- What's up, everybody? My name's Karen Campbell
and I'm a mixed media artist and I also love to draw so I
teach both here on YouTube. I'm just hanging out today
and I am sitting on my floor, as you can see, surrounded by
my favorite collage materials. I love collage and if
you love mixed media, perhaps you love collage as well. But maybe you have some questions about how do I adhere to my canvas? Or sometimes my projects
turn out super wrinkly? And you can't figure out what the heck you even are doing collage
for in the first place if you end up covering it
all up with your paint. And you might ask those questions. So I'm in the middle of doing
a whole series of videos regarding my own favorite
ways to do mixed media. And I've likened my whole
process to a hamburger. (laughs) I did a introduction
to my hamburger system a few weeks ago on YouTube. I'll put a link, you can click to the eye in the corner of the screen. If you wanna start back at
the beginning of this series. Also drop it down below,
oh hi Rosie, come here. Oh yay, that's how Rosie loves you. She boops you. (laughs) I can't believe I got that
on cam film, that's amazing. I'm gonna shut up and turn
the camera to my materials, and go through each and every one, and why they're my fav, okay? First and foremost, is old book pages. These are fantastic,
'cause you can grab pages that have text on them or pictures. You wanna make sure your
pages, though, are all mattes, matte, that's really really important, no matter what you use,
it has to be matte. Because the adhesive or glue that you're using works
much better on matte papers. Because it's porous and so
the adhesive will soak in and work really really well. I like to use, to go to old thrift stores. Now listen, people have
a cow when they find out I'm going to these old
bookstores and grabbing books. But if you see a book
like this at a bookstore, no one's gonna buy this
and keep it precious. This is already trashed. So if you see this and it
obviously needs a new home, I think about giving it a new home with our using it as collage
paper is absolutely acceptable. So I don't want any hating
comments down below, thank you very much, it's all good. And I think like this
one is, see it's damaged. So it's okay, we're just
giving this a new life. So this one is in French, the
one I was looking at before, this one is in Latin. So you can have these beautiful papers in these old books that
are getting destroyed. I love using these for
collage backgrounds. Another really fun thing to use are these, these old patterns. These are great, the tissue
paper inside is really soft, it's really yellow too. But you can have some cool
texts in there if you want, or not, or you can just
use it for the texture. But this material that
is creative tissue paper, works fantastically. And of course, you get these
amazing original sketches that you rip off and use as well. So that's number two on my
most favorite things to use. Number three, phone book pages. Phone book pages, if you're lucky enough to get your hands on one, I should say. Crazy to think they were given
out for free for 100 years, now they don't even have them anymore. You probably have to pay big
money to get a phone book. But these are the perfect,
they're super thin, again this is a very similar tissue paper to our patterns over here as well. I don't know why I can't
remember that word. Another awesome material to collage with is music paper, sheet music right? I have actually about, I have
a whole booklet of music paper and I actually did a girl on each page. It's a romantic, it's so feminine, it's just a beautiful background. You can just add a little bit of paint for a gorgeous background and
you're kind of ready to go. Another fun thing I like
to use for collage paper are cookbooks. So this is great if
sometimes I really like to watercolor food actually and so what a better
background than a recipe book for doing a food drawing or a cocktail, I love to watercolor cocktails as well. So my other favorite things
to collage with are napkins. These are so fun, obviously
you can grab napkins from literally anywhere,
from your dollar store to your local pharmacy,
Target, grocery store. If you keep your eyes peeled, you can find napkins virtually anywhere. Now the only thing you
need to keep in mind when you're collaging with
napkins, is that you want to, a lot of times these are two or three ply, so you wanna open them up and you need to remove the backing. So that's just word to the wise. Also and I do use
napkins a ton in my work, you just wanna make sure
that you're really careful. These get the most
wrinkled up of everything. And they also tear very
easily so I recommend actually tearing this, the
napkins into smaller chunks, that will make it a
little bit more manageable and easier for you to control
the napkin with the adhesive. Another obvious resource that you can use is scrapbooking paper. All right now this is
my favorite thing to do because, these I have hundreds of packets of scrapbooking paper that
I've collected over the years. What's so great, this is a
little art mixed media hack, is that all these papers,
pretty much go together, right. These all go together,
these all go together. So if you're really stuck on how to make a cohesive mixed media piece, use your patterns papers to
inform your color scheme. And these are already
formulated to go together. So you can literally just
take this one and this one and these three sheets that
occur in a row all match. So boom, project informed right there. Pull those papers, in fact
I'm gonna do that right now and I'm gonna make a project with it just to prove to you how easy this is. And these will be my sheets that I'm gonna use to
collage, for my paper. So, so, so easy, takes all the
guesswork out of everything. All right, let's talk
