Sketching 101

June 24, 2019 12:47 PM

I've recently taken up sketching and I'm looking for recommendations for good resources - books, videos, blogs - anything.

There are a lot of how to draw resources out there and I would like some advice to help me determine which ones to get. I would quite like to get a couple of really good foundation books - books that are essentially the bible of sketching, and supplement this with cool video tutorials or exercises from other sources. If you have any tips for how you got better at sketching that's also much appreciated!

posted by Nilehorse to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (8 answers total)

Excellent! I encourage you in your endeavor. Here are some great resources:
James Gurney's blog is an endless source of inspiration and information.
Here's where you can download pdfs of many of Andrew Loomis's books. They're a remarkable resource.
You could do a lot worse than watching Stan Prokopenko's videos on youtube.
Sadie Valeri's Atelier offers many excellent educational videos and tutorials. Worth the price of admission.
Muddy Colors is a great blog maintained by a a number of excellent fantasy artists.
Lynda Barry's tumblr, The Nearsighted Monkey, is unexpectedly wonderful.

That should get you started.
posted by cleverevans at 1:27 PM on June 24, 2019 [5 favorites]

Betty Edwards: Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain
posted by mumimor at 2:05 PM on June 24, 2019 [10 favorites]

It's a very particular approach to learning to draw, but I really enjoy drawabox. I did the first few lessons on my own, then went back and did them with paid critiques as well, which was really helpful.
posted by bellebethcooper at 2:07 PM on June 24, 2019 [1 favorite]

The bibles!

The Natural Way to Draw - Kimon Nicolaïdes
Drawing Lessons from the Great Masters - Robert Beverly Hale
Understanding Perspective - Radu Vero

Then work your way through a few of these beauts:

Experimental Drawing - Kaupelis, Robert
Experiential Drawing - Robert R Dvorak
Drawing: Structure and Vision - Fritz Drury
Form, Space, and Vision - Graham Collier
The Art of Responsive Drawing - Nathan Goldstein
A Guide to Drawing - Daniel M. Mendelowitz
History and Technique of Old Master Drawings - Charles De Tolnay
Great Draughtsmen from Pisanello to Picasso - Jakob Rosenberg

The most important thing is just to draw, draw, draw. Whatever gets you excited enough to do that is your best resource!
posted by aw jeez at 3:29 PM on June 24, 2019 [6 favorites]

As far as exercises, maintaining my 400+ streak on r/sketchdaily has been quietly life-changing for me. I don't actually manage to sketch every day, but there's a 30 day grace period to make up missed days. It is just the right amount of pressure to keep me going without burning out, and while there are days I only get out a terrible little scribble, some days I am able to produce things I'm really fond of, solely because I have this reserved space in my life for creating.

(I only wish I could replicate the experience with writing.)
posted by Cozybee at 1:57 AM on June 25, 2019 [1 favorite]

Keys to Drawing and Keys to Drawing with Imagination by Bert Dodson
Fast Sketching Techniques by David Rankin
Your Artist's Brain by Carl Purcell
How to Think When You Draw by Lorenzo Etherington
posted by overeducated_alligator at 11:25 AM on June 25, 2019

The "Laws guide to nature drawing and journaling" changed everything for me. Urban Sketchers are great groups of people who sketch urban environments.
posted by rebent at 12:58 PM on June 25, 2019

This FPP from storybored, How to Draw a Stick Figure, introduced me to the many, many tutorials by Monika Zagrobelna, which are just wonderful.

Great question - thanks for asking it!
posted by kristi at 11:23 AM on June 29, 2019 [2 favorites]