I love to learn new creative skills or unusual life hacks

(Scroll down to the Lego Minifigure one. Genius)

Learning helps me get better at my craft.

Whether it’s a quick tip from an Instagram Story or a full on 20 minute YouTube tutorial,

You can learn something new every day.

Here are 5 Colouring Tricks that you might not know.

1. At Breaking Point?

Try turning the sharpener instead of the pencil when you are sharpening. This puts less pressure on the lead.

2. Say goodbye to smudges

Clean your eraser regularly to avoid creating a smudgy mess every time you use it. Rub the eraser on your desk or a blank sheet of paper until all the black or coloured areas have been rubbed away.

3. Hairspray hooray!

You don’t have to buy fancy fixatives if you use chalk pastels on your backgrounds, good old hairspray works just as well! Go outside, stand well back and aim for a light, even mist.

4. Warm-up!

Blender Pencils work best when they are warm and can smoosh the colour around with little friction or tugging. Hold the nib of the blending pencil in the palm of your hand for 30 seconds before using and make sure it’s nicely warmed up.

5. Blender Stump Clean up

A dirty blending stump will contaminate your colours, so always give them a quick clean before using with baby oil or blending solutions. Lay a sheet of sandpaper on your desk and using long, downwards strokes, gently ‘sharpen’ the nib by sanding off the dirty area.

Above all, have fun and make your mark!

Tips and tricks are great, but don’t spend so long researching them that you put off actually making great art!

Go and be bold!

Jx

Before you go…

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And don’t forget, my new book, World of Flowers is out now!