More people, including one of myself(below-left)....
Yes, more tips
16. When there's no one to sketch and it is dark outside, the windows in the train and bus serve as "good mirrors"-giving us a reflection of ourselves. Good time to do a self portrait.
17. Whatever medium you use to sketch, always have a small one for detail and lines and a big one for tones and shades. When I use pen and ink, my small one -is a black ball point bic biro and my big one is a Tom Bow Wash Brush Marker Number 75. When I use graphite, my small one is a 0.5 or 0.7 mechanical pencil and my big one is a chunky broad round shaped graphite stick. It helps to use both simultaneously. Sometimes you can decide to start with the big and finish up with the small or start with the small and block in with the big.
18. If someone is beside you and not in front of you and you still can’t resist sketching them. I would advise, you look for a while and then sketch from memory. This keeps you from turning your head to the side every so often.
19. I sketch by watching the movement of the angles in which the head is positioned. Angles are great for learning the way to sketch. If you get the right tilt you’ll be very close to getting what you want from what you can see.
20. To get the best people to sketch, don't sit in the direction the train or bus is moving, most commuters sit that way and if you sit that way too you'll not get many faces.
Awesome! Those tips were exactly what i was looking for. I never know how to approach public transports sketching...and this is very helpful! Please, continue with these tips !
ReplyDeleteThat's great Andre! Good to see you are going to give it a go!
ReplyDeleteExcellent tips! Will be my next mission: to perfect my sketching in a moving environment :D
ReplyDeleteGreat tips! When I lived in Nigeria I remember them calling a pen or any writing instrument a "Biro". I always wondered where that came from.
ReplyDeleteGreat, Sheona!
ReplyDeleteTonya-That is it! Thanks!
I love your sketches! You're a great artist with such energy to your work! I love that you draw from life.
ReplyDeleteThanks Sharon! Life begats life! I believe in life and energy and I am happy you can see this in my work!
ReplyDeleteHi, I have a question about Number 19 of your tips:
ReplyDeleteDo you mean the tilt of the head can be one of the most important lines? getting the right angle means getting the closest likeness? How do you do that when your model keeps moving on the train? Do you combine angles? Do you sketch from memory (#18) the rest of details after major angles?
Thanks! I really appreciate your blog, these posts, and your oil sketches too.
-Charlie, SF, CA, USA
Thanks Charlie, sorry for the late reply.
ReplyDeleteI mean if you can get the tilt of the head properly you'll be able to nail the sketch accordingly and more accurately than if you missed the whole tilt. Getting that angle is vital! both the central tilt and the horizontals that run across the face.
Remember it's still sketching and likeness is not really the goal but if you get the tilt right, all the features will fall in the right place and you are more closer to get a likeness than when you miss the tilt or angle the head is positioned.
If your model keeps moving there are two things you can do: start a fresh sketch OR keep 2 or 3 going at the same time. People tend to fall back into one, two or three positions, and you can complete each one as they return to those positions. I do that many times.
I don't combine angles for one head, No.
I'll sketch from memory only when the person is by my side and I don't want to keep turning my head back and forth. But the best practice is not to move ones head but ones eyes.
Hope this helps, sometimes it is hard to explain something practical with words but this is my best shot.