AMAKINGAMARKGUIDE

SKETCHINGFORREAL:
2008
THEFIRSTFIELDTRIP
BYKATHERINETYRRELL

CopyrightKatherineTyrrellallrightsreservedforcommercialpurposes.
Youmayusethisguideforeducationalpurposesonly.YoumayNOTcopyuseitcommerciallyinaworkshoporotherfeepayingcontext
withoutthewrittenprioragreementofandalicensebeinggrantedbyKatherineTyrrell
MAKINGAMARKthebloghttp://makingamark.blogspot.com
MAKINGAMARKPUBLICATIONShttp://www.makingamark.co.uk
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ASSIGNMENT 2:THE FIRST FIELDTRIP SKETCHINGONYOUR HOME TURF

ThisassignmentbuildsonwhatyoulearnedinAssignment1.Youaregoingtocontinuetosketchfromlifeand
continuetosketchwhatisfamiliar,butthistimeyoullbesketchingoutsideonafieldtriponhometurf.
Foryourfirstfieldtripoutside,tryyourgardenoryardormaybeanicequietpark.Basicallyanywherewhich
isclosetohomeandwhereyoufeelcomfortableandprobablywontbedisturbedbyanybodyevenyour
family(especiallyyourfamily?).Youllneedtogetyourkittogetherandstarttothinkabouthowthelightand
theenvironmentisdifferentwhenworkingoutside.Theadvantageofbeingathomeisyoucandashinside
andgetwhatyouforgotassoonasyourealise!
PURPOSE OF ASSIGNMENT 2
Yoursecondassignmentistocompleteafreehandsketchfromlifeandoutside.Choosesomewherefamiliar
whereyoufeelcomfortableandareunlikelytobedisturbed.
ThepurposeofAssignment2isforyouto:
assemblewhatyouwouldneedtosketchoutsidethehomeandfindasketchkitwhichworksfor
you(itvariesfrompersontoperson)
becomecompetentatusingyoursketchkitoutsideasifyouwereinpublic
tacklenewchallengesassociatedwithsketchingfromlifeoutside;and
evaluatetheimpactsketchingoutsidehasonhowyoudraw
Morethingstothinkabout:Timeyoureffortsandnotewhatyougetdoneindifferentperiodsoftime.Maybe
identifyaregulartimetosketcheachday.Remembertoobservehowyourstyleofdrawingevolvessothat
youcandrawinasketchywayaswellasamorerefinedway.
TIPS FOR ASSEMBLING A BASIC SKETCHING KIT
Abasicsketchingkitcancomprisejustasketchbookandpencil.
Howeverthinkaboutthechoicesyouhaveandwhatelseyoumightneed:
Somethingtodrawon:Typeofsupport/sketchbook/sizeofsketchbook:
smallandunobtrusivesketchbooksdonttendtoattractasmuchattentioninpublic;larger
sketchbooksenableyoutodrawmoreofascene
sketchbookswhichlieflatenableyoutosketchacrossthedoublepagespread
sketchbookswithahardbackmeanyoudontneedasupportforthepaper
watercolourpaperinblocksorsketchbooksenableyoutousewatercoloursifyouchoose
Somethingtodrawwith(fordifferenttypesofdrawinginstrumentsseeArtMaterialsonmywebsite)
Makesureyouhavesuppliesofwhateveryoufindeasiesttouseandtrythisfirst.
Practicedrawingfirstandthenmoveontosketchingwithpaints.
Makecolourasecondpriority;introducecolourafteryoufeelcomfortabledrawingquickly
AMAKINGAMARKGUIDE
SKETCHINGFORREAL:
2008
THEFIRSTFIELDTRIP
BYKATHERINETYRRELL

CopyrightKatherineTyrrellallrightsreservedforcommercialpurposes.
Youmayusethisguideforeducationalpurposesonly.YoumayNOTcopyuseitcommerciallyinaworkshoporotherfeepayingcontext
withoutthewrittenprioragreementofandalicensebeinggrantedbyKatherineTyrrell
MAKINGAMARKthebloghttp://makingamark.blogspot.com
MAKINGAMARKPUBLICATIONShttp://www.makingamark.co.uk
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Pencilisagoodchoice,mechanicalpencilsdontrequiresharpeningbutdontprovideany
variationinqualityofline.
Penandinkrequiresasuitablesurfaceandrefillsfortheink.
Pencilsrequireasharpenerandaneraser.
Somethingtositon:Findsomethinglightandportableunlessyoureplanningallyoursketchesin
cafesandbarsorfromabenchinthepark!(SeeInpraiseofmysketchingchairs)
Drawingaidsinthefield(seeDrawingAids)
Visorsandbaseballcapshelpyoutoseeanddrawyoursubjectwithouthavingthesunin
youreyesandwithouthavingtousesunglasses(whichdistortbothvalueandcolour)
Tryusingaviewfinderyoucanmakeitfromapieceofcardandremovearectangleinthe
middle.Besurethattheframeobscuressurroundingimagessothattheviewfinderworks
liketheviewfinderonyourcamera.
TryusingascalefinderthisisaPerspexsheetwithagrid.Ithelpstocheckrelative
proportionsifasubjectiscomplex.
Basicprotection
Makesureyoupacksuncreamandsuitableclothingtoprotectyourskinfromthesun
Packbugcreamorspraysifyourelikelytobebothered
Somepeoplefindacell/mobilephonetobereassuring
Somethingtocarryitallin!
Makesureyourbagforcarryingitallinissomethingwhichiseasytocarry.Ifindbackpacks
tobeideal.
Lotsofpockets(inyourjacket,coatorbag)makeiteasytofindthings.
THINGS TOTHINKABOUT WHATNEEDS TO BE ACCOMMODATED
Lighting:Thinkaboutwherethesunisandwhereitsmovingto.Whatlooksgreatrightnowmight
lookcompletelydifferentinhalfanhour.
Shelter:Aimforshelterfromanywinditsdifficulttodrawwhenpaperisflapping.Makesureyou
havepackedsomebulldogclips.
THINGS TOTHINKABOUT THATYOU CAN CONTROL
Tryusingaviewfindertoidentifywhattodraw
Ifsketchingascene,workout:
Youreyeline(re.perspective)
theboundariesofthepictureplanetryusingaviewfinder.(SeealsoCompositionthe
fourmostimportantlines).
relativeproportions(usescalefinder)
AMAKINGAMARKGUIDE
SKETCHINGFORREAL:
2008
THEFIRSTFIELDTRIP
BYKATHERINETYRRELL

