Let’s draw faces! Because I love you, I made up this handy-dandy face generator to remove that “but what do I draw??” obstacle.
Click on the facial-feature buttons below to generate your very own face prompt. I’ve left the hair and accessories up to you for now. But, I plan on adding to this generator over time. Give this post a bookmark and check back for additions. <3
Open your art journal to the next blank page and declare it a Judgement Free Zone. COMMIT to the path of non-judgement.
I find it helpful to start with one of the following:
Close your eyes and draw a continuous line with a smooth pen
Grab your favorite brush and start making brush-prints in your favorite color
Wet the page and drop in watercolor or inks randomly
Don’t start assessing the results of this first pass. Look it over and lean into what you feel should happen next. That might be “throw the whole journal away” or “I hate everything”, but I encourage you to file that away under “Information I’m Disregarding At This Time.”
Try focusing on what color you want to see next to the ones you have. Not “what color would look great here?” but just “what color do I want to put here?”
Add layers to add complexity. Try filling in a block of color with some repeated doodles or marks.
The only goal here is to be able to play freely with no rules and no judgement. Drop the Inner Critic off at the petting zoo. Try not to plan or erase if you can stand it. 😉 Engage in some full-on-spontaneous playtime.
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Hey friends! Today I just wanted to share a free printable with you: free planner stickers! This is my first set, and I didn’t have much of a theme in mind aside from the color palette. So consider this freebie a grab bag for your planner. 🙂
Each sticker is hand drawn to add a rustic, handmade touch to your planner (or journal) pages.
I use frame mock-ups every day in product photos for my art prints and digital downloads. They make my workload infinitely lighter by not making me print and mat and frame and hang and photo every single piece I make. 🙂
But the ones I’ve found were in odd sizes, at least for me. My watercolor paper is 9″ x 12″ (3:4 aspect ratio). I like to work at 8″ x 10″ (or another 4:5 aspect ratio) for digital.
Few files let you change the colors, and what if you’re feelin’ a bubblegum-pink mat?
So I’ve made my own frame mock-ups to suit those sizes. I loved making them and decided I would share the fully-editable .PSD files with you.
I will continue to update and add to this post as I make more frames. Check back soon!
Free Editable .PSD Frame Mock-ups
Below are two examples; first is the standard white the files come in, second is with the mat and frame customized. The download includes both portrait and landscape frames.
A how-to and license are included in the download. I hope you find them useful and enjoy! As always, please follow me on social media for my daily art adventures, and subscribe to the newsletter for shop promo codes and other special offers. Thanks for reading!
I’ve spent countless hours of my precious life watching videos, reading blog posts, and generally researching digital painting techniques. I’m compiling all of the best information here in this blog post so that I might save someone else all those same hours. 🙂
This post will be continually updated as I find new and/or better information. For example, I still have not found anyone who can make me understand the elusive art of turning blobs into beautiful fully-rendered paintings.
I watch, it seems like a simple premise, and then I just can’t seem to put it into practice lol. Maybe I’m too impatient. I DIGRESS.
Digital Painting Programs
Either purchase Photoshop or download Krita (a free & open source program). Both make equally beautiful paintings. Remember: practice is more important than equipment.
Sara Tepes because she is a lovely & talented digital painter (who uses Krita). LavenderTowne because she has a quirky, comic-y style and a soothing voice.
Lastly, if you have anything to add or an artist I might include here, please comment below! I hope this saved you some time or brought you a little inspiration. As always, please follow me on social media for my daily art adventures, and subscribe to the newsletter for shop promo codes and other special offers. Thanks for reading!
“Reframing”? See what I did there? You can groan, that’s fine. I would.
Now originally, I was searching for some Halloween-y quotes and poems for a little typography experiment. Once you get into ghosts, spirits, graveyards, ~nighttime~, etc., you eventually run into thoughts on death. While some leaned toward the more solemn or even depressive end of the spectrum, I found several quotes and poems on death that were really, really positive.
So positive in fact that I thought, “I would hang that on my wall as a lovely reminder in my most anxious moments.”
That may be odd to some people, or even “not helpful at all, Celia. Let’s stick to the candy and costumes and pretty leaves.” Fair enough, man, fair enough. I will hook you up next time, friend.
Take a look at the preview below, then find download instructions after the image.
Each is 8″ x 10.5″ at 300 DPI, so they will print out crisp and clear on 8.5″ x 11″ paper. They will have a quarter-inch border all around for easy matting. I highly recommend using quality, thick paper; like a card stock. If you have archival-quality ink in your printer, even better.
But, neither of those are necessary of course. If you like it, print it out & hang it up. Easy as that.
What the heck does that Latin mean?
You may be wondering what that quote from Horace means. “Pulvis et umbra sumus” means “we are dust and shadow.” I think that fits beautifully with the Carl Sagan quote “We’re made of star stuff. We are a way for the cosmos to know itself,” which is one of my favorites.
I named the file in English so you won’t forget. 😀
Making a zine can be a simple, cost-effective way to print & distribute your artwork without having a find a publisher. I’ve found a few tutorials, examples, and a good start-up guide to help you along. Continue reading “Make A Zine to Showcase Your Work”→
Want a free coloring page? Better question: who doesn’t want a free coloring page?
