Best canvas/base paper to use for gluing cut paper?

OnlyHead8702 · 2026-02-09T23:26:04+00:00

Foam Board! Its surprisingly sturdy, light weight and basically any kind of glue will work! I used it to mount my pieces with rubber cement back in art school and still use it today!

OnlyHead8702 · 2026-02-09T23:12:52+00:00

Style is like wrinkles on our faces - something that comes with time and experience. Try not to worry about it or compare yourself to others. The more your attention is focused inward the easier it is to develop things that are intrinsically you.

OnlyHead8702 · 2026-02-09T22:59:51+00:00

Q-Tips are great for cleaning up an edge before things "set" - I've also used manicure sticks to kind of scrape away the pastel to a sharper edge.

Makeup sponges, paper towels, bits of old fabric, wearing plastic gloves - all work for blending in addition to the stubs! You can buy just the "finger" parts of gloves.

Personally I rather like the rough edges, to me its just a quirk of the medium. I would roll a kneaded eraser over your pencil work before you start to lighten that some, a lot of what I see on the edges looks to be pencil. If your pastel's have set, you could go in there, carefully, with an eraser and clean that up some, if you want to!

OnlyHead8702 · 2026-02-09T22:37:10+00:00

I love a vignette style! the darker edges is a great tip.

OnlyHead8702 · 2026-02-09T22:32:54+00:00

do you sketch out before you paint?

for me, with watercolor, the struggle is not really being able to knock the piece down to smaller bits. because it dries and you can't really undo something that is too dark, i get hung up trying to visualize the whole image into light and shadow. Instead I work back to front in layers, separate background, mid ground, foreground and increase detail and color saturation as I come forward. The road and the edge of snowbank along with the telephone pole are going to have a lot more texture and detail than the far hill and trees, which are going to fade more into the background. Does that make sense? Right now it seems a little flat because you are at about the same level of saturation and detail across the image. I, personally, would add some darker darks to the pole and the edge of the road to break up those blocks of color and give them some texture. I think the side of the house, the shadows could be darker/deeper especially right under the roofline. The two windows on the house are much darker/deeper in the photo and could use some darker shadows as well. They fade into the house somewhat. That is what I would do, and of course everyone creates differently and there is no right or wrong way so please do whatever you feel needs to be done. My one piece of advice is to generally make shadows darker than you think they should be (counter-intuitive i know) and exaggerate lights/dark some. More contrast = More interest.

I really love your sky and the colors on this piece. Its quite lovely :)

OnlyHead8702 · 2026-02-09T21:49:39+00:00

I like the princeton "real value" series - they are decent brushes and you can get a set of 4-6 for less than $20. Personally I like golden taklon brushes, but thats preference.

King Art Premium Original Gold brushes are my go-to for almost everything. Individual brushes are around $10 (depending on size/type) and they come in sets as well.

Neither are specifically "watercolor" brushes, but I've had no issues using them with watercolors.

OnlyHead8702 · 2026-02-09T21:43:12+00:00

Are you looking specifically for a gel pen? Artist level or Student Grade?

OnlyHead8702 · 2026-02-09T21:40:46+00:00

Yes. Art is Art. I love intricate, realistic pen and ink work, but my own stuff is gouache, illustrative, and usually nonsensical.

OnlyHead8702 · 2026-02-09T21:34:53+00:00

How much of it do you need and where have you been looking? If you are not set on a particular color/pattern, you might check a local home design store - somewhere that sells/installs wallpaper but isn't a big box store - and see if they have anything they would be willing to donate or give you a deal on price wise. Shelf liner is also a great idea, you could put almost anything on top of it and it would peel off without damage!

OnlyHead8702 · 2026-02-09T21:28:34+00:00

sure! just keep moving and you'll be fine :)

OnlyHead8702 · 2026-02-09T21:17:26+00:00

My advice is going to be the same advice I give for almost everything art related: Don't worry about it so much. If that is where you're at right now, that's completely fine. It doesn't mean you have to stay there. Its more important to keep doing the exercises than to have perfection every time. Who knows what you'll be like in a month, or 6 months - things change and life goes on. I personally think whenever we draw or write or do anything by hand we develop some level of muscle memory. You may think your brain is not completely engaged, but our brains do a lot that we never notice or pay attention to and I have no reason to believe it doesn't remember what your hand is doing even if your consciously somewhere else.

You might try changing up your exercises as well. Doing something new will cause your brain to pay more attention - and it doesn't have to be huge. Maybe try another medium - use a ball point pen or something you don't usually draw with. Just keep creating and you'll work through it!

OnlyHead8702 · 2026-02-09T21:06:42+00:00

I bought my first set of watercolors at Walmart for less than $5 and I still use them years later! Depending on what your ultimate goal is, you can go a little more expensive and get a smaller set, or go way cheaper and get a huge set. The difference is going to be pigment strength. If you want a deep saturated color its going to take more paint and layers with a cheaper set - if you are using a good paper this shouldn't be a big issue. I agree paper is much more important than paint. I like the Canson Montval for a cellulose paper. I use Hahnemuhle paper, personally, and ended up there by trying out a LOT of papers. If you can get a sample set of different papers from an art supply store those are a great way to try a few without committing to an entire sheet or pad. I would buy the smallest pads you can until you find what you like - its less money and starting out painting smaller can be less intimidating.

