Sketch Competitions

Sketching competitions are often held in the online world. It gives everyone the chance to participate and to learn from one another. People get to vote and comment on the sketch they like. 

Sketchoholic.com holds competitions very often. With different themes every time, young and old artists can depict the characters they like, focus on the characters and portray the different manners of the characters.

Here are some samples of winners of different competitions:

Drawn by Hughmellon for the Hugh Laurie Model Exchange Competition.

Drawn by MoulinBleu for the Ringling DPSC with David Colman Competition.

Drawn by Nicktensity for the Creatures, Good and Evil.

Drawn by Fresh for the Week Study Competition.

Drawn by Tencio for the 3 Drawings in 105 Min 29 Aug Competition.

Drawn by Newbs for the Fish Tank Issues Competition.

I chose these few samples because i think the ideas seems fresh,simple and unique. And to show the few different themes of the competition held.

Referencing:

http://www.sketchoholic.com/winners.php

Artist view vs Audience view.

How an artist view his/her sketch and how others view the same sketch can de different. People have different perspectives of how things come and go around us. And this is an issue faced by artists nowadays. 

Some people intentionally tries to disseminate the idea of the sketch just because they do not understand and does not want to understand the concept and idea of the particular sketch. 

Artists will interpret their drawings and develop a simplified concept of their drawings to grab the attention of others and clients. 

Traditioinal Sketch VS Digital Sketch

Traditional Sketch

Traditional sketch means the basic sketch drawn using hands. It is usually the first thing fresh artist learn when they begin their drawing. Starting from basic shapes and advancing to more complicated forms, they learn to use the pen to quickly express their drawings. Hand sketching is best suited to the early stages of the drawing process. It allows you to quickly draw your ideas out, do overall thinking and convey all your ideas with your hands. Being able to spread out all your sketches and ideas on paper can really help you make different drawing concepts and decisions (Cheung, 2011).

Digital Sketch

Nowadays, it is easily spotted that artists are beginning to use design softwares and digital tablets to do their skecthes. Digital sketching is useful for creating nice presentation sketches. Artist can create exciting and colorful sketches and renderings with the help of the resizing or recoloring system, the sketches done can be very clean and well polished.  Of course digital sketching can also be used for quick doodling and roughing out ideas as well, but still the traditional way is still mostly prefered (Cheung, 2011).

Photoshop, a most common software artists use.

Sketchbook Pro.

Traditional Sketch vs Digital Sketch:

1. The traditional way is faster than the digital way. To use the digital software's, the artist should be wary of how the software works.
2. It is more impressive to hand sketch your ideas rather than using the digital softwares. Traditional sketches lets people communicate clearly and with flair with pen and paper. Besides it is handy in a way that artists can directly jot down what they have in mind.
3. Digital Sketches are clean and visually exciting. As for the traditional way, the sketches are messy at times and might be hard to distinguish individual ideas.
4. The digital software's can be relatively expensive, take Photoshop as an example, it costs around hundreds AUD to get the whole thing. As for Sketchbook Pro, it costs around 80 AUD.

Overall, each type of sketch - traditional and digital, have different uses. It depends on how the artist views which way would suit them while they are doing their sketches. However, the traditional sketching is still an important skill as it forms the basis for digital sketching. It would be better if the artist gets use to using pen and paper for sketching before trying to move on to digital sketching, because the digital way would be much more frustrating (Cheung, 2011). 

Reference:

Cheung, A. (2011). Traditional vs. Digital Sketching. http://idcreatures.com/articles/traditional-vs-digital-sketching/

Picture Reference:
 Fig 1.0 https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW4mwGcNqRBcsDsBqw_8bwt0-5xgmr3q6Br9yJ_VyRRAkPLmWhjFsd6D37c0RiBjNMtSLOCQV31aX7azEPIRTsaIAuUJEwjR1WIF2WIdQQ0CEozsRTTcmLiYbHMIvphaIzInSyf4L-2Gar/s1600/article-new_ehow_images_a08_4i_a2_outline-pencil-traditionally-800x800.jpg

Fig 2.0 https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdMxt9Y3_f1d6SYS6U31QvzPR3Y5Kd11fQVRdIqsZHckH2hyta18GVyCQ1lgyfszGZNMT54AmjfAAMuXDQ_SlGunBHDmM6qM8r3Q-3mS4EDIXKO5gBk5yhARqHw_G0qG_YKeUs8IOh92VC/s1600/photoshop.png

Fig 3.0 https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbQD2a7g0uZUTMJ5vnVosYNfATOnEhH_tMGKf5rmZxEyhygYV_ICOR7TL8bugKQ13u7sct8AaUwuiiQIn0WRUXM3Qkl7Fncui4jNyAnedeeP9ncYWDv4YOPeMfmQ-eA3102fir5ckEOUzq/s1600/Autodesk_SketchBook_Pro_2011_02_thumb.jpg

Categories of Sketching

There are many different categories of sketching. The common ones are Graphite Pencil sketch, Portet sketch and Oil sketch. There are also computer sketch and photo sketch. These categories are divided on the basis of different ways of creation for these sketches.

- Graphite Pencil Sketch

Is generally drawn on paper on the spot in a quick manner to give it a finish touch later on. It is also a way to record an idea for use afterwards. Finishing and the final touching requires deep interest and plenty of time, so artists make sketch to focus on the main elements of the subject (Rana, n.d.).

FANTASTIC PENCIL ILLUSION! 

