In this article we will explain just how to improve your creativity by exercising sketching.
We will go through several aspects, each of vital importance, without forgetting the tools that will be indispensable for you to work with. The sketch has to be legible, but for more information, continue below!
The Sketch, an exercise in open-mindedness
The sketch is a type of drawing, very precious in the development of our task as draftsmen. In each one of them, we are searching, rehearsing, or creating in a direct way, dropping forms and ideas at great speed.
The mind goes faster than the pulse of our hand. So, it doesn’t matter to be careful and define everything in a single line keeping a certain neatness, that is aside in this instance.
Now is the time to unload the imagination, with the strength and energy that the hand brings, without thinking about how we are doing it.
Then, observing these drawings, we notice that they are made with many lines, one on top of the other, like doodles.
There are several gestures that trace the path of the forms, that test different possibilities in the same figure, such as different positions of the parts, different sizes in the forms, and tests of locations.
What emerges in the sketches is always about to change, so it does not require clean strokes that define the edges.
This is not the time to be accurate and neat, but to be quick and spontaneous, letting the flow of our ideas run.
Time to sketch
We use the sketch as a previous instance for a drawing. This can be in an illustration, in a painting, or in each vignette, that is to say, we take it as a first step, to go in the preliminary search, which lays the foundations of what we are going to seal, with more work and technique.
When we build the habit of drawing every day, the sketch becomes a habit, because the drawing is free and very light, learning to do it in this way brings us closer to the taste of drawing.
Therefore, it is necessary to cultivate it, and thus, always keep a moment to sketch. Because as we said, ideas are born here, from this type of drawing, stripped of the requirement of clean and direct strokes, where there are no interruptions, everything flows perfectly.
Drawing sketches
It may happen that the habit has become something very pleasant and comfortable, then we will be full of ideas, full of sketches, here and there, so that we will have mountains piled up of proofs and loose works.
Let me tell you, what is in principle a healthy habit, now has us possessed in a comfort zone. Therefore, it will be necessary to develop some strategies to avoid being trapped in that instance, which, at the same time, can be unfinished.
First of all, having a sketchbook is a good idea so as not to lose loose sheets. Although, if we choose to work on loose sheets for some reason of convenience, it will be a matter of having a folder to classify them, this helps a lot, but requires us to be more orderly in our work.
In order not to get stuck in this drawing mode, as we said, it is best to take a sketch from time to time, and take it to the next level.
In turn, it involves elaborating our work further, and, turning it into an illustration, a cartoon, painting, or whatever design we want. Anything, in which we can give it a new definitive working moment.
The sketches and the tools to work with
The sketches can be made with any tool, as long as we take into account their destination. These drawings can be kept as proofs, doodles and fruits of our experiments.
In many occasions we are going to transfer them, or use them as a basis for a next instance, then, in those cases, it is necessary to take some care, for example:
- If we are going to trace them, it is convenient not to draw on both sides, since, depending on the method used, the lines could overlap.
- It is a good idea to draw on thin sheets, so that they can be traced more easily, in case of doing it with some technique against the light, such as the use of tracing tables, or the window of our room.
- In case of using the sketch as a base, it will be a matter of working on our support, the final sheet, with the same imprint of the sketch, but considering that in this first instance we must use soft lines, since it is probable that we will erase them after finishing the work.
The big winner: The Pencil
For all these reasons, generally, we find the pencil as the most used material, since, due to its qualities, this tool is soft, fast, and has the ability to have different registers. It all depends on the pressure with which we work, and the type of pencil we have.
Going through the range offered by manufacturers, the pencils classified as “B”, better known as “soft” pencils, are the most versatile and effective for this task, especially the “B” and “2B”.
On the other hand, the “H” type pencils are harder, therefore, less agile and quicker in contact with the sheet, but they are softer in their register, which is why they are often chosen.
The sketch, its freedom and legibility
Many times the sketches become illegible, with so much freedom, speed and enthusiasm, resulting in drawings that only the authors understand, this is not a bad thing, as long as we keep in mind that they are drawings, made as a search and test by the author himself, for himself.
We will have to take into account that, perhaps, there are instances, as in the professional case, in which the sketch must have certain legibility to be read by other people.
In this way, we do not discard all the variety of possibilities that may arise, but we do point out that we must take into account the destination of these works, in order to meet the requirements.
Conclusion
During the article we have observed that the sketch is clearly an exercise in open-mindedness. You have to keep in mind that it must be legible, and contemplate very strongly the idea of going out of your comfort zone, in this way you will learn more, and you will undoubtedly be a great artist.
If you have any doubts, you can start again by scrolling back to the beginning of the post.
Improve your creativity by exercising sketching right now!
