When I was little, I had books that showed you how to use a series of shapes to draw an animal. It was amazing to see those shapes come together to make something realistic! I still love working step by step to create an awesome result, and that’s why there are so many art tutorials on the TPK blog! Today, I have compiled a list of my favorite art tutorials on this website. This list goes from oldest to newest — so don’t be surprised if you see something from yesteryear that you missed!
1. DIY Modern Silhouette Tutorial
The DIY Modern Silhouette Tutorial uses watercolor and floral doodles to make the subject stand out! The tutorial uses a woman’s silhouette, but you could apply this concept to any silhouette (guitar, house, hand, whatever). Medium: Pen and Ink, Watercolor | Skill Level: Beginner
2. Spatter Watercolor Tree Tutorial
The Spatter Watercolor Tree Tutorial shows you how to paint trees using basic watercolor techniques. First, you make splatters of different tones of green. Once the watercolor dries, you paint in the branches! Medium: Watercolor | Skill Level: Beginner
3. Botanical Letter Tutorial
The eye-catching Botanical Letter Tutorial requires some freehand drawing! If you’re not comfortable drawing botanicals, you can always try using a simpler subject to fill the letter in. Medium: Pen and Ink, Watercolor | Skill Level: Intermediate
4. Galaxy Effect Watercolor Art Tutorial
The Galaxy Effect Watercolor Art Tutorial is a guest post by artist Gaby Friedman. In the tutorial, Gaby shows you how to use frisket, white ink, and rubbing alcohol to make an awesome galaxy effect! Medium: Pen and White Ink, Watercolor | Skill Level: Beginner/Intermediate
5. Herbal Watercolor Tutorial
The Herbal Watercolor Tutorial is one of my very favorite art tutorials on the TPK website! In it, you’ll learn how to use a light box to make an easy foundation for painting. You’ll also learn how to build up colors to create dazzling contrast. Make sure you have an hour or two to try this one out! Medium: Watercolor | Skill Level: Intermediate/Advanced
6. Hand-Painted Tiles Illustration Tutorial
Microglaze gives these Hand-Painted Tiles Illustrations an authentic shine! Don’t forget to use art masking fluid to preserve white highlights along the edges of the tiles … it makes them look more realistic. Medium: Pen and Ink, Watercolor | Skill Level: Beginner (Simple Tile Design)/Intermediate (Detailed Tile Design)
7. Embellished Fish DIY Card Tutorial
The Embellished Fish DIY Card Tutorial includes a free printable stencil so you get the cutout right every time! Make sure you have some watercolor paper on hand to make this project. Flimsier paper will bubble because of the moisture from the paint! Medium: Pen, Watercolor | Skill Level: Advanced Beginner/Intermediate
8. How to Draw Gemstones with Crayons Tutorial
I still can’t believe that wax crayons can make such convincing gemstones! The How to Draw Gemstones with Crayons tutorial shows you how to use colored pencils, wax crayons, and white ink to create gemstones that look like the real deal. Medium: Colored Pencil, Wax Crayon, Ink (or Paint) | Skill Level: Advanced Beginner
I know that oftentimes life prevents us from being able to make every project that we want to! That said, art doesn’t have to be a one session sort of thing. If you like one of these art tutorials, try to get it started! If you’re interrupted, no big deal: just circle back to it later. You’ll enjoy the quiet time that the creation process brings, and the (awesome) result of your labor is the payoff!
I hope that you enjoyed this post, and if you know of any other art tutorials (TPK or not) that you think others may like to try, please feel free to share them in the comments! Thanks very much for reading the TPK blog, and enjoy the rest of your day.
Warmly,
I agree, Lindsey! You have gathered a lovely collection of tutorials! Thanks so much for sharing your talent and knowledge with us!
Thanks, Dee! 🙂
I’ve been with the blog for awhile now and time after time, the Galaxy Effect Watercolor Art Tutorial is my favorite. This is still one art tutorial that is simply eye catching. What a wonderful tutorial by Gaby. I’m surprised your hand drawn maps or the Christmas gift tags didn’t make the list?? Those are truly amazing.
I think your stars and planet letters would make a great font. (How to Develop an Artistic Hand Lettering Style)
And your husband does an amazing job with the site. I love how I can just click on the tag words to find more posts. I.e. Inspiration
Thanks again for showing your work and sharing with us.
Haha! This comment made me so happy — you have a fantastic memory. 🙂 I did consider the Christmas tags, actually, but then I decided that that probably wasn’t a tutorial that would get people excited in the middle of June! I love those. And the maps are wonderful! Just a bit time consuming, and I’m afraid that the tutorial needs to be redone to make it a bit more understandable. Still … I am so happy that you thought of those! And thank you for the compliment for Hernán; I’ll pass that on to him. I think a lot of people don’t think about the technical side, so that’s very kind!
This article is a great idea. I love being reminded of all your beautiful ideas (almost summer – hope to find some time to make something). I like it very much that you also added some older tutorials. I’ve been following you for quite some time now, but still missed out some of the older ones, like the silhouette and the trees. Love them both! I have been collecting silhouettes for more than two years and now suddenly I know what I can use them for! Thanks for the inspiration!
Enjoy your weekend, Nele
I thought that would be the case — that some of the older tutorials had slipped through the cracks! The photos aren’t as good and the directions probably aren’t as clear, but they’re still worth a look. 🙂 And I can see you making a fantastic silhouette!
What a great collection!
Thanks, Andrea! 🙂 I thought you might particularly like the spatter tree tutorial … it would look really neat on a card!