News page of the Step by Step Art website

Looking how to start your own art commission business?

12/11/2020

If you are an artist thinking of starting your own commission based business, here at Step by Step Art, we have produced an article filled with lots of useful information for those of you needing some help and advice.
Written by artist Karen M Berisford who has always loved drawing since she was little, began taking on commissions back in the 90's after leaving school. She became a professional artist in 2011 and runs her own commission based business at: www.karenmberisford.com She is also the face behind this very website and provides all the content found within it. She is the web designer of both these sites and explains the importance of having your own website too.

In the art studio - easel, flowers, brushes and paints

Click the image above to visit the article.
Although the article was originally written in 2018, additional information has recently been added. As with all our articles on this website, we update, re-write or add new content to some from time to time.

Are there any other questions you would like answered that you would like to see included in our article? Please add them to our comments section below. We will answer them as soon as we can.

I hope you find the information helpful!

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2020 1 & 2 Day Art Workshops plus latest articles & mini tutorials

3/1/2020

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2020 Art Workshops

Workshop booklets from Karen M Berisford's 1 and 2 day Coloured pencil and Graphite pencil Art Workshops in Chesterfield, Derbyshire, UK

I am currently in the process of organising this years art workshops and will be included in the winter newsletter which will be Emailed out to subscribers hopefully by the end of this month. All details will be posted on the step by step art CHESTERFIELD WORKSHOP page once available and added to social media pages for this site & my KMB social media pages too, ensuring a larger audience reach.

Every year I choose 3 or 4 subjects for the Coloured pencil & Graphite pencil workshops which include varying techniques and surfaces to previous years, ensuring each workshop is different to another. Coloured pencil workshops using textured paper are somewhat easier for a complete beginner than the workshops working on smooth paper, however every workshop available can be attended by any artist regardless of their calibre, even if they have NEVER drawn anything since their time at school!

To find out more about our workshops, click any one of the following links to visit the page of interest:

about our workshops

coloured pencil workshops

graphite pencil workshops

Reviews & Tutorials

Here are the latest articles and mini tutorials that can be found on the Step by step art website. Included are a selection of independent reviews on multiple mediums and art products as well as the very latest tutorials - click on any of the images below to visit the page of interest. You can also find lots more reviews on art products on our 'ARTICLES' page with new ones added every 3 - 4 months.

Latest product reviews

The newest member of the Derwent Coloured pencil range - The Lightfast range

Stabilo CarbOthello pastel pencils article

Trialling the Zest-it 'pencil blend'

About the Pastelbord by Ampersand

Derwent released their first 100% lightfast Coloured pencil range this year and I decided to try them out on both smooth and textured surfaces, see how I got on.

The CarbOthello pastel pencils offer 60 vibrant colours and would make a great addition to the colour palette of any Pastellist. Find out more about this range.

In this article, I mixed pencil blend and Derwent Lightfast pencils on both the Pastelbord surface and the Strathmore bristol plate surface, check out the review.

This canvas is an ideal surface for many different mediums, not just pastels and in this article I show what is achievable using Acrylics & Coloured pencils.

New Mini Tutorials

Waves drawn in Derwent Lightfast coloured pencils - mini tutorial

Waves in Coloured pencils mini tutorial

Caran d'Ache Luminance pencils and a blueberry drawn in coloured pencils

Blueberries in Coloured pencils mini tutorial

Dogs eye drawn in graphite pencils mini tutorial

Dogs' eye in Graphite pencils mini tutorial

Requested by a 'SBS Art' subscriber, this tutorial shows you how to create depth and movement in water using Coloured pencils. For all art abilities.

Originally published in the USA Colored pencil magazine in 2018, this tutorial explains the process of how to create Blueberries in Coloured pencil. For all art levels.

An in depth guide explaining how to create a dogs eye using Graphite pencils and other accessories that will help you achieve a highly detailed, 3D drawing.

You can always request a specific article or mini tutorial and if I am able to provide that information, it could be included in a future article. Please get in touch with your idea at: [email protected]

Finally, you can always SUBSCRIBE to our quarterly newsletter, ensuring you receive the very latest articles, delivered straight to your E-mail.

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Book your place at the coloured pencil 1 day workshop

19/4/2016

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For anyone wishing to attend one of Karen's Workshops, bookings are now being taken for a 1 Day Coloured pencil Workshop that will be run in Chesterfield, Derbyshire. If you wish to find out more, please click the image below to visit the webpage or get in touch via the MAIL US page. You can also fill in your details to secure your place via the booking form found on the CHESTERFIELD WORKSHOPS page.

Advert for the Red Squirrel 1 Day coloured pencil art workshop in chesterfield, derbyshire tutored by Karen M Berisford

WORKSHOP COMPLETED
View any current Workshops available HERE

Learn how to layer with coloured pencils to create realism in your pencil work and how best to apply colours and application to create a smooth, tonal background. Karen has been working with coloured pencils for over 30 years and during each of her workshops, always offers demonstrations, 1 to 1 help and provides a take home work sheet for every attendee to ensure everyone regardless of artistic talent, is able to follow the process with confidence.

Feel free to click the Facebook 'Like' button, 'tweet' on Twitter or post a comment below!

Hope to see you there!

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Blenders & Burnishers

1/4/2016

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Prismacolor blender, derwent blender and burnisher and caran dache full blender bright image

Click the Image to visit the Article

I have recently completed a new article about coloured pencil blenders & burnishers and how best to use them. As I actively encourage people to get in touch if they would like to see a specific article or tutorial, this is one of them, which I thought would be a great subject to review. With thanks for the article request!

Although I own 3 different blenders and a burnisher myself, I forgot I had them and it gave me a great opportunity to try them all out and compare them, sharing with everyone my thoughts and findings.

