Workshop: Elevate your sketching skills
Tim Von Rueden distills his extensive teaching experience into 15 key pieces of advice that will help you grow in confidence when putting pencil to paper
Tim Von Rueden passes on 15 key pieces of advice that will help you grow in confidence when putting pencil to paper.
There’s a big difference between a 2H and 4B hardness
There are many pieces of advice that I want to share with you on your creative endeavour, but I had to narrow it down to 15 tips for this sketching workshop. These tips are meant to help you build some underlying structure, hopefully spread a little inspiration, and support you to get motivated right back to the drawing table!
I believe it takes a partnership of technical skill and authentic creative pursuits to manifest great works, so don’t ignore learning the fundamentals or neglect the truth and message you want to create in your works.
I’m going to focus more on the technical side with sketching tips that will help any artist elevate their ideas and translate them on paper the way they’re seeing them in their head. Having been a teacher for six years, I understand that just getting started can be the hardest obstacle to overcome as an artist. So use this workshop as a reminder to keep drawing, because the best way to level up in your work is to apply what you learn through practice, practice, practice. And always staying hungry for that desire to improve and grow!
Tim is an independent, travelling convention artist. He aims to inspire and mentor others through hard work while encouraging big ambitions. See his art at www.instagram.com/vonnart.
Know your pencils 1
I use both traditional and mechanical pencils. Mechanical pencils are usually better suited for precision, while traditional pencils are great for laying down large areas of texture. Whichever you prefer doesn’t matter as much as the pencil hardness in the graphite you’re using. For example, there’s a big difference between a 2H and 4B hardness. I recommend starting somewhere on the H scale as a foundation and then finishing with the darker B scale. Keep in mind that most mechanical pencils come with HB pre-inserted, which gives you only the middle range to work with.
2 Make use of different methods of mark making
There’s no “right way” to draw. There are so many different methods and techniques to achieve the same end result and look within your work. Here are a few examples to show that you can create form and depth with completely distinctive styles of rendering. I believe it’s important to experiment and find what works best for you, to not only complement but enhance your style. So while I prefer smoother value transitions with the pencil strokes blending in against a thin outline, you may be more partial to cross-hatching against a bold outline.
3 Impact of high and low contrast
Even though I enjoy working with contrast, that doesn’t mean every drawing has to have high-contrasting values everywhere. Subtle, low-contrasting shading can also showcase form and can be just as effective (if not more) in showing details and pull the viewer’s eye to a specific area just from the lack of contrast. In these examples, you can see that the softer, low-value contrast piece enables the eye to wander and doesn’t define an area of focus. While the area of focus in the high-value contrast piece rests on the darkest darks against the lightest lights.
You don’t always need extreme contrasts to show dimension, just well-placed hints to imply it
Edge control 4
When I think about edge control within a drawing, there are four techniques that come to mind. A thin and hard edge that first generates a literal border to your subject matter and then defines where it begins and ends. A lost edge, where the subject matter and background values blend together so that the edge is ultimately implied. And finally, an undefined edge, which heavily relies on the viewer to do the heavy lifting and decipher the subject matter’s edge.
All four edges can be used to separate your subjects within your composition. You can also experiment with a combination of them to produce interesting results.
5 Creating the illusion of form
We draw on a flat surface and it’s our job to create the illusion of form and depth. This can be done with gradations or purposeful mark making, often with a light source in mind. You’ve seen the examples of a well-shaded sphere and it showcases how light-to-dark value transitions can create a three-dimensional form. I want to also show that you can imply the illusion with subtle shading and wellplaced highlights/shadows within a mid-range value spectrum. You don’t always need extreme contrasts to show dimension, just well-placed hints to imply it.
6 Make gradients work for you
My favourite inclusion within a drawing (besides contrasting values) is a well-placed gradient. This is typically referred to as a gradation from a light to dark value. They are visually pleasant to the eye and can direct the viewer’s attention to an area of focus. The scope of the gradient is important as well. A gradient that covers most of the drawing or subject matter will influence where the viewers look, and smaller gradients can add a pop of detail and contrast. If you feel your piece is looking flat or has lost focus, try adding a subtle gradient.
