"A lot of purists will say..." Yeah, purists on any subject say a lot of things. They like to feel ownership over things that don't belong to them. I love working from photos.
I don't get why people are so snobby about inconsequential differences in ways of creating art. I only ever sketch from pictures I find online or from photographs I have taken. The reason for this is because the vast majority of places I paint, I will likely never go to or otherwise I paint places I have been to on holiday but don't want to paint until I return home. If I have been to the place, I want to enjoy my holiday and then I get to relive it when I paint later.
💯💯 exactly! At the end of the day sketching should be fun! When I'm away I find it hard to take time out to sketch. It would be fun, but I'm more preoccupied with actually seeing the places and eating the food
Yep, I agree 100%. Photos are fine. The planet moves, people move, critters move, & clouds are sneaky culprits. Outside of a studio nothing is going to sit still for you to draw aside from rocks and buildings. 😊 I may be into ancient structures for a month but there aren’t any nearby & I may neither have the time nor finances to go on a trip … so like everyone else, I’ll look for a photo. Don’t let other people tell you what you can and can’t do. They’re simply part of the artistic discouragement problem. It’s your life & art to control, not theirs.
spot on! Discouragement and elitism in the art world is such a problem. We already put so many limitations on ourselves, we don't need any negative outside forces. I chatted about some points you brought up in a follow up video 2 weeks ago: ua-cam.com/video/bUzhPgZD8Ik/v-deo.html Thanks for watching and being an encouraging force in the space!
Thank you for this realistic advice for beginners. I have ADHD, which means I have to expend a lot more mental energy to filter out the sensory chaos that comes along with sketching in a busy cafe or on a bustling street. I've tried this as a beginner sketch artist and things tend to go pretty poorly because all my mental energy is going to neutralize the sensory chaos rather than figure out my process. Getting my process down at home with photos means I'll be able to step into an energetic scene and sketch almost from muscle memory. Thanks for reaffirming that this is OK.
I'm glad you found some value in the video. I absolutely understand how overwhelming busy areas can be for someone with ADHD. I have a follow up video that talks about low stakes way to ease yourself into public sketching (and avoiding the sensory chaos): ua-cam.com/video/IWNfH4DEOR0/v-deo.html Hope that one helps!
I started taking a pen & ink drawing class again, 2 weeks ago. Don’t like the messy India ink, a bit of spillage ,etc, so will buy the technical pens instead, like I used years ago when I did pen & ink & watercolours. My interest is in architecture- buildings,old 😂farm houses, stone fences, etc. I actually found some pictures that I had taken with a wide angle lens of the downtown of Collingwood with the great intention of drawing them! That was 33 yrs ago. I intend to start and use those pictures and use your thumbnails which I think is a great idea.! Your video has given me hope and enthusiasm again , even now at 75! From Oakville . Cheers! 🧑🏻🦰🇨🇦
Collingwood has some great older architecture with a ton of character. I'm happy you're motivated to sketch. Make sure to share them with me when you have a chance!
Love the ideas of multiple thumbnails! Helps get rid of unimportant items and simplifies the composition! Thank you so much. I have a saying. EVERYTHING is EASY once you know how! 😂
@@futurecondos I know! Especially after creating your 5th or 10th thumbnail! 🤣. The more tired I get, the easier it seems to let go of what’s not important! Gonna give this a try
Totally agree! Drawing from a photo IS A GREAT EXERCISE (practice) not only for beginners. Although I get the point of drawing in situ (USK manifesto) it can be discouraging for beginners to hear that you should NOT be drawing from photos.
Absolutely, while drawing in situ is a different skill, drawing from photos can really set you up for success. While I get why the various USK groups are set up the way they are, it can be daunting for a beginner to feel supported by the community
Oh ! Que j' ai aimé votre vidéo .J' ai 77 ans et je découvre que j' aimerais essayer une scène urbaine. Merci pour de partager votre technique avec nous . BYE, du Québec.♥♥🎨
I agree that sometimes it is good to paint from a photo, in fact when I go out to paint I like to take a photo to help me with the composition and perspective or capture some shadows that I liked and the rest I capture with my eyes and very good tips by the way, I usually get lost with so many details but the more I do it, the more I understand that it is good to choose a focal point and not everything. I'm not sure if my thing is more plein air painting or urban Sketching 😅 but I think the tips apply to everything and the important thing is to go out and paint 😁
Yes! At the end of the day, just go out and make art!😁 I agree about getting lost in the details. I have a tendency of wanting to include everything. It's been hard trying to unlearn 😬
@@halfpiint For me the differences are in the time it takes to do it, the materials and the style between a painting or a sketch. Urban sketching is usually faster too.
