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Sometimes the hours go so fast – before I know it, the day is already coming to an end, even though the work hasn’t. It’s easy to complain about being busy and not getting the chance to draw because of it. However, there are always moments throughout the day that offer great sketching opportunities. Like when you’re on the phone, or when you’re waiting for the computer to calculate or restart.

The two drawings below are quite random sketches, at random times. I will keep doing these kinds of drawings and they will add up to a story taking place in my studio over time.

The post Drawing the mondaine things in life appeared first on Make Awesome Art.

Welcome to Draw Tip Tuesday!

A lot of people find it hard to draw hands. It takes practice -and what better way to practice, than using your own hand as a model?

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The post Draw Tip Tuesday: How To Draw Your Hand appeared first on Make Awesome Art.

Life drawing sessions are fantastic to practice drawing people, and actually, I’d like to attend them more often. Studying proportions, shadows, staring at a person who gets paid to be stared at during 20, 10 or 5 minute poses, being surrounded by others who are also focusing on the same model… it all adds up to a wonderful experience and great practice. However, unplanned drawing and sketching is more my ‘thing’. I bring my sketchbook with me, everywhere I go, because there will be sketching opportunities on many occasions, even if it was just for a few minutes.

Lynne Chapman‘s book ‘Sketching people‘ has reminded me of how much I love drawing people, and I am enjoying filling my sketchbook pages while observing the people around me.

The best places to draw people are where people are pre-occupied, focused on their phone, ipad, laptop, waiting in line for something, or in converstaion with somebody else:

Using a bold, cheap rainbow pencil makes it easier to work quickly and the blunt tip won’t allow me to go into detail.

I often choose an aisle seat when I travel by plane or train; so I can get a good view of my fellow travelers – even when it’s from the back

When people stand in line, they will stay still for a little bit, but you know you need to be quick. Sometimes, if I am not fast enough, I just combine two, three or even four persons into one. If people are sitting down in a coffeeshop, cafe or restaurant, check if they have something to drink or eat. Usually you will then know if they will be there for a while and you can get into more detail when drawing them.

Sometimes it’s a bit scary – I feel like a stalker, watching someone intensely for a while, when I draw them. Most of the time, people don’t even notice at all, but if they do and I feel that it annoys them that they’re being watched, I stop and focus on someone or something else. It doesn’t happen often but sometimes people come up to me because they noticed me drawing (them) and they want to see. Then I may feel hesitant to show them because I often don’t go for the likeness, but rather focus on posture, shadows, gesture and line. But it doesn’t matter to them either – they will recognize something about them in the drawing and are flattered to have been the subject – they won’t judge me for not drawing them perfectly!

The post How To Draw People appeared first on Make Awesome Art.

Welcome to Draw Tip Tuesday!

Today we’ll do an exercise, using color pencils to add depth to a circle and transform it into a sphere.
This exercise is a simplified example of what I teach in my upcoming online drawing course ‘Just Draw It!’
In this 6-week course, you get to learn a lot more about shading, using color pencils, and many other drawing techniques – and you will get my personal feedback on the drawings you make!
It starts March 7, so don’t miss out – seats are limited!
Click here to sign up for $99 today 

The post Draw Tip Tuesday – From a Circle to a Sphere appeared first on Make Awesome Art.

Everyone is creative. Whether you realize it or not, each day you are being creative as you make choices. To name just a few: what wil you eat for breakfast, lunch, dinner? What will you wear today? How will you articulate the words in that email you’re sending out?

Still, you may feel your creativity can use a bit of a boost. Because you want to get into the habit of creating, but sometimes you get sloppy and before you know it, there are so many other things that need your attention, and you feel there is no more space for your creative habit.

Here are three tips:

1. Empty Your Mind

Quick blind contour drawings to empty my mind and focus on what I see only

There are so many things going on and so many thoughts racing through your head! They pile up throughout the day. You can make it stop by taking a little bit of time to workout, or meditate for example.

