Kat Skinner

Posted on December 12, 2020December 19, 2020 by Kat Skinner — Leave a comment

New Master Academy Course Order/ Learning Path

I’ve decided to brush up on some skills, and so have joined the New Master Academy website. Unfortunately since its self-paced they haven’t really defined an ideal course structure.

Choppa790 on Reddit came up with this guide mostly, so a lot of credit goes to him. I’ve made a few edits to update an old post (it was 4 years old by 2020).

This isn’t a comprehensive list either. There are many courses on the site, such as sketchbook training and tips, that I left out. I tried to focus more on the “foundational” concepts such as constructing scenes and less on rendering said scenes. Also note that some courses borrow lessons from multiple instructors, so you may find repeated lessons.

Posted on May 16, 2018 by Kat Skinner — 2 Comments

How long do you spend actively painting on each artwork?

Art instructors encourage you to paint as many pieces of artwork as possible, claiming it will greatly improve your skills. This is true, to a degree. It depends on whether you are actively practicing new skills or just repeating the same mistakes. This post explains how I drastically improved my art by not following the trend of “paint as much as possible”.

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Posted on May 3, 2018 by Kat Skinner — Leave a comment

Common Costs of Building A Website

Computer Photo by freephotocc on Pixabay

A website isn’t free, but they aren’t outrageous expensive either. Depending upon the amount of products you sell, or if you just want a website to showcase your work, it may even be cheaper to host your own website than using an online online marketplace. Thankfully there are both free and paid services that let you set up a running website fast and cheaply.

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Posted on April 30, 2018May 3, 2018 by Kat Skinner — Leave a comment

ArtistCommunity April Challenge

This month’s art challenge was to paint a red panda to help raise awareness for the plight of the cute animal. Sometimes, as individuals, we find a cause to work towards that drives us above and beyond. This is especially true for many artists, as we have to so often connect with our emotional sides to be creative. If you haven’t found your own cause, there are plenty that need an extra voice; such as the conservation efforts of red pandas.

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Posted on April 4, 2018 by Kat Skinner — Leave a comment

Starting The Elephant Commission

Work In Progress Photo of Elephant Commission, by Kat Skinner

I’m working on this gorgeous photo of two elephants, for a custom commission. This is by far my largest artwork I have worked on to date. Most of my work is so detailed and time-consuming that I tend to paint smaller sized paintings (max 30x40cm – 12x16in). Whilst this artwork is far from finished, I thought it would be worth while to share some in-progress photos.

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Posted on March 30, 2018April 1, 2018 by Kat Skinner — Leave a comment

Why Artists Need To Have A Website

A website can be a great idea for any artist looking to improve their professional image, provide additional income streams and to showcase their artwork in general. In this article I will cover the pros and cons of owning a website.

Did you know, this post is the first of several – all of which explore artists and their need for websites!

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Posted on March 25, 2018March 30, 2018 by Kat Skinner — Leave a comment

Have you heard of the #ArtistsCommunity

Have you heard about the ArtistsCommunity? It’s a growing group of artists on YouTube who are working towards a better and more supportive platform… It’s so easy for good channels with Amazing (with a capital A) content to be overwhelmed or hidden by channels that produce mediocre content. So often these channels stop producing their videos… because what’s the point when you put so much effort into something with so little ROI. Sometimes its just nice to receive a friendly comment, an upvote or like, and a subscriber. Sometimes that little action of clicking like or typing a comment can take only a minute or two from our day, but can change someone’s life for a day or even a week.

This is the purpose of the Artists Community. It’s about supporting each other to grow as channels and as individuals.

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Posted on March 20, 2018March 30, 2018 by Kat Skinner — Leave a comment

Time-lapse of the Blue-Throated Macaw Pastel Painting

Writers are often told “don’t tell, show”. Why should it be any different for artists?An artist aims to instill life into their artwork, and a great way to help the viewer to connect is for them to see how it was created. This could be photos that you share to Instagram and facebook, or even videos. Continue reading Time-lapse of the Blue-Throated Macaw Pastel Painting

Posted on February 22, 2018March 30, 2018 by Kat Skinner — Leave a comment

Time-lapse Of Ring Tail Lemur Pastel Painting

Ring Tail Lemur Pastel Painting by Kat Skinner

I’m so excited; I just launched my YouTube channel!

The very first video is a time-lapse of the Ring Tail Lemur pastel painting. I hope to upload a lot more videos to YouTube, as I make them. I’m interested in making art lesson videos for both beginners and more advanced artists. I will also upload time-lapse videos of my personal artwork. Continue reading Time-lapse Of Ring Tail Lemur Pastel Painting

Posted on January 24, 2018January 24, 2018 by Kat Skinner — Leave a comment

The Oil Painting Course You’ve Always Wanted by Kathleen Lochen Staiger Book Review

The Oil Painting Course You've Always Wanted by Kathleen Staiger

Finding quality books can sometimes be a problem; there are many books that cover the same basic information without anything unique. I’m on a search for the books that you keep for a lifetime. This is an in-depth book review of The Oil Painting Course You’ve Always Wanted by Kathleen Lochen Staiger.
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