Guides & Tips

The Reeves Guides & Tips section in partnership with Walter Foster publishing will provide you with practical suggestions and advice to help you create your art.  

Are you a beginner? Then find out how to get started and what you will need to begin your artistic journey. Learn how to draw, paint, mix colour and scraperfoil. 

Established artist? Get hints and tips to help you achieve different techniques and effects across a whole range of media. Plus, view our selection of step-by-step painting guides for inspiration. 

We endeavour to inspire artists at each stage of their artistic journey. Let us help you explore your creativity. 

Coloured Pencil Guide

Coloured pencil is a versatile medium as it can be used to convey the properties of acrylics, oils or water colours. Whether you choose to use coloured pencils for sketches or to create fully coloured art pieces, pencils are a joy to work with. To enhance your pencil artworks, there are many approaches and techniques to be learnt such as hatching, layering, burnishing and blending. 

This guide in conjunction with Walter Foster will teach you the basics of colour theory along with all of the classic pencil techniques, plus how to hold a pencil and experiment with different surfaces. 

Step by Step guides

When learning to paint, knowing where to start can be daunting. It often helps to copy images or follow tutorials to get you on the right path. This section contains simple guides which provide step by step instructions on how to create inspiring compositions. You will find something to paint no matter what media you use and the lessons will provide guidance in the form of how to compose your piece, how to blend and layer colours along with palette (colour) suggestions and techniques to try. 

Paint by Numbers Instructions

Here is the PDF file with instructions for Paint by Numbers