about some more things. Okay the next one is a little
bit more of an obvious choice but don't knock it until you try it because commercially made
scrapbooking tissue paper, specifically this Tim Holtz paper, I love. This has just the most perfect
collage qualities to it because it's thin and porous. If you notice, most of what I'm deeming the best collage materials,
are these thinner papers. And the reason that these
are nice specifically, and these again, they're all Tim Holtz, from the Tim Holtz line, is that there's very little wrinkling. The way you get a lot of
wrinkling from napkins, that doesn't tend to occur with these commercially made tissue papers that are made specifically
for mixed media work. So I know that the napkins
are a much cheaper route. But these aren't crazy expensive, and if you have your coupon,
you're running into Michaels, you can get a pack of
these, highly recommend. And I also like they have
the music notes on them and the stamps, they just
have a very cool variety of these available. A lot of times, if you
have a Tuesday Morning you can find these at Tuesday Morning, Hobby Lobby, but they're just
a really lovely consistency. I should also mention that
Targets and gift stores sell tissue paper for gift wrap, tissue paper that's specially
made for gift wrap is awesome. Target has ones that come
in really really cool, individual designs, like
big multi-paper packs, that I've used forever and ever. And I never use them for gifts but I use them a ton for
my mixed media projects. So that's another one, and
this last one is gonna be a bit of a surprise for you, I think. I've done this on numerous occasions. Which is lining my paper
with either duct tape, like decorative duct tape,
like these big fat rolls. Or masking tape, masking tape
works really really well. It's great for shoring up, here's some more decorative duct tape, I have actually a ton of it down here. All these different styles. Now because it's glossy, the
paint doesn't adhere to it as awesome as those matte old book pages, which is why I love using
those matte old book pages. But you still can get away
with it if you want to. And this, I just wanna
draw your attention to. This journal over here, this
one I completely masking taped the entire background for this, and I'll put a link again,
to the corner of your screen if you wanna see this entire journal. But you can see, actually
I'll do it to the first one, that it shows how I made
this, the top of this, which is all masking tape. And masking tape works great with paint because it's a little bit porous, it just works as a really nice surface. And you get this really
really beautiful lined texture under your pieces. I should also say,
again in that same link, that same card that's gonna show up. This is, you see what
that says, Hershey's. The entire background for this piece is actually made with
Hershey's chocolate wrappers. That's right, trash. It was Halloween time so you can see it's very football team themed. And I made that with
some garbage. (laughs) This was actually a big sticker paper that was fabric sticker paper so that's in essence is my
collage background as well. Here's some of that duct tape,
that decorative duct tape as a way to make a border on your piece. So you guys, you can get super creative with this first layer. This, thank you very much, is washi tape. Yes that's washi tape as the first layer. So you gotta think outside the box. More washi tape. And this was that Target,
this is Target tissue paper that I was talking about. And again, it's down as my first layer. And then painting around it
and using it as the forefront of your subject, gives it, just uses it in a very very unique way. This was scrapbooking paper cut
into the shape of buildings. This is duct tape as well,
see her whole body design. Duct tape, (laughs) duct tape, duct tape, duct tape, how fun is that. So you can use collage in
a lot of different ways. This also Target tissue paper. All of these projects are
on YouTube by the way. This is my cereal box journal, I just happened to have
it out, it's funny. This one does not have collage, if you do not like a texture background, skip the collage step in your hamburger mix media system, okay? Just simply go right
onto mixed, to paints, and that would be just fine. All right, the first thing we need to do is discuss though, how the
heck are we gonna stick our cool papers on our surfaces. Okay, you have a lot of choices, and I know it can be super overwhelming when you go to your art and crafts store and there's all these bottles, right, and you're like, what in
the hell is all this stuff. All right, I'm just gonna
cut right to the chase in case you wanna get right
to the meat of this video. This is the one that I use, matte medium. I use it 99% of the time. Okay so when in doubt, grab
this one 'cause I sent you there and I would never send you anywhere that wasn't gonna successful. But you did need to be aware
that there are other options. So super super quick, anytime
you have the word medium, or, so medium, that's
ultra matte, gloss medium, matte medium, okay
those are all adhesives. Those are all glues and
also, see acrylic medium. So basically, if it says medium,
it has gluing properties. It also means it's
specially formulated to work in and amongst your paints. You can put it under your
acrylics, acrylics, not oils, under your paint, you can put it in, you can mix any of these into paints and you can put them on top. So that's why these are so user friendly. It's also why I don't use
Mod Podge on that layer because this is for going
on top of paint only. These can go under, in, and on top. Does that make sense,
that's the quickest reason. I go way more into my obsession with Mod Podge in the first video, and we will get there and I do use it, but not for this very
first layer, I do not. It has to do with having