For me, drawing (even if it’s just a few minutes) is a great way to empty my mind: it feels like meditation, and it is a workout for my drawing muscles!
Do it every day – not just occasionally. You will benefit from this. Clearing your head will make you more creative during the day, and you will be able to focus a lot better.

2. Look At What You Have Created

Feeling uninspired? Well, take a look at your sketchbook pages, art journal pages, drawings and/or paintings. You may get some ideas AND you will see how much progress you made throughout time.
It’ll definitely make you feel like picking up a pen and put something down on paper to keep developing your skills.

3. Keep Learning

We’re never done learning. This is true in life, but also when you’re an artist.
So, read books about creativity, find how-to videos on YouTube, attend a life drawing class, or learn online and sign up for an online drawing class.
I will shamelessly plug my own drawing class ‘Just Draw It’ here, because it starts March 7 and you don’t want to miss it.

“Just Draw It” is a small-group online art class.
During this 6-Week course, every week you and your classmates will learn a new technique through examples and instruction, step-by-step video-tutorials and photo-tutorials, assignments, and my personal feedback on the drawings you make in class.
It’s $99 and you will definitely catch the drawing bug!
Click here to find out more and to sign up!

If you follow the three steps above every day, you will give yourself a fantastic gift: your daily creative habit!

The post 3 Daily Habits To Boost Your Creativity appeared first on Make Awesome Art.

As a kid in high school, I learned about hatching and cross hatching in art class. I absolutely loved it! A while ago, my dad found this drawing I made in class, for an assignment on cross hatching. I got an 8.2 for it, which is a very fine grade! (homework is graded on a scale of 1-10)

I still really do love hatching and crosshatching. Adding it to a line drawing creates such a fantastic sense of light and depth and volume and shape. Another advantage is that it brings you into an almost meditative state.
The drawings below were done in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. I ran out of time on that right hand side page, but I quite like the unfinished drawing. I added a splash of watercolour to bring some balance to the journal spread.

The post Hooked on Hatching appeared first on Make Awesome Art.

I love drawing on location! Lately, I really enjoy drawing interiors, for some reason, and i love the fact that there’s always surprises and interesting corners to draw, when you really take a close look. An extra challenge is also people coming and going, or other things changing while you are drawing a scene. While I was doing the drawing below, the waiter suddenly started to move tables to prepare for a large group coming in later – it messed with my reference points but luckily, I had most of the needed things in there already and didn’t need to bother drawing the tables in their changed positions. It happens, you know – it’s a bit of ‘risk-taking’.  And that’s part of the fun: you can’t always control the situation.

But what if you can’t go to a cafe, a mall, or some interesting place for a drawing? Well, your living room will do just as well!
Each time I draw our living room, I notice different things. I choose different angles to draw from and it never gets boring.

…especially when living with a musician, there are many instruments scattered around. And again: it’s a bit of risk-taking because you never know if any of the instruments you’re drawing is going to be picked up and played on!

The post Places appeared first on Make Awesome Art.

Welcome to Draw Tip Tuesday!
Did you know you can use an eraser to draw with? A great exercise for seeing values.

Want more videos? Subscribe to my Youtube Channel!

Want to learn more drawing techniques? Sign up for my online drawing course Just Draw It! Click here to find out more and enroll.

The post Draw Tip Tuesday: Draw With Your Eraser! appeared first on Make Awesome Art.

…and then suddenly you catch the flu! Well, I did, in any case. I think it’s been 20 since I caught the flu virus that kept me in bed for over a week. It messed with my body, my brain, my schedule, even my drawing skills… And it meant I couldn’t make any new Draw Tip Tuesdays!
I feel a lot better now, thanks, even though I’m still in recovery mode.

So anyway, that’s why today will be Throwback Tuesday – once again, by popular demand: How to draw buildings without feeling intimidated!

The post Draw Tip Tuesday – Urban Sketching appeared first on Make Awesome Art.

Welcome to Draw Tip Tuesday!
Last week I showed you how to make a colorful background wash ,using your watercolors. Today, we’ll draw on top of it, using colored pencils.

The post Draw Tip Tuesday – Colour Pencils on Watercolours appeared first on Make Awesome Art.

