I have been sketching for the past three years and I suddenly realise that my sketches lack character …information…
All my sketches look alike and somehow never manage to carry details like fillets,parting lines,chamfers,or minute surface changes
I introspected on this for some time and came down to the conclusion that maybe I need to observe products more closely…but somehow I am not being able to gather the patience to do that…
I dream of reaching a stage where I can make quick and communicative sketches and this sudden feeling confuses me and reduces my confidence level…
Deez…I really cant understand when the sketch is done…maybe a problem with my perception of three dimensional objects…but all I know is that its not happening…I am not being able to get the leads with what I am doing…
I am confused to a limit…I feel I should just stop sketching…but then something in me forces me to get back again…and i keep getting frustated all the more…
i’m only comparativley new to this, however i and some others in my ID drawing class have had simmilar problems. we are encouraged not to be too “precious” with our work. i have found that the more quick sketches you do, the looser you will get, and the more interesting and accurate your work will be. something that helped me was also to use really cheap paper, it makes you worry less about making mistakes.
something that helped me was also to use really cheap paper, it makes you worry less about making mistakes.
Amen to that!
But I totally agree with doing timed sketches. I was so doubtful of my sketched and just thought I’d never get any better. Then I did some timed sketch excercises with a friend who is a Fashion Design major at FIT. The results were phenomenal(sp?)!!! We both get praised in our classes now for our sketching abilities when we only did the excercise for a day. Imagine if done once every day?
Choose things you like to draw. Little things. Get one instrument to use for your lines and another that you can use for shading in and coloring (I LOVE prismacolor markers and a black and white color pencil to help in shading. ) Give yourself 5 minutes and go. You will love the results even if not immediate!
Something that I rarely see sugested, that works wonders, is to copy a good drawing from someone else. Then do your own drawing immediately after. You might be suprised by the results.
I think people rarely do this, because it goes against their training and seems to simplistic and mechanical, but it can really help you to understand a drawing in a way that just looking at the drawing cannot. It’s also a great way to warm up because it doesn’t require a lot of thought or motivation and really gets you into the mode.
You should post your drawing, though. The posters here tend to give good feedback.
I agree fully with the blatant copying nay tracing of good sketches and products. If your mind makes a connection with the lines you are drawing mechanically, then it understands forms and gets rid of incorrect mental habits
eg: you may think that ellipses in a watch should look a certain way in a sketch. This mental image can sometimes have no resemblance to reality whatsover. When I traced over photographs I realized " Hey! these car wheels are actually nothing like I am used to drawing!"
Sometimes you need to be anal with a sketch and sometimes you need to be loose. The more concepts you need to generate the looser you need to be by necessity. The closer to a final solution you are sketching the more accurate the sketch.
Thanks guys for the feedback…I am finally sending in a quick sketch of mine…I actually sketched this very quickly…but I notice that whenever there is a pressure of delivery my mind and hand just stop working…
What is the way to let the image show rigth here on the forum than a link???
I just uploaded the image via Image shack but it shows a link in the post…
method I used was to right click on the image and get the properties and copy the url there (it is different than the url in your post. So in other words, I used the url of the actual pic, not the url of the page on which the pic is posted.
my suggestions – more confidence in your lines. Practice making long. quick, sweeping lines. Make the lines longer than they need to be so that the extend beyond the perimeter of the object. Do several sketches in a row with no intention of each sketch being “perfect” or even finished.
Try finding some smoother paper, as well. I think you’ve got too much tooth on that stock – it feels weird at first, like writing on glass, but then you realize how much cleaner your sketches become.
i think some line hierachy would improve those sketches. use a thinner line for your construction, and then something thick like a 0.5-0.8 on trailing edges. it’s difficult to describe, but a trailing edge is anywhere that the surface of your object goes out of site. there is always a trailing edge around the outline of your object, and anywhere else where a plane goes out of view.
does anyone know of any online info that describes this better than my feeble attempt?
my drawing teacher used to say that line hierachy is what stops a sketch looking like a cartoon drawing and i tend to agree.
The line quality on the rear of the mouse is acceptable. You need to be more confident with the form. Being a slave to a smooth line is a waste of time. Designerds can be a little too anal about a single line. Look at their seniors- they can define a good idea or a great form with chicken scratch.
Just work on that mouse sketch a little more- the problem is not so much the lines- as the form- which needs a lot of massaging. Simple matter of overlays. Massaging a form needs dirty lines to find a good line. Italian designers have crap lines but the crap lines define a sexy form. Unfortunately sexy lines dont mean a sexy form.
