2D Sketch Tips

2D sketching is critical for or expressing, developing, and communicating ideas. Sketching helps you to think openly about ideas, generate many ideas quickly, keep visual records of found objects, discuss and critique ideas with others, and record ideas for future reflection.

Sketching is not the same as drawing. It does not require a high level of artistic skills.

Lines

  • Sketch lines in the air before putting to paper
  • Different kind of lines: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZeUxth4T-eI&feature=youtu.be

Circles

  • A circle in perspective is an ellipse.
  • An ellipse has a major and a minor axis which are always at right angles with each other.
  • To draw a circle in perspective, first draw the major and minor axis, then draw the ellipse.

People

People are roughly 8 heads tall.

Screen Shot 2013-01-27 at 4.19.52 PM

 

Vanishing Points

Shading

Perspective

Books

  •  Edwards, B., Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain
  • McCloud, S., Understanding Comics
  • Greenberg et al., Sketching User Experiences

Practice Exercise

Pick an object

  • draw what you see for 5 min
  • draw only the outline, without looking at the page for 5 min
  • draw only the white spaces for 5 min
  • draw what you see for 10min
  • draw what you see using only circles, squares, and triangles
  • draw with music: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDtrdomWAq4&feature=youtu.be