PROCESS VIDEO // september sketches - part 1

Here’s the process video for my September sketch session that I posted last week! It’s been a while since I recorded the process of a traditional sketch session and some of you have been asking for that, so I figured it was time! I’ve divided it into two parts - this is the video showing the process for the first two pages (the foxes and the mushrooms). Here’s the final result of the session: 

Some information about this process video:

• The process has been sped up by 200% - so twice the original speed. 

• This sketch session took about 2 and a half hours in total. This part took about an hour and 15 minutes. 

Here’s a quick summary of the tools I used: 

• Moleskine sketchbook - the A4 sized art sketchbook has my preference!

• Mechanical pencil - I’m using a BIC pencil with 0.7mm 2B lead. 

• Blending stump - this is the tool I use to blend and smudge the graphite! 

If you want to know more about my sketching technique, I definitely recommend checking out my tutorial on creating light & flowy sketches. This tutorial runs you through this exact workflow, with the exact same materials that I use in this process video!

BUILDING UP GRADUALLY

One thing I always find helpful during sketches is to gradually build up the detail. I usually start by laying out my page - I think about how I want to arrange all of the different elements and get that sorted out before detailing further. For me it’s really important that each page has its own appeal and that the arrangement of the sketches looks nice! So for each of these pages, you’ll see me lightly sketching out everything first, before committing and adding more detail and volume to each sketch. This is something I can generally recommend when sketching so that there’s room to change and adjust things before you get so far into detailing that you can’t really go back. 

SHAPES FOR WARMING UP

It takes me a while to warm up and get into the flow of sketching - my first sketches are usually a bit awkward and don’t “feel” as good to make. When I started drawing the mushrooms, I really found my flow! I think it’s because they don’t have to be drawn perfectly to look right. You can really play around with the shapes and the size of them and use your imagination - they will still look like mushrooms. In general I can recommend drawing subject matter like this as a warm-up exercise, or if you find yourself being too much of a perfectionist. It can make the drawing process a lot more enjoyable and allow you to build confidence and momentum before moving on to more difficult subject matter! 

I hope you enjoyed this video - the second part is coming right up!