Freehand sketch 101

To start a drawing, I recommend using pencil to draw a quick frame. You should always set up the main drawing structure, and then work through details. There’re a lot of specific techniques you can learn about sketching, here I’ll recommend Robert S. Oliver’s “the complete sketches”.

A few things I’ve learned from my own practice is

1. Know the focus of your drawing. Sometimes, when we walk in a street, we’re attracted by a scene and feel the urge to record it, may it be the light, the contrast, the geometry, the space, the people…What has touched your heart at that moment should be the focus of our drawing! To use more ink or to leave blank depend on what you want to emphasize in your drawing. A drawing that tries to focus on every detail can be a good tech drawing but can never be a good freehand sketch.

2. Keep in your mind the whole picture even when you’re working on a small detail of the drawing.. A drawing is not about details, it’s about relationships between shapes, tones, colors and details.

3. Be loose. Again, freehand sketches are different from tech drawings. Try to be loose. For example, in your drawings, you should never use totally black color blocks to represent big shadow areas; don’t try to draw continues long dark lines in your drawing because they’ll only make your drawings look dumb.

Another tip that’s always effective is to practice, practice and practice. You’ll generate your own tips after doing enough drawings. At the same time, it won’t hurt to learn about the basic drawing techniques, color theories, art criticism or to go to museums, exhibitions, lectures, or to read books and talk to people. Hope this article can help you get a quick start. Keep practicing and love what you’re doing, you’ll finally get there. (Credit: Janet Wu)

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