Artist Toolkits
To Level Up Your Skills and Knowledge
Let’s level-up your skills and knowledge. Here you’ll find a range of helpful topics from in-depth articles on techniques, composition, colour theory to best practices aimed to help you improve as an artist. ZenART is all about empowering you with great products and great content.
Keep an eye on this space to ignite your inspiration. We love to hear your thoughts so feel free to leave your comments and suggestions.
7 Types of Paint for Art
Painting can be both quite fulfilling and frustrating at times. Getting properly acquainted with the different types of artist paints is a good foundation to have. Having a little background on how each one works will help you choose the most suitable medium for your style and personality.
A Glossary of Oil Painting Terms
Oil painting may seem intimidating to the uninitiated beginner or starting artist. For one, there are oil painting techniques and terms that sound completely foreign. After all, many of them are Italian. So if you need a translator or glossary, you've come to the right place. Here's a guide to help you out!
How to Clean Dried Paint Brushes: 7 Foolproof Methods
Here are a few methods to clean dried paint brushes depending on the medium you use and the type of bristles on your brush.
Essential Oil Painting Techniques for Beginners and Beyond
There are quite a number of oil painting techniques that you can explore and master. You don’t have to use them all, but knowing how they work will give you more tools to work with — and that’s always a good thing.
Gouache Techniques and Painting Tips
What is it? | How to use it? | Basic Gouache Painting Techniques | Useful Tips
Curious about gouache but unsure how to go about using it? The good ...
How To Make Your Own Artist Color Wheel
What is it? | Why do artists need it? | Making an artist color wheel step-by-step | RYB and CMY color systems
A color wheel (also called a color ci...
How To Paint Trees in Oils: Quick and Easy
List of Materials | Oil Paint Colors Used | Easy Techniques & Useful Tips
Most people love to paint landscapes as they find it very therapeutic...
A Guide To Oil Painting Mediums
What are they? | Why are they used? | Different types of Oil Painting Mediums
Anyone who has ventured into oil painting will find themselves a bit ...
How to Get Better at Drawing
To get better at drawing, you need to practice drawing. The fastest way to improve is to keep at it every day. Here’s how.
How To Draw A Cat: A Step-by-Step Guide
Understanding the Basic Structure of the Cat | Quick Sketching Cats in Motion | Cat Face Sketch Easy
Cats are one of the most popular animal subjec...
You Need to Start a Daily Drawing Practice
If you want to get better at drawing, you’ve got to keep at it every day. Here’s how.
What Bullet Journal Should You Buy?
There are way too many bullet journals to choose from these days. Here's how to pick the best bullet journal for you!
How to Choose Watercolor Brushes
Building a brush collection needn't be hard. Here’s how to know if a watercolor brush is good, bad, or great.
How To Draw A Dog Step-by-Step
Learn how to draw a dog's face and the whole body in this step-by-step drawing guide with easy to follow illustrations!
Where Can You Buy a Bullet Journal?
Not to be dramatic or anything, but the bullet journal literally saved my life. At first, I underestimated its life-changing magic. I thought, “The...
Oil Painting Supplies for Beginners: A Useful Guide
You’re ready to try out oils but just looking at the plethora of seemingly endless painting supplies seems too overwhelming. Don’t worry, let me guide you through the basic oil painting supplies for beginners to start you off and the optional items you can get later on.
How To Draw with Charcoal - Charcoal Drawing Techniques
Drawing is the most essential skill that any artist should possess and continue to hone. Find out how you can create your very own dramatic charcoal drawings.
A Voyaging Artist's Guide to Travel Sketching
Travel sketching turns your experiences into tangible, lasting memories. Here are some tips to capture your journey through pen and paper!
Is Acrylic Paint Washable?
Painting with acrylics is fun. But how do you clean up a sticky situation? Here's a guide to washing off acrylic paint!
Oil Painting Ideas For Beginners and Beyond
We've compiled a collection of oil painting ideas for you to look through, from easy to more challenging ones. From still-life to portrait and more, I'm sure you'll see one that'll get those creative juices flowing.
Here's a Handy Guide to Paint Brush Sizes
How do paint brush sizes work? How do you measure a paint brush size? In this guide, we’ll go over paintbrush measurements and sizes plus some size guides for our brushes here at Zen Art Supplies.
