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It’s Okay to Copy!

When I was growing up, I was taught not to copy other people’s work. It was considered dishonest and cheating. That, of course was even more true in college and graduate school.

For most of the last 20 years, I’ve made my living as a freelance writer, and I can tell you that the rule has not changed–at least for writers. The technical term, of course, is plagiarism, and it has ruined more than one writer’s career.

However, there is one area where copying is not only acceptable, it’s encouraged–under certain circumstances. That’s in art. 

For many years, artists have honed their craft by copying the works of the old masters. Although there are some who discourage this practice because they feel it hinders originality, there is much to be said for learning to draw and paint by copying the works of master artists.

If you have a young student who wants to learn and grow as an artist, and who is up for a challenge, encourage them to try copying some classic works of art. I’ve linked to some blogs below to help you get started.

And don’t forget to have fun.

Here are some blog posts worth reading:

DRAWING TIPS FOR COPYING OLD MASTERS DRAWINGS

THE THREE STEPS TO BECOMING A BETTER PAINTER

IS COPYING THE MASTERS BAD OR GOOD?

 

Enjoy these random selections from the blog:

And don’t forget to visit our store! Here are a few of our products that will help you have a first class art program at home:

How to Draw a Marigold Mandala

Marigold Mandala on green background. See the Light Digital Art Projects

Digital Art Projects 1: Marigold Mandala

About the Project:

Here’s a very basic digital art project. No bells or whistles on this one. Just one layer, using a symmetry tool and flood fill.

This is a good, and relatively easy, starter project for a beginner in digital art. 

I titled this, marigold mandala, but didn’t think of that name until after I did the video. As I was drawing, the design kept reminding me of a particular type of flower, but I didn’t remember the name “marigold” until later.

Lesson Objective:

To gain a basic familiarity with the tools and software we’ll be using for future digital art projects, specifically the symmetry tool and autofill (bucket) tool. Also, how to set up a digital canvas. 

 

Resources Needed:

To create this project, I used Autodesk Sketchbook (sketchbook.com) with a Wacom Intuos Pro graphics tablet.

You can download Sketchbook free at: www.sketchbook.com

You can get a graphics tablet and pressure-sensitive stylus as low as $27 HERE

Content Guide:

Intro & Software/Hardware – 0:00
Navigating Sketchbook – 4:06
Set Up Your Canvas – 8:00
Select Your Brush – 10:15
Set Up the Symmetry Tool – 11:00
Draw the Mandala – 12:42
Color the Mandala – 18:12

Devotional Thought:

Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these (Luke 12:27 NIV). 

All people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall (I Peter 1:24 NIV).

It’s interesting to note that when scripture refers to flowers, it is almost always with an eye towards either God’s provision or peoples’ temporality. The two verses above are representative of the divergent thought lines. In one, Jesus instructs his hearers to consider the wildflowers, how God clothes them even more majestically than Solomon in his splendor. In the second verse, Peter is quoting from Isaiah 40 and emphasizing that human splendor and glory passes away with the speed and finality of a flower dying.

They are dramatically different thoughts, and yet there is a powerful connection. I am to trust in the God who created the heavens and the earth, knowing that He will provide for me–whatever I need. The wildflowers are to be my example. 

On the other hand, I should never seek my own glory and power, because I–and my presence and glory on this earth–will pass away quickly and with barely a trace left behind. The wildflowers are to be my example.

As you draw this digital “flower,” remember the wildflowers. They will remind you to trust God and seek his kingdom and glory–not your own. — Jim Pence

See the Light Art Class 9-DVD Boxed Set
Try 3 Free Lessons!

Download 3 video art lessons on us!

What you’ll learn…

The foundational skill of art is drawing.

Whether you’re using a pencil, pen, brush, or a piece of chalk, it’s all about drawing.

In your free lessons, you’ll learn…

…The basics of what makes a drawing
…What you need to have in your drawing “toolkit”
…The most essential skill of drawing
…How to synchronize your hand and your eyes
…The basics of composition

Ring of Tulips 2

Ring of Tulips Lesson, Part 2

About the Project

In Part 2 of the Ring of Tulips project, Jim shows how to add depth and variety to the tulip image created last week. He also demonstrates the value of “happy accidents,” as something unexpected happens with the airbrush–and ends up part of the final picture.

Lesson Objective: 

Continue to master the use of the selection, symmetry, and airbrush tools. You also learn how to crop an image and explore the brush library in this lesson.

Resources Needed:

To create this project, I used Autodesk Sketchbook (sketchbook.com) with a Wacom Intuos Pro graphics tablet.

You can download Sketchbook free at: www.sketchbook.com

You can get a graphics tablet and pressure-sensitive stylus as low as $27 HERE
(Note: This is not an affiliate link. It is only included for your convenience.)

Content Guide:

0:00 – 2:27  Change Background Color.

2:27 – 10:40 Add Texture and Interest to the Background.

10:41 – 16:09 Use the Airbrush Tool to Color the Petals.

16:10 – End Use the Airbrush, Select, and Symmetry Tools to Color the Leaves & Stems

 

Music courtesy of BenSound:  http://bensound.com

Devotional Thought:

A Surprise Plot-Twist in Proverbs! (Proverbs 26:1-12)

I’ve had several novels published, and one of my favorite parts of fiction writing was introducing plot twists. 

