Pastel Pencil Feedback & Advice

Marion sent over her picture of the Black Cat project and requested some feedback and advice on her picture. The areas Colin helps with in this picture is the light and dark areas of the fur and the whiskers. 

Cliff sent over his picture of the Steam Train that he has recently completed. In this episode Colin offers some advice regarding trees and foliage which are the areas Cliff found challenging. 

Alan sent over his ambitious project of Bamburgh Castle and requested some feedback on his picture. In this episode Colin offers some tips on what he would have done and offers help in the areas Alan found challenging.

Marion sent in her delightful picture of the Tabby Cat she copied from one of our courses. In Marion's email she mentioned she found the light and dark fur areas a little difficult so in this episode we try to offer some tips and words of advice.

Jana sent in her lovely picture of the Cliffs that is from a course on our website. In this episode Colin offers some advice for contrast in the cliffs and any other areas that could be worked on if desired. We hope this helps.

Evelyne sent us her artwork she has been working on from our courses. In this episode Colin offers some advice on the areas that she found challenging which was the fur and applying pressure with the colour shapers. We hope this advice is helpful.

Abhijit sent over his work that he has completed over the last year and in this episode Colin talks about his style and the progress he has made. We talk about adding contrast and how working on multiple types of pictures can really help with progress.

Maria sent in her work in progress picture of the Spaniel that she's working on from our course. Maria was struggling with some of the fur so in this episode Colin offers some tips and advice for Maria as she continues with the picture. 

Alan sent over this fantastic picture he had finished using Pastel Pencils. As Alan is a member of our website he can receive tips and feedback on his work. In this episode Colin talks about some areas Alan found challenging such as the stream and rock walls. Listen to hear Colin's tips and advice.

Denise sent over her lovely picture of a Hare which she learned to draw from our courses. In this episode Colin offers some tips and advice on the areas of the picture Denise found challenging - the eyes, mouth and nose. We hope you find these tips helpful.

Leigh sent us her lovely picture of a cat that she has been working on. The area's she found difficult were the long hair and so in this recording we offer some tips and advice on how to achieve the subtlety in contrast that you find in animal fur. We hope the tips in this episode help with future projects. 

Vincent sent his lovely picture of the Steam Train masterclass picture. This is a tough picture with lots of foliage and natural aspects to it which make it extremely difficult. In this episode we talk about the random approach to nature and how difficult that is to draw. 

Karen sent over her lovely Dalmatian picture requesting some advice and tips specifically on what background to choose. In this recording Colin offers his feedback on what he would do to try and help.

In this episode Colin offers tips and advice for Charles on his portrait of Errol Flynn. Colin discusses how to add shadows and contrast to the face listing specific colours that could help. 

In this episode we help new member Simmy with their pictures. Colin offers tips on the rocks and how to working on landscape pictures will improve working on animals. 

It's the subtlety of shading that you can learn from doing landscapes as there's many aspects including foliage which require this. You can then transfer this technique to your animal paintings which will transform them.

Laura sent in her lovely picture of a dog she is working on and asked for some advice. In this episode Colin helps with some tips on how to add fur contrast to her picture and also how to choose a background based on the colours she has used in the picture.

Naomi sent us her Pelican picture that she has completed following our courses and requested some feedback and advice. Naomi asks about how much detail to put in the outline drawing and asks for help with the wings and background.

Laura sent over her picture of a dog she's working on for a family member and requested some advice on the paws. Should she crop the picture as per the image? What is missing and can it be added? In this episode Colin helps Laura with some advice on shading and cropping the picture so that it would be even more appealing.

Laura sent over her Beagle picture asking for some tips and advice on the background - what could she do to improve the picture? What would Colin do? In this episode Colin shares his advice and tips for Laura. 

Nicole sent us a message regarding a commissions she's been asked to do. As Nicole is a member of the website she can send us her photographs and artwork for tips and advice. With this one we offered help with cropping the picture to make it more appealing, tips for doing the sky and foliage and finally the impressionistic approach Colin would take.

One of our student's Katia sent in her lovely 3 animal pictures that she has drawn from our courses. Katia used free hand to draw the pictures and so in this episode we offer some tips for checking proportions and spotting things that could be changed at the sketching stage. 

Robyn sent in her fabulous picture of the Vase of Roses which is available as a course on our website. In this episode we talk about how great it is to put your own stamp on the pictures and finding your own style and sticking with it. 

Charles emailed us his picture of a lighthouse that has copied and asked for some advice on the version he has done. Charles adapted the sky and wanted to know if he had achieved a good likeness of the picture. In this episode we offer Charles a few tips on where he could improve his painting. 

In this episode we talk to Cliff about his first few pictures he has drawn using Pastel Pencils. Colin offers tips on gaining confidence and taking risks with the pencil strokes. We talk about his progression over the first few pictures and what to consider next in his drawing journey.

Robyn sent in her picture of the Peaches project asking for some advice. Robyn writes:

"So...a few things...

1. I am still new at pastels and so I'm not always sure if I'm pressing too hard;

2. Blending edges is hard for me. I didn't have as much trouble blending inside the peach, but the outsides look very "fake" to me;

3. What sharpener does he recommend for the pencils? His seem a lot sharper than mine will get.

4. Again...I keep trying for that "realistic" look - but I'm still a novice. I draw from scratch instead of using the print-out for practice. I guess it all takes time. 

Also, I had my paper turned the other way...the teeth ran up and down even though my picture was horizontal. Lol. That also made it hard."