A perfect teaching
Glad you liked it:)
That's really beautiful
thank you so much!
This is soo beautiful 😍 and I loved how you explained the process 😍
Jen’s Wild about art aw thanks so much:) I hope I explained it ok I was just getting used to voiceovers at this point
You did brilliantly , I’m new to pencils and I learnt a lot 😊
Jen’s Wild about art That’s great to hear:) I’ll be making more colored pencil videos soon!
Wow, stunning Work! Thanks for the tips
Thank you, and thanks for watching:)
Great viper! Trhanks for the content!
thank you for watching:)
Excellent drawing!!! Wow! Thank you.
Glad you liked it! Thanks for watching
Absolutely gorgeous
thank you:)
Amazing work! Thanks for the info on when and how to use the thinners. The snake looks awesome!
So glad the vid was helpful, I know its a bit old now! Thanks for watching!
Fantastic job! I love the solvent example. The white pen at the end really makes this picture pop!
Thank you! The solvent really helps to smooth out backgrounds:)
You deserve so much more views! I absolutely love your drawing, just mindblowing that you´re able to create this with just color pencils!
Love from Amsterdam!♥
Thank you so much:) your comment was very kind! To this day, this snake is one of my favorite colored pencil works!
Wow I was impressed by this painting.,😍😍😍
thank you:)
Wow excellent Artistic are u 👏👏👏
one of the best tutorial I've seen, ur really helpful and awesome drawing and colouring . and you have hell lots of patience hahah 😂🔥
Shah w thank you so much that means a lot that it was helpful to you! I’ll be making more soon:)
This is beautiful! Good luck with your channel :)
thank you so much💙 I will have to draw another snake again someday
Stunning, love. You've got me inspired to hit the pad once again. Thank you, thank you, thank you
thank you! I'm so happy you're inspired to create💙
Your art is very beautiful. I love the Macaw you did in another video. I am always wishing for videos of beautiful birds and flowers - and large cats. Seeing your reference photo and photos is so valuable to see how you interpret them and make your personal changes.
I'm so glad you like this one and the macaw! Thank you so much
stunning!
thank you:)
Great job 👌
thank you:)
Wow really good 🔥🔥🔥
Thank you!💜
I am so impressed, it is amazing real! A very beautiful animal in the best way you can show. Sorry my English is not good... 😬
Aw thank you:) it’s still one of my favorite artworks to date
Awesome I really appreciate these tips
glad they helped:)
That's awesome!
OMG! Really good 👍👍
thanks so much:)
Do you have a list of the colors you used on the snake with Faber-Castell?!
I'm not sure of the exact colors anymore sadly:( I had a color chart for this drawing at one point. If I come across it again, I will list them for you! it looks like I used venetian red and sanguine for some of the shadows though.
Excellent video and amazing snake drawing! What white high lighter pen did you use?
thank you:) I usually use Signo uni-ball white gel pen!
Alexis, thanks for a good informative video. Over the past couple of years I have gravitated from oil paint to Prismacolor pencils. I have no formal art ed./exp. so I am always looking to further my limited education in books, videos and talking to other artists. Two subject I would like to see on a video or videos are 1) explanation of different types of paper used with colored pencils and 2) mixing media on one art piece. Thanks again for helping me.
Oil paint to colored pencils is definitely a big change up! I am still figuring out for myself the paper dilemma as colored pencil acts so differently on different paper. some paper it seems to work well on is strathmore bristol vellum 500 series, hot pressed watercolor paper (I used Arches), and some Mixed Media paper if you prefer a texture. If you prefer less texture, the paper I used in this video (Legion Stonehenge) worked as well. Thank you for the video ideas as well- the mixed media one could be interesting!
Amazing piece! You definitely tumbled down a reptile rabbit hole having to make those scales. I would like to see a completed piece done with a totally non toxic solvent like almond oil or something.
So many scales! I actually haven't used solvent in a while now. I am wondering if Zest-It pencil blend is non toxic! I see some artists using that!
top draw very good job congratulaçoes
JM Designe o Desenhista thank you so much!!
