Terrestrial Alcohol: Preclass

Welcome to the preclass lesson! The first video gives a quick overview of the supplies you’ll need for class; please see the description and links below.

Before we start…a little housekeeping

I retain the copyright to the content you are learning in class. That means…

  1. Do not sell or give away the concepts from my classes – you may not re-teach my instruction contained or created within these lessons.
  2. Do not post a video tutorial or step by step photo tutorial of your own redraw of class content.
  3. Do not repost any handouts you receive in class.

However…I love to see students making strides and taking this teaching and personalizing it with your own skills.

  1. DO make your own designs and develop your own style! I love that!
  2. DO gift your creations made with these techniques, of course!

At the bottom of each lesson you’ll see some ways to share your homework and ask questions, so that’ll be handy for you.

Surfaces / paper

At minimum, get photo paper, both 4×6 and 8×10 or so – the back side of photo paper can accomplish most of the lessons in class that are on the Yupo papers, but it’s not as sturdy, so I’d suggest treating yourself to a Yupo to play with too.

  1. Photo Paper – any brand is fine, it’ll be best if there’s no or limited watermarking on the back.
    • Office Depot 8-1/2 x 11 photo paper AMZ
    • Office Depot 4 x 6 photo paper AMZ
    • Epson 4 x 6 photo paper AMZ
  2. Yupo – there are lots of brands, here are a few suggestions and places to get them:
  3. Round Yupo – there’s a lesson on round paper but you can use any shape if you decide not to get round.
    • NARA Rounds 10″ AMZ
    • NARA Rounds 8″ AMZ
  4. Plastic paper – acts like a Yupo; many artists use this.
    • Graphix Craft Plastic 12″ x 12″ AMZ
  5. Tiles – grab a few from your local home improvement store. You can get glossy white ceramic tiles in a huge variety of sizes and shapes for very little money.

Inks

The class has just a yellow, red, and blue in it – these are primary colors. Beware of choosing colors that are just “off” of a primary — if your red is very orangey/warm, it may make brown when mixed with your blue because it’s red + yellow – and that’s the three colors together which become neutral. The Wild Plum in this trio set used in class leans a little toward the purple side, but that’s a little safer than something going toward the warm side. But – by all means try the colors you have in whatever brands you’ve got in your studio!

  1. Used in demos, this comes in one set:
    • Nature Walk set by Ranger – Stream, Wild Plum, Butterscotch AMZ | SSS
  2. Individual bottles:

Blending solutions

You can use whichever you have (you could do the whole class with just one), but I’d recommend a 99% as a staple. A bottle of Ranger and a 70% for some odd techniques might be of interest, Or you can do like I did in the video below and go crazy testing everything! These are linked here but try your local pharmacy or general store for very inexpensive bottles of isopropyls.

Tools and other

  • MiniMisters – you’ll need four for this class:
  • Pipettes, 100 (you don’t need 100 but…they are cheap!)
  • Freezer paper for table, slick side up!
  • Gloves – whatever kind you’d like.
  • Airbrush: I recommend the Copic airbrush system, which is what I primarily use; it requires a “gun” in the ABS3, a cord to connect it to an air compressor. The Copic ABS3 has been rumored to be scheduled for discontinuation but I don’t really trust rumors! A compressor provides significantly stronger pressure than other systems; and costs around $70. The one linked below comes with an airbrush, and that can be used for techniques in this class though it’s harder to handle than the Copic one. If the compressor you purchase doesn’t come with a cord to connect your airbrush, I’ve also linked that.
    • Copic system – ABS3: EH  AMZ  Blick
    • Air Compressor – don’t get it online, find a hardware store near you!
    • Cord, if it doesn’t come with the compressor
  • Handheld airbrush – this one is less expensive than the Copic system and doesn’t work with Copic markers, but can provide air to blow alcohol ink around. A handheld will never be as good on pressure as a real compressor but it may be worth considering, depending on your budget.

Comparison of blending solutions

This video is on my public YouTube channel so you might have seen it there.

Quick links to share your work wherever you like:

Artventure Community

Where you’ll be right in Sandy’s pocket for quick feedback and answers to questions

Student Facebook Group

Our closed group is a safe place to share for those in all our classes who love the ‘book!

Social media & blogs

Post wherever you like to share, and let your friends know which class you’re taking. They might like it too!