These days, living on lockdown has meant living online.
That's not only the case for people working from home or for kids attending virtual class rooms, but for the rest of us using the web for connecting with others and finding diversions such as virtual tours, art history tutorials and famous recipes you can try at home. Well, now you can add something else to that list: Upping your drawing game with how-to web features offered by Faber-Castell.
In case you're not familiar with Faber-Castell, here's a rundown: the company manufactures drawing supplies that are the gold-standard in the business. Don't be surprised: headquartered in Germany, Faber-Castell has been around since 1761.
The website offers dozens of demonstrations from product videos to step-by-step instructions for rendering subjects like still lives, landscapes, figures and even anime characters (or, if you’re down for something more granular, individual motifs like reflective chrome balls and towels). There's a drop-down menu that allows you to filter for difficulty, type of user (kids, adults, artists) and tool (colored pencil, marker pens, crayons, etc.). Never drawn anything in your life? You can download color-book templates to fill in, or just watch the tutorials and revel in their soothing, meditative effect.
Of course, though the website recommends otherwise, you don't need to use Faber-Castell pencils, which can be pricey (but hey, you get what you pay for). Anyway, if don't have anything like that laying around, you can order them from any number of online art suppliers. In the meantime, check out a few sample videos below.
Albrecht Dürer Magnus Aquarellstifte from Faber-Castell AG on Vimeo
Video Soft pastels Creative Studio from Faber-Castell AG on Vimeo.
Metallics Marker party decoration from Faber-Castell AG on Vimeo.