How To Draw A Dragon (courtesy of ExpertVillage.com)

How To Oil Paint – Part II (courtesy of TVPainter.com)

(continued from Part I, found on this site)…they’re gonna be different shades. Let’s grab some of this yellow ochre. This makes me excited – I hope it makes you excited, too! It is a good feel. See, we just add a little color – just look at these trees coming along. Fall is coming, but not quite here, yet. It plays a key role in nature. Let’s grab a little of this cad yellow and go with that, too, just brighten it up just a tad…just a tad. It’s got some leaves, still.

Let’s go back here, to this little tree right here, and we’ll cover it. Hide some things…we’ve got all kinds of things..just a hint. If you just tap them with a little bit of color, it still makes them appear far off, like you got a lot of things hiding in there.

OK, now, we’ve got those background trees taken care of. I’m gonna use a 2-inch brush, and let’s go into some of the van dyke brown and some of the ivory black, and let’s tap some color into this. I’m gonna show you a little trick that I like to do. I’m tapping straight down. This color is pretty dark. But, I’m gonna have to fill in all of this – we’re gonna block all this in right here. So let’s work on that.

Notice how I started below that, and work my way up. See? It lets the color gradually get lighter, because there’s not much paint in my brush. Let’s just work on that, and see what all we can come up with….get some of this light area right there. See if we can’t get all of this laid in here. This kinda works good, this way.

Using a 2-inch brush – a clean one – let’s go into some highlight colors. Let’s go into that Indian yellow, some of the cad yellow. Now, remember, it’s gotta be thinner, so I wanna dip into this…I got a little linseed oil here I’m gonna cut with that…put a little of that linseed oil in it. If I can get my words right! I get tongue-tied sometimes! Remember, you gotta have enough paint on here, but it’s gotta be thin…gotta be thin.

Let’s put in some grass. Let’s start from the right side over here. Just tap in some highlights…not quite enough, so get some more linseed oil…tap in here. Let’s go back here in the back…there we go…it’s working now! Laying in some highlights…let’s make it a little greener…add a little more blue. Definitely worked! This is a nice color, here – let me turn it around here so you can see it. Sometimes they come out just a little bit too light, and you have to work with them. Get some more linseed oil…just a little problem, but, we’ll take care of it here in a moment. A bit more cad yellow so it’s as shadowed as I want it to.

Alright! Let’s stop just a moment. I want to put in, maybe like a little pond right there. Let’s take a 2-inch brush – a clean one – I have a lot of brushes up here that’s already cleaned so I don’t have to do a lot of cleaning all at one time. Make things move by a little easier! OK, we’ll take a little bit of this white, go up to the canvas right here, bore down, bore down, bore down. This will give us a bit of a reflection right there…something to make it look shimmery.

OK, lay that brush down, let’s get another clean, 1-inch brush. Gently, go across…see that? Instantly, you have a little pond! You got a little light. And, who knows? Let me get this other brush and add our highlight color on it. That’s one good thing about keeping it…and, let’s tap in some of the…just a little bit of this color that we used on the grass up there. Gently blend those, too. See that?

OK, I’m using a palette knife now. Go into some of that van dyke brown, a little bit of lizard crimson. You can see right here. Just mix up a little bit…makes the dirt. A little yellow ochre will help it – give it a little warm flavor! OK, let’s go right over here and cut a roll off. Get it nice and flat, cut a roll off, like that, and gently pull right across through there, like that. See, you got your…you got dirt. That easy! You don’t even have to go dig it up out of the yard! I make some funny comments sometimes – that’s what I like to do. Gotta have fun!

OK, now, use a little bit of white in with that mixture, let’s use a little bit of Indian yellow. Just a little – a bit more white. We’re gonna make a highlight for that dirt! See there? We’re using that same, dark mixture. Pull it out nice and flat, like that, cut you a roll across…just a little bit. See there? That dirt just comes alive! This makes it stand out, there – see that? But that dark – if you didn’t have that dark on it, you wouldn’t have anything at all. Just a gob of paint! Every little thing helps.