- Portet Sketch Is more to a sketch of a person. It emphasizes on the facial expression, the size and shape, and the of an individual.

Fig 1.0 Portet sketch of a man.

- Oil Sketch

Oil sketches are similar to drawings just the fact that they are often carry out on paper. Their purpose is sometimes exploratory and sometimes there are meanings in themselves. When sufficiently expressed, they can serve as "presentation pieces," enabling a patron to get an idea of what the artist's larger-scaled and more elaborate project will look like (Weiner, n.d.).

Fig 2.0 Oil sketch of an orange.

Oil sketch of a pear.

References:

Rana, S. (n.d.). 60 Fantabulous Pencil Sketches. http://slodive.com/inspiration/pencil-sketches/


Weiner, Mia N. (n.d.). Old Master Drawings & Oil Sketches. http://www.oldmasterdrawings.com/html/about.html


Picture Reference:
Fig 1.0. 
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW5GLvF0ceV_NJU3RoKyBxeC3vnI-g40hJim5VcQNX3HD8GZMD7qex8jKlae6qX4guQAJeOEByl6eHpFNK3iKrbZoo7vtmQ0bE-IlFONh2YMCdTtgusJZ9pusD4dOkewwpGvu-nGAfy9CR/s1600/Self_Portrait_Sketch_by_silverlimit.jpg


Fig 2.0
Steward, John.N. 2006. https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLMSrO_v6HS5LVJcCSi55Hbt-IAj71AhKitRRZ6PZvxZeULsi7aA4WOcmu7PvjguJC82rrrJxfHgtGsFE-e-lRJKpFwj7f0dmVO2yP8rCrIzIAmEerwbKOM6UyD8g1FvJhCVypZmT4h2-W/s1600/adpd9s.jpg 
Video Reference:

adamjohnston82. Fantastic Pencil Illusion. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kd9_j1X196E&feature=related

LewisFineArt. 2009. Bartlett Pear Alla Prima Oil Sketch Demo. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVbLqVGnSKI

Types of sketching tools.

Here are some basic kits you should prepare before drawing or sketching.

Fig 1.0

Pencils and Charcoal

The first tools you'll need to begin drawing are pencils and charcoal. Drawing pencils range from very soft (9B) to very hard (9H.) Begin with medium density pencils, about 2H or 2B. Also look for a variety of vine and willow charcoal pieces to work with, ranging from skinny to extra thick. Most art supply stores sell variety packs of pencils and charcoal (Porter, n.d.).

Fig 2.0 Different range of pencils.

Paper

Drawing paper comes in a variety of textures, from smooth and slick to heavily textured. Paper can be purchased in individual sheets, large rolls or pads of various dimensions (Porter, n.d.).

Pencil Sharpener

You'll need a handheld pencil sharpener to keep you pencils in good condition (Porter, n.d.), mostly people will prefer the old fashioned two-hole metal sharpener. To reduce wastage and breakage, especially of poorly centered cores, many artists prefer to use a craft knife, but you have to take great care when using the craft knife as you may hurt yourself.  If you use a lot of pencil, you might prefer an electric pencil sharpener, the choice of many professionals (South, n.d.).

Besides a sharpener, fine sandpaper can also be used to brighten the point of your pencil during drawing (South, n.d.).

Fig 3.0 Old fashioned two-hole sharpener.

Erasers

Erasers are divided into two types, the kneadable eraser and the white plastic eraser.

Kneadable erasers are immensely useful for erasing all kinds of media. When one surface gets dirty you can pull and fold it to a clean surface. Use a large piece for large areas, or form it into a point and apply with a twist to erase small spots (South, n.d.).

White plastic eraser with good quality are usually soft and smooth to the touch. But you must avoid using cheap, crumbly, hard ones that usually come with an advertising logo printed on them. You can often trim the surface of the eraser with a knife to get a cleaner effect. Electric erasers are popular with illustrators as they enable precise spot-erasing and rapid cleanup of large areas (South, n.d.).

Fig 4.0 Kneadable eraser and plastic eraser.

Blending Tools And Tortillon

You can choose from several different kinds of blending tools for manipulating texture and value. A paper blending stump, or tortillon is a tight spiral stick of fibrous paperpiece designed for smudging and blending. You can also use a soft cloth, towel or chamois, which you can find at art supply stores or hardware stores. Small flat brushes also work well for blending (South, n.d.).

Avoid using fingers because skin oils can damage the paper - greasy fingertips can make finger-smudges dirty and difficult to erase (South, n.d.).

Rubber-tipped 'color shapers' and pastel blenders are also useful for other media, allowing small areas to be worked. A chamois leather can be used to apply, lift and blend media (South, n.d.).

Fig 5.0 Tortillon

Matte fixative

When working with charcoal, you'll need a matte fixative to spray on finished drawings to prevent them from smudging. Be sure to spray matte fixative outdoors or in a well-ventilated area (Porter, n.d.).

Fig 6.0 Matte Fixative.

Drawing Board

If you prefer not to work on a flat table, purchase a drawing board to use as a surface for your work (Porter, n.d.). You'll also need painter's tape or metal clamps to attach your paper to the board while you work (Porter, n.d.).

Fig 7.0 Drawing Board.

Line Incising Tools

Many artists use incised/impressed line to draw fine white detail, pressing the line down then shading across the top. A plastic knitting needle works well; for very fine work, a large darning needle is ideal. You can tape it to a pencil, or snap off the eye and use a clutch pencil as a