How to Draw a Cute Kitty

Want to make super cute Valentine's for your friends but don' know how to draw? How about making this super easy kitty and you'll be good to go. Follow these super easy instructions pictured below!

I had so much fun making the puppy tutorial, I decided to try his arch enemy, the cat!! :)  While the yorkie is a short, stocky built dog (at least when his fur is dry and fluffy!), the cat is a sleek, delicately built animal (as least before she becomes a fat cat!).

For this tutorial, you will need:

   A red or pink Sharpie pen

   A black fine tip Sharpie, or nice black gel type pen

   Nice paper, preferably card stock

   The ability to draw triangles, circles and curves lines

      (read: beginner level!)

Below is a nice Ed Emberly style follow along guide :)

My Valentine is made using this tutorial as well as my previous post, How to Draw a Cute Yorkie Pup Valentine. I would love to see any Valentines you make or answer any questions you have so feel free to share! 

How to Draw a Cute Yorkie Pup Valentine

Want to make super cute Valentine's for your friends but don' know how to draw? How about making this super easy Yorkie pup and you'll be good to go. Follow these super easy instructions pictured below!

For this tutorial, you will need:

A red or pink Sharpie pen

A black fine tip Sharpie, or nice black gel type pen

Nice paper, preferably card stock

Below is a nice Ed Emberly style follow along guide :)

Try different variations! 

I would love to see any Valentines you make or answer any questions you have so feel free to share! 

Here is my Valentine!

How to Turn a Photograph into a Painting: Part 2

 

As promised, here is another photograph I used to make a painting. Following the same steps as the previous blog post, here is how I did it.

Tip #1
Find the essence of the photograph.

For this one, I loved the house and the lamps, but decided to get rid of the chicken wire protecting the small trees and some of the background to create a simpler scene.

Tip #2
Change it

I made the house a bit smaller in the painting so I could focus more on the path leading up to the house instead. I also changed the light in the piece to reflect more of a foggy winter day instead of a snowy winter day. In retrospect, I think the snow is kind of nice, but, eh, I can always add some flakes if I want to. I really wanted to keep the piece simple. I have ruined many projects by trying to do too much.

Tip #3
Tell a story about the piece

I added a bunny to give more of a friendly, woodsy feel to the piece, but I felt that it had a pretty neat story going for it already. A sort of path leading up to a cheery looking, older mansion-y type place. I was tempted to put a team of draft horses and a carriage in, but I didn't.

I can't say that this is my best painting ever, needs some reworking for me to really feel like I made it my own, but I wanted to give you guys another example of how to use photos to construct a new piece of art.  If I were to feel good enough about this one to sell it, I would definitely want to add something else to make it my own.

How to Turn a Photograph into a Painting: Part 1

Most of my inspiration for paintings these days comes from pinterest. As you can see below, the painting on the top obviously has some resemblance to the photograph on the bottom while still being a unique piece.

 I will show you three easy tips I use for using photos to make good paintings.

Tip #1
Find the essence of the photograph.

Is it the light? Is it the actual objects in the photo? Do you love one part, but wish another part could be a little different, maybe brighter, smaller, different? Decide what is important and what is not. Leave only the parts you love. A painting is never going to be as detailed as a photo. I loved the cabin, but did not really care for the stark,cloudy whiteness of the picture. I kept the general structure of the cabin and tossed the rest in my planning.

Tip#2
Change it

After you have stripped down the photograph to the bare essentials, you have to build it back up again. A cabin cannot be floating around in the middle of the page by itself! I decided it could be nestled in the woods, like my Great Aunt Sophie's house I remember growing up. I love color, so I added more color with a pebble walkway, evergreen trees, and a multicolor shingled roof. Also, attic windows are awesome so I added one of those too. A blue sky and blue tinted snow cheered the scene right up and make it a cheery hideout from the cold.

Tip #3
Tell a story about the piece

Finally, make a painting pop with a story that captures the viewer. I added a shovel, firewood, and smoke from the chimney to make sure that the viewer could know it was a neat and orderly cabin that had a roasty toasty fire welcoming them inside.

As you can see, the finished product, while like the photograph in many ways, is still unique and different. For a while, I felt guilty when using other people's photos for my artwork, but now I stick to Austin Kleon's Steal Like an Artist tips as shown at right. When it all comes down to it, it is impossible to find something truly unique. Everyone got their idea from someone, who got it from someone else... etc. I always try to show credit where its due and hope others credit me as well. Not to be preachy, just don't want to encourage everyone to go out and copy others' stuff without proper respect given.

The other side of this, is the gigantic relief of not having the pressure to find that one thing that no one else has ever done before. I find that most folks don't like things too off the beaten path anyhow. Just off to the side enough to feel like you found something new. They don't want to travel through the yet unseen parts of Alaska, they just want to discover the half-hidden path off the side of their campsite to the gigantic blueberry path. (And it was amazing!)

I have a few more examples of this, but they are all currently being scanned so I won't get them back for a few days. Maybe I will make a part two so you can see how I applied this to a few other paintings.

Also apparently google + is smart enough to make this for me using AutoAwesomeness.