International artists like Marcello Barenghi are working hard every day to dispel the long-standing perception that colored pencil is the step-child of the art world. Last month, Marcello hit his target square on and stepped up to join a super elite group of YouTube creators. The talented 3D hyper-realistic artist earned the highly-coveted Gold Play Button for attracting one million subscribers. BRAVO MARCELLO!

Check out several of the Italian mixed-media artist’s speed drawing videos on the playlist below. While you are there, take a gander at the rest of the 63 amazing FREE videos filled with tips and tricks to help you shine as an artist. That is a whopping 8 hours (486.28 minutes) of FREE video drawing instruction at your disposal, any time of the day or night.

If you want to check out Colored Pencil Enthusiast’s March Favs playlist right now, go to https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLpASlR4nmIhvZyFPJoWSLjF2sZTTDAqy2.

Note: You can skip through the playlist or watch the videos in order. Watch one video or watch them all. It’s up to you.

Whenever you find a few minutes in your busy schedule, look up Colored Pencil Enthusiast on YouTube. You are bound to find at least one FREE colored pencil and mixed-media tutorial among our many playlists to inspire you to create great art!

If you have a few minutes to spare, scroll down to check out my 5 favorite artists this month. If you are keeping a strict eye on your time, I included how many minutes each video takes to watch. In total, all five videos add up to one hour of video watching time. 

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Chloe Rose Art isn’t specifically a colored pencil artist. I have featured her in my playlists before because her art advice often applies to all mediums. Plus, she has a wicked sense of self-deprecating humor that I personally enjoy, and I think you will, too. Her video is a short 3:45 minutes chocked full of giggles. Now, the question remains what kind of artist are you?

I don’t think YouTube artist Mike not Jerry sets out to create comedic videos but his funny bone cannot help but shine through in his vlog series Artist Problems. If you have 7 minutes and 36 seconds to spare, Mike shares some solid advice on how to karate chop your artist’s block and restart your creative mojo.

Warning! This video does contain mature innuendos, so screen it outside the earshot of impressionable kiddos who might ask questions like “why do you need to get in the mood, mom or dad?”

But, it’s pretty tame otherwise. No swearing. Just clean adult fun.

Here’s a little factoid for you. Mike is actually the grandson of one of the former powerhouses of the art world. Gerald Goldstein founded Jerry’s Artarma in 1968 to help artists afford otherwise expensive art supplies. You, too, can help empower aspiring artists by donating to the Gerald Goldstein Foundation at http://www.jerrysartarama.com/community/gerald-goldstein.

Check out more of Mike’s videos on Jerry’s Artarma YouTube channel.

March Favs: 3 Featured Artists

Dubbed the Italian magician of 3D art, Marcello Barenghi is a mixed-media colored pencil artist, as well as a painter. Marcello uploads how-to draw videos every Thursday. His consistency was most likely key to him hitting one million subscribers in March. This is a gigantic feat for any YouTube creator, especially an artist.

You can check out his amazingly-detailed lemon in spot 10 of the playlist, a Pepsi can in spot 13 and Kong Skull Island in spot 40.

You can find Marcello on YouTube, InstagramInstagram, Facebook and at his website http://www.marcellobarenghi.com/.

Joe from the YouTube channel Retreat Syndrome started his channel somewhat out of necessity. As an artist who specializes in drawing darker skin tones and natural hair, he couldn’t find any dedicated experts in this area.

“I really wasn’t finding a lot on YouTube about (deeper skin tones) to help my art get better, so instead of complaining I thought it would be fun to attempt making some instructive videos of my own,” said Joe.

Joe’s passion is drawing bold, bodacious women, and he doesn’t shrink from rendering high-profile celebrity portraits.

“I want artists to know they shouldn’t be intimidated to draw darker skin or natural hair because I have discovered it’s not as hard as you may think.”

The U.S. artist also encourages people new to art to mix it up. His theory is beginner’s need to learn from various artists and try multiple methods to achieve similar results. Whatever you do…don’t limit yourself!

His favorite art mottos are let’s all learn from each other and never be afraid to practice hard and try new things!

Yep, I feel ya, Joe!

You can find Joe at Instagram, Pinterest and Google Plus.

This video takes 26:08 minutes to watch.

Maximiliano Ugarte’s Hipster Cat is a great example of how to mix graphite with colored pencil to achieve a pop of show-stopping color.

Maximiliano is the talent behind the YouTube channel The Maxi Art. You can find the Chilean artist at Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

His video takes 16:52 minutes to watch.

If you want to check out the other artist’s on the March fav’s playlist, click below.

And, that’s it, folks. Another month flew right by us. Remember to like and comment on the videos you like to encourage your favorite artists, and while you are at subscribe, like and comment on my channel, as well.

Remember to like and comment on your favorite videos to encourage your each artist, and while you are at subscribe, like and comment on my channel, as well.

It’s nice to know someone out there is actually reading, watching and benefitting from all this free knowledge.

What was your favorite colored pencil & mixed-media video tutorial this month? If I didn’t include it, feel free to share the link in the comments section.

Happy drawing! Melissa

me100px     Melissa LeGates is a professional writer and retired Air Force journalist. She specializes in long-form features and loves to write about living a victorious Christian life, art and health. She and her husband live in Delaware. In her free time, she is a student of colored pencil, watercolor, acrylics and oils.

Melissa also maintains two other blogs:

– Her writing career: https://melissalegates.wordpress.com

– PTSD/my first book “Set My Captives Free” launch at https://setmycaptivesfree.wordpress.com