By Michael Chesley Johnson For award-winning watercolorist Rick Anderson, the broad plains of the Mississippi Delta provide an opportunity for his brush to roam free, dashing out passages of gold and green with a rhythm that energizes the land’s flatne…
The Christmas selling season is well and truly upon us now and we recommend
having gift vouchers/gift certificates/gift cards available. Some customers
find it hard to decide or want their loved one to choose their own present.
Plus they’re great for when you get last minute shoppers! But how do you
create and manage sales of gift vouchers? Here are our top tips.
The Natural Earth Paint company’s mission is to produce quality art materials that are archival, non-toxic, plant-based, and eco-friendly, and are safe for kids to use. Their Acrylik Paint range embodies all of these qualities, claiming to be the world’s first paint that behaves like a typical acrylic, that’s also completely safe for the user and the planet. In this article, I’ll delve into the details of their key differences, and test seven colours from their range, including three metallics. Testing Natural Earth Paint’s Acrylik Range The Differences Between Acrylic Paints and Acrylik Paints It’s easy to assume that acrylic paints don’t give off fumes because they’re applied with water and often don’t have a distinct smell, but this isn’t true. As they dry, they emit VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds), which vary depending on the paint. Some of these include substances like formaldehyde, ammonia, and benzene. These are from the additives that are added to paints to perform functions like extending their shelf life, preventing mould, and manipulating their consistency. Some people are more sensitive to this outgassing than others, especially those with specific allergies. It’s definitely possible to make acrylic painting safe with proper ventilation and avoiding …
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PolyCrate writes: Hello friends! Excited to share my Traffic Light Pack with you This collection brings a set of realistic, high-quality traffic lights designed for urban scenes and city environments. Perfect for 3D projects, animations, video games, o…
At Blender studio, we’re developing a new Character Asset: Storm. This session will be a walkthrough on how I’ve explored different ways of facial rigging for a stylized character and why I chose to do it this particular way. The class will highlight t…
A minor update has been made to the Blender 5.0 release – the beta is now scheduled for October 8 (previously October 1). The final release date has not been affected and is still set for November 11.
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Tired of visible seams between 3D objects? CGMatter shows how to use Blender’s compositor—with Z-pass, cryptomatte, and a bit of node magic—to blend objects naturally, all in real-time with Eevee. No add-ons needed!
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Francesco shares an overview of the feedback on BCON25, along with a great ‘sizzle’ video that captures the mood of the flaship event for the Blender community. Blender Conference 2025 wrapped up a few days ago! Yet another great event bringing togehte…
Dabbing is an incredibly versatile painting technique that most artists utilise, from applying tiny areas of rough texture to decisively dabbing entire paintings. In this article, I define the technique by looking at key examples from art history – from the Dutch Golden Age, the Japanese mid-Edo period, to Les Nabis in Paris. Then I demonstrate how to apply dabbing to your own works, in oil, acrylic, ink and watercolour paints. Articles in the Techniques Series define the meaning and context of art making processes and give practical tutorials on how to work with them. The Dabbing Technique for Painting Definition: Dabbing refers to the application of paint or ink to a surface using a repetitive vertical hand motion. The media is bounced, pressed or touched onto the surface without linear movement or hand gesture, giving a diffused effect. Dabbing may be achieved with brushes, rags, or palette knives. What is the Effect of Dabbing? Paintings made with dabbing may have a diffused quality, where the artist has intentionally foregone linear or painted mark-making. It’s perfect for applying the texture of naturalistic elements like clouds and foliage, building up patterns, and for realising subtle tonal effects like …
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Olga Babich won the Drawing Award in Jackson’s Art Prize this year with her work Forest. In this interview, she discusses taking her own reference photos, the perfect paper, and staying creative during difficult times. Above image: Olga Babich at her workspace Josephine: Could you tell us about your artistic background? Olga: I’ve loved drawing since childhood and would often find myself copying illustrations. However, when it came time to choose a career, I didn’t consider becoming an artist or even a designer. I studied law and worked in the field for two years. Everything changed while I was on maternity leave – I decided to take an online watercolour course. The lessons were high-quality and engaging, and they gave me not only a solid foundation but also something even more valuable: the confidence that it wasn’t too late to start. I was 26 at the time. That’s how my path as an artist began. Since then, I’ve taken many more courses, workshops, and masterclasses, and spent countless hours practicing and learning on my own. Today, art is both my passion and my profession – something I truly love and am grateful to do every day. …
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