Wednesday WarmUp Brenda’s Alphabet Series

Welcome!

For the past few weeks, this blog has hosted “Wednesday Warm Up,”— a day of usually quick drawing, inking, brushing as warm up to our serious art. I share a strategy to try each Wednesday using the iPad app ProCreate. I usually only use the brushes in the app— there are so many I haven’t tried that warming up with a new brush will be an added bonus and challenge.

This Week

This week’s warm up is about Brenda Bakker’s Alphabet Series on YouTube— each are usually less than ten minutes and are so relaxing to learn. A few have some great tips on strategies– like the letter “I,” which teaches how to emboss letters! Find her on Instagram as DekWebbel. She shares her brushes and watercolor paper in her Skillshare class, and that alone is worth a month’s fee. She offers free trial in her YouTube links.

So far I’ve created A through J. It was at letter C I thought about this week’s warmup, and this IS my warmup. So why not share this great resource?

And, I switched to mostly using native brushes. I even created a new brush based on the calligraphy “script” brush in Procreate so that the ends were flat like the one Brenda paints with. I’ll include a video on how to adapt the brush below.

Here’s my progress so far in the alphabet series:

Brushes In Action

I kept a list of the brushes and canvas type I used. Mostly my canvas is 10 inch by 10 inch at 300 dpi. Here’s a list of my changes:

• A-C Brushy Pen— any script/calligraphy on a watercolor canvas
• D — I loved the Pandani [Inking] brush for this– it gave the “denim” look a ragged edge; watercolor canvas
• E — I switched to the Blackburn [drawing] with a watercolor canvas
• F — I followed Brenda’s adaptation to the Script brush to create it as chalk and her strategy for the blackboard canvas effect
• G– I switched to the Oriental brush [painting] for the letter; and continued as Brenda did with gouache [painting] for color on a watercolor canvas
• H — just followed Brenda [her brushes, Lisa Glanz brush]
• I — For the letter, I adapted the Script [calligraphy] brush with streamline maxed, no taper, and the shape source changed to Flat Brush from the source library]; besides Brenda’s suggestion to spray with medium nozzle Spraypaint, I also used the noise [touch-up]
• J — the adapted Script brush for letter; syrup [inking] for white zen doodles

Adapt the Script Brush

I adapted the Script [calligraphy] brush with streamline maxed, no taper, and the shape source changed to Flat Brush from the source library]. Here’s how– then you can duplicate brushes and start adapting your own:

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Try it!

Go ahead –check out Deb’s channel of alphabet/lettering resources so you can learn and adapt and mix to create your own original letters. Imagine what lettering pizazz you’ll add to your art! I so appreciate her style and sharing so we can all learn.

I’m glad I joined Skillshare for the many teachers like her. Be sure to check out Skillshare and the many teachers if you’re really wanting to up your art game.

And, please remember to add any suggestions or ask questions here if it’s not clear and please share:  #warmup4art .