Occasionally, in my online classes or in reaction of my Draw Tip Tuesday videos, people ask me questions that start with: ‘What is the secret to…’. Or comments like ’You make it look so easy’.

Wouldn’t it be fantastic if the simple answer would be: “If you buy this pen by Brand X, you will be able to draw everything you want”. But, as you already suspected – that’s not the case.
Maybe if we were studying on Hogwarts we could make it work, but even then you would need to really search for the right wand that fitted your needs best, before even starting to learn the first small steps towards making magic happen.

Walking the Path
As a kid I had this image in my mind of me behind a beautiful piano, playing music as if it would flow right out of my fingers. Even though I kept hoping I would some day magically be able to play complex classical pieces, I learned that just attending class each week, wasn’t going to get me there.

Practicing every day was the only key to moving forward, learning a piece bit by bit. Eventually I gave up, believing I was lacking the talent, but in fact I was lacking the motivation, endurance, patience and, well… ‘passion’. I wanted to be that piano player, but I didn’t want to walk the path to become one. It felt like an obligation rather than something I really wanted to do, all the time – like drawing.

Years of practice
When people comment on my art and say: “you make it look so easy” or “you are so talented”, I feel quite honored and I take it as a huge compliment. But what they often don’t realize is that what I now draw in half an hour time, took me years and years of practice. And I’m never done learning – which I love!

There are no Shortcuts
Enough about me. What can you do to develop your art skills?
With any form of art, and with developing a creative habit or any habit at all, there are no shortcuts.
You need to take one step at a time, make mistakes, learn from them, explore different tools and techniques and find out if they fit you and your needs. lowering expectations helps on the one hand, but you also need to keep challenging yourself to accomplish new goals and stay motivated. You need to find the balance by not setting the bar too high.

To boil it down for you, here are 5 ‘Secrets to Success’:

Now get your creative habit going!
Starting February 1, in my online art class ‘Awesome Art Journaling’ I will guide you through the weeks, and together we will fill our journal pages with awesome art. You can learn to make memorable daily journal entries with the practical tips and tricks I give you, and through experimenting with materials and techniques. Develop creative ideas and make every day an Awesome Art Journal day.
It’s only $69 for a whole month and at the end of class you will receive a workbook to keep nurturing your art habit for another month. If you haven’t joined already, what are you still waiting for?
Click here to join today!

Whatever you do, I hope you will enjoy walking that path – no shortcuts, just a lot of fun making awesome art!

The post Shortcuts And Secrets For Your Art Skills appeared first on Make Awesome Art.

Last week, on Sketchbook Skool I shared a video I made of my dad because he invented such a clever thing. I posted it on my instagram account and got more likes on the one post than I ever had, and still people are sharing and liking and commenting – it’s amazing. Whenever `i ask my dad ‘what time is it?’, he’s not showing me the time – just red yellow and blue! And to be honest, that’s a lot better than ‘a quarter past 10’, isn’t it?

Because of popular demand, here’s the video once more. You can find the free manual on how to make this watercolour watch on the Sketchbook Skool blog.

The post Time To Paint appeared first on Make Awesome Art.

It’s so great to go through all my travel sketchbook pages again. They contain so many memories!
So these are the last pages of my recent Thailand trip:

Flying back to amsterdam, waiting for a delayed flight in the China Airlines Lounge, and capturing some fun memories from our vacation.

Whenever you take a trip, I can highly recommend doing a page like the one below: drawing from memory and document the highlights of each day. So fun to remember those things you already almost forgot about – especially when you’re with a travel buddy, it’s a lot of fun to go through all the adventures together and capture them once more!

The post Travel Journal Pages #5 appeared first on Make Awesome Art.

The post Pen Crush appeared first on Make Awesome Art.

Sometimes you just don’t know where to start when you are somewhere and you want to capture the scene or the vibe, or all the colours that you see… Well I learned a fantastic trick from Miguel Herranz: capture parts of the scene in frames, and fill your page like that. 

