How I Draw Looser & Play with Mixed Media | Sketchbook Process

Using different types of materials allowed me to reach another level of freedom when creating. In this video, I want to share with you how I've managed to draw loosely. It is in this process when you start to discover your own gesture which is completely unique to each of us. I'm Natalia Colombian mixed media artist living in Barcelona and in this video I want to show you more of how I draw in mixed media and all my process. And very quickly I want to thank you all for that warm reception that the last video had. Really I was not expecting. That amount of likes, views, comments, so thank you so much. That's why I'm back here to keep sharing art with you. Since we were kids, we were taught to hold our pencil in a very specific way, ripping it tightly to be able to write. And what we sometimes want to do when we start drawing is to draw in that exact same way. But this is a very rigid way to hold a pencil. This is where the first key advice comes in. Let's get creative when holding and using our materials. Involve your wrist, even your entire arm, to capture the energy you want through movement. This is what will allow gesture drawing. A gesture drawing is not a contour drawing, it is more like a line drawn quickly and energetically, and they're extremely expressive. We can describe the feeling or the impression we have of that subject rather than being precise and realistic. I feel like my flower is getting too dark so maybe I can use a different crayon pastel. Let's see. Like a shade that gives a bit of light. I don't know if this is the one I'm looking for. Maybe because this one is too dark also. Yeah I need something. I'm gonna do the same here I'm gonna go for the line work. Maybe I can use this one. You can see the layers of petals. I'm just trying to mimic that in a very rough way, I would say. And this is a great way to develop line variation, holding your pencil or brush far back, using your non-dominant hand intentionally, breaking that control. Watercolors. This is wash. So it's fine just like wet medium, wash, watercolor mainly and I'm gonna be using two fountain pens, my Lamy Safari and this Duke fountain pen which is 209. That's a very fun. Another thing I do to interrupt a rhythm or a line is changing materials constantly and the fact that I personally use mixed media allows me to do that. I'm always switching from a crayon to a pencil, from a pencil to a marker and this allows me to make very expressive marks on the paper. Another thing that might seem a bit stressful in the beginning But that it really helped me to improve my art practice is using a timer and this is something we practice a lot together on my Patreon. Every month I host an online drawing session where we draw from reference images with limited time and in only a few minutes we can capture lots of things without the brain overthinking too much. That's the whole point. So you can get creative, experiment with materials and just do not worry about the outcome but enjoy the process. If you want to join and get access to all my step-by-step demonstrations, tutorials, more than 300 videos and posts from the past three years, the link is right down in the description. Another way I love to loosen up is by reversing the process. Starting with abstract spots of color first and then adding line work on top. Also something that we learn when we're kids is that we first need to make a sketch or a line work to then color it. But when you don't start with an outline there's nothing to ruin, it's just you reacting to shapes and textures that the paper already has. At the end of the day, using your sketchbook is not about avoiding mistakes, it's about giving yourself permission to play and to connect with your own unique gesture. I can assure you that creating even just for 10 minutes daily, it's going to bring so much joy to your life. If you're a free member on my Patreon, you also have access to resources and posts. So just feel free to check it out. I know you will find inspiration there as well. Thank you so much again for the last video, the comments, everything. I'm very happy. Now I'm very happy to be here on YouTube. Thank you so much and I'll see you in the next video. Thank you. Un beso.