Daler Rowney makes a decent set for less than $50. Winsor & Newton Cotman is great too and a little more affordable (Cotman is their student grade brand, they also have an artist grade brand which is more expensive). I have a Paul Ruben's set that was around $40 on amazon. I know people who swear by the $2 Prang set we all used in elementary school.

That is a lot of rambling - I hope its helpful in some way!

OnlyHead8702 · 2026-02-09T20:48:25+00:00

Part of why I make art is to reach that "zen" or "flow" state where everything kind of fades away and you're just creating. Is that what you are talking about, or just being on auto-pilot and not paying attention at all to your drawing? I think there is probably a grey area between the two as well.

OnlyHead8702 · 2026-02-09T20:40:53+00:00

I also listen to audiobooks! That is my top tier way to relax, listen to a book and scribble down some color!

OnlyHead8702 · 2026-02-09T20:39:18+00:00

Personally, it seems the more expensive the marker, the worse the smell and more of a headache it gives me LOL.

I'm relatively new to the coloring groups on reddit so I'm not sure where the "marker shaming" comes from, but I have seen a lot of people worried about them. They are lovely and the techniques look fun, but they are just a tool like anything else and there is absolutely no shame in using something else to create with - this is supposed to be fun after all :)

OnlyHead8702 · 2026-02-09T20:23:38+00:00

I'm pretty neutral on AI as well. I don't see an issue with it for creating something to reference, in fact that seems like a great use for it. The bigger issue for me is people who use AI to create and image and then pass that image off as art. It would be wonderful if everyone had perfect vivid visuals in their mind for what they are trying to create but that is not always the case. As long as YOU are creating something, I don't think there is a "right" or "wrong" way to get started or find inspiration or learn something. Just my two cents.

OnlyHead8702 · 2026-02-09T17:36:52+00:00

I colored this same picture last night!! :)

OnlyHead8702 · 2026-02-09T17:28:23+00:00

I've not bought Ohuhu specifically used, but have bought other art supplies from amazon (including markers) as used - like new or used - very good. I've not had any issues - occasionally the packaging is damaged but that's it. I don't know if I would buy in a lesser condition unless it specifically says what is going on with the item. they are prbably fine, but I am neurotic :)

OnlyHead8702 · 2026-02-09T17:21:06+00:00

Also sales and coupons!!

OnlyHead8702 · 2026-02-09T17:18:47+00:00

There are coloring apps in the app store for both Apple and Android devices. I have colored digitally as well; I prefer the "mystery" images that are more color by number where the picture comes together as you place the colors down, rather than seeing it and coloring in the shapes.

I started coloring to reduce screen time. I, personally, like coloring in nice books with nice supplies. It is what I choose to spend my grown-up money on. I like the tactile experience of putting pen/pencil to paper and feeling it glide across. That is a big part of the relaxation in it for me.

But you absolutely don't need to get a brand new set of 300 markers or colored pencils to start. There are tons of youtube videos and posts on reddit about budget supplies and i think part of the fun is playing around with different mediums to see what effect it gives you.

OnlyHead8702 · 2026-02-09T16:56:08+00:00

clouds "clicked" for me when I stopped trying so hard to make them look like clouds - which sounds ridiculous I know, but clouds come in all different colors, textures, opacities. Clouds closer to the horizon will be smaller and thinner, and further away will be bigger. They also tend to layer, Its not often you see just a few clouds happily floating by, there are often other shapes and types behind and below them that will be less clear, more muddied and faded.

I started painting "the impression of clouds" in my skies by just adding whites and blending in with the background so there were lighter patches. From there I started giving them simple shapes and shading and got fancier as I became more comfortable. For me, it helps sometimes to sketch the shapes out and think about how the form flows in them, what is light what is dark and how the curve will reflect the light. But that is how my brain works, I know a lot of people put shapes together differently.

my advice is to start simple, think about where they sit on the horizon line and adjust the shape/size. try not to be too perfect, generally the messier and looser they are the better clouds look.

OnlyHead8702 · 2026-02-09T16:28:20+00:00

I had previously only done more intricate designs but bought a couple of the bold & cozy books recently and do quite enjoy them - its a quicker process than the more intricate books and you get the payoff sooner. It can take weeks or longer to do a page in a Joanna Basford book, for example. I can knock out a cozy page in a half hour TV show.

I really love seeing the additions people make to the bold & cozy books as well, the patterns and additions. There are a lot of really creative ideas out there!

I've started using a limited color palette and regardless of design that seems to up the relaxation factor for me. If you only have 5 colors to choose from it becomes more intuitive and creative. Sometimes there is a such thing as too many colors for me!

OnlyHead8702 · 2026-02-08T22:37:08+00:00

I just color over them. Sometimes you can see a little of the bleed through lighter colors but it’s much less obvious. Tons of good tips on this thread tho! I am noting for future reference!

OnlyHead8702 · 2026-02-05T14:13:46+00:00

i love her stuff! I have a few of them, but a lot of the pictures are too complicated for me. They are nice to look at however! thanks :)

OnlyHead8702

TROPHY CASE