Photo Journal of Ongoing Holiday Card making classes for After School UAC special program

Just completed the first week of After School art enrichment classes in Immokalee Elementary Schools for the United Arts Council. Teaching classes of 3rd and 4th grade students how to make their own greeting cards for their Holiday House fund-raising events planned for December. It's great fun and extremely gratifying to see the students embrace the process and make it their own. It has also been quite eye-opening as to the logistics and flexibility required for efficient and successful sessions. Originally I had intended to provide each student with their own set of 24-50 Crayola Super Tip markers, and I am quite thankful that someone along the way chose to order sets of 8 broad tips markers/student instead. It is challenging enough to have each student clean up and collect their 8 markers by the end of each class. I can't imagine what a classroom might look like with 360-750 single markers spread all over the work tables or desks.



Completed cards by the end of the class. Given the rambunctious spirit of this group of 3rd graders observed in the hallway right before this after-school class, I decided to limit the final decorating step to drawing snowflakes and other decorative symbols with the metallic silver Pentel Outline pens. It proved a sensible choice, since we still managed to complete 2-3 cards per student and reduce clean up time afterward.




The finished cards above were colored with markers and decorated with glitter by 3rd grade students. Given a choice of 6 coloring card templates, most students picked the Snowman or the Santa card design. Given the simplicity of these cards coloring outlines, this class was able to complete and decorate 2-3 cards per student in the hour-long class. The big take away lesson for myself was to limit glitter dispensing to smaller shakers with smaller diameter openings for subsequent classes. Using the large 4 oz shakers with larger openings resulted in glitter flying all over the finishing table.
For this particular class we managed to use the Crayola broad tip washable markers (both Classic and Multicultural sets of 8 markers), Pentel Outline markers, and some glitter shakers which resulted in some nice-looking cards. The Multicultural marker set proved really handy to render a variety of skin tones and open up the expressive potential of a fairly limited palette of 16 markers. Though this level of craftmanship meant than on average each student was able to complete only a single card in the hour-long class.




While I am quite happy with the effort and enthusiasm of all the participating classes so far, I am particularly impressed by the attention to detail and skills demonstrated by this group of 4th grade students.

Printable Colored Greeting Card Samples

Class supplies just arrived! Quite ready for some some serious decorating of the colored holiday cards with glitter glue pens and silver markers.

Applying some sparkling details to a few more card samples. Feel free to print any of the colored templates below, customize to your liking, and use them for greeting cards these coming holidays





Just print on letter size card stock or premium printing paper. Fold in halves twice leaving colored illustration on the front of the card.Add some highlights and sparkling details with glitter and/or metallic markers like the Pentel Outline markers (optional). Selectively trim part of the right side of the characters' outlines with sharp detailing scissors like the EK Cutter Bee® Scissors (optional).Get or make matching envelopes. Spread some cheer these holidays through conventional mail.

Getting closer on the Elf card design

First tried using part of an earlier elf drawing by itself for a less cluttered card design. Then sketched a few more pages of elves with a 1.0 mm Sakura Pigma Sensei pen until I came up with one I liked. Shrunk it down to 25% of its original size and pasted it on a blank card template.
I think this card template might be simple enough to color quickly and complete the target set of 6 cards for the card-making class.
First coloring test done with Copic Sketch markers
Digitally placed the scarf behind the arm and tried a slightly different color palette. Finishing with a couple of snowflake patterns drawn with Pentel Outline markers.

Brainstorming the last greeting card template for Class

Just having some fun doodling an elf in color without drawing a coloring outline first on blank Rhodia paper.
Trying out a few Copic Sketch marker combinations to render skin tones with some variety. Got to come up with a final design to complete a set of 6 coloring card templates to use for class.
Elf taking a coffee break with couple of buddies.

The Baker Elf concept cards. I fear they might be a tad too busy to color in the time allowed. Guess this is what happens when working often with the Food Network playing in the background.
Toy Workshop Elf card template. Left lost of blank space, so students could add their own background details like the rest of the workshop, a holiday tree, or a snow-covered field. Yet it seems rather busy for such a small format (1/4 of a letter size sheet). Not really happy with any of them, so I guess I will sleep on it.