Dudeeee, fellow Canadian/Torontonian here! I am just getting into urban sketching! You'll see the struggle in my urban sketch videos 😭😫Your video was quite informative! Thanks for sharing :)
amazing tips!!! i really really liked the section about composition because i find it very hard. the "find your borders" advice is simple, genius, and i've never heard it phrased this way before :) also thank you for illustrations of your points, it really helps!!
Great photographs And Fab sketches. Working in the actual _situated area_ like a Cafe a park etc can be *More challenging* cause of the _outside elements_ like ... people who might be watching you sketch? Or if you the artist are slightly awkward to draw Whilst amongst the general public? Keep sharing
Thanks for watching!; A big part of it is being comfortable while you're out: feeling self conscious, comparing yourself if you're drawing with others, or even just having to talk about your Sketch with random curious people
You can grasp a feeling even just by looking at a photograph. You don't need to be there. Those who argue the opposite most likely do not have these qualities. I believe that in art there is no right or wrong. Those who tend to follow theory too much risk setting boundaries and automatically diminishing the space for creativity. A self-taught person will never be a model student and vice versa. It's fine. Everyone chooses their own path.
Great advise and explanation. I like the quick recap at the end too. I think this will give me a better handle on what I'm doing. Now I'm just curious about who was making you laugh! Best wishes!
Thank you! I am glad you found some value in this video. The laughing came after I realized I wrote "understand" in my script 4000 times! This was also after a very long time of recording :D
I prefer urban sketching from photos as well; mostly for reasons of comfort. The main argument against it appears to be that the camera lens causes distortions, which is an important point for large objects with lines, such as buildings. The way to avoid that problem is to use long lenses (long local length, longer than 50mm) rather than "short" (wide-angle) lenses.
That's a great point! I personally feel the lens distortion helps me exaggerate the scene even more Coming from a design background, it's easy for me to be rigid and structured, but it is very difficult for me to be loose Urban Sketching has really helped me with the looseness
I don't know if you'll see this and this is probably a dumb question but i'll ask anyways. I'm new to this, but my style of art is similar to this and with practicing urban sketching I hope to improve! But is urban sketching only limited to cities and buildings? Or can it be applied to anything? And if so do you have any tips or another video you could point me to for help?
Not a dumb question at all! The "look" of loose urban sketches can be applied to absolutely anything! I'd recommend checking out the UA-cam channel by @BeckyCao - she does mostly still life sketches of food and everyday items
Agree on using photos. All my drawings are from them. Unfortunately you do not have all these amazing historic buildings in South Africa to sketch. So I just use Pinterest and find amazing building there.
I'd recommend a small moleskine to carry around for pen sketches. If you're ready for the markers then the book I'm using here is the one by copic. It's great! No bleeding
The only problem with drawing from photo Is it takes lots of time to get how to use a decent amount of the page, i tried going out in the winter when possible but ive had to resort to online references.
Yes! One of the challenges in using photos is since it is already a full scene, my tendency was to draw it exactly. But I found with time, I was able to selectively choose elements to draw and it helped me see a real life scene differently.
Thank you so much for sharing your process and tips. I need to work on my thumbnails more, and I love your example of how simplifying the drawing makes a more meaningful end result. Gave you a follow on Insta too! 📷
The gatekeeping of urban sketching groups has been enough of a turnoff for me to decline joining. I'm sure sketching on location is great for some people, but if I've been to a place dozens of times and don't feel like spending time in traffic getting there, I'm perfectly happy creating my urban sketch at home from a photo I've taken of said place before.
If feel you! Some of the groups can be intimidating. But I have found a couple that are very welcoming to beginners. Look for your local chapter of Usk (Urban sketchers) - They usually do monthly meet ups and are very newbie friendly. But again, there's nothing wrong with sketching in the comfort of your own space :)
@@futurecondos I already tried joining a local chapter and I wasn't intimidated, I was disappointed. There was an unofficial group called urban sketching that they would openly complain about and one person implied all the posts within that group were spam as a result. They and other official urban sketchers would comment on artwork just to point out that the group was unofficial and whether or not said artwork counted as urban sketching. I just gave me a bad vibe. :/
"A lot of purists will say..." Yeah, purists on any subject say a lot of things. They like to feel ownership over things that don't belong to them. I love working from photos.
