Sketching Course

After some contemplating I decided to attend a sketching course. It was quite an interesting experience, with a different kind of people than I usually meet with. I was also provided with three hours of uninterrupted time to work on a drawing, something I had never done before.

We got an explanation of hatching basics, ways to show space and light tones that together make the shape of an item. We also learned the graphite grading scale, were provided with pencils

• HB for basic shape
• 2H for light hatching
• 3B for dark hatching

The first image I tried was a cup with some shading. It was made from a picture, so it was much easier to see and copy shades, the styles of hatching and the overall shape.

Another attempt was a little more complicated. The lecturer provided us with a glass placed on a box with some papers around for the background and a light source. We tried to see all the shades and put them on paper again with a pencil.

We also learned some extra tricks. If you squint, you can see the light and dark areas much better and more easily distinguish between them. We also learned how to measure the object with pencil in straight hand to get the proportions right. Here are my two attempts to capture it.

The last project was to draw something with black ink. I selected a picture of an F-15 Eagle, something I tried before. This time I did not use any grid to help with proportions, I just captured a few basic lines, extended them to a full shape with a pencil and then used ink to get the shape and hatching to show the light and darkness.

I was quite impressed by the amount of time spent on those projects and the whole environment. I guess this is not the last time I tried that.