Just Draw It, Issue #004 -- Pumpkins, Health and a Special Offer!
October 22, 2007

It's been a while since I have been able to send out this newsletter and for that I apologize, but I'm back and adding to the site almost daily. I had some pretty serious art related health issues which I will discuss below so hopefully you don't have to go through what I did! But before we get into that, Halloween is just around the corner and I've found an awesome site for you to check out.

Want to have the Coolest Jack-0-Lantern this Halloween?
What does a carved pumpkin have to do with drawing you might ask? Everything. If the design you start with isn't inspiring then your jack-o-lantern isn't going to be either. Maybe you've never thought about it or never seen a really artistically carved pumpkin. Whatever your excuse may be, you don't have one anymore. First, you can go and check out zombiepumpkins.com which has the absolute best collection of carved pumpkins that you can copy or use as inspiration. Next, you can try and create your own...

If you want to create your own cool pumpkin carving here's what you'll need to do:

- Make a simple line drawing on regular paper. If you're drawing from a photo, the trick is to see that image as though it only has 2 colors, one black the other white, or light and dark. Whatever areas you can classify as white or light, draw those shapes on your paper. These light-area shapes will be the parts of the pumpkin that you want to cut and remove to let the candle inside shine through.
- Once you have your drawing, you can tape it to your pumpkin, or redraw it on the pumpkin. If you have a digital camera it might be a good idea to take a photo of your drawing so that if you make a mistake and cut the paper too much that it won't stay on the pumpkin you will have a backup-reference that you can use.

Happy Halloween!

Health in the Arts
As I mentioned above I have been having some chronic art-related health problems and I don't want you to go through what I just went through. Please take the following information to heart; art supplies aren't meant to be harmful to you but I've met more than a few people who know all too well that when used improperly the impact on your health can be huge.

Always read any warning labels that come with your art supplies. If you're just drawing you shouldn't need to worry too much, but make sure that you're not putting the supplies in your mouth and that you wash your hands properly after drawing to remove any graphite, charcoal or other drawing medium that may have gotten onto your hands. If you're working a lot with charcoal you might want to wear a dust-mask so that you're not breathing in the charcoal dust.

If you're getting into painting make sure to paint in a well ventilated area. You may also want to look into getting a mask to further help protect your lungs. I once painted a mural for a restaurant, and was getting frequent headaches while doing it, but once I bought a proper mask and made sure that I had the windows open and a fan blowing at all times I was fine.

Most recently, I've been dealing with RSI, or repetitive stress injury which has hand, and wrist symptoms similar to Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. I was finishing up working on projects for the games Empire Earth 3 and Lord of the Rings Online and I was spending too much time on the computer making art. The pain was almost constant every-day and seemed to just be getting worse and worse. It was not a good situation, but I've recently recovered after taking a break from work and limiting my computer time in addition to thoroughly stretching every day. If you're having any kind of muscle pain related to art please email me and I will send you info on the stretches that I used to get healthy again.

If you're experiencing any kind if discomfort while making art - stop immediately and start to examine what is causing the problem, and then take steps to correct it. When it comes to your health you can't afford to take chances.

A Special Offer
I put up a page a while back about getting custom order paintings. Basically the service works like this: you send them a photo, and they send you back a beautiful hand-painted oil painting. It's actually a really cool, and I have a few paintings in my house that were made this way. The paintings are produced by master painters and for what you get for the price it's pretty amazing. It really makes for a standout gift for pretty much any occasion.

I was talking to the owner of the site Paint Your Life.com and I'm happy to tell you that as of now you can get a 10% discount if you order through the page on DrawingCoach.com and use a special promotional code. This code is for viewers of this newsletter only so go and take a look at what you could have hanging on your own wall, or give away as a present. With Christmas quickly approaching could this be that perfectly unique gift that you've been looking for?

Custom Made Paintings
10% Discount Secret Code: holidays07