The Beginner's Guide to Urban Sketching by Taria Dawson

Author:Taria Dawson [Taria, Dawson]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Page Street Publishing
Published: 2023-11-02T00:00:00+00:00

1. Loosen up with blind contour drawings.

At your chosen location, start by doing some blind contour exercises of your subjects, whether they’re birds, ducks, dogs or any other kind of wildlife. I recommend ducks and geese to start with though. Once you have done several blind contours, try some more but allow yourself to look at your page once in a while. Compare your sketches. Do you notice how much life these kinds of drawings have versus when you are rigidly trying to draw every detail of something?

TIP: If you are concerned about using up your nice sketchbook pages, take some printer paper with you for these exercises and just use a pencil or pen.

2. Start a new sketch and paint the shape of your subject in light watercolor.

Do your best to observe and paint the shape you see but don’t agonize over it, because it can be readjusted if need be. Once dry, add some loose pen lines on top to give some more details.

3. Start afresh and draw your subject loosely in ink.

Start by drawing in ink first, and then once dry, paint loosely on top. Don’t try to stay inside the lines but do observe where the shadows are versus the highlights. If the animal moves, use another one to finish your sketch or wait for it to return to a similar pose.

4. Experiment!

Use watercolor only, with no lines before or after. Make lots of small, quick sketches. Make notes on the bits of the sketches you like so you know what to repeat in the future.

TIP: If you or your friends or family have a pet then you can practice your sketching skills with them, so you feel more confident when you’re out in the world. You can make a collage over time. See here for more information on sketchbook spreads.

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