If you draw a scene, but don’t have time to fill the whole page with all the things you see in the background, add lettering instead. A great way to document things and make notes so you won’t forget.

Or if a scene overwhelms you, you could just use a tiny sketchbook, and make a quick, tiny drawing. When it’s small, you can’t add too much detail, so the size helps you to filter them out:

Here’s another way: to capture different moments all on one page:

What I also really like doing, is to use a grey brush marker to add quick background shapes – it adds a certain sense of depth to a line drawing.

The post Travel Journal pages #4 appeared first on Make Awesome Art.

Welcome to Draw Tip Tuesday!
You give your drawings another layer, or another ‘dimension’ by making a watercolor wash for the background first.
Next week, I’ll use my colour pencils on this watercolor wash. Stay tuned!

Want more videos? Subscribe to my Youtube Channel!

Do you want to learn more? In just two weeks  my 4-week online art class  ‘Awesome Art Journaling’ starts. I will guide you a whole month to fill your art journal pages and will give you tips, tricks, drawing ideas and a little kick in the pants to make awesome art! Don’t miss out and make sure you get a seat in the online classroom. Click here to sign up for $69 today!

The post Draw Tip Tuesday – Watercolour Background appeared first on Make Awesome Art.

As I am getting back into working mode after 12 beautiful days in Thailand (of which I will share all my drawings here soon, promise!), along wit the Sketchbook Skool team I am getting everything ready for the launch of the brand new Sketchbook Skool Kourse called ‘Expressing’.

I am so excited about this new Kourse, and about all the amazing artist’s who teach in it! One of them is Felix Scheinberger. His watercolour sketches are so juicy, it makes you want to whip out your watercolours and start creating colourful sketchbook pages. He’s a master at watercolours, and although many people find watercolouring tricky, he manages to talk you through the essence of it in this short video I made with him this summer when I visited him in Berlin. At the end of the video, he tells you to burn your painting! Really? Yes. Well, just a little.

Felix has a lot of other tricks up his sleeve and you can learn them all in Sketchbook Skool. Klass starts this Friday! Don’t miss out, click here to sign up now!

The post Burn your painting! appeared first on Make Awesome Art.

Welcome to Draw Tip Tuesday!

Remember a while ago I showed you how to combine watercolors and colour pencils? Well, here’s a super quick tip that can make a huge difference: add cast shadows. A simple trick with a great effect!

The post Draw Tip Tuesday – Drop Shadows appeared first on Make Awesome Art.

You can make art with any kind of tool. Even though buying art supplies is so much fun to do, you don’t need that $80 fountain pen or an expensive art journal. You can make art with a simple ballpoint pen or a cheap pencil for example.
What is important though is to keep ‘sharpening the blade’. By literally sharpen your pencil for example (yes, it really makes a big difference if your pencil tip is sharp – it’s amazing how much detail you can draw!), but also your mind.

Making art isn’t about the materials you use. It all depends on the artist: YOU.
I’m sure you already know that, but where do you get fresh ideas from? Or how do you learn new techniques?
Because yes: sharpening the blade certainly means you need to keep learning new things all the time. You’re never done. And that’s a good thing! To let your art evolve and see your skills grow as you learn is part of the fun and not only is it refreshing, it’s kind of addicting. A very healthy addiction to have.

That’s why I am very excited to give you these two tips below!
Let’s forget about boring new year’s resolutions like losing weight or quitting some bad habit. Instead, start a new habit and start off your new year in a creative way:

1. Take the brand new Sketchbook Skool Kourse called ‘Expressing’

2. Get a little kick in the pants to get your creative habit going.
Starting February 1, in my online art class ‘Awesome Art Journaling’ I’ll give you and your online classmates daily art prompts, helpful tricks, practical tips and step-by-step instructions in videos and images. You’ll definitely catch the drawing bug, and don’t ever want to loose it again.
No need to be afraid you won’t pursue the new year’s resolution of losing a bad habit. Instead: add a new habit!
Click here to join today!

Whatever you do this year, let’s make awesome art!

The post Tips To Keep Developing Your Art Skills appeared first on Make Awesome Art.

