February 17, 2021 3 min read

carnival mardi gras

Mardi Gras or Fat Tuesday, refers to occasions of the Carnival celebration, beginning on or after the Christian feasts of the Epiphany (3 Kings Day) and culminating on the day before Ash Wednesday, which is called Shrove Tuesday. Mardi Gras is French for "Fat Tuesday," reflecting the practice of the last night of eating rich, fatty foods before the ritual Lenten sacrifices and fasting of the Lenten season.

 

Here are some interesting facts about Mardi Gras:

 

1. The first New Orleans, Mardi Gras parade, was 184 years ago.

New Orleans has been celebrating Fat Tuesday with parades since 1837. The first floats appeared in the parade in 1857.

 

2. Mardi Gras Marks the end of Carnival season

Nations worldwide celebrate Mardi Gras as the last day of the Carnival season, which starts after Christmas, on January 6th (referred to as 'Twelfth Night').

 

3. Mardi Gras is also known as "Pancake Day"

In Ireland, England, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada, people celebrate Mardi Gras by eating pancakes and participating in pancake themed activities.

 

4. The Official colors styles of Mardi Gras are purple, gold, and green

Purple indicates justice, gold suggests power, and green represents faith.

 

5. King's cake is eaten all throughout Carnival season.

King's cake (or three kings cake) is eaten throughout the globe during Carnival season. It is typically purple, green, and gold in the United States with a trinket baby Jesus inside. Whoever gets the baby Jesus is said to have good luck all year!

 

 

Let's Draw ‘Mardi Gras’ Step by Step

In this tutorial we used the following supplies:

  • Pencil B
  • Pencil 5B
  • Colored Pencil
    • Purple
    • Green
    • Yellow
    • Ochre
    • Gray
    • Orange
    • Burgundy

 

All tools used in this tutorial and more you may find at NIL-Tech Amazon Store
Get yours today, here is a coupon for  10% OFF:

STEPBYSTEP10

 

mardi gras colors

Step 1. We start by drawing a circle and drawing a middle line, and at the bottom, we add the jaw outlines. (Pencil B)

 

what is fat tuesday

Step 2. Draw out the mask's outlines, cutouts for the eyes, and a stone in the middle. (Pencil B)

 

mardi gras world

Step 3. Draw patterns on the mask, as well as add lips and nose shadow outlines at the bottom. (Pencil B) 

 

mardi gras parade schedule

Step 4. Above, draw the outlines of feathers and fabric elements with bells. (Pencil B)

 

mardi gras parade

Step 5. Add small cuts on the feathers to make their shape more like the real one. (Pencil B)

 

happy mardi gras

Step 6. Remove all unnecessary construction lines and make the outline brighter. (Pencil 5B)

 

mardi gras music

Step 7. We begin to make the general tone of all elements. For feathers and fabrics, use green and purple colors. For the base of the mask, use yellow, ochre, and orange. Leave the lower part white and paint the lips purple, and the shadows gray (Colored pencils purple, green, yellow, ochre, gray)

 

fat tuesdays

Step 8. Next, start working on the mask's base and use yellow, ochre, and orange. (Colored pencils yellow, ochre, orange)

 

happy fat tuesday

Step 9. We work on the feathers using all the same colors, make a small gradient and draw veins. (Colored pencils purple, green)

 

mardi gras traditions

Step 10. Finalizing the remaining details. With the help of green, we are finishing the fabric elements with purple and burgundy. We also refine the lips with purple. (Colored pencils purple, green, burgundy)

 

All tools used in this tutorial and more you may find at NIL-Tech Amazon Store
Get yours today, here is a coupon for  10% OFF:

STEPBYSTEP10

 

NIL Tech
NIL Tech


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