I agree! At the end of the day we draw for many reasons. And the only standards that we should follow are the ones that we set for ourselves
I don't get why people are so snobby about inconsequential differences in ways of creating art.
I only ever sketch from pictures I find online or from photographs I have taken. The reason for this is because the vast majority of places I paint, I will likely never go to or otherwise I paint places I have been to on holiday but don't want to paint until I return home.
If I have been to the place, I want to enjoy my holiday and then I get to relive it when I paint later.
💯💯 exactly! At the end of the day sketching should be fun!
When I'm away I find it hard to take time out to sketch. It would be fun, but I'm more preoccupied with actually seeing the places and eating the food
Yep, I agree 100%. Photos are fine. The planet moves, people move, critters move, & clouds are sneaky culprits. Outside of a studio nothing is going to sit still for you to draw aside from rocks and buildings. 😊
I may be into ancient structures for a month but there aren’t any nearby & I may neither have the time nor finances to go on a trip … so like everyone else, I’ll look for a photo.
Don’t let other people tell you what you can and can’t do. They’re simply part of the artistic discouragement problem. It’s your life & art to control, not theirs.
spot on!
Discouragement and elitism in the art world is such a problem. We already put so many limitations on ourselves, we don't need any negative outside forces.
I chatted about some points you brought up in a follow up video 2 weeks ago: ua-cam.com/video/bUzhPgZD8Ik/v-deo.html
Thanks for watching and being an encouraging force in the space!
I prefer painting from photos too….you can take your time, not feel rushed and I think the overall composition turns out better
Yes! I agree. It's an overall more comfortable experience
I really appreciate how you break it down! Thank you for your generous and specific teaching.
I'm glad you got value from this video!!! Looking forward to seeing what you create
Thanks for the great advice and the listing of your products and tech. Very time saving for my own research. 🎉
Not a problem!
Any supply in particular that you can't wait to use?
For me, it's always a fountain pen - I have an unhealthy obsession collecting them
Not to mention, the recap so many people don’t do is super helpful for me.
If I knew how to do it, I would happily send you a picture I’ll start investigating that as well. Thanks a lot.
Great video, really helpful and easy to ‘understand’ !! Thank you! Love the thumbnail idea ❤ Best wishes from England. I hit the thumb and subscribed.
Thumbnailing is so simple, but makes a huge difference!
Me too (also from England) the thumbnail thing is a great tip
Thank you for this realistic advice for beginners. I have ADHD, which means I have to expend a lot more mental energy to filter out the sensory chaos that comes along with sketching in a busy cafe or on a bustling street. I've tried this as a beginner sketch artist and things tend to go pretty poorly because all my mental energy is going to neutralize the sensory chaos rather than figure out my process. Getting my process down at home with photos means I'll be able to step into an energetic scene and sketch almost from muscle memory. Thanks for reaffirming that this is OK.
I'm glad you found some value in the video. I absolutely understand how overwhelming busy areas can be for someone with ADHD.
I have a follow up video that talks about low stakes way to ease yourself into public sketching (and avoiding the sensory chaos): ua-cam.com/video/IWNfH4DEOR0/v-deo.html
Hope that one helps!
I'll take a look, thanks!
Just discovered your channel, love the vibe! New subscriber.
Thank you very much and welcome!
Very helpful! I love the simplified one in the end and seeing your process to get there.
Thank you for watching :)
@@futurecondos I really enjoyed seeing your sketchbook; very helpful and interesting. I like your sketching style as well.
@@genestone4951 Thank you very much!
subed because i like your content + your from TORONTO !!!! WOOT WOOOT!!!
🔥🔥
I started taking a pen & ink drawing class again, 2 weeks ago. Don’t like the messy India ink, a bit of spillage ,etc, so will buy the technical pens instead, like I used years ago when I did pen & ink & watercolours. My interest is in architecture- buildings,old 😂farm houses, stone fences, etc. I actually found some pictures that I had taken with a wide angle lens of the downtown of Collingwood with the great intention of drawing them! That was 33 yrs ago. I intend to start and use those pictures and use your thumbnails which I think is a great idea.! Your video has given me hope and enthusiasm again , even now at 75! From Oakville . Cheers! 🧑🏻🦰🇨🇦
Collingwood has some great older architecture with a ton of character.