Happy New Year!
How are your coloring pages going, we started last week? And have you decorated the cover yet?
Let’s do that today, and make sure that the coloring book becomes a great new-years-resolution project!

Want more videos? Subscribe to my Youtube Channel!

This project is a great way to start the new year with, and if you want a little extra push towards creating an art habit, join my online workshop ‘Awesome Art Journaling’. It starts February first and I will guide you through a whole month of art journaling with fun tips, drawing prompts, videos and tutorials. And to keep you going, at the end of the class, you get another month worth of art prompts and tips in the ‘Awesome Art Journaling’ workbook.

Sign up today by clicking here

The post Draw Tip Tuesday – Happy New Year! appeared first on Make Awesome Art.

Happy New Year!

Today is the day a brand new year has started. To reset, or to go on with all the good stuff you were already doing.
Any new year’s resolutions you made, are starting now. And it’s all so exciting!

I don’t really ‘do’ new year’s resolutions – I like a little shorter term goals. But if I would share any of those goals, they would be: keep on going to find the right balance between work life and private life, teach a live workshop in spring, make the best use of my new studio, and above all: keep doing what I love most: make art and share the inspiration.

Today is also the day our brand new kourse is available in Sketchbook Skool!
The new kourse we are launching today is called “Expressing”. It’s about using your sketchbook pages to document memories, stories, experiences, feelings and emotions.
Often, a picture can say so much more than words.
In Sketchbook Skool, everyone gets to hang out with inspiring artists from all over the world. When you take a 6-week Sketchbook Skool Kourse, each week an new artist shows you his/her approach to sketchbook keeping. That means you get 6 different teachers in 6 weeks!

Every Friday a new klass is released, featuring a new Sketchbook Skool Fakulty Member. You’ll get to watch a bunch of videos in which you get a peek over the artist’s shoulder in their demos and sketchbook tours, they talk about art tools and styles, so you can learn some new techniques, or find out about art materials. Your fingers will start to itch and want to grab a pen and draw! Plus you’re not doing this alone: you get to do your homework along with all your klass mates, and if you upload your work on the kourse website you all get to see what you’re making and I can tell you: the Sketchbook Skool Kommunity is like a huge cheerleader team and an inspiring creative group of people from all over the world!

Since Danny and I partnered up to start Sketchbook Skool, we get to meet fantastic artists from around the world, learn so much from them and share it all in Sketchbook Skool.

With the new kourse called “Expressing”, these fabulous artists are joining Sketchbook Skool’s Fakulty:

Felix Scheinberger
I am such a big fan of Felix’s work! The pages of his book ‘Urban Watercoloring’ look so juicy, it always makes me want to start splashing around with paint. But also his book ‘Mut zum Skizzenbuch’ (meaning Courage For The Sketchbook), which for some mysterious reason hasn’t been published in an English version (yet), is so inspiring to try different techniques and styles. I can’t even begin to explain how happy I was to spend time with him in Berlin to film his klass!

Jill Weber
Danny introduced me to Jill’s work, and I fell in love with her art right away. Jill is an artist as well as a book designer and illustrator. She lives with her husband on a farm called Frajil Farms and also blogs about this magical place. Her colourful paintings and illustrations each seem to be individual stories full of imagination. And her sketchbooks! Wait until you see her sketchbook tour in klass!

Michael Nobbs
Michael is an inspiration for so many people. Ever since I took my first plunge into the world of blogging, I’ve been following him. He found a way to build an artistic life around the obstacles in his life. He gets things done. Like writing books, making art and mentoring and guiding people from all over the world.
Plus Michael is a wonderful person to be around. I’m sure you will agree when you watch the videos we shot in and around his cottage in Wales.

Penelope Dullaghan
She was on my list called “collaborate with some day”, long before Sketchbook Skool was born. I found out about Penelope via Illustration Friday, the community website for art that she initiated. She’s an illustrator, designer and painter and lives in a beautiful house in Indianapolis with her husband and daughter. I love her style! Colourful, Her patterns and paintings are colourful and whimsical and I can’t get enough of awing over her pattern designs.

