Sketching techniques

Sketching Techniques

Basic Tips

• Keep toolset simple to maintain focus on the process, not materials
• Employ the use of a pencil for a forgiving tool that allows for corrections
• Utilise different grades of pencil from H (hard) to B (soft) for varying line depth and thickness

Contour Drawing

• Develop eye-hand coordination with continuous line sketching, tracking the object’s form
• Avoid looking at your page too much to support better spatial understanding
• Blind contour drawing, without looking at your page, helps further this skill

Gesture Drawing

• Work quickly to capture the whole subject in a short amount of time (1-2 minutes)
• Prioritise basic shape and form to catch the subject’s motion
• It’s less about detail; more about understanding form, angles, and composition

Value Drawing

• Use various shading techniques like cross-hatching, stippling, smudging, and back and forth strokes for texturing and capturing different tones
• Explore the use of an eraser as a drawing device to create highlights, transitions, and to refine shapes
• Cube, sphere, cylinder, and cone practice can solidify understanding of light and shadow principles

Perspective Drawing

• Utilise vanishing points and horizon line concepts for showing three dimensions
• Start with one-point perspective, then progress to two-point perspective to push spatial depiction
• Create illusion of depth by using overlapping, scale, and detail deviation

Observational Drawing

• Spend a significant amount of time on observation before and during sketch creation
• Work from general (overall basic shapes and proportions) to specific (details and refinements)
• Keep in mind light and shadow, texture, and the subject’s surroundings for more accurate representations