How to Sketch

Introduction:

In this Instructable I will cover the basics of sketching. This kind of sketching will help you achieve a better understanding of how to break down the environment you see in order to capture it on paper. Sketching works best in a diverse environment such as cities or in general urban settings.The best thing to remember is to have fun and know you don't have to capture everything absolutely perfect.

Step 1: Perspective

In this first step ,you must gather a basic idea of how the environment you are viewing can be divided into linear perspective.This works best on buildings and other roughly straight areas in an urban environment. To do this you can use your pen or pencil to map out where lines go and where they vanish out of view.

Step 2: Further Perspective /scale

In this next step, you can break down the environment into its basic shapes and massing. This sub-dividing can help breakdown the difference between large and small masses.You can break these masses into their basic geometry such as a box,triangle,and circle. Once you do this, you can begin adding detailing to further distinguish things .these things can be things such as openings and other shapes in the environment.

Step 3: Detailing

One you have figured out your masses and other objects in the environment based on their basic geometry, you can add smaller details such as artwork on a building or windows.You can also begin to add things such as people ,textures , and other objects in the environment.

Step 4: Shadow and Shading

In this final step, you will add shading and shadow into the environment. These will give depth to the sketch and further define the setting.To do this you have many options and techniques. some examples include the use of cross hatching or hatching .Hatching is shading using parallel lines that go in one direction. Cross hatching is two sets of parallel lines that intersect each other.to add shadow always remember where the light source of the environment is coming from.

Step 5: End

This is the conclusion .Remember to have fun and remember that mistakes are ok in sketching.the most important aspect of sketching is being able to get a sense of the environment. You can further your sketches in the future by adding color .This will further define your sketches. This is a great thing to do to relax or capture a moment .if you don't finish your sketch in person always remember that photos can allays help.