Colin's Pastel Pencil Lessons Are The Best Investment I've Made In My Art
This is going to be a bit long, so I apologize, but Colin's lessons have helped me so much that I really want to share the entirety of my experience.
I'm a professional artist and, before taking Colin's lessons, my main medium was graphite. About a year ago, I was itching to get into a color medium, but I wasn't especially interested in any of them. I'm a drawing artist and working with a brush wasn't particularly inspiring to me. I'd received a set of pastel pencils for the previous Christmas, so I decided to give them a try - I'd used colored pencils and thought it would be similar to learn. Yikes! To say that my first forays into pastel pencil were a disaster would be an understatement - they were downright embarrassing! My pastel pencil paintings looked like they'd been done by a child. Nevertheless, I immediately felt connected to the medium, so I didn't want to give up just yet.
As it turns out, what appears to be a very easy medium is a little more complicated than it looks until you understand the techniques particular to it. Thankfully, a quick Google search turned up Colin's free lessons on YouTube; after watching just one, I was sure he could help, so I signed up for a monthly subscription to his website. I can't even begin to express how happy I am that I made that decision; after just 2 lessons, he helped me to understand the techniques I needed to make my drawings look good.
I also jumped right in and took advantage of the free critiques that come with a subscription, which helped me immensely to improve further. After a month on the site, I already started selling my pastel pencil pieces, which have since become even more popular than my graphite pieces. A year later, I still learn something new with each of his videos, podcasts and blog posts and I eagerly look forward to each new project lesson.
The best part is that, with the critiques, forum, etc., I feel supported as I continue to learn and grow in my new medium. And when I've needed to email or chat with Colin or Steve to ask a question, they're very responsive, always getting back to me within 24 hours (usually sooner). It's the best money I've spent on my art career and I can't recommend the site enough, regardless of your skill level (he has lessons for very beginners through advanced artists, so you can grow along with his lessons).
August 9, 2016
Unprompted review