Traditional Art Mediums
During the art course I did from 2014–2015 I had to research and try different traditional methods for creating art. Previously to the course I had only used pencil, Biro and digital (Photoshop and Corel Painter). I’ve been drawing from an early age but I didn’t have access to expensive art mediums, just the basic stuff.
The process was very inspiring and it opened my mind to many alternate ways of creating art. I would encourage anyone to try something different from time to time, you never know what you like doing until you try it. In this article I will list some of the best known media for creating art traditionally. There will be the occasional picture, but unfortunately I haven’t had the opportunity or time to create art out of all these mediums for this article.
Drawing
Drawing is very accessible to most beginning artists. It is the process of creating artwork on a flat surface with line and tone.
All you need to start is a pencil and paper. My favorites are coloured pencils. Here are some common mediums for drawing with:
Pencil
Coloured Pencil
Pastels
Charcoal and Chalk
Markers
Pen and Ink
Painting
For painting you need brushes, paint and something to paint on. Rock, paper, canvas etc.
I have since tried watercolour, gouache, acrylic and oils. I prefer drawing to painting, but a good compromise for me is to use watercolour pencils with a water brush pen which is easy to carry around and not so messy to use.
Watercolour Pencils
Watercolour
Gouache
Acrylic
Oil
Airbrush
Other
Art can be created by almost anything really.
My mums been trying to get me into Appliqué and embroidery for years but I’m addicted to my coloured pencils and digital mediums for now. I love looking at these methods and seeing if I can re-create them digitally though.
Collage
Paper Cutting
Assemblage
Appliqué and Embroidery
Mixed Media
Printmaking
Printmaking is the process of making prints onto paper or other flat printable materials by using different methods. Each print uses a template but makes an original printed artwork.
I’ve tried screenprinting, rubber stamp making, collagraphy, monoprint and linocut. My favorite so far is rubber stamp making and linocut because its fairly easy to get into and not too expensive.
Here are some printmaking methods for you to research:
Linocut
Woodcut
Drypoint
Etching
Monoprint
Mezzotint
Collagraphy
Aquatint
Stamping
Lithography
Screen printing
Halftone
Letterpress
Marbling
Sculpture
Sculpture is about creating three dimensional art.
Here are some materials you can use for doing sculpture:
Stone
Fabric
Polymer Modelling Clay
Clay / Ceramic
Wood
Glass
Metal
Paper
Recycled / Found Objects
