American Spirit: In-Depth Colored Pencil Tutorial

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Learn to work on drafting film and create a gift-worthy work of art.

After you've joined Rhonda in this 24-step adventure into drafting film, you may never want to work on regular paper again. You'll use your choice of Polychromos or Prismacolor pencils — there's a supply list for both — to create two of the U.S.A.'s favorite symbols in vibrant color. Begin with the deep blue field of stitched stars, move into mastering stripes, stitching, and folds, then blend that blue field into warm brown feathers, and then complete that colorful eagle's head. Finally, you'll cap off the art with a dark vignette to help draw the viewers right to that eagle's eye.

Drafting film takes fewer layers than paper, so you'll be using simple two and three-color blends to get to the desired color more quickly than you would on paper. You'll also discover how drafting film lets you add vibrancy to your artwork by adding color to the backside.

• See how using surprising shades can create an eye-pleasing pop of color.
• Work on both sides of the film to create more intense color.
• Create a center of attention by using colors to direct the viewer's eye.
• Find out how much faster and more forgiving drafting film is than other surfaces.

Now is the time to celebrate your American Spirit with this bold and colorful tutorial.

About the Author:

Rhonda Dicksion is a highly-acclaimed professional colored pencil artist and workshop instructor, and the editor-in-chief of Ann Kullberg's COLOR Magazine. Rhonda's style incorporates full-spectrum color and outlining to create a unique and graphic look. She created American Spirit for artists to celebrate and own the symbols shared by all.

About In-Depth Tutorials:

Created by master colored pencil artists, each In-Depth tutorial features comprehensive instruction and focuses on teaching you why and not just how the artist applies their technique. No book or video comes close to the amount of instruction in an In-Depth tutorial. Art instruction books typically contain 4-6 steps per demo. That just scratches the surface! With large images many more steps, In-Depth tutorials truly show you exactly how the artist works, making it easy to truly learn new colored pencil techniques and achieve success.

Note: Drawing paper and pencils not included. See images for complete supply list. Polychromos pencil name changes can be found here. 

Publish Date: August 2020.

Draw... Frame... Bask in your talent!