Sabine Wisman
Another Dutchie, like me! Sabine is a writer who turned into an illustrator. She’s a real fun person to hang out with. With her husband, two sons and a dog, she lives in Haarlem, which means she’s located perfectly in between city life of Amsterdam and beach life at the North Sea. Her work is whimsical, funny, clear and bright and she sure knows how to add a storytelling element to her drawings in a straightforward way.
Another fun fact: Sabine is also a student in Sketchbook Skool!

My humble self
I am honored to be joining this awesome group of teachers this term in Sketchbook Skool! My klass will be about hand lettering, and using it to make your sketchbook an even richer document of your life. Even when you think your handwriting sucks, you can add text to your pages without the fear you will ‘ruin’ your drawing. I can’t wait to get started!

It took us a while to straighten things out and to work our way towards the future of Sketchbook Skool. Finally, the new Kourse is available NOW, and the first klass begins on Jan 15. Click here to sign up now!

I am pretty sure that being creative is a new year’s resolution you will want to keep – and in Sketchbook Skool we can help you with it. Go to www.sketchbookskool.com and join us!

The post 2016! Happy New Year! appeared first on Make Awesome Art.

Welcome to Draw Tip Tuesday!

Have you noticed how popular colouring books for adults have become lately? It’s proof that making art, playing with colors and being creative helps you use a different part of your brain and have some fun, whatever age you are!

No need to rush to the shop to buy one of those coloring books, you can make one yourself! Put your pen on paper and fill page after page with ink drawings. It’ll be a great way to kickstart your new year’s resolution of making more art in 2016!

Want more videos? Subscribe to my Youtube Channel!

If you need a little extra push to keep making art a habit: join my online class ‘Awesome Art Journaling’. It’s a 4 week class, filled with great tips, trick, drawing ideas and a little kick in the pants! Starting February first. Click here and sign up for $69 today

The post Draw Tip Tuesday – Colouring Book! appeared first on Make Awesome Art.

Welcome to Draw Tip Tuesday!

No need to panic if you forgot to send someone a Holiday card – it’s simple to make one yourself!

Want more videos? Subscribe to my Youtube Channel!

Thank you for watching this video, I hope it inspires you to make awesome art. If you would like a little extra push: why don’t you sign up for my online workshop ‘Awesome Art Journaling’?
Starting February first, it’s a whole month of filling your art journal pages, full of fun, tips and tricks, and a great way to start, and KEEP that art habit in 2016!
Click here to find out more and sign up right away!

Happy Holidays!

The post Draw Tip Tuesday – Happy Holidays! appeared first on Make Awesome Art.

It’s busy at the moment, over here; I am moving my workspace, moving my website, working on material for the new Sketchbook Skool term in January 2016, while also moving and shaking things up inside of Sketchbook Skool to make things even better. Through busy times I discovered that whether you have just five minutes or a stretch of hours to make art, it’s still important that you take your time. If it’s a busy day, that’s no reason not to take out your sketchbook for just a quick sketch, even if it was just a few lines, just before going to bed. It might actually help you take your mind off of those to do lists, worries, or any thoughts racing through your head. Making the time to draw, and then taking the time for the process, is the best treat you can give yourself!
Lately on Sundays, I often enjoy the treat of a few hours of drawing in a row. Then I will make a more elaborate drawing, like this one, in my grey Strathmore art journal, using pen and colour pencils.

The post Taking your time appeared first on Make Awesome Art.

I was going to write a blog post here, to update you about what’s coming up in 2016, in Sketchbook Skool. But I’ve got something better. Danny and I made a superfun holiday-themed video that says it all:

Sketchbook Skool is all about the Creative Community of both students and teachers- more than 10.000 people joined. Supporting each other, inspiring and nurturing each other’s art habits.
In 2016 we will offer new kourses, but also a lot of free stuff like ebooks, webinars, sketch challenges, artist interviews and videos, online and offline events and much more.

The post A Christmas Karol! appeared first on Make Awesome Art.