making a mark - sketching for real - introduction v1.2

8/3/2019 Making a Mark - Sketching for Real - Introduction v1.2

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AMAKINGAMARKGUIDE SKETCHINGFORREAL

INTRODUCTION2008

BY KATHERINETYRRELL

CopyrightKatherineTyrrellallrightsreservedforcommercialpurposes.Youmayusethisguideforeducationalpurposesonly. YoumayNOTcopyuseitcommerciallyinaworkshoporotherfeepayingcontext

withoutthewrittenprioragreementofandalicensebeinggrantedbyKatherineTyrrell

MAKINGAMARKthebloghttp://makingamark.blogspot.com MAKINGAMARKPUBLICATIONShttp://www.makingamark.co.uk

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[ThisisaneditedversionofaclassthatIfirstdevelopedandtaughtontheInternetin2006.]

INTRODUCTION

Youcan'tdosketchesenough.Sketcheverythingandkeepyourcuriosityfresh.

JohnSingerSargent

"Itisonlybydrawingoften,drawingeverything,drawingincessantly,thatonefinedayyoudiscoverto

yoursurprisethatyouhaverenderedsomethinginitstruecharacter."

CamillePissarro

Itsamazinghowloosesomepeoplebecomeintheirsketchbookdrawingsimplybecausetheyhaveacarefree

approachanddontbecomelockeddownintryingtomakefinishedworks

RobertWade

Thisisanintermediatelevelclassaimedatdevelopingyourexistingdrawingknowledgeandskillswitha

viewtosketchingoutside,inpublicwithoutanyphotographsorvisualaids.Wellmaybetheoddoneor

twobuttherearedefinitelynoreferencephotographsinthisclass!

Attheendofthisclassyouwillunderstandbetterhowtoapplyyourexistingknowledgetohelpyouto:

Drawmorequicklysoyoucansketchwithintimeconstraints Sketchoutside Sketchinpublic

Thisclasswillnotteachyoutodraw.Theclassinstructionassumesthatpeoplehaveexistingdrawingskills

acquiredthroughstudyelsewhere.

Thereisalottoreadpleasetakeyourtime.


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INTRODUCTION2008

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SOWHYSHOULDI DOTHISCLASS?

Drawingfrom

life,

sketching

outside

and

sketching

in

public

maybe

youve

never

done

at

least

one

of

those

thingsbefore?Whynot? Herearesomeoftheexplanationsofferedbysomepeople:

Youdontsketchoratleastyoudontthinkyoudo;youremaybenotevenverysurewhatsketchingis(seeWhatisaSketch).

Maybeyoudontdrawveryquickly.YoujustKNOWyoudneverbeabletogetfinishedintimewhateverthatis.

Maybeyoureabitafraid.Theyhavepeopleinpublicplaces! Theydaskyoutodotheirportraits. Theymightcreepupbehindyou/lookoveryourshoulderandgiveyouafright! Ormaybethedreadedcritiquecritterswillbeoutinforcesayingreallyrudethingsabout

yourdrawing(becauseyouredrawingwhatsinfrontofyouanddonthaveareference

photograph).

Ormaybeyouhadanotsohappyexperienceonce,alongtimeagoandyourescaredofstartingagain

Allinall itsjusttoonervewracking!Youlackconfidence andthatswhyyouveneverhadago.Ifthisisyou,letslookattheexperienceofotherswhichmighthelptomakeyouthinkagain.

Apollin2006ofnearly600artistsandwouldbeartistssuggeststhatonly2%ofpeoplehaveactuallyhadabadexperiencewhichstoppedthemsketchinginpublicandafurther60%alreadysketchin

public.

AsimilarpollDoYouEverSketchinPublic? (ofmembersofWetCanvas)indicatesthatthemajorityalsosketchinpublic.

Thisclasscanonlybeajumpingoffpoint. Peoplewhobecomegoodatsketchingdoitonaregularbasis.

However,thisclasswillhelpyoutoaddressmanytypicalconcernsandyouwillstarttolearnhowto:

sketchobjectsorsceneswithinatimeconstraint sketchoutside,fromlife(withoutphotographs)andinpublic.

Imaginethereisawaytodraweveryday.Youknowyoushouldbedoingthisasyouknowhowmuchitis

reputedto

improve

your

drawing

skills.

But

theres

aproblem

you

know

you

just

dont

have

the

time,

not

withallyourothercommitments.

Imaginenowthatyoucanlearntodrawmorequicklysothateven5minutesor10minutesoutofthedaycan

beusedtosketchsomethingnewimaginehowmuchyoumightgainfromthis.

Imagineyoureonaholiday.Youdliketobeabletosketchwhatyousee.Peopletellyouthatifyoudoyouwill

alwayshaveamuchbettermemoryofthescene,amuchbetterrecordofthetruecoloursandvaluesthanany

photocanprovideandthatanypaintingyoudowillbeimprovedbyhavingdoneapreliminarystudyfromlife.