This is my first attempt at a coloring book page. I’m honestly really happy with it. For some reason I’m just not a fan of all the teeny-tiny spaces in adult coloring books. They hurt my hand. I guess I must color intensely haha. That’s true because sometimes I forget to breathe while coloring. 😀
Keeping with September’s theme of Home, this is a cute house coloring page. He is happy to be here and ready for you to move in.
Free Coloring Page Printable: Cute House
Click the picture above to view the full-size coloring page. Just right-click save the image. It is:
Huge: 2400 px X 3000 px
8″ x 10″ at 300 DPI
Going to print beautifully for you 🙂
Click here for a .PDF file of the same image, if you prefer. You can resize it to fit any paper you have handy. I think this would be awesome on card stock. Watercolor paper would be especially nifty if your printer can handle it.
Or pin this page for later. Everyone has a coloring page board, right? Right?
Coloring not your thing?
But like, that’s a pretty cute house still. So I put him on t-shirts and stickers and even duvet covers. Go check out my RedBubble shop to see.
Want to peek behind the scenes of Celia Agnes? Maybe you’d like some discounts for my offerings, or to be the first to know about new features and products. Members of my newsletter get those things every Sunday. I would love to see you there!
You can start art journaling anytime, anywhere. Even if you only have one piece of paper. But even if you have a whole fancy journal, where do you start? If you need a bit of inspiration, here are 5 art journal prompts to get you started.
The first 3 are very specific. If you think you can’t draw or make things, or you haven’t for a while, these prompts will help you start art journaling without fear.
The last two prompts are a bit more open. They can be as complicated or as simple as you want. I hope you can use some ideas from the previous prompts if you get stuck. 🙂
Fill a page with triangles.
Draw them.
Paint them.
Cut them out of pretty tape or junk mail and glue them in.
Or do all of that at once. 🙂
Grab a newspaper, junk mail, magazine, or anything with big letters.
Pick some of your favorite words.
Outline these words by hand on the next page.
You can slide the words under your work and trace if you like.
Fill up the entire page. The more fonts the better.
Then, fill them up with color or patterns.
Make 5 circles on the next page.
Now find a favorite poem, long quote, book passage, etc. online or in person.
Fill in the space around the circles by copying your chosen text.
Make lots of sheet ghosts in fancy sheets next.
Make a rainy day on your last page.
And that’s all! I hope you found these prompts easy and inspirational. If you make them, please let me see! Tag me @ceiltastic on Instagram and Twitter.
Ready for more?
Want to peek behind the scenes of Celia Agnes? Maybe you’d like some discounts for my offerings, or to be the first to know about new features and products. Members of my newsletter get those things every Sunday. I would love to see you there!
Yup. It is possible to make a DIY mini journal from just one single sheet of paper. I’m trying to whittle away every last excuse you have for not starting some type of journaling. 🙂
These tiny booklets are versatile little things. They are great for recording your day, either in words or pictures. A seven day week fits inside perfectly, with room for a front or back cover. You can even print your digital work on them beforehand, then fold them into small zines or brochures. Wouldn’t that be an adorable freebie for your clients or customers? I would be stoked on 8 little pages from my favorite artist.
DIY Mini Journal Supplies
One sheet of paper, any size or type.
Scissors or a craft knife
Ruler if you’re using a knife
Optional glue stick, adhesive roller, or tape if you want to seal the pages
Optional deco like washi tape, stickers, labels etc.
Keep in mind that this is not perfect bookbinding. The paper will get slightly distorted from folding. You can trim the edges when you’re done. Or you can embrace the mild chaos. It’s up to you.
Thicker papers will show distortion a lot more. You can fudge the pages around in the last step to get them to lie better. Just keep that in mind if you decide to print on thicker papers.
Step One
Fold the paper short ways. Hamburger style. Unfold and recrease in the opposite direction, like origami. Unfold.
Step Two
Fold the paper long ways. Hotdog style. Unfold and recrease in the opposite direction. Keep it folded.
Step Three
Fold one end to the middle crease. Unfold and recrease in the opposite direction. Repeat on the opposite end. Unfold.
Step Four
Fold the paper short ways, hamburger style, again. There will be a crease down the center. Starting at the creased edge of your hamburger, cut to the middle of the center crease. This partial cut allows you to make the book. Unfold.
Step Five
Fold the paper long ways, hotdog style, again. Push the ends towards each other. The paper will start to buckle up. Finesse the pages in to a book as show.
Boom. You can stop here if you like and get to filling in your new journal. You can stick the open side together to form more solid pages. Or you can hide secret drawings between them. *wiggly fingers*
Are you making one of these? I would love to see it. Tag me @ceiltastic on Instagram and Twitter, or post to the Celia Agnes Facebook page.
Ready for more?
Want to peek behind the scenes of Celia Agnes? Maybe you’d like some discounts for my offerings, or to be the first to know about new features and products. Members of my newsletter get those things every Sunday. I would love to see you there!
Free Printable Wall Art Download
