urban sketching
Aug. 18th, 2023 07:00 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
batiferrite(Note: The first part of this post was originally written a few days ago and posted on my Neocities. This version is updated with a few more paintings and other minor edits.)
I've been sketching and painting a lot the last couple of days! I'm trying to practice drawing quickly and loosely so I'll be ready to do some urban sketching in New Orleans. It just seems so much more personal and more fun than only taking pictures, y'know? And seeing other artist's works is very inspirational!
I started off just drawing random pictures from the r/SketchDaily generator, particularly focusing on buildings and structures, using ink (a mixture of Bic pen and a set of Sakura Pigma Microns) and watercolor.
In the first image, top right, I was following a tutorial by TobySketchLoose on Youtube. When I started doing these, I was so lost and overwhelmed (and it didn't help that the generator was just giving me the most unbelievably complicated Frenchy buildings ever!), but his tutorial really did help slow down my thinking (even if my version of that drawing is.. not that great). He talks about just focusing on the individual basic shapes and how they relate together, then going in with a continuous line to fill in the small details like chimneys and windows. While I'm not really doing that style, I'm keeping that basic process in mind.
Then, I read a couple of urban sketching books recommended on Reddit. They had a lot of lovely art and examples, but not much in the way of advice really stood out to me, honestly... except: draw what's closest to you first and with the most detail, and using dots to plan out proportion. Again, I'm really bad about easily getting overwhelmed, so being given a "starting point" really does help.
I think adding in the different pen sizes at the end really brings a lot of visual interest to it and makes the pieces more readable, so I think I'd want to try that out more in the future! (I'm definitely gonna have to get another brush pen, though, rip. This one can't make a point to save its life...)
I also saw a piece by equivocations on Tumblr, where she outlined all the main figures and objects with a white gel pen, and I think that made for a really cool effect! Honestly, I love all of her pieces -- very loose, charming and colorful!
--
The next day after writing that post, I did my first painting outside!
It's just a view of the neighbor's house seen from my yard, but I think it turned out pretty decent!
Things to note about working outside:
- I understand now why some of the tutorials I was watching said to just use paint from the tube -- you cannot see the colors you're working with at all. (Also, I probably should've been wearing sunglasses, my vision was all pink when I came in...)
- the drawing and painting took about ~45 minutes, then I came inside and did the inking, which took another ~15 min. maybe it'd be more viable to sketch on location and do a few shadows via hatching, then color in the hotel or cafe or whatever afterwards?
- I really need to study other people's works to see how they simplify trees, I just completely self destructed...
(I have also since finally bought a new, non-frayed brush pen!)
I have a lot more to study / experiment with / etc, but that's a big part of the fun of making art, no? In any case, I've really been enjoying making these!
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Date: 2023-08-30 09:57 pm (UTC)Also, I don't know if you would've ended up seeing this since it was on a different page, but I made a little needle-felted budgie, too. :3
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Date: 2023-09-10 10:40 pm (UTC)Giant glowy bug >:O Hah, there’s a large insect ~statue-thing in [area expunged] that I’ve seen, but it doesn’t do anything fun like that!
Also, !!!!!!!!! I did not see the budgie I love it, I roll to give it many affectionate finger-pats. The feather patterns are so distinct!!
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Date: 2023-09-24 05:59 pm (UTC)