Buttheresaproblem.Youknowyourequiteaccomplishedatdrawingbecauseeverybodybackinyour

drawingcommunity/forumisverycomplimentaryaboutyourdrawings.However,youknowhowlongthey

take

and

you

only

know

how

to

draw

from

photographs.
http://makingamark.blogspot.com/2006/05/do-you-ever-sketch-in-public.htmlhttp://makingamark.blogspot.com/2006/05/do-you-ever-sketch-in-public.htmlhttp://makingamark.blogspot.com/2006/05/do-you-ever-sketch-in-public.htmlhttp://makingamark.blogspot.com/2006/05/do-you-ever-sketch-in-public.htmlhttp://makingamark.blogspot.com/2006/05/do-you-ever-sketch-in-public.htmlhttp://makingamark.blogspot.com/2006/05/do-you-ever-sketch-in-public.htmlhttp://makingamark.blogspot.com/2006/05/do-you-ever-sketch-in-public.htmlhttp://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/showthread.php?t=349659http://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/showthread.php?t=349659http://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/showthread.php?t=349659http://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/showthread.php?t=349659http://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/showthread.php?t=349659http://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/showthread.php?t=349659http://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/showthread.php?t=349659http://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/showthread.php?t=349659http://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/showthread.php?t=349659http://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/showthread.php?t=349659http://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/showthread.php?t=349659http://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/showthread.php?t=349659http://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/showthread.php?t=349659http://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/showthread.php?t=349659http://makingamark.blogspot.com/2006/05/do-you-ever-sketch-in-public.html


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INTRODUCTION2008

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Sodoyouwanttotackletheseproblems?Areyoureadytohaveagoatsketching?

Assignment1willhelpyouwithcapturingthingsquickly. Ifyouwanttosketchinpublicthenassignments2and3willhelpyoutodothis.

Andwhatsmore,beforeyouknowit,youllbehavingsuchagoodtimeyoullwonderwhyyouneverdidthis

before;youllhavestartedyourdailysketchingblog,bemakinglotsofnewfriendsandgoingonsketchcrawls!

WHAT ISASKETCH?

Asketch,inartterms,canbe:

awayofpractisingandrefiningyourskillsindrawingandmarkmarking anexploratorydrawingexploringhowsomethingworks/mightwork aquickdrawinge.g.sketchinginpublictendstobetimelimitedratherthanopenended aroughdescriptionitsOKiftheylackdetail;dontfillthepageorarenotevencompleted arecordofsomethingyouveseen arecordofoneormoreaspectsofsomethingyouwanttodevelopintoapaintinge.g.acolourstudy apreliminarystudyforalaterpainting(donebeforeyoustarttocheckhowyourpaintingwillwork

ratherthanasanunderdrawingonyourfinalsupport)

A

sketch

may

be

an

imaginative

or

a

creative

interpretation

of

reference

material

but

it

does

not

involve

meticulouscopyingofareferencephoto.

Veryoftenasketchisastudyofasubjectthattheartistcanseeandconsequentlyinvolvesworkingand

drawingfromlife.Thisisthesortofsketchwewillfocusoninthislesson.

WHYSKETCH?

Sketchingbroadensandenhancesyourbasicskillbase.

Asyoupracticeandprogress,sketchingwillalsohelpyouto:

Developyourfreehanddrawing,markmakingandobservationalskills Drawsomethingeverydayanexercisewhichwillbringfluencyandconfidencetoyourdrawing Getabetterrecordofthecoloursandtonesyousee Practicehowtocropasceneandcomposeapicture Developfinishedartworkwithoutrelyingtotallyonareferencephoto


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INTRODUCTION2008

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PEOPLEWHO SKETCHGAINVALUEFROMTH EFOLLOWINGACTIVITIES:

Practicingfreehanddrawingskillstracingreferenceimagesandusinggridscanmeanthatsomeartists

lose

their

fluency

in

freehand

drawing

skills

or

fail

to

develop

them

at

all.

Sketching

improves

freehanddrawing.Withpracticecomesfluencyandtheabilitytodrawmorequicklyandmakemore

creativeandinterestingmarks.

Drawingwithminimalaidswhentheonlydrawingsaidsyouhaveareyourpencilsandmaybeaviewfinder,yousoonlearntodevelopyourobservational skills.Lookingmorecarefullymeansyouget

betteratmeasuringjudgingbyeyealone.Youalsounderstandmuchbetterhowaviewworksyou

understandthearchitectural perspective,theaerialperspectiveandgrasptherecessionwhichoften

getsflattenedinaphotograph.

Improvingtheirabilitytoseevaluesandcoloursunlessyouareanexpertphotographer,onceyoustart

to

sketch

and

compare

your

sketch

with

photos

you

took

at

the

same

time,

you

will

learn

very

quicklyjusthowpoorphotographsareatcapturingthetruerangeoftonalvaluesthatyouhaveseen.

Inaddition,becauseyoulearntolookmorecarefullyatcolours,youwillalsobegintounderstand

howmostphotographscandistortbothcontrastandcolour,particularlyonverybrightdays.Take

photographstorecorddetailsandcheckdrawingandsketchtogetvaluesandcolourscorrect.