too slick of a surface and so the other subsequent paint layers don't stick very well to it. So I just wanna talk
about this really quick and do a really quick demo on
the difference between them. Do you see that? Look at this, okay, that's gooey ooey. This is also, I don't like
the gels, this is matte gel, because it reminds me of old school, that chunky glue, frankly,
that we used to use. I just wanna to show you this, this'll save you a lot of money so you don't have to do this yourself. Now this, I bought this, this
is ultra matte medium, okay, so it's more matte than this. I got this because some
of the paints that I use, the Lukas Cryls, have a
little bit of a sheen to them and I wanna knock back that sheen. So that's a way that you
can change the consistency or the quality of your paints, on your own in case the paint you bought isn't doing what you want it to do. Okay so this has the same
consistency as the matte medium, it's very thin, this is also
why I like not using the gels, because the ones that are
called straight up medium. This is fluid medium, see
it tells you on the bottle. Fluid medium that's versus gel, gel is gooey, fluid is fluidy. (laughs) Okay so when that's dry,
that should be ultra matte. And then this one, using a
different sponge for each glue, goes on, this is not watercolor paper, this the wrong kind of paper, but for the demo purposes
I wanna show you this. Okay 'cause it's important
to understand the difference so then also you don't waste your money buying things like I just wanna try that, and then you open up and you're like, oh man if I had known I
was buying a glob of goo, I wouldn't have done it, right. Now gloss, I kind of like. This is cool, because it
is acrylic fluid, still. It's just the opposite of matte. It's gloss medium instead of matte medium. So when this is dry, it
will still be glossy, so it just depends on the kind
of project you're working on. Maybe you're doing a fashion thing and you have a girl
wearing a very sassy dress and you want her to have some shine, you could add this in to your paint and make your paint glossy. And if you just be really
careful and read your labels, it will tell you
everything you need to know about what is in there. So it will tell you if
it's transparent or opaque. It'll tell how glossy it is,
so this is all the way glossy. And it'll tell you how
thick or thin it is. So you can take your
time and read your labels but I just pulled out
four just to show you. If you can, this is what I'm looking for. So you're thinking, oh
gloss that would be great for the top coat on something, the way that I use Mod Podge, but no, it tells you right here, do not use as a varnish, okay. So that's another reason
why I use the mediums in and amongst the paint and
I use the Mod Podge on top. Again, again, again,
this is really a sealer. It is a glue but again, it's
not specifically formulated to work in the paints like these are. And it will even say, use alone or blend with acrylic mediums. Colors and water is fine too
'cause they're all water-based, that's also why you wanna
stay away from oils. I had somebody on YouTube
ask me yesterday about oils. Okay, it's not like you can't
use oil with mixed media but oils have to be the
very very very last level of the hamburger, I'm gonna
grab my hamburger sheet. So it is true that you use
oils on top of acrylics, and painters have been doing
that for hundreds of years However, you can't have
anything acrylic on top of oil. So if you wanna go ahead and use oils, it has to be your last, last layer. Which means no Mod Podge on top, no paint or permanent ink markers. Any of this, any of this is done. You basically can do acrylic
paint, you can do these layers, you can do collage layer, acrylic paint, you can probably do some of these, and then oils and then you're done. You don't wanna put Mod
Podge under your oils, I don't think it will ever dry. 'Cause this is a plastic layer. So you can do oils, yes,
but then you're cutting off the entire second half of the hamburger. And I told her, well then
you're kind of building a hot dog, (laughs) not a hamburger. So can you do it, yes! But you're building something
totally different, okay. So I love hamburgers and hot
dogs, so you can do both. But they're just a very clear distinction in where oils fits in that model. I'm gonna dry these with
my hairdryer super fast so you can really
understand the difference, and then I'm gonna leave you
to your devices and some music, and I'm gonna show you
exactly how I collage. Because that's actually,
it sounds self-explanatory but I've been in a room
full of women collaging and sometimes the results
are super undesirable. So I wanna teach you in 30 seconds exactly a great way to do
it so you have success. All right, I just dried
this with my hairdryer, can you see the difference? So glossy stays glossy, super cool right? The matte does have a sheen in it. You can see the reflective light. The ultra matte, that is
a door knob, totally flat. Totally, totally matte. See the difference? And then that's the, ugh I can't even, ugh, that gel makes me nauseous. Gross, gloppy gloppy glue glue. Don't like it but maybe you do. Who knows, just depends
what you're using it for. All right I'm gonna show you exactly my adhering technique
and then we'll be on our way. Okay, I'm using my Canva
Artboard that I got yesterday. You can learn all about
choosing the right substrate in last week's video. Again, link is within that playlist. So really cool boards. Okay, so what is my method for adheration. Is that a word, I don't even know. First I'm gonna cut my, I usually rip up my things
to about a palm size. It's just easier to work with. When they're too small,
you're collaging all day til the cows come home. And when they're too big, things become unwieldy and gross and chunky and I don't like that either. So you can do, I do just the same size. Look, my magically coordinating
