i-m-a-g-i-n-efx-august
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Artist insight Drawing skills<br />
7 seT gOaLs fOr skeTches<br />
I’m always aware of what I want to work on with a sketch, even if it’s a sketch<br />
for work. If a part of the anatomy gives me trouble, I’ll make it a point to use<br />
reference and study that area. If I want to work on my line quality, then I pay<br />
particular attention to that aspect of the sketch. If I want to work on gesture,<br />
then I stay focused when I’m laying in the initial rough.<br />
Ideally, I’ll pile all of this into one drawing and be focused every step of the<br />
way. This keeps me from going on auto-pilot and just drawing the same five<br />
poses for everything or the same couple of hand positions. I never want blah<br />
lines, so I always think about the calligraphy and purpose of my marks. Setting<br />
goals will help keep your sketches active and alive. For these it was<br />
atmosphere (pirate) and a challenging angle (girl and animal).<br />
8 Vary the tools<br />
Switching up my tools ensures things stay<br />
interesting. It keeps me on my toes and<br />
keeps me guessing. If I feel like I’m in a<br />
rut, then often I need only to switch up<br />
my art tool to get excited again. But I’ll<br />
also mix tools. Brush pens and water pens<br />
play great together. I’ll often use gel pens<br />
and brush pens in tandem and may even<br />
throw some markers into the mix.<br />
For my day job I do a lot of coloured<br />
pencil and mineral spirits on acetate to<br />
keep my sketches somewhere between<br />
drawing and painting. So look at what you<br />
can achieve with some pens, using their<br />
natural strengths and marks. Pens are<br />
portable and there’s no cleanup involved,<br />
so they’re coffee shop friendly!<br />
August 2017<br />
73
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