What are the Different Types of Paint Brushes Out There?
Choosing an artist paint brush can get confusing if you don’t know what you need, let alone what to look for. With the dizzying array of brushes available, we’ll list the different types of paint brushes in four ways: by size, bristle type, compatible art medium, and shape.
What Is Watercolor Paper and How It Is Used
What is watercolor paper exactly and why is it so important to use the right paper? Let me go through the essential information that’s useful to know so you can choose the best watercolor paper for your painting style.
Watercolor Brushes For Beginners
When purchasing watercolor brushes for the first time, invest in quality over quantity. Also, you probably don’t need all the brushes you see.It’s ...
How To Choose Watercolor Paints
Watercolor is perhaps the most accessible art medium to get into. It’s available in so many forms and at varying price points. You can grab them in individual colors or in curated sets or palettes. But how do you know what to choose anyway? Here’s what to consider when choosing watercolor paints.
How To Blend Acrylic Paint
Learning how to blend acrylic paint is an important skill to master especially if you want to achieve a more realistic painting style. To be able to seamlessly transition from one color to another and successfully paint the subtle transitions between different tones and values.
Two Gouache Flower Paintings - Step-by-Step
Painting flowers is an all-time classic theme. In this tutorial, I picked two of my favorite flowers - roses and narcissus - where I will show you the step-by-step on how to paint these two different gouache flowers. One that is much easier and the other that is a little more challenging.
Do Oil Paints Expire? Let's Find Out
The versatility, color intensity, and slow drying time of oil paints all add up to a rich painting experience. So let's find out if oil paints expire!
Tempera vs Acrylic Paint: What's the Difference?
In this tempera vs acrylic paint article, learn about the differences and similarities between the two. Find out which one is best for you!
How to Draw a Reindeer Step by Step Tutorial
Learn how to draw a reindeer in this step by step tutorial that's so easy to follow. Create reindeer drawings and paint them in any medium!
How To Use Acrylic Paint - A Beginners Guide
Learn how to use acrylic paint from the materials you need to the basics of starting out!
How to Draw a Snowman Quick and Easy
Learn how to draw a snowman - and paint it too using watercolor - in this quick and easy step-by-step guide!
How To Draw Feet Properly
Learn how to draw feet properly using our easy to follow step by step guides and examples!
How To Draw A Cornucopia and Paint It Using Watercolor
Learn how to draw a cornucopia step by step, find out what colors you can use to bring life to it with watercolor, plus watch the video showing the process!
Moon Landscape With Gouache
Learn how to paint a beautiful moon landscape in gouache. Complete with a step by step video tutorial showing the different techniques and tips!
What Kind Of Paint To Use On Pumpkins
Looking to paint instead of carve, but not sure what kind of paint to use on pumpkins? Find out in this article and watch the accompanying video to see and learn!
Watercolor Fall Leaves - How To Paint Autumn Leaves
Paint the beautiful colors of autumn! Learn how to paint leaves - autumn leaves in this easy tutorial featuring our Allegro Watercolor Palette.
How To Draw A Vampire
Halloween is almost upon us, why not learn how to draw a vampire cartoon style and in a dramatic full body drawing! Read on to see the full step-by-step tutorial!
The Best Travel Watercolor Set
Find out the list of must-haves that make a watercolor palette the best travel watercolor set! Featuring ZenART's new watercolor palettes!
Sketching Techniques For Beginners
Learn the basic sketching techniques you need to draw from simple line sketching to shading in this step by
Tropical Color Palette Painting Ideas
Be inspired by these tropical color palette painting ideas to celebrate the beautiful range of colors found in the tropics!
Watercolor Still Life Painting - Step By Step
Learn the basics of how to start your watercolour still life painting in this easy tutorial, complete with a video of the whole step by step process!
How To Paint Watercolor On Canvas
Can you use watercolor on canvas? The answer is yes, but with some extra prep work. Find out how so you can start exploring and painting your watercolors on canvas!
Basic Oil Paint Colors - Working With A Limited Palette
Find out the basic oil paint colors you'll ever need to start your oil painting adventures! Learn how to work with limited palettes.