Card Making Class Colored Samples

Colored a few card templates with Copic Sketch markers to use as finished samples for my upcoming card-making classes at Immokalee Elementary and Middle schools. These finished card samples simply need to be printed on letter size card stock, folded in halves twice, and they are ready to be fitted with an envelope for mailing.

Rikota Brush Markers Set Review

Thanks George for generously sending me these Rikota Brush Markers and Sterling protractor and 6" ruler. The latter two make a nice addition to my collection of straight edges and templates and are a nice reminder of a time when drafting products were actually manufactured in the USA. While the country of origin is not clearly indicated on the markers, it is a fairly safe bet that they were made in China or Taiwan like the rest of the stationery offerings at Barnes & Noble.
These marker sets can often be found in the artists' section of Barnes & Noble bookstores. I would regard them as a value-priced introducion to the creative potential of brush pens as sketching and coloring tools.
Color chart drawn on blank Rhodia paper.
Quick coloring test.

Their brush-shaped felt nibs are not particularly sturdy nor resilient. Three of them are already sporting frayed tips after very light use during these review tests. Line variation is accomplished mainly by rotating the rather rigid nib on the paper rather than changing the pressure on the brush nib.
Their pigment load is low to moderate, so a single brush stroke tends to look fairly light on bright white paper. For rendering darker hues and shadows, they layer and blend fairly well. Yet, I would not bet on the longevity of the work created with these markers. They are clearly meant for creating disposable art like notes, greeting cards, and perhaps some calligraphic marks while the brush nibs are still somewhat new.
This set of 12 Rikota Brush Markers would make a nice coloring present for a kid artist or provide a spot of fun for an adult artist stranded on a strange city away from his or her regular art supplies. For higher quality brush markers, I would recommend trying the Faber Castell Pitt Artist pens or the Tombow Mono Dual Brush-pens.

Using Pentel Outline Markers for decorating colored Greeting Cards

A few card templates printed on white card stock were colored with Copic Sketch markers and Faber Castell Pitt Artist brush pens.
For finishing decorative touches, the Pentel Outline Markers are particularly useful. They were cleaner and quicker to use than glitter shakers and glue sticks to effortlessly add some "sparkle" in a tightly controlled fashion to the marker-colored greeting cards samples. The main precaution would be to use them in well-ventilated areas since they have a fairly strong solvent smell. The reflective effect was quite visible under artificial lighting and effectively enhanced the cards with the silver "snowflake and star designs"
Finished batch of colored samples with some silver highlights as seen the following morning. The silver effect looked a bit duller under natural light, but it turned out to be just a matter of finding the right viewing angle.

Greeting Card Coloring Templates and Samples

Just finished a few coloring card templates and colored samples.
Used assorted markers (Copic Sketch, Faber Castell Pitt Artist pens, and Crayola Super Tip markers) and watercolors to color a few of the card templates. They will serve as examples in upcoming card-making classes for Elementary and Middle School students.
Feel free to print out the blank coloring templates below (I would recommend using 110 lb white card stock) and color them with markers (or your favorite coloring media) to make your own holiday greeting cards with your kids or students. You could also add decorative touches with metallic gel pens and silver markers. I would just appreciate a comment or e-mail with feedback on the reception and usefulness of these templates for your group.
This template could be printed on a sheet of card stock and cut in half to make 2 simple cards.
Basic cut out card. Print on a letter size sheet. Fold in halves twice leaving the Santa on the cover. Colored the outline and draw any additional elements you might like. Use sharp precision scissors to cut the outline of the Santa peeking around the wall. If up to the challenge, you could also draw and color the back of Santa inside the card.
This one was designed mainly as a coloring card with some blank space around to allow some creativity in drawing background environment like some snow and a few pines.


These Santa and Snowman designs lend themselves well for cut out cards and as blank canvases to exercise your individual creativity by adding your own background details and decorative marks.



The Maneki Neko cards feature a traditional Japanese Lucky Cat sporting a festive holiday hat.

