The other day, I asked you what you want to see on the blog. The answer was pretty strong in the art-direction. (By the way, if you have more suggestions for the blog, don’t be afraid to share them. 🙂 )

I thought I’d kick this off by sharing some of the artists that inspire me. I might do a separate post of this nature for those folks I follow on Instagram (be a dear and follow me too) since so many of them don’t have YouTube channels. That I know of, anyway. 🙂

The piece of advice we get most often as writers comes down to read, read, read. You must consume as much writing as you possibly can to better your craft. The same can be said for art. To learn and hone your techniques, you must view art and study other artists.

Back when I started out in makeup, my entire YouTube feed consisted of makeup artists. I still follow some of them, but these days I’m subscribed to many more writers and artists, because that’s where the focus of my passion is located.

It get’s even more specific from there. You’ll notice that the artists I follow come in two main groups –  watercolour artists and doll-repainters.

I have a fairly long history with art, but ironically never learned to use watercolours. My preferred media has long been oils and graphite pencils, with acrylics if I wanted something quick-drying. Oils and sketching pencils both offer great control over what you create, so it makes sense that someone who used to strive for photo-realism would pursue those media. Who am I kidding? I still want photo-realism.

Watercolour is different. It’s fluid and easily changes, but can’t be so precisely controlled. Learning to use this medium has been a strange, but wonderful journey.

And it’s also what led me to repainting dolls. Face-up artists use watercolour pencils to give dolls new faces, or to work on their ball-jointed dolls (bjd) that come without factory paint. YouTube recommended a repainting video in a time when I was searching for all the watercolour tutorials. I watched one, wondering what this weirdness could possibly be, but ended up clicking the next and the next links to videos. Needless to say, this hobby bit.

Let’s start with the watercolour artists.

Coco Bee Art is a great channel for an introduction watercolours. The tutorials are well thought out and presented, and the art is simpler, but absolutely gorgeous.

Kelogsloops is another of my favourites. He also offers great tutorials, but the main pull to his channel IMO is his style. His artworks are emotive and beautiful, with flowing lines and striking accents. He also has some digital art, if that’s up your avenue.

Laovaan offers a variety of videos, including tutorials in watercolours, copic markers, realism and manga. I love the exquisite portraits on this channel!

Right, now for the doll-repainters.

Dollightful is a fun, energetic kind of channel. Kathryn has a big personality, which translates into big projects. I love the attention to detail she offers, from the face-up to the outfit she makes for the doll afterwards. What’s also great about her is that she includes the mistakes and fixes she made during the repainting process, so you learn as she learns.

This is a great channel for any newbies to the hobby, but also offers a lot for the artists who’ve been around the block a time or two. You’ll also find some digital art here!

Maria Lazar’s channel is soft and girly. Her repaints are often dreamy, with pastel colours and sweet expressions. She offers some tutorials about fixing and styling doll hair too.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIc7A38DuQSZq_TZ-pi9Vag

Mozekyto’s main focus is on wig-making for dolls, though she has one or two face-up video’s too. Her yarn wigs are gorgeous and her tutorials are straightforward and easy to follow. I recommend this channel, even if you’re never planning to make a wig for your doll. Looking at the different styles of wigs is still great fun!

Finally, Nicolle’s Dreams, the channel that started this craze for me personally. Andreja offers wonderful tutorials that cover every aspect of the repaint, and her soothing voice makes visiting her channel lovely.

She also offers drawing and painting tutorials, bjd tutorials, vlogs and other videos. And her Patreon supported tutorials are incredible. Like, Kathryn from Dollightful, Andreja takes on big projects too, like mermaids with sculpted tails and a Sailor Moon doll.

Anyway, this is a sample of her work.

And that’s it from me for today. I hope you enjoyed this post and maybe learned a thing or two. If you know of artists I should be following, please drop me a line.

Have a good one,

Yolandie.