7 Contrast, contrast and more contrast
I love contrast. Our eye is attracted to areas of contrast and we can play with that knowledge in our imagery. Contrast is usually thought of as a value contrast, which consists of a dark and light value butting up against one another. But contrast can also be found in hue, saturation, shape, texture, edges, proportion and more. Heavy contrast will demand attention. Thus, I recommend placing the highest value contrast in your area of intent focus. You can also add contrast to separate forms and distinguish subject matters from one another.
8 Applying the 70/30 rule
The 70/30 rule is applied to all sorts of different facets in life, but I was taught this rule when creating art. The main idea is that you place 30 per cent of the detail/focus/contrast in one area of your piece and let the remaining 70 per cent be “filler” or less interesting, to push more attention towards that 30 per cent focal point. In this drawing I’m showing a 70/30 detail example to show this rule applied in practice. This can also be a reminder that in some cases, “less is more”!
Concave 9 versus convex
This is a simpler tip I learned in college while grasping the differences between shading something convex and concave. I think about it every time I draw horns or placing the lighting within the iris of an eye. It’s all about the direction of a light source and how different forms will respond to that information to create the illusion of depth. In these examples you can see how a simple study can be pushed further and result in a more complex form while still maintaining the same construction and thinking process behind both.
10 Understanding textures
Textures are distinct from one another and should be drawn to reflect that. You wouldn’t want to shade skin the same way you shade metallics or fur. They each have unique properties and capturing that will elevate your drawings because of the accuracy depicted. To begin understanding textures, analyse two main concepts: does the texture tend to absorb/reflect light, and how smooth/rough is the surface? For example, a reflecting and smooth texture such as chrome usually has higher contrasts and prominent highlights, while an absorbing and rough texture like cotton has low contrasts and little to no highlight present.
Imperfections and anomalies 11
The details and quirks that make an object stand out also adds character and a potential story for the viewer to elaborate upon. Instead of just looking at what makes an object recognisable you should also consider how to make this object distinctive. For my examples, I’m taking a simple vegetable and showing the general “look” that may come to mind at first thought. From there I bought the an actual carrot for reference and emphasised its anomalies, bumps, roots and imperfections. Look to add those on any given subject matter and try to have some fun pushing it into something fantastical.
Once you understand how to recreate something realistically, it becomes easy to then create a stylised version
13 Realism versus stylised imagery
I believe it’s necessary to understand the value of learning realistic pursuits such as lighting, values, proportions, anatomy, and much more while honing in on your craft. It’s not that a realism look is any better than a stylised one. Once you understand how to recreate something realistically, it becomes incredibly easy to then create a stylised version of the same object, especially for creatures and characters. Over time you’ll make seemingly small, personal preference choices on the actual execution of a piece (often straying from realism) and that’s what will help you to gradually build up your own style.
14 The heart is in the details
How often have you heard “The little details are the most important”? I believe those details are where a piece reflects the artist’s heart and soul. The additional time put into adding elements that may go unnoticed are like treats for viewers who take the time to look for them. I emphasise putting that extra care into adding the secondary details without rushing them, because it also teaches patience and practice. Great art should be nurtured, not manufactured. Don’t overlook those details or let time be a deterrent. Embrace them!
Trust your intuition and be 15 confident in your decisions
Creating art takes courage. To fully express who you are, what you’re interested in, how you’re feeling and what you stand for can be daunting. Too many artists play it safe. They find an appealing and marketable comfort zone, and then only create from that space. I can speak from experience that people respond and will resonate when the work feels authentic. When you’re in your creative zone, trust your gut feelings and be expressive with your preliminary sketches and thumbnails. Don’t worry about the reaction. Create without the fear of whether it will be “good or not”.