If you are looking to find out what blenders & burnishers can offer you as a coloured pencil artist, or are new to blenders/burnishers and would like to know what they can achieve and how best to use them, why not take a look at this article - I was surprised to learn you can actually use them with graphite pencils too, although have not tried it myself.

If you would like to request an article, please get in touch - it's always great to hear feedback too if you wish to share your own experience on using any of these products so feel free to comment below. If you know someone who may find this article interesting, feel free to 'like' on Facebook or 'tweet' on your Twitter page!

I hope you find this article very helpful!
Karen :)

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New to coloured pencils? - product recommendation

9/3/2016

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Are you thinking of giving Coloured pencils a go, but not sure which pencils to start out with? Take a look at this article which offers a recommendation of a great set of pencils without breaking the bank, whilst offering lots of benefits that professional pencils have (and even some that certain pro pencils don't!) If you have £7* spare, these popular non branded pencils are the ones you should try before splashing out on an expensive, professional brand just in case you decide Coloured pencils is not the medium for you after all. This article offers advantages & disadvantages and also shows you what these pencils are capable of. It seems they are used extensively for those taking their GCSE's as well as Art Tutors (including myself) using them in Art Workshops.

Click on the image, to visit the article page.

Feel free to 'like' , share or leave a comment, especially if you have used these pencils before or found the article to be of help to you.

Please Note: These are only sold in the UK
*They may also be available to purchase at a lower price due to sale offers in-store or online.

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Caran Dache Luminance pencils article

18/2/2016

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Thinking of buying the Caran Dache Luminance pencils and wonder if they are going to be suitable for you? Take a look at my latest article on these pencils to find out more about them before you decide to splash out.

Caran Dache Luminance pencils in a tin image

What is important to you when buying a new Art product? This article offers some advantages & disadvantages of the pencils as well as giving lots of information on the lightfastness of the pencils and what this means. It also shows what these pencils are capable of and hopefully offers lots of helpful information and advice which will allow you to decide whether or not to take the plunge. Personally, I would say you can't go wrong with these pencils, but then I'm biased! ;)

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Looking for advice on which coloured pencil range to buy?

17/2/2016

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Help and advice is at hand if so....

Coloured pencil image for coloured pencil comparison article

In this post is a link to our article that focuses on coloured pencil brands. I decided to do a trial on various pencils that I have in my collection.

This article shows the 5 most important factors that I look for when selecting my professional pencil range:

I need to have a range that allows multiple layering
I need them to blend well for backgrounds and skin tones
Will work well with fixative
The pencils must be extremely lightfast and the colours strong
Need soft and hard pencils for different areas of my work

The 5 'tests' shown in this article includes:

Black & White Test
Hardness V's Softness
10 layer test - 'Mixed' layering
Fixative test
Blendability

This article also gives information on the importance of paper weight (gsm), information on each pencil including costs (GBP) and lightfast ratings as well as my own thoughts on 'adapting to coloured pencils' . I hope that this will be of help to all coloured pencil artists out there from those starting out looking to buy their first range to those interested in how each compare.

Any questions, just ask!

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New product article - Derwent 'Inktense' pencils

24/3/2015

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Derwent Inktense pencils and a Peacock feather drawing

my 'Inktense' pencils review

Having tried out the Derwent 'Inktense' pencils a while back, I thought I would add an article to this site for any of you out there thinking about buying a set but wanted to find out a little more about them first. In my latest article about these pencils, I created my own trial piece of a peacock feather so I could test out the vibrancy and ease of use of these pencils. Please click on the image if you wish to find out more.

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WEBSITE UPDATED AND EXTENDED

11/3/2015

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The New Look Site

Anyone having visited and bookmarked this Step by Step Art Website will see it has had an overhaul in the last few days, the main reason is because I have decided to extend this site to offer artists out there, a website that offers art workshops and online advice. For those unable to attend my workshops, there will be articles and video tutorials provided to every artist worldwide.

I enjoy sharing my own artistic knowledge on a wide range of things from how to produce a pencil portrait to product recommendations that I have tried & tested myself. I hope to bring on board other artists to share their knowledge too. Offering information not only based on mediums I work with, as that can limit the market considerably, but articles from artists who work with other mediums.

Chesterfield art workshops page - click to view

Our Colourfix article - click here to read

So why not bookmark this website, there may be some tiny nugget of advice found within these pages that helps save the life of a drawing!
Please feel free to share this with other artistic friends and if anyone has any articles that they would like to submit to this site, please get in touch, I would love to hear from you!
Karen :)

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Looking how to start your own art commission business?

2020 1 & 2 Day Art Workshops plus latest articles & mini tutorials

2020 Art Workshops

Reviews & Tutorials

Latest product reviews

New Mini Tutorials

Book your place at the coloured pencil 1 day workshop

WORKSHOP COMPLETED
View any current Workshops available HERE

Blenders & Burnishers

New to coloured pencils? - product recommendation

Caran Dache Luminance pencils article

Looking for advice on which coloured pencil range to buy?

Help and advice is at hand if so....

New product article - Derwent 'Inktense' pencils

my 'Inktense' pencils review

WEBSITE UPDATED AND EXTENDED

Author

Archives

Categories

QUICK LINKS

HOW TO SUPPORT US

2020 Art Workshops

Reviews & Tutorials

Latest product reviews

New Mini Tutorials

WORKSHOP COMPLETEDView any current Workshops available HERE

Help and advice is at hand if so....

my 'Inktense' pencils review

Author

Archives

Categories

QUICK LINKS

HOW TO SUPPORT US

WORKSHOP COMPLETED
View any current Workshops available HERE