Developingtheirabilitytoseepictures Onceyoustarttosketchandpracticelookingatyourenvironmentmore,youwillstarttoseepictureseverywhereyougo.Formanypeoplethismarks

thepointwhentheyknowtheyarebeginningtothinklikeanartist.Youllfindyouwillstartusing

yourveryownfingersandthumbstoconstructaviewfindertocheckoutpotentialimagestosketch.

(Dotrytoavoiddrivingthecaratthesametime!)Youwillsoonfindyourselfwantingtolearnmore

aboutaboutthedesignandcompositionofyourdrawingsandpaintings.Youwillwanttopractice

sketchingtodevelopyourskillsinmakingchoicesinthisarea.

ASSIGNMENTSTHEBASICAPPROACH

THE BASICAPPROACHPRINCIPLESRECOMMENTS, CRITICISMAND ASSISTANCE

Selfassessmentisthenameofthegame.Outoftheclassroomandinthefield,youreonyourownsoyouneedtodevelopskillsinselfassessment.Sowitheveryassignment,postyourworkandthen

saywhatyouthinkyoudidwell,whatyoulearnedandwhatyouthinkyoucanimprove.

Nobodyshouldidentifyandcommentonweaknessesinanybodyssketchunlesstheyhaveaverygoodunderstanding,throughexperience,ofthedifferencesbetweendrawingfromareference

photoandsketchingfromlife. Sketchingfromlifeisavery,verydifferentexperiencefromdrawing

fromreferencephotos. Whatyoucanachieveinyourownpersonalcomfortzoneandwhatyou

mightproduceinthefieldarealwaysgoingtobetwoverydifferentresultsforeveryartist,notjust

thoselearninghowtosketch.Sotheyshouldntbecompared.Peoplealsotendtofeelmuchmore

sensitiveabouttheirsketchesastheywonthavethedegreeoffinishtheyknowtheycanachieve

whenworkinginotherways.Itsimportanttobepositiveaboutwhathasbeenachieved.

Inanonlinecontext,Iwontevercriticiseyoursketchesas(1)Icantcompareittoaphoto;and(2)nophotocanpossiblyportrayexactlywhatyouwillhavebeenabletoseeinfrontofyou.
http://studiochalkboard.evansville.edu/draw.htmlhttp://studiochalkboard.evansville.edu/draw.htmlhttp://studiochalkboard.evansville.edu/draw.htmlhttp://studiochalkboard.evansville.edu/draw.htmlhttp://studiochalkboard.evansville.edu/ap-aerial.htmlhttp://studiochalkboard.evansville.edu/ap-aerial.htmlhttp://studiochalkboard.evansville.edu/ap-aerial.htmlhttp://studiochalkboard.evansville.edu/ap-aerial.htmlhttp://studiochalkboard.evansville.edu/draw.html


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INTRODUCTIONBY KATHERINETYRRELL

2008




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Seeifyoucanworkoutwhatyouneedhelpwithifyouidentifyaweaknessandhowthismightbeaddressed. Veryoften,drawingmoreofthesameenablesprogresstobemade. Iwillalsotrytohelp

withsomeconstructivesuggestionsandrespondtoanyqueriesyouhaveandanydifficultiesyou

encounter.HoweverIwontknowalltheanswersbutwecantryandworkitouttogether.

THREEASSIGNMENTS

Therearethreeassignments

Assignment1: SoYouWanttoSketch Assignment2:TheFirstFieldTrip sketchingthefamiliarfromlifeandoutside Assignment3:GettingOutofYourComfortZoneSketchinginPublic

Thereference

threads

(or

field

trips)

for

each

assignment

are

posted

after

the

details

of

all

three

assignments.

LEARNING THEMOSTIMPORTANTRESULTS

Theresultsofthisclasswillinclude:

Youwilllearnhowtomaketimeforyoursketching Youwillfeelcomfortableaboutsketchingandhowtosketchinawaywhichsuitsyou Youwilllearnaboutwhatyourpersonalsignaturestylemightlooklikewhensketching;and Ifyoualsogettosketchinpublicandthoroughlyenjoyit,thatsabonus.

KATHERINETYRRELL ALL RIGHTSRESERVED.

PortfolioWebsite: http://www.pastelsandpencils.com/ YoucanfindmoreMakingAMarkGuideswith

PublicationsWebsite: http://www.makingamark.co.uk adviceonsketching,bloggingandtheartbusiness

ArtBlog: http://makingamark.blogspot.com/ ontheportfolioorpublicationswebsiteslistedopposite

Travelsketchbookblog: http://travelsketch.blogspot.com
http://www.pastelsandpencils.com/http://www.makingamark.co.uk/http://www.makingamark.co.uk/http://makingamark.blogspot.com/http://makingamark.blogspot.com/http://travelsketch.blogspot.com/http://travelsketch.blogspot.com/http://makingamark.blogspot.com/http://www.makingamark.co.uk/http://www.pastelsandpencils.com/

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