OK, while I’ve got that knife with me – I’ll wipe my knife off here right quick. OK, get some of this white…it’s got a little of this purple tint to it from that mixture that I have – that’s good. You don’t want it to be just stark, stark white. I’m kneading this paint, I guess you could say, it makes it a little creamy. That way it will go on the canvas a bit better. Sometimes these whites are thick, so…cut across the top, push it forward. Go up here, and let’s cut in a little water line. See that? Cut right there…just cut it in like that…just like that. Maybe there’s one out here…see that? We’ve got all kinds of things happening. That’s what I like. That’s how you can get all sorts of little things.

Alright, lets get some grass back up on top of this right quick. Take some of that ochre, come right here and tap in some of that grass right here. Push that dirt down…just like that. OK, lay that brush down…alright, where’s my big brush again? There we go. Tap into these three colors here, a little of the Indian yellow, some yellow ochre and some of the cad yellow. Add a little more linseed oil…(Part III to follow)

How To Write A Song (courtesy of ExpertVillage.com)

In this segment, I’m gonna talk about song structure. There’s no rules, really, in creativity…you can do whatever you want. But it’s also good to know what the norm is, so that when you break them, you break them intelligently and purposefully, so you don’t just sound…seem like you have no idea what you’re doing.

Here is a standard pop structure. You’ve got:

Verse I

Chorus

Verse II

Chorus

Bridge

Last Chorus

The verses are the parts of the story – the parts of the song – that basically tell the story. The chorus is gonna pop out as the main feeling…the main idea…the reason you wrote the song and what you want to say to the world about this song.

The 2nd verse is going to develop from the first verse – tell that story more – or, tell the details of what’s going on.

Back to the chorus, which is gonna be the exact same, usually.

Then, we get to the bridge – which is – you don’t have to have a bridge. Not all songs have a bridge. The bridge is a different perspective. It’s gonna have a different sound. It’s gonna almost come out through the looking glass. You’ve got the story and the main idea, and the bridge is gonna be like, “but, what if?”, or, “it could have been this way”, or, “I never thought of it this way”. It’s like, the other side.

And, then, you’re gonna end with the chorus, and you’ll think of a way to end your song.

There’s your basic, standard song structure!

How To Whistle With Your Fingers (courtesy of Howcast.com)

The finger whistle may seem difficult, but, with a little practice, anyone can master it! You will need:

Clean fingers, and

A mouth

Optional:

A mirror

Step 1 – Form a U-shape with your thumb and forefinger, or middle finger. Use a mirror to perfect your form and technique.

Step 2 – Place your fingers partly inside your mouth, wrapping your lips tightly across your teeth. Only the outer edges of your lips should be visible. Angle fingertips toward the center of your tongue.

Step 3 – Flatten your tongue to cover the bottom portion of your mouth. The tip of your tongue will touch your lower jaw, just behind the bottom row of teeth.

Step 4 – Inhale deeply, and blow forcefully across the top of your tongue and lower lip. Push your fingers downward and outward, onto your lips and teeth.

Step 5 – Adjust the position of your fingers, tongue and jaw for optimal whistling. Regulate the force of air for maximum affect and volume.

Step 6 – Practice regularly, until your desired whistle is achieved.

Did you know? Louisburg, North Carolina is the world’s whistling capital!

Learn How To Write A Love Letter (courtesy of howcast.com)

How much do you love what’s-her-face? Here’s how to count the ways. You will need:

High quality paper stock
A good pen
And your signature scent!

Optional:

A calligrapher
Wax

Step 1 – Pick out nice, heavy-stock stationery and a pricey pen. An old-fashioned fountain pen is a classy touch.

Step 2 – Put on music that moves you, and, perhaps, place a photo of your love in front of you, for inspiration. If your handwriting will have her wondering why you think her eyes twinkle like dorma and her lips taste like strawbeds, consider hiring a calligrapher!

Step 3 – Start with a loving salutation. Use a pet name, or a term of endearment.

Step 4 – Declare why you love this person, listing as many reasons as you can.

Step 5 – Close your letter with another sentiment of devotion, like, “Forever Yours”.