Well, plot twists aren’t only for fiction writers. In fact, one of the all time great plot twists can be found in, of all places, the book of Proverbs. The writer leads you down one path (talking about fools) for 11 verses, then BOOM, switches directions and makes a 90-degree shift and hits us all where we live.

The passage is Proverbs 26:1-12 and it begins like this:

Like snow in summer or rain in harvest,
    honor is not fitting for a fool (Prov. 26:1 NIV).

Then, for the next 10 verses, the writer characterizes fools, and basically paints a pretty hopeless picture of them. In fact, reading the passage could almost make you look down on these hapless, totally unreliable people that the writer of proverbs describes merely as fools.

Ah, but the writer of Proverbs has something else in mind here. He does not intend to make a point about fools as much as he does about pride.

In verse 12, he writes:

Do you see a person wise in their own eyes?
    There is more hope for a fool than for them.

BOOM!

That is what might be called a “gotcha” moment. This whole time we’ve been nodding our heads and agreeing how hopeless fools can be. Then he looks at us and says, “Oh, by the way, do you know someone who sees himself as wise? There is more hope for a fool than for that person. 

Ouch!

The point of those 12 verses isn’t the hopelessness of fools; it’s the blindness of pride. The truly hopeless person is one who is wise in his own eyes, for he sees no need to change. 

May God help us to set aside pride and walk in humility to all around us, and especially toward God.

Draw a Dazzling Ring of Tulips

Digital Art Projects - Ring of Tulips, Part 1. See the Light Art

About the Project

Learn how to create a stencil effect by drawing a dazzling ring of tulips.

Lesson Objective: 

Develop digital drawing skills by drawing a circle of tulips (stylized) and laying in the base colors. 

Learn to work with symmetry, layers, autofill, reference photos.

Resources Needed:

To create this project, I used Autodesk Sketchbook (sketchbook.com) with a Wacom Intuos Pro graphics tablet.

You can download Sketchbook free at: www.sketchbook.com

You can get a graphics tablet and pressure-sensitive stylus as low as $27 HERE

Tulip photos courtesy of:

Stux – Pixabay.com:
https://pixabay.com/photos/tulip-lily-spring-nature-flowers-65789/

Annie Spratt – Unsplash.com
https://unsplash.com/photos/QJ_NKUci2L8
https://unsplash.com/photos/ofzbB_ntUnE

Music courtesy of:

BenSound
http://bensound.com

Related Video Lessons:

Learn about Selection Tools

Learn about Symmetry Tools

Learn about Layers

 

Content Guide:

0:00-5:00 Planning the Drawing (Reference Photos)

5:00-9:40 Drawing the Ring of Tulips (Symmetry Tool)

9:40-14:15 Coloring the Tulips (Layers, Select Tool, Flood Fill)

14:15-18:05 Coloring the Stems & Leaves (Layers, Select Tool, Flood Fill)

 

Devotional Thought:

In recent months (years, actually), I’ve found myself getting discouraged when I watch the news. Sometimes I get downright angry. 

Road rage, senseless killings, racism, terrorism, hate-filled people. There’s so much evil in our world, and it’s getting worse. 

Some might say it’s just better not to watch the news. Maybe that’s true. But it’s impossible to exist in our high-tech, always connected world without hearing about all the evil around us. How should we respond?

Sadly, I often find myself getting angry and discouraged.

Last week I was listening to a recording of the psalms, and I heard something that impacted me deeply. I’ve heard/read this psalm hundreds, if not thousands, of times. But last week, the words of psalm 37 caught my heart in a new way.

I don’t have the space to go into the whole psalm here, but three times the psalmist tells us: “Do not fret because of evildoers.” In verse 8, he pointedly says, “Do not fret–it leads only to evil.”

When I read that, I realized how much I’d been fretting over evildoers and their success in this world. I also understood that such fretting only hurts me (“It leads only to evil.”)

What’s the alternative? 

The psalmist gives four appropriate responses:

1. Trust in the Lord (v. 3)

2. Delight in the Lord (v. 4)

3. Commit your way to the Lord (v. 5)

4. Be still before the Lord (v. 7)

5. Refrain from anger and turn from wrath (v. 8)

Rather than responding in anger to the world around me, I should commit my way to the Lord and calmly trust in him.

Art Project: His Eye is on the Sparrow – Pt. 5

Draw the Fence Posts and Sparrow

In this pastel painting workshop from See the Light, artist Jim Pence demonstrates how to draw the fence posts and sparrow in his pastel painting, “His Eye is on the Sparrow.”

See the Light Art Class 9-DVD Boxed Set
Try 3 Free Lessons!

Download 3 video art lessons on us!

What you’ll learn…

The foundational skill of art is drawing.

Whether you’re using a pencil, pen, brush, or a piece of chalk, it’s all about drawing.

In your free lessons, you’ll learn…

…The basics of what makes a drawing
…What you need to have in your drawing “toolkit”
…The most essential skill of drawing
…How to synchronize your hand and your eyes
…The basics of composition

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Art Project: His Eye is on the Sparrow, Pt 4

Draw a Field of Yellow Flowers

Summer Art Project: Draw the Foreground

In this workshop from See the Light,  artist Jim Pence demonstrates how to draw the foreground in his pastel painting, “His Eye is on the Sparrow.”

You’ll need some yellow pastels to do this part of the drawing.

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