Week 2 // From the Garden // Making Art Everyday • Bardot Brush

Week two

SKILL BUILDING: Using Reference Photos

Reference photos are essential for drawing just about everything! Looking at references may not only be inspirational but can give you lots of information about how a thing looks. You can take that information and interpret it however you wish as you create your artwork.

Contrary to what some people might tell you, drawing “using only imagination” does not make you a “better” artist. Artists of ALL skill levels use references. If you wanted to draw a dog, well, you might have an idea of what a dog looks like because you have memories of looking at dogs. Your memory can be your reference, sure, but you’ll probably be better off looking at photos of dogs. References can be SUPER HELPFUL!

Use reference photos to…

Get ideas and inspiration
Identify the basic shapes that make up an object
Choose colors to use
Figuring out how to depict the texture
Understand light sources and shading

…and much more! Here’s a tutorial that shows you how to use references to learn to draw.

Find reference photos on the Prompts Page

The official prompts page is at makingarteveryday.com. Tap any of the prompts to get image references instantly. I like to use split-screen view with Procreate and Safari to look at the prompts while drawing. Learn how to use split-screen view.

Try using reference photos as you approach the prompts this week!

January's Theme:

Food

Week 2: From the Garden

This week we’ll continue with more straightforward prompts as we draw foods you might find in the garden! I have a couple tutorials for you to follow as you approach these prompts. You’ll find them (and any other relevant tutorials) on the official Prompts Page, listed underneath the prompts. I’ve also linked to them in this post.

The Prompts

Week 2 | Jan 4-10

from the garden

Mon: carrot
Tue: peas
Wed: watermelon
Thu: radish
Fri: tomato
Sat: berries
Sun: asparagus

This piece was drawn using brushes from my Artist’s Pastels for Procreate.

You can access each week’s prompts, with links to reference photos, at makingarteveryday.com

This Week's TutorialS

Learn how to draw carrots in my Texturrific Shaders tutorial

Draw some asparagus with my Multi-Tonal Markers

This is one of my first tutorials, so it goes a little fast! Be sure to watch the Multi-Tonal Marker tutorial to familiarize yourself with how to choose colors.

This Month's Progress Tracker

You can always download the current month’s Progress Tracker at bardotbrush.com/progress

(its a .Procreate file, so you can keep track of your progress right in Procreate!)

You’ll find instructions about how to use the Tracker at the link above. I even made you a star stamp brush for you to use! It’s my Procreate version of a gold star sticker.

Share and Connect with other MAE Artists

Making Art Everyday // Bardot Brush Facebook Group

We’ve got a Facebook group just for participants of Making Art Everyday and all things Bardot Brush! Come join our group of supportive artists of all skill levels, share your work, ask questions, and be a part of the community!

Making Art Everyday is brought to you by me, Lisa Bardot!

I’m the owner of Bardot Brush, one of the leading brush makers for Procreate. If you’d like to support me, please check out my premium brush sets that inspire creativity at bardotbrush.com.