CopyrightKatherineTyrrellallrightsreservedforcommercialpurposes.
Youmayusethisguideforeducationalpurposesonly.YoumayNOTcopyuseitcommerciallyinaworkshoporotherfeepayingcontext
withoutthewrittenprioragreementofandalicensebeinggrantedbyKatherineTyrrell
MAKINGAMARKthebloghttp://makingamark.blogspot.com
MAKINGAMARKPUBLICATIONShttp://www.makingamark.co.uk
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Thebigshapesinthekeyzones:background,middlegroundandforegroundandthink
aboutaerialperspectiveanditsimpactondefinition,valueandcolouracrossthesezones
Themajorandminorlinesinyoursketchandhowthesecanberepresented
Thenumberofvaluesinyoursketchandwheretheyare.Isuggestthereareusuallyatleast
fivevalues.Squinttoseeyourvalues.Workoutwhereyourdarkestdarksareandyour
lightestlights.Andthenwherethemiddletoneis.
Ifyouwanttocomposeasketch(andyoudonthavetounlessyouretryingsomethingoutfora
possiblepainting),thenacompositionchecklistcanbeuseful(butnoruleshavetobefollowed).See
alsothereferencelinkinthereferencesection.Youmightwanttothinkabout:
Placementofthefocalpointandpathwaystoitandaroundthesketch
thegoldenmean/'ruleofthirds'(SeeCompositionthinkinginthrees)
findingobjectswithsimilar/repeatingshapes
thedesignofthebasicvalueshapesdoesthesketch'read'asathumbnailordoesitlook
confusing?(SeeCompositionwhytonalvaluesandcontrastareimportant)
ASSIGNMENT 2:WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO
Assembleabasicsketchingkit.
Identifyifyouforgottopackanythinginyourbasickit(e.g.sharpener,eraser,spareinkcartridges)
Dontpamperyourselftoomuch!Trydrawingsatonafoldingstoolorwithasketchbookonyou
knee!
Notehowwellyourespondtoanddealwiththechallengesofdrawingfromlifeoutside.Reflecton:
Theweatherandthelight,howitchangesandhowthisimpactsonyou
Useofyourviewfinderand/orcameraviewfinderhowdidyoufinddrawingascenewith
beingabletoseetheedgesasyoucanwithaphotograph?
Howwellyoucouldseethedifferentvaluezones
WHEN YOUHAVE FINISHED
Postsomeorallyouroutsideathomesketchesonyourwebsite/blogidentifyhowlongtheytook
Evaluatetheimpactofsketchingonthewayyoudraw,saywhatworkedwellandwhatyouneedto
workon.
Identifywhatchanges,ifany,youwillmaketoyoursketchingkitbeforeassignment3.
Ifyounowfeelmorecomfortabledrawingoutside,itstimetomoveontoAssignment3sketchinginapublic
place.

KatherineTyrrell20062008
Version1.2March2008

AMAKINGAMARKGUIDE
SKETCHINGFORREAL:
THEFIRSTFIELDTRIP
BYKATHERINETYRRELL
2008

CopyrightKatherineTyrrellallrightsreservedforcommercialpurposes.
Youmayusethisguideforeducationalpurposesonly.YoumayNOTcopyuseitcommerciallyinaworkshoporotherfeepayingcontext
withoutthewrittenprioragreementofandalicensebeinggrantedbyKatherineTyrrell
MAKINGAMARKthebloghttp://makingamark.blogspot.com
MAKINGAMARKPUBLICATIONShttp://www.makingamark.co.uk
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PortfolioWebsite: http://www.pastelsandpencils.com/ ArtBlog: http://makingamark.blogspot.com/

Travelsketchbookblog: http://travelsketch.blogspot.com PublicationsWebsite: http://www.makingamark.co.uk
YoucanfindmoreMakingAMarkGuideswithadviceonsketching,bloggingandtheartbusinessontheportfolioorpublications
websiteslistedabove.

References:
MakingAMark
Compositionwhytonalvaluesandcontrastareimportant
Compositionthinkinginthrees
Compositionthefourmostimportantlines
Inpraiseofmysketchingchairs
PastelsandPencils
AdviceonSketching
ArtMaterialsandOtherResources