Pencils and paper. Drawing is a fundamental art form, probably first practiced with a piece of charcoal or some colored clay on a cave wall. It is now a refined technique using a variety of paper and pencils. Pen and ink. Pen and ink is another form of drawing, using heavy rag paper or scratchboard, and usually a nib pen and ink. It can be used to create dramatic contrasts and exquisite detail. Pastels. Pastel sticks are pigment mixed with a very little binder and rolled to form sticks that resemble colored chalks. Only the cheapest student-grade ones are dyed chalk. They can be used for drawing or painting on pastel paper, heavy sketch paper, watercolor paper,, or sanded pastel paper. Oil pastels. These sticks resemble crayons and range from very inexpensive children’s oil pastels to artist-grade oil pastels made with expensive pigments. Much more opaque than crayons, they work on paper, boards, wood, canvas, metal, or almost any surface. Watercolors, oils, and acrylic paints. These are vastly different media, grouped only because they are familiar to most people, and are all used in what we know as “painting”. Ceramics. This media is clay, which can be hand-shaped, formed in a mold, thrown on a potter’s wheel, or sculpted by other means. Sculpting with stone. This is a challenging and physically demanding technique. Modern technology has created tools for removing stone to form a shape, but traditionally it is done with a hammer and chisels. Photography. A technique that is constantly in a state of change, with new technologies emerging continuously, from digital cameras and editing to special effects filters and lighting. Carving. Usually done with chisels and knives, this is a traditional art form that has also benefited from technology, with the emergence of die grinding tools for shaping, saws, and shapers to duplicate images and remove large amounts of wood quickly, and glues and resins for refitting or laminating the workpiece as it is worked. There are many other media and simply too many techniques to cover them all in one article.
Try new materials from those you’ve already used before. Play with different subject matter, new colors, varied compositions, to see how far you can push your own boundaries and develop your own artistic style.
