Weekly Sketch Thread -

I have several different types of pressure sensitive pads from Wacom and have worked on the Cintique screens for a bit on a job.

By and large... it doesn't take more than a pencil and a sheet of printer paper. How complicated is that? There is no clean up to be done. So there really isn't an issue of clean up and art supplies. It's a pencil and a paper... or for that matter whatevers at hand...a ball point pen etc. The point is it's the artists and his process not so much the tools.

A lot of artists get massively distracted by focusing on tools and technology instead of just sketching. A very slippery slope IMHO.
 
Again that's why I felt the focus of the thread should be fundamentals and quick sketch primarily. Not fine art finished masterpieces done in oil on canvas. It's just not realistic for most people. I usually define quick-sketch by something done in under 5 minutes. And that's very generous as in most quick-sketch sessions at studios etc. you usually get poses that are tops 1-2 minutes. Because the focus on quick sketch is to capture the gesture line... that is the building block for everything else. If you find yourself rendering each button and crosshatching the herringbone texture of his coat and delineating eyelashes... then it defeats the purpose. So quick-sketch is best for a thread like this. Naturally there will be some variations and some more lengthy poses... but by and large it should be quick-sketch oriented.

The fundamentals is totally valid for posting. No harm there.

If you attach stuff make sure it's done sensibly. We can even put together a tutorial for how to attach stuff in a reasonable manner. If you have a sketch that is approx 6X6" then there is no reason it should be scanned at 300% at 350DPI and attached as a full quality JPG. It's overkill.
 
Normally I'd post this vid in the references thread... but to underscore my point here about quick sketching this vid nails it. Notice how loose he stays... notice that he has a timer... he's going for gesture... not bogged down in parts and details. He does a very good job and getting this across. Have a look - THIS is the key to getting better as an artist.

How To Warm-Up For Gesture Drawing - Part 01 - YouTube

10 years ago videos like this didn't exist. So it's fantastic for anyone wanting to learn to draw to see this and understand the approach.
 
A few thoughts....

Kids benefit massively from seeing their parents sketching. It inspires them. Obviously it's not so fun cleaning the walls of ballpoint pen... but it's a hugely positive thing if a kid is in a house where there is some artwork being done and he/she sees early on artwork being worked on and created. Very magical thing for a kid no matter how young!

Aside from cost... try to get away from the habit of thinking of wasting paper. You will waste paper... reams of it... that 'waste' is necessary. Many people take an approach to their sketches that it's fine art or I don't want to mess up my sketchbook. Man that is the death knell for anyone trying to progress in art and sketching. Paper is cheap, pencils are cheap. Burn through it.

If the tablet inspires you then go for it. But you want to be keeping your sketches weather digital or traditional as way to look back in a year and monitor progress. They also make great things to hand to the kids and have them color in and play with.

You're more than welcome to open a finished illustration thread if you like. Best if you set it up with some guidelines... what medium, approx time from start to finish, what the goal of the illustration was, hard parts, parts considered easy. Learning does well with guidelines and it will help viewers to understand what was achieved. It'd be a worthy thread! I'd post in it.
 
Yeah, you hit it on the head with that one. My kids watch me sketching like there's magic happening between pen and paper. They definitely seem to have the creative interest and spark in them. Of course, when I see professionals knocking stuff out like it's nothing, I have to admit I'm the kid watching magic. I do give my kids the sketches to play with or destroy since there are more than enough to go around. Thanks for the reminder.



It's really the cost thing for me. I can burn through both sides of 20 pages of paper in no time whereas with the tablet, I have unlimited canvas space and can do warmups, gestures, and experimental stuff at a rapid pace without worrying about a thing. For me, this frees me up creatively. I do still like putting pen to paper when I want to flesh out an idea quickly and with different line control. There's something about putting pen or pencil to paper that just feels right.



If/when I get to a happier place with my fundamentals, I might do that so I can post up finished pieces for critique. Right now, though, I've got my hands full with the basics.
 
What's the theme again?
I'm just doing Samurai at the moment.
Gimme a theme peeps!!
 
SAMURAI it is!

Get sketchin' one and all!!! Which technically speaking... is both the singular and plural form of the word. So a samurai by himself or a group of samurai doing what they do... please no explicit Gohatto themes...
 
Have at it. Samurai. And a cat. And a bisected ninja. Found an old brush pen so I've inked some of them.
Really liking the small gestural images. So I'll probably do some more of those.
Tthe guy at top left was almost an afterthought but I think he's my favourite on the page. Like the rhythm of his pose.
 
Sat in a meeting for an hour. Doodled these chaps in a notepad with a ballpoint pen.
 
Here goes. This could probably do with lots of judicious erasing, but I thought I'd post warts and all (and smudges and scribbles).
 
Kudos on the accuracy of the bow technique. Was that a picture you copied or is that your own creation.
 
I must admit, I got the pose from a picture - I don't think I could've drawn an archer without some reference material. Judging by the clothing, I think he may even be Korean, rather than a samurai, but I'm hoping no-one notices
 
Awesome posts so far. Samurai subject matter on a marital arts website... who'da thunk!?

I'll post some up soon!

@PASmith - awesomeness. The brush stuff fits the material perfectly! The meeting quicksketch is good stuff man! That's EXACTLY what I'm talking about! The suggestion of the hakama is perfect! Just enough to understand the movement and not forced. Nice!

@Moosey - Yes! Man nothing wrong with reference. I have approx 4TB of ref. material on every subject imaginable! Well done on the hands! It's usually the weakest spot in any drawing! Keep going! You seem to be gettin' the whole 'folds in cloth' thing working for you! Good stuff! Especially with Asian clothing from those periods you can see the whole anchor-point or origin point that the folds radiate out from! Well done.
 
Well I did as a matter of fact, none the less, great picture! It could be a Hwarang the Korean equivalent of a Samari. Anyway what caught my eye was the depiction of the technique which is very accurate to the Korean Archery I've been taught. Good Job!
 
Found this in the back of a closet, a pic I drew as a teenager. Forgot i even drew this.

So maybe I was wrong. Guess I can draw, a little anyway.
 
Good so forget what you drew when you were a teenager and draw something today and post it up! It's not about past laurels... it's about a quick sketch you can bang out now to get back into it! Go go go!!! We await the arrival of your new sketch! You know the topic... SAMURAI... get sketching!
 
Back
Top