Watercolor Painting Techniques - The Essential Guide
Learn the different watercolor painting techniques in this easy to follow essential guide. Watch the video and see the process, from the more traditional to the experimental techniques that you can use to bring life to your creative ideas!
How To Clean Acrylic Paint Brushes
Find out how to clean acrylic paint brushes and how to clean acrylic paint off your palette! Plus other useful tips!
Oil Painting Brush Strokes and Techniques
Learn about the different kinds of oil painting brush strokes and other techniques that you can use to help you achieve the painting style that you want!
How To Paint Watercolor Trees and Techniques
Learn how to paint watercolor trees in this easy to follow step-by-step guide. Check out the wonderful video showing various techniques!
Acrylic vs Watercolor - The Key Differences
Find out what the key differences are between acrylic vs watercolor in this in-depth article! Complete with useful examples!
Colors and Emotions in Art
Discover how colors and emotions are closely linked to each other. Find out the different ways that color can affect your life and how to use it positively, and how you can paint with the colors of your mood!
How To Watercolor For Beginners Tutorial
Learn the basics in this How To Watercolor For Beginners Tutorial! From the materials you need to simple exercises to start you off easy!
Watercolor Strokes - A Beginner's Guide
Learn the different basic watercolor strokes and how to paint them in this easy and simple to follow guide! Find out various other factors that can affect your brush strokes!
Acrylic vs Oil Paint - The Main Differences
What is the difference between Acrylic and Oil paints? Learn the main points and the pros and cons of each one in this Acrylic vs Oil Paint article!
Color Meditation - Meditative Painting With Watercolor
Learn how to relax and sooth your mind and soul through color meditation art exercises with watercolor! Practice mindfulness through art!
How To Draw 3/4 View Face: Step-by-step
Learn how to draw 3/4 view face in this step-by-step guide that you can easily follow! From dissecting the skull to laying down the facial features!
How To Draw A Basic Portrait
Learn how to draw a basic portrait in this step-by-step guide to portrait drawing! Find out the correct proportions to use!
Oil Painting Skin Tones
Learn more about color mixing for figurative and portrait painting, complete with a useful guide to mixing basic realistic skin tones!
Oil Paint Mixing Guide - Understanding The Process
Let's explore colour mixing! Here are a few tips to inspire and help artists begin effective creative experimentation with colours!
Oil Painting Mixing Colors
Learn more about creating oil colour palettes in this fabulous toolkit about colour mixing with practical tips on using colour for impact.
Rainbow Colors of the Impressionists
Choose the right colours for your art. Learn more about the rainbow colour palette of the great Impressionists.
How Do I Clean, Treat, and Store My Watercolor Paint Brushes?
Learn how to properly clean, treat, and store your favourite watercolour paint brushes so that they would last a lifetime.
Tricks of the Composition Trade
Learn the tricks to composition trade. Learn how to use a viewfinder, to make an adjustable viewfinder and the amazing pencil trick.
Golden Rules of Composition in Art - Explained & Illustrated
A study of the basic principles and rules of composition in art by ZenART co-founder, Ardak Kassenova, written in simple terms with illustrative examples.
A Studio Journal Will Organize Your Thoughts and Creativity
How keeping a record of your color mixes help you keep track of your color combinations and mixtures
Sketchbook journals are used for all kind of p...
Oil paint palettes will help you uncover your unique colors
Explore the colors in your oil paint palettes and learn basic color theory to help you uncover your very own unique colors!
Watercolor Brush Sizes - A Useful Guide
Find out what watercolor brush sizes you need to start your watercolor painting adventures! Learn more about the different brush sizes and shapes to choose from.
How To Mix Watercolors - Essential Guide
Learn the secret behind how to mix watercolors beautifully in this essential guide. Find out about color theory, color biases, and make your own mixing charts
How To Clean Oil Paint Brushes
Learn how to clean oil paint brushes the quick and easy way and the deep cleaning way! Find out as well how to clean oil paint brushes without thinner in this easy to follow guide!
Oil Painting Ideas For Beginners and Beyond
We've compiled a collection of oil painting ideas for you to look through, from easy to more challenging ones. From still-life to portrait and more, I'm sure you'll see one that'll get those creative juices flowing.
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