you asked for it: marker tutorial

for a couple of years now people have been asking me to make a tutorial on how to use markers. they seem to like the stuff i do with them, and if you know what youre doing, they can make anyones sketchbook look AMAZING. it's like photoshop happened in your sketchbook! so anyway, i decided i'd make a quick tutorial on the basics. this tutorial is really quick and basic, but i think it gets a lot of the most important aspects out of the way. i think if you follow along/read what it says, you might have a different understanding of markers, and will hopefully be excited to go wild and experiment.

i use prismacolor markers, and faber castell pens. i developed my technique for coloring markers by, when i first got my hands on a set, trying to make what i was doing look like how frank frazetta painted. by doing this, i lost my fear of mixing colors, adding blobs and color spots, doing under paintings with base colors and building up new, blended colors, and doing washes. it gave me the confidence to put a collar on markers, and its been toms-best-friend ever since. i turned the wolf into the labrador retriever and i want you to meet him (figure THAT one out!)

i'd like to apologize in advance for the quick job i did with this, but i wanted to make something today. the result is a little sketchy and rough, but the ideas are still there, and i think it will do the job.

i promise to one day make a complete art tutorial covering every thing i know. with a big section on markers and digital (my 2 favorite mediums), with refined and beautiful pieces. i might be far from the best ever, but i have strong opinions and i know a little bit about what im talking about, but the hand is slower than the mind when it comes to developing. so hopefully i can make something we can all be proud of. but anyway, here's the pages in order:










if you found this helpful in any way id love to hear from you. also, if you have any questions about process, or would like more information on doing certain things and different techniques or you just need a little more clarity then dont hesitate to ask. chances are if im not making sense to you, im not making sense to a lot of people, and i could use your help to make this better for every body!

i love answerin' questions!