Brief Guide to Sketching

SKETCHING/DRAWING:  A Brief Guide

Artists use sketching for many purposes. As an activity sketching is fun, but also challenging. First of all, sketching is an exercise in eye-hand coordination—training the eye to see and the hand to draw. Some artists skip this step and move directly into drawing from their imagination. We should all be so lucky!

But regardless of where you are in your journey as an artist, sketching can help you develop your skill in capturing an image. The South Bay Sketchers Meetup group is a easy way for you to stay motivated to practice your sketching skills.

Is there a difference between sketching and drawing?

Sketching usually refers to a quick capture of an object, person or scene. Sketches can have a variety of purposes (see below). Drawing is considered a more developed capture of an image, whether from real life,or from imagination. Drawings can be minimal in approach, or very detailed. The terms drawing and sketching are often used interchangeably. A good example of quick-capture sketching is this posting by Marc Taro Holmes.

http://citizensketcher.com/2015/09/13/the-hand-drawn-snapshot/

The South Bay Sketchers Meet-up group focuses on both sketching and drawing, because there is usually time to do a more detailed drawing if you wish. 

WHY SKETCH/DRAW?

1. Sketching is a fun and rewarding activity and you just want to play!

2. Sketching an event can act as a memory-capture, replacing photos.

3. Sketching produces images that you can later use to develop paintings, to illustrate a text, to develop 

ideas, to help define a work-related project, etc.

WHAT TYPE OF SKETCHING/DRAWING do you want to pursue? 

Sketching has many purposes, some of which may overlap. Some people specialize in one type of sketching. Others may switch from one type to another. South Bay Sketchers focuses on the first three types of sketching.

1. Landscape /urban sketching: focuses on the lines, shapes, colors etc, of a natural or urban view.

2. Field sketching, or nature journaling: focuses on documenting the objects that are seen in nature such as birds, insects, plants, animals, geological features, etc. 

3.Portrait/people sketching: focuses on capturing people in a variety of situations, from the bus station, to the cafe, to participation in sports, dancing, etc.

4. Travel sketching: focuses on documenting our travels wherever we go for work or play.

5. Reportage: documenting a particular event, e.g. social events, concerts, theatre, court reporting etc. 

RESOURCES: Where do you begin?

Whatever your purposes, there are various ways for you to learn to sketch or draw. You can start by copying images from magazines, books, etc., that attract you. Drawing classes at a local adult-education program, art organization, or community college are another way to learn. There are many instructional books available that can also get you started on your sketching/drawing path. A variety of online instructional resources exist, such as videos, courses, etc. Some of us learn best in a classroom, others prefer learning on their own. Every artist will tell you that the best way to learn is to practice drawing daily, weekly, etc. Check out the RESOURCES post for more information.

MATERIALS: What do you need?

1. Drawing materials: You can start with the basic media, such as graphite pencils, charcoal sticks or pencils, or pens. Then you can move into applying color using colored pens, markers, colored pencils, watercolors, pastels, oil or acrylic paints etc. Try out various media to find the one(s) that you enjoy using.

2. Drawing substrate: Most artist start by drawing on paper., usually in a sketchbook. Sketchbooks come in a variety of papers and are labeled to indicate what they can be used for. Thinner papers can usually handle pencil, charcoal and ink. Mixed media papers are thicker and can handle ink washes, watercolors, or acrylic paints. Specialty papers are best for specific media such as, pastels, watercolors, inks , acrylic paint, and gouache. Specialty sketching pads will be labeled watercolor , or mixed media, or pastel, etc. 

3. Computer-based sketching/drawing: A variety of drawing apps are available for laptops and computer tablets. Some apps, such as Asketch are relatively easy to use; others, such as Sketches Pro, Artrage and Procreate, are more complex.