I'm happy you're motivated to sketch. Make sure to share them with me when you have a chance!
The difference between the first and second sketch is very small educational as was the narrative. Learned a lot. Thank you!
Thank you for your comment! I'm glad the video gave you value
Love the ideas of multiple thumbnails! Helps get rid of unimportant items and simplifies the composition! Thank you so much. I have a saying. EVERYTHING is EASY once you know how! 😂
Hahahah ain't that the truth!
Thumbnails are sweet though. 30 seconds is all you need to save you from potential disaster
@@futurecondos I know! Especially after creating your 5th or 10th thumbnail! 🤣. The more tired I get, the easier it seems to let go of what’s not important! Gonna give this a try
Hahah yes! Sometimes I need a break and a snack after thumbnails and before the actual sketch
@@futurecondos 🤣 I can relate!
Totally agree! Drawing from a photo IS A GREAT EXERCISE (practice) not only for beginners. Although I get the point of drawing in situ (USK manifesto) it can be discouraging for beginners to hear that you should NOT be drawing from photos.
Absolutely, while drawing in situ is a different skill, drawing from photos can really set you up for success. While I get why the various USK groups are set up the way they are, it can be daunting for a beginner to feel supported by the community
Oh ! Que j' ai aimé votre vidéo .J' ai 77 ans et je découvre que j' aimerais essayer une scène urbaine. Merci pour de partager votre technique avec nous . BYE, du Québec.♥♥🎨
Bonjour et merci d'avoir regardé la vidéo !
I agree that sometimes it is good to paint from a photo, in fact when I go out to paint I like to take a photo to help me with the composition and perspective or capture some shadows that I liked and the rest I capture with my eyes and very good tips by the way, I usually get lost with so many details but the more I do it, the more I understand that it is good to choose a focal point and not everything. I'm not sure if my thing is more plein air painting or urban Sketching 😅 but I think the tips apply to everything and the important thing is to go out and paint 😁
Yes! At the end of the day, just go out and make art!😁
I agree about getting lost in the details. I have a tendency of wanting to include everything. It's been hard trying to unlearn 😬
What’s the difference between plain air painting and urban sketching?
@@halfpiint For me the differences are in the time it takes to do it, the materials and the style between a painting or a sketch. Urban sketching is usually faster too.
@@jessiecortesart So it’s subjective and not dependent on subject or approach?
Dudeeee, fellow Canadian/Torontonian here! I am just getting into urban sketching! You'll see the struggle in my urban sketch videos 😭😫Your video was quite informative! Thanks for sharing :)
Awesome, I've given you a sub! Looking forward to following your journey :)
@@futurecondos thanks so much 😊 I can't wait to follow your journey as well! Keep up the good work 👏 🙌
Really goods tips here I'll try them. Thank for taking time to put on you tube. Mike uk
Thank you! I'm glad you found value in this video!
amazing tips!!! i really really liked the section about composition because i find it very hard. the "find your borders" advice is simple, genius, and i've never heard it phrased this way before :)
also thank you for illustrations of your points, it really helps!!
Thank you for watching and the feedback!
I plan on doing a bunch more videos on composition because it's so critical but overwhelming
Thanks for Sharing 🙏
Thank you for watching!
Great photographs And Fab sketches.
Working in the actual _situated area_ like a Cafe a park etc can be *More challenging* cause of the _outside elements_ like ... people who might be watching you sketch? Or if you the artist are slightly awkward to draw Whilst amongst the general public?
Keep sharing
Thanks for watching!;
A big part of it is being comfortable while you're out: feeling self conscious, comparing yourself if you're drawing with others, or even just having to talk about your Sketch with random curious people
You can grasp a feeling even just by looking at a photograph. You don't need to be there. Those who argue the opposite most likely do not have these qualities. I believe that in art there is no right or wrong. Those who tend to follow theory too much risk setting boundaries and automatically diminishing the space for creativity. A self-taught person will never be a model student and vice versa. It's fine. Everyone chooses their own path.
Yes! It's a delicate balance. We can all learn from each other without any perceived opinions
Great advise and explanation. I like the quick recap at the end too. I think this will give me a better handle on what I'm doing. Now I'm just curious about who was making you laugh! Best wishes!
Thank you! I am glad you found some value in this video.
