Simplifying Your Subject (Sketching)

A couple weeks ago, after reading just a few pages from the book Sketching by Alwyn Crawshaw, I found great improvements in my pencil techniques and types of lines. This time I decided to read a different section called "Simplifying Your Subject." I thought this passage would be interesting because I realized that often I get hung up on the little details when I sketch, erasing my lines over and over again. As I learned from Elvira's blog post, sketching is like making a draft of what you want to draw; a sketch doesn't need to have so many details.

Some main points I learned from this section are:

• "Simplifying is something you learn to do as you look at the subject...an artist sees only what is important to his or her sketch" (41).
• A good way to practice simplifying is by doing three-minute exercises. They are a bit challenging, but will really help you only draw the essentials (41).
• Squinting your eyes when you look at your subject (the object you are drawing) will help you see only the darkest and lightest areas, eliminating the areas with a lot of detail (41).

I thought these were some very interesting points, and decided to take on a challenge and do some three-minute sketches.

Crawshaw tells the reader that "Three-minute exercises are fun to do and very important for teaching you to simplify" (48). He also suggests, "Birds are a wonderful subject for a three-minute sketch. Start by copying my sketches..." (48).

My first three-minute exercise turned out pretty well, as I copied Crawshaw's sketches of birds. I was unable to get proper sketching pencils before this post, so I stuck to my normal #2 pencil.

The next step was to try sketching from a photograph of a bird instead of copying the sketches in the book. I tried to squint at the photograph, and it really helped me see only the dark and light values in the photo. I did, however, get carried away; I finished my sketch after a little more than three minutes.

The final result was not amazing, but as Alwyn Crawshaw writes, "There is no secret formula...except of course, practice, which gives experience" (46). I'll keep practicing three-minute exercises so that I can get better at simplifying my subject.

I found three-minute sketches to be very enjoyable, and I definitely simplified my sketches a lot more than before. By only sketching for three minutes, I didn't worry so much about the detail but focused on the main form and shape of the subject. I am pretty impressed with this method. You definitely can learn a lot in three minutes!

Have you ever tried doing a three-minute sketch? In general, what are your favorite things to sketch or draw?



Citation:

Crawshaw, Alwyn. Sketching. New York: Collins, 2008. Print.