Mini Card Making Workshop

For a creative warm-up, the girls started some coloring pages using my trusty set of Faber Castell Albrecht Durer watercolor pencils.
Coloring with Faber Castell Pitt Artist pens.
Painting with watercolors for a bit. Forgot to bring my waterbrushes, so we were limited to using conventional watercolor brushes from my back-up supplies. The girls had a harder time regulating the amount of water to use, and keeping things neat was far more challenging. The pot full of rinsing water ended up on the floor, some yellow ochre rinse water splashed on the fabric cover of a kitchen chair, and the actual paintings were loaded with excess water taking longer to dry. Tip for parents and teachers: to encourage frequent practice and development of watercolor painting skills in young children, the waterbrushes really help prevent the splashing of colored water in unwanted areas and reduce clean up time.
Watercolor by Nicole. Time to switch to the card-making activity.
Sample illustrations from greeting card workshops for kids with a bit of Manga style.
Sample line art for holiday greeting cards featuring a Daruma doll in Santa garb and a Maneki Neko wearing a X-mas hat.
Making their own stickers with a Xyron 1.5" create-a-sticker gadget.
Using some Pentel Outline markers to write some decorative holiday greeting messages.
Bit of collage by adding some custom made stickers to decorate the card's interior.
Carefully cutting around the right half of the drawn image. Naturally close supervision and a steady hand are required at this delicate stage.
Ta-da! cut-out snowman card.
A handful of cards ready for coloring and decorating after working in the kitchen for about an hour. Time for a break and change of activity:

Another Watercolor Session with the Nieces

Camila can't believe how easily her waterbrush picks up the pigment from the Daniel Smith watercolor stick.
Sketching with the Niji waterbrush.
Mom standing by with the watercolor stick ready to support Camila's painting exploration.
Marissa trying to join in the coloring fun. Adult supervision is particularly important when allowing children to explore their creativity with artist grade art materials.
Coloring with Neocolor II watercolor crayons and Faber Castell Albrecht Durer watercolor pencils on the first page of sample ink doodles in the Exacompta Sketch Book.
Adding some color detail with a Caran D'Ache Museum Fixpencil.
Picking up color straight from the watercolor stick.
Painting with the Niji waterbrush on a Handbook watercolor journal.
Playing with some loose painterly strokes as practice for my upcoming "watercolor painting postcards" demo for the media and tourism representatives at the von Liebig Art Center early next month.
The idea for this watercolor doodle is that an squid-like monster is coming through a inter-dimensional portal (Stargate style).
Combining some painting and loose sketching to achieve different textures with the watercolor sticks. All this fairly abstract watercolor playtime inspired my niece to experiment and create her own piece with the watercolors sticks.
Nicole's abstract creation of a "Multicolored Heart".

A few Sample Warm-up Worksheets for upcoming After-school Manga Cartooning class

Ok guys if you dropped by to get a head start on the material for the After-school Manga Cartooning class, you could try using the following worksheets as a reference for your daily practice doodles which I trust you have been doing all summer. By now, I expect most of you should have used up at least half of the pages from your sketchbooks.Sample doodle sheet drawn with a graphite pencil.
Worksheet with a large selection of facial traits and head shapes that could be used to draw many distinct faces for a basic cast of characters. Let your imagination fly and create a few characters for your next manga project or short story. These last 3 pages were drawn with a 08 Prismacolor Archival marker.
Constructing assorted faces by starting with different types of head shapes. Round faces with thin necks would be suitable for younger characters while square faces with broad necks would better fit older characters with greater physical strength.
Step-by-step head construction sequence with a bit of age progression in the final step. When sketching in a typical manga cartoon style, just a few wrinkle and expression lines can add several years to the character. Youthful characters tend to sport slender necks and pointy chins. To age them to adulthood: try broadening the chin, thinning the hairline, and widening the base of the nose.

Sketching in color with Faber Castell Pitt Big Brush Artist pens

Just having a spot of fun sketching a manga version of Peter Parker unmasked with Faber Castell Pitt Big Brush Artist pens on regular printer paper. The outline was drawn first with the black brush pen, and it dried pretty quickly since it did not smear at all when coloring in the flesh tones with the lighter Pitt pens. In general, I find these Pitt Artist Pens (both the regular and Big Brush formats) to be efficient tools for sketching and coloring manga subjects.This manga Batman was actually drawn with a Prismacolor Archival Illustration brush marker which does smear a bit when colored over with the Pitt Artist brush pens. This second sketch was drawn on white card stock.Kaiju (Japanese Giant Monster) that combines traits from Wolf & Tiger (a bit inspired by some samurai manga and Naruto) drawn with Copic and Prismacolor markers and colored with the Pitt Big Brush Artist pens.