The laughing came after I realized I wrote "understand" in my script 4000 times! This was also after a very long time of recording :D
Great tips! Thank you so much... 💕🙏🏼💕
Thank you for watching!
Great video! I learned a great deal. Thank you! New subscriber
Thank you for your support!!
You did a great job explaining. Keep it going. Subscribed✨️
Thanks! I'll be uploading regularly again soon
Love to learn from you
Thank you! I hope you picked up some good tips
hey, awesome to see a fellow designer + urban sketcher!!
Thanks! Awesome channel btw
I prefer urban sketching from photos as well; mostly for reasons of comfort. The main argument against it appears to be that the camera lens causes distortions, which is an important point for large objects with lines, such as buildings. The way to avoid that problem is to use long lenses (long local length, longer than 50mm) rather than "short" (wide-angle) lenses.
That's a great point!
I personally feel the lens distortion helps me exaggerate the scene even more
Coming from a design background, it's easy for me to be rigid and structured, but it is very difficult for me to be loose
Urban Sketching has really helped me with the looseness
Good advice, thanks for sharing.
Thank you for watching :)
I don't know if you'll see this and this is probably a dumb question but i'll ask anyways. I'm new to this, but my style of art is similar to this and with practicing urban sketching I hope to improve! But is urban sketching only limited to cities and buildings? Or can it be applied to anything? And if so do you have any tips or another video you could point me to for help?
Not a dumb question at all! The "look" of loose urban sketches can be applied to absolutely anything! I'd recommend checking out the UA-cam channel by @BeckyCao - she does mostly still life sketches of food and everyday items
Agree on using photos. All my drawings are from them. Unfortunately you do not have all these amazing historic buildings in South Africa to sketch. So I just use Pinterest and find amazing building there.
Pinterest is such a great resource. I find following some architectural photographers on Instagram a huge source of inspiration and sources
Don’t know why I never considered just cutting out certain times that I would normally check my phone but it’s genius
Agree with you 100%
💯
Amazing work .❤️
Thank you!
Thanks!
Thank you for watching
thanks for the info!
No problem!
im a 13 year old starting thank you for the tips 🙏
I'm glad I could help. Keep it up!
Lovely video! I agree.
Thank you!
Nice work. What kind of sketchbook would be good for beginners! What sketchbook are u using here?
I'd recommend a small moleskine to carry around for pen sketches. If you're ready for the markers then the book I'm using here is the one by copic. It's great! No bleeding
Sorry I have to say it your hair color is amazing ❤
Thank you :)
Thank you for this very helpful video.
Thank you! I am glad you found it informative
Brilliant
Thanks!
Thumbnails? 😮😮😮 good idea!
They're almost like cheat codes
Subscribed
Thank you!
The only problem with drawing from photo Is it takes lots of time to get how to use a decent amount of the page, i tried going out in the winter when possible but ive had to resort to online references.
Yes! One of the challenges in using photos is since it is already a full scene, my tendency was to draw it exactly. But I found with time, I was able to selectively choose elements to draw and it helped me see a real life scene differently.
@@futurecondos Yeah tbh i dont even know why i commented that, i just draw it to scale too ha.
Thank you so much for sharing your process and tips. I need to work on my thumbnails more, and I love your example of how simplifying the drawing makes a more meaningful end result.
Gave you a follow on Insta too! 📷
Thank you for watching and the follow!
Thumbnailing is low-key a game changer!
understood bhai :p
:D
The gatekeeping of urban sketching groups has been enough of a turnoff for me to decline joining. I'm sure sketching on location is great for some people, but if I've been to a place dozens of times and don't feel like spending time in traffic getting there, I'm perfectly happy creating my urban sketch at home from a photo I've taken of said place before.
If feel you!
Some of the groups can be intimidating.
But I have found a couple that are very welcoming to beginners. Look for your local chapter of Usk (Urban sketchers) - They usually do monthly meet ups and are very newbie friendly.
But again, there's nothing wrong with sketching in the comfort of your own space :)
@@futurecondos I already tried joining a local chapter and I wasn't intimidated, I was disappointed. There was an unofficial group called urban sketching that they would openly complain about and one person implied all the posts within that group were spam as a result. They and other official urban sketchers would comment on artwork just to point out that the group was unofficial and whether or not said artwork counted as urban sketching. I just gave me a bad vibe. :/
Less is more.
Yes exactly!