pieces of paper, hola. So fun, okay. So we have that, this
is my exact approach. I don't know if this was the
right sponge that I was using. All right, couple of key things. Number one, use a ton, okay do not use sparingly. Use excessively. (laughs) This is my matte medium,
I'm serious you guys. This is the biggest
problems people run into is 'cause they're super neat. And they brush it, dude
you gotta glob it on. This is mixed media, this is like a party. You gotta glue to excess, okay? Put on a yummy amount, make
sure it's all on there, use your fingers, get in there. And then you wanna put
a whole layer on top. Okay, it's under and over
everything, under and over. And if there's any wrinkles or bubbles, now's the time you squish
it out, you do not wait. The biggest problem people, is they don't put enough
adhesion underneath so they get these awkward,
uncomfortable, yucky bubbles that come out, and if you
don't have this juicy layer, they don't go away because you
can't get things under there. Sometimes you can over saturate and I'll will the matte medium to somehow penetrate through
the paper and stick it on. But it's not usually enough
to get it really good so use a ton. Just get in there, make
a big old saturated mess. It dries so fast with a hairdryer,
you don't need to worry. Again, get in there, if you
can feel if there's a bubble then squish it out, but
if not, keep on rolling. Okay, I'm just gonna do this last one, you get the gist here, all right. Juicy, juicy. You can overlap papers
because you just put the, you put it under and over, right. So you can put something on top, you can have them overlap. Okay, oh I had a big bubble
there, what am I doing? I'm squishing it down, with my finger. Okay, if you do this to
each and every piece guys, you'll have no problems, okay? And you can make it pretty and all. Swiped when you're all done. All right that is my collage system. Now I'm gonna talk for two
milliseconds about why collage. 'Cause I was super uncomfortable with it when I first started. Why collage, it's mostly about texture. Now not everybody is
comfortable with texture. Oh I just got a big hunk
of glue on my camera. All right, so not everybody
is comfortable with texture, okay I wasn't for a
really really long time. I didn't understand why
you collage something just to cover it up with paint. I didn't understand at all. But then one day it
kind of clicked for me. The process of collaging
and gluing is like a warmup. It's like jogging before you're running, Or stretching before you're jogging. It's a way to get your brain engaged in the activity that you're about to do. Honestly, that's what collage is for me. It also, like I said, it
informs my color scheme. If I can match the paints to
the papers that I've chosen, then I'm guaranteed success
for my piece, right. So it's really smart in a lot of ways. The only thing is, it
adds a lot of texture, which is another level of sophistication to your mixed media piece. Anybody can make
something flat and smooth, that doesn't take any skill at all. But if you have texture, that's one of the very
important design elements, if you're getting all fancy
schmancy in the fine art world. So adding texture is another
level of sophistication. It's going above and beyond. And so I'll show you a couple of pieces where the texture made me
a little uncomfortable. But then it also, it makes
it tactile, it makes it real. It turns a 2D piece of art
into a 3D piece of art. It just makes it more
exciting and more richer. So that's what texture is. I'm just gonna show
you a couple of pieces. All right here is a fantastic example. All right, she is in my
Mixed Media Magic book. She's a project you can also take, I have a real time tutorial for this in my mixed media society. But can you see the
paper napkins under here, It's rumpy, (laughs)
it's rumpy, it's bumpy. So from afar, you can't
see any of that, right. It's just a cute girl
but if you go up close, you notice when you get closer, you're going, oh my gosh what is that? It's this whole other level. Now even look at her face. Now I know some people,
that would freak them out that there was wrinkles in this face. But to me, it's a whole other level, it's like we're taking
our work to the next stop. Now you don't have to like
that, and that's okay. And you don't have to use it but just in case that is
super intriguing to anybody, I felt like it's my duty to
try to teach you another level. Another thrilly thing
which is really cool, which you can see here, is that when you produce
these jagged edges, this is from the collage paper underneath. I think I have collage paper, yes I do. Then you run your tools
over it, it catches. See these lines? These are catching on the papers under it. So again, that texture is helping to produce different
effects on your pieces that you otherwise wouldn't have there. So I know not everybody is
comfortable with collage and that's okay. But I wanted to make a
whole separate video on it and dedicated to it in case
you have any questions. And if I haven't addressed
something, please, again, add them in the comment section. I'll get around to everybody. If you want the PDF for
the hamburger, let me know. And next week, we'll have video
number four in the series. So make sure you subscribe and hit the little bell so you get emailed every time I release new videos. I also go live on Tuesdays
and give drawing lessons. And that's live real time on YouTube so that's pretty fun too. So lots of reasons to subscribe. Right now on your screen, you should have a playlist popping up. That's the hamburger series playlist. And again you can go there to catch up on the videos that you haven't yet seen. Have a great week you guys,
I'll see you next Friday.