Thank you this is very helpful!
im so glad you found it helpful! thank you
Thank you for sharing your technique and knowledge. This information helps a great deal. What weight and type of paper should be used with the solvent? I’ve wondered about that and having it bleed through. Your assistance is greatly appreciated! I love your artwork. The snaked is beautiful and looks more like a photo than a drawing. Fran
Im glad this video was helpful:) you definitely wouldn’t want to use thin paper that “flops” a lot when you hold it up by the edge. This paper did fine, it’s the Stonehenge colored paper and it’s only about 90lb/250gsm. Mixed media paper also works as well as watercolor paper(they’re more around 140lb) . Bristol paper should work too. And thank you, this snake is one of my favorites to this day💜
Thank you!
Beautiful work, I wish I was able to reproduce in watercolor
Daniel Gilkarov thank you!! Well if you’re working with watercolor I’d definitely recommend you use the wet-on-wet method for the background, to get the blurry effect.
@@AlexisCassandraArt but the amount of detail that would go into the actual scales, how would I accomplish that wet on wet?, I figured that would all just be detailed work wet on dry
Daniel Gilkarov yes that would be wet on dry and quite time consuming ! But would turn out beautiful
Very interesting process! The realism is amazing! Will you be doing birds and other animals?
Thank you I am glad you find this interesting! I have recently done a macaw, and currently working on an iguana! There is both a feathers and a new scales tutorial up:)
Thank you for your tutorial 👏👏👍👍👍👍
thank you so much for watching!
@@AlexisCassandraArt your welcome dear 🙏🤝🤗😊
Great video. Thanks very much for this. I am new to coloured pencil sketching and I just wanted to know, would this solvent be OK with papers such as Strathmore toned tan paper, or cartridge paper 140gsm? If not could you recommend a good paper to use for coloured pencil and solvents? Thanks
Solvent should be ok with mixed media toned tan paper! The strathmore one is about 184 lb or 300gsm. If you have thinner paper I’d recommend experimenting with solvent on them and if it doesn’t work switch to mixed media or even a hot pressed watercolor paper if you have some of that!
@@AlexisCassandraArt Many thanks for your kind reply
Stupid question, but is solvent safe to 7se with all brushes or should some not be used? Also, does the softness of a brush's hair bristles matter?
I have tried using cotton swabs with solvent and had a hard time with it and want to try brushes next, but I want to make sure I know if it's not safe to use it on certain brushes just in case (obviously my fanciest and most expensive brushes aren't going anywhere near it but I still wanna be prepared).
I would probably designate one or two brushes only for the solvent, because it is hard to wash out once you started using! I think I used a brush before that was too soft and wouldn’t blend the solvent so I switched to a slightly firmer brush. Maybe even just buy a super cheap set of brushes (the ones that come in packs) and experiment with those! I think synthetic material brushes are safe to use with it. I know that oil painters use something similar to thin their paints, so I’m sure it’s ok:)
Great video😊.I also know that you can use baby oil to blend your coloured pencils.
Haider’s Art thanks you😊😊 ooh I have heard about that before. I actually don’t even have any baby oil so I haven’t tried it, but the effect should be similar to using a solvent probably ! Let me know if you try it
WOW!
Awesome
thank you!
What brand of solvent do you use?
Gamblin Gamsol! It is an odorless mineral spirit
She shows what she uses at the beginning of the video. It's the bottle of clear liquid with the white label that's says Gamsol. I can vouch for gamsol as well. A lot of professional artists use gamsol for this purpose
Also Hobby Lobby carries this brand of solvent
Nice one ! :)
Bahuuba thank you!!
Where did you buy the Solvent?
I think I bought it at hobby lobby, or michaels (i believe they both sell it). I’m sure if you don’t have those stores you could find it online!
The drawing is beutiful
thanks so much:)
How heavy should the paper be? I use pretty thin canson paper but wouldn't dare use anythign wet on it.
Oh I would try a thicker paper, but it doesn’t have to be crazy thick either maybe a regular mixed media?
@@AlexisCassandraArt Thanks! I thought of that, I will try it!
I give up of coloring after watching thks talent video and find out how bad is my coloring skills lol
ah noo don't give up! If you saw my first few sketchbooks you wouldn't be saying that, trust me😂 I've been practicing art for like ten years now, and colored pencil was the hardest medium for me to learn for sure
Camara rápida noooooo más cansones