Image Editing Software That's Cheap or Free

Thrifty Thursday

Many of us are familiar with Adobe Photoshop and all the cool stuff you can do with it and the price tag that comes along with it, every month. To help the ease the money burden of buying an image editing software here are a few apps that you can get when starting out and trying to save a little money.

***This is not a sponsored blog these are just some of the products that I personally use. You can always explore and find other options.***

Here are some features to look for when selecting your image editing software.
export formats - What types of formats can you save your file in (ex. jpeg, png, gif…)
layers - can you work in layers to work nondestructively
platforms - what platforms does it work on (ios, microsoft, linux)
learning curve - how difficult will it be to learn
support - does it offer any user support if you have questions or if there are any issues

Below is a list of the image editing apps I have either used or was recommended by a friend. Feel free to try them out or find an app on your own, just make sure to really review the apps features.

The list is alphabetical order only:

Adobe Photoshop Elements
Affinity
CyberLink PhotoDirector
Fotor - free version
GIMP - free
Krita - free
Paint.NET - free
PhotoScape - free version
Pixlr - free version

Thanks for stopping by, see you next time. Remember to like and follow for more great art lessons.

Find The Right Colored Pencils For You

Thrifty Thursday

It’s Thursday and we are being thrifty but not cheap. Color pencils are one of the art supplies where you still need to watch out for quality, cheaper is not always better. Not to worry I am not going to suggest go out and buy the most expensive., there is a happy medium. First let’s go over what makes a quality colored pencil and the types of colored pencils.

Quality in colored Pencils:
Rich in color/pigmentation - bright, clean colors
Highly lightfast - does not fade easily
Easily layered - can color over other colors t build layers
Limited Breakage - does not break easily

Types of Colored Pencils:
Colored pencils come in a variety of grades. Student grade are usually cheap don’t have as much pigment or are highly lightfast. Artist grade cost a little more and have more pigment and blend a little better. Professional grade are the most expensive with rich colors and great lightfastness.

You can get color pencils that are wax based and oil based. These will behave differently and it’s a good idea to try out several different brands and types of colored pencils before investing in a set.

My suggestion for price, quality and variety of colors is the Prismacolor Premier color pencils. They are a really good pencil for beginners and some professionals prefer them as well.

It really comes down to personal taste so buy a few individual pencils from different brands to find one you prefer. You can always mix the brands.

Thanks for stoping by and see you next time. Remember to like and follow

*This is not a sponsored blog these are just some of the products that I personally use. You can always explore and find other options.

Inexpensive Canvas for Beginners

Thrifty Thursday

So you decided to take up painting and started looking for all of your supplies. You walk into your neighborhood art store see the prices of painting supplies and almost pass out. “What?!,” you say. “Are you kidding me?!” Yes painting supplies can cost a lot of money but it’s ok you don’t need the most expensive supplies to get started. Canvas ranges in value and types so lets take a look at your options.

Canvas Types:
Canvas paper - heavy weight paper that is coated to handle paint (make sure its made for your paint type: oil, acrylic or watercolor) Some may need to be prepped before painting.
Canvas panels - thin heavy weight cardboard that is covered with primed canvas on one side, ready to paint.
Masonite - thin wood pulp panel (needs to be primed with gesso before painting)
Stretched Canvas - wood frame covered with canvas, usually primed and ready to paint.

Canvas panels in a value pack for beginners is my suggestion. This will be the least expensive option but still have the canvas feel. You will be able to get several panels to work on. Keep to the smaller sizes to keep the cost down and your motivation going, working on a big painting and not finishing because of the size is not what you want.

Stretched canvas in value packs is my next choice for beginners. This gives the real feel of canvas and you can get a few canvases to work on. Once again keep the size on the smaller side.

Thanks for stopping by, see you next time. Remember to click the like button and leave a comment below.

*This is not a sponsored blog these are just some of the products that I personally use. You can always explore and find other options.

Best Acrylic Paints for your Money

Thrifty Thursday

Hello everyone and thanks for stopping by remember to leave a comment and follow for more art tips.

Usually on Thursdays I talk about inexpensive art supplies but today is going to be a little different. We are going to talk about acrylic paint and cheaper is not necessarily better when staring out and learning about color and how to paint. So we will review acrylic paints that are the least expensive but have decent quality needed to learn color and how to paint. Everyone is different so I would suggest to buy only a few colors (blue, red, yellow and white) to try out the brand you choose and see if it works for you. The colors you use matter but that is a topic (color theory) for another post, it’s a lot of information.

What to look for when picking out your acrylic paint:
opacity - how well the paint covers the surface and another color
brightness - how much pigment which makes the color (more pigment better color)
colorfastness - how much will the colors fade over time when exposed to light.

Grades of acrylic paint:
Student grade have the lowest pigment and cheaper ingredients.
Artist grade often use the same pigments as professional paints, but use less.
Professional are the best quality grade. With highest quality pigments and best ingredients.

With this in mind my suggestion would be Utrecht Artists’ or Windsor & Newton Professional acrylic paints. They cover well and the pigments are bright, they mix pretty well also.

If you want to spend a little more and get a more professional acrylic paint try Liquitex Professional or Golden Heavy Body Artist acrylic paints. They cost more but I think they are worth it for really learning color and painting. M. Graham Artists' acrylic paints is another professional brand but they cost a bit more and I haven’t noticed much difference from Liquitex or Golden.

