SKETCHING
Sketching is the process of quickly drawing a subject while the subject is before you. In this case I am talking about drawing buildings and landscapes. Sketching can also be used for drawing designs quickly from the imagination, but this process is inherently different so I will ignore this.
The following instructions are the result of teaching architectural technology students (draughting) and adult community students over ten years. So this is the raw necessities. It does not deal with how to hold a pencil, draw a straight line or what paper to use. Nor does it show how to develop your sketch into a finished drawing.
To produce a drawing which is interpreted in the viewers mind as three dimensional we must hook into the mental processes identified by cognitive psychology:
The following instructions use sighting, linear perspective, shading and texture
Using these techniques you can sketch any subject whatsoever as they are all simply shapes distributed over a picture plane, or as the mind sees it, shapes distributed over the eyes retina. Particular subjects have their own particular features which may also be helpful. For instance, in portraiture the approximate proportions of the face are useful. But they are only useful for checking the sighted drawing and will lead you astray if used to generate the drawing as a likeness is inherent in the subtle departures from the normal proportions. Linear perspective is very much the same as face proportions in as much as if it is used for generating the drawing you will most likely introduce distortions. So you must draw what you see, rather than what you think, this is using right brain processes (visual) rather than left brain (symbolic).
The following instructions are the result of teaching architectural technology students (draughting) and adult community students over ten years. So this is the raw necessities. It does not deal with how to hold a pencil, draw a straight line or what paper to use. Nor does it show how to develop your sketch into a finished drawing.
To produce a drawing which is interpreted in the viewers mind as three dimensional we must hook into the mental processes identified by cognitive psychology:
- line, the mind identifies lines as edges of form
- linear perspective, the mind interprets this to recreate form
- shading, also used to create form
- texture, used to interpret materials
- aerial perspective (getting paler with distance), used to recreate distance
The following instructions use sighting, linear perspective, shading and texture
- Sighting is a traditional process which you will not find in many textbooks but which is essential for getting your drawing in proportion and all on the page.
- Linear perspective is a tool used only to check that the sighting is correct. Product designers use linear perspective to initiate a drawing but it is counterproductive for sketching.
- Shading helps build form.
- Texture adds realism.
Using these techniques you can sketch any subject whatsoever as they are all simply shapes distributed over a picture plane, or as the mind sees it, shapes distributed over the eyes retina. Particular subjects have their own particular features which may also be helpful. For instance, in portraiture the approximate proportions of the face are useful. But they are only useful for checking the sighted drawing and will lead you astray if used to generate the drawing as a likeness is inherent in the subtle departures from the normal proportions. Linear perspective is very much the same as face proportions in as much as if it is used for generating the drawing you will most likely introduce distortions. So you must draw what you see, rather than what you think, this is using right brain processes (visual) rather than left brain (symbolic).