Drawing is the basis for all art. Whether you’re drawing, painting, cartooning, or whatever, you need to know how to draw. We opened up Roman Riva Art Academy to teach everything from drawing to painting. However, we only have the drawing class up now. So head on over and check Read more…
I tried something completely different with my latest painting. I initially drew with pencil. Then rather than inking and erasing the ink, I painted watercolor over the pencil. After finishing the painting part, I inked with a Micron pen. Here’s how it turned out: Do I like it? Well, it’s Read more…
I see a consistent problem with a lot of artists. Their figures lack luster. They’re, dare I say, boring. Their figures have no life. They look, well, like lifeless figure drawings. Why is that? Well, could be several reasons. One is some people just draw what they see. Which is Read more…
It’s important to know why you do art. Some people just do it. That’s totally fine. But if you’re going to sell it, you’re going to get those conversations with potential buyers. Moved here.
I wrote an intro to hatching last week. It’s a simple shading technique. I just wanted to show you really quick. It really is easy to do. Too many people overthink it. “Which way should the lines go?” Instead of thinking like that, just start hatching. Then if it looks Read more…
What is single hatch shading? Simply put, draw multiple parallel lines in a single direction to shade. It’s a very old technique that I’ve seen in Renaissance drawings. You’ll see comic book artists use it a lot. The above image is Allie, mostly using the single hatch shading technique. I Read more…
Years ago, I watched a very dark Austrian movie called “Funny Games.” It’s about two young men who go over to their neighbor’s house and just won’t leave. It got more and more dark as the movie went on. Very disturbing. I definitely don’t recommend it to anyone who wants Read more…
Too many people get hung up on the word talent, like it’s a curse if they don’t have the “talent” to do something. So they’ll give up on their passions, whether it be a sport, a form of art, or a musical instrument. So and so is more talented and Read more…
There’s a truth that you’re just going to have to deal with. Not everyone will like your art. But that’s ok. Decades ago, I did sales. It’s a hard job because you get 10x more no’s than yes’s. That’s just the reality of it. When someone says no, shake their Read more…
You may have heard of watercolor boards before. No, not the wooden board you use under your watercolor paper. I’m talking about a watercolor board, which is really just a board glued to watercolor paper. Canson makes the most available product, which I’ve seen at a few art stores. I’m Read more…