This is not a sponsored blog these are just some of the products that I personally use. You can always explore and find other options. Remember it’s how the paint feels to you and if you are comfortable using that particular brand.

Thanks for stopping by and wee you next time.

*This is not a sponsored blog these are just some of the products that I personally use. You can always explore and find other options.

Great Beginner Watercolor Paints

Thrifty Thursday

Watercolor painting can be fun and expensive but there are affordable options out there. Let’s take a look at the different watercolor paint types.

Watercolor paints can be liquid or solid, tubes (liquid) or pans (solid). There are a variety of colors and they vary depending on the brand. You can buy a set of colors or select individual colors that fit your needs.

An affordable way to go is with a pan set that has the necessary colors for you to get started. Another option is to get a few select colors to start with. If just starting out I would suggest getting a set so you don’t have to worry about selecting colors.

Once you are comfortable with watercolors and have decided you like painting move onto getting individual tubes so you can set up your color palette the way you like it.

Some inexpensive pan sets you can find: Prang, MeiLiang, or Winsor & Newton Cotman Water Colour (pocket) watercolor sets.  For the least expensive watercolor tube paints Winsor & Newton Cotman are a good start.

View fullsize

View fullsize

View fullsize

This is not a sponsored blog these are just some of the products that I personally use. You can always explore and find other options.

Thanks for stopping by, see you next time.

*This is not a sponsored blog these are just some of the products that I personally use. You can always explore and find other options.

Best Cheap Charcoal Pencils for Beginners

Thrifty Thursday

Charcoal pencils are another great tool when first starting out in art. They are very forgiving to use and you don’t need a ton to start with. Don’t worry about getting the most expensive charcoal pencils. Inexpensive brand pencils work just as well, sometimes even better than the expensive brands.

Just like with graphite pencils buy only a few different levels of hardness. In the past I was using the Ritmo brand but found they had changed and seemed to break more easily so I switched back to General’s, the brand I used in college.

When using your charcoal pencils if you feel like there are tiny rocks in the pencil or the pencil seems to just scratch the paper, sharpen your pencil to remove the hard part. If this continues or seems to happen often then you may need to switch brands.

Pencil Basics:

The numbers and letters on the pencils correspond with the hardness of the charcoal.

Pencil numbers with an “H” = harder pencils and make lighter lines
Pencil numbers with a “B” = softer pencils and make darker lines

Created with Generals charcoal pencils on toned paper

Save Your Money on Paper

Thrift Thursday

Paper cheaper by the ream/bundle

Paper plays an important part of art, whether you are sketching or drawing. Quality paper is important but if you are just sketching or working out ideas, a ream of heavy weight copy paper is a good alternative to buying a sketchbook or art paper. It’s much cheaper per sheet than a sketchbook from an art store and it holds the drawing media just fine. Wet media does not work as well but you could still use markers, ballpoint pens or sharpies.

If you want to keep all of your sketches together or want a handy way to hold all of the paper while you are out and about sketching hole punch the copy paper. Put all of the loose sheets of paper in a cheap binder and you are all set.

Paper Basics:

• Paper weight - how thick the paper is.
  Heavier weight = thicker paper (example: 20lb. thin paper - 80lb. thick paper)\

• Paper brightness - how bright the paper is, brighter paper appears whiter.

• Paper surface - the finish or texture of the paper.
  Hot press = smooth surface
  Cold press = slightly bumpy, textured surface

color pencil on copy paper (two pieces taped together)

Thanks for stopping by, until next time keep drawing.

Great Inexpensive Pens for Beginners

Thrifty Thursday

Ink pens can cost a lot and there are so many different types and brands to choose from. If you are just starting out and need to be thrifty and save on art supplies a ballpoint pen works great for drawing. You can buy them by the pack and pick them up from just about anywhere. No need to try and find an art store, just go to your local big box retailer and they will have a variety of pens to choose from. Bic and Papermate are some of the cheapest ball point pens. If you want to be able to vary your line weight while drawing you can look for some brush pens. Tombow, Zebra and Bimoji are good affordable options for a brush pen. Find a pen that works for you and keep drawing.

Inked with a Zebra pen

Pen Basics:

There are different types of pens that you can use for your drawing: felt tip, ball point, gel, dip pen and brush pens to name a few.

Waterproof Ink = ink when dried is resistant to water and will not bleed (smudge) when water is applied.
Non-waterproof Ink = ink that will smudge when water is applied, even if you let it dry for several days.

Best cheap pencils for beginning artist

Thursday Thrift

Graphite pencils are a great tool if you are just getting started with art, as a student, hobbyist or you just feel like sketching. You don’t have to get a ton of pencils with all the different levels of hardness or get the most expensive brand to get started. Start simple and buy a few different pencils with different levels of hardness and you are all set.

sketched with Ticonderoga number 2 pencil

You can go old school with a Ticonderoga Number 2 pencil like when you were in grade school or get a Bic mechanical pencil, they can be found anywhere no need to go find an art store. The sketch above was all done with a Ticonderoga number 2 pencil, the kind you may have used in grade school.

Grade school pencils

Pencil Basics:

The numbers and letters on the pencils correspond with the hardness of the graphite.

Pencil numbers with an “H” = harder pencils and make lighter lines
Pencil numbers with a “B” = softer pencils and make darker lines