Step 6 – Check your spelling. Your missive will quickly change from a turn on to a turn off if you write that your lover is “eggsquisit” in all ways! Wait a day or 2, and re-read your letter several times before mailing it, so you can gain some perspective.

Step 7 – Add a final, romantic flourish by sealing the letter the old-fashioned way – with melted wax. And, lightly spraying your signature scent, if you have one. Now, await your love’s reply!

Did you know? Winston Churchill was known for his love letters. One to his first love, Pamela Plowden, was auctioned off in December 2003 for more than $160,000!

Learn How To Airbrush (courtesy of ExpertVillage.com)

Learn How To Play Guitar (courtesy of ViewDo)

How To Paint A Wall Quickly (courtesy of Paint Helpers)

Painting the corners of a room has always been a two-step process. Well, not anymore! This is a brand new product. What we’ve done with this product is, we’ve combined the speed of a roller with the accuracy of a paintbrush. No one’s ever done this before!

So, the way it works is, the brush fits right here, on the shield, behind the roller. You put paint on the roller, like this, okay, load it up nice and good. Saturate the roller – close your shield. You come up to your edge – say this is a door frame or a window frame or ceiling or whatever else you’re gonna paint up to. And really, all you need to do is put the roller on the wall, roll down, roll up, roll down.

The secret to this device is a tiny paintbrush that spreads the paint right to the edge of the wall, where the roller can’t go! That brush paints that little gap right here. So, the roller puts paint on the wall, the brush picks up paint right here, and moves it over to the edge. And, you can see, it gives you a very, very sharp edge. And, the roller falls off, so you don’t have to get your hands dirty by pulling it off.

In today’s Paint Helper’s Product Reviews, we’ll be taking a look at the Accubrush Paint Edging System, which you’re seeing in use right here. Take a look at how quickly we can edge around this window, using this device. There is not a product on the market which can edge as quickly or as accurately as the Accubrush Paint Edging System. It can be used as a roller in small spaces, but, most importantly, it’s got a little brush which will automatically give us professional results against doors, windows, ceilings, all sorts of trim.

It also comes in a pole-mounted version. This is the Accubrush XT which you’re seeing here, and this is our product tester, Kat, who is edging along this ceiling without having to get up and down on a ladder. And, she is edging a perfectly clean line with no paint getting up on the ceiling. We’ll be looking at the Accubrush Paint Edging System in this edition of Paint Helper’s Product Reviews, coming up next.

You’ll be saying that painting is just so easy, from now on! It’s not the big, horrible, strenuous job that you thought it was. This actually makes painting easy. What we’ve developed is a new paint edger that combines the speed of a roller with the accuracy of a paintbrush. This paintbrush has been specially designed to paint right up to the edge, so you don’t have to worry about taping or masking off anything. So, it’s a roller and a brush, and the shield here allows you to open it up, roll paint on the roller, close the shield.

Start away from the wall a little bit…and I’m done! Like I said, it’s a roller, and then the brush fits in behind it. And the brush is actually what does the final cutting, and that is what allows you to get right up to the edge. Without that brush, this doesn’t work. So, the roller basically puts paint on the wall first, and then the brush comes behind it and moves that paint right up to the edge. So, you’re never actually putting paint on the brush itself, so it makes for a very fast operation. The consistency and the results of the painting job when you’re finished are amazing…they are very, very accurate. They are as good as a professional painter.

The Accubrush will save you enormous amounts of time, especially along ceilings. Ceilings are notoriously the most difficult part of edging; especially, since you have to carry your paint with you up on the ladder if you want to brush it in. You often can’t tape a ceiling because the tape won’t stick or there’s texture on your ceiling or whatever else. With the Accubrush, it doesn’t matter if there’s texture on your ceiling. It will allow you to paint right up to that edge, quickly and cleanly. Now, look how close that is! You can’t get anywhere this close with your hand, by using tape, or any other method!

Learn how to draw Pokemon’s Pikachu (courtesy of MrManga1001)

Learn How To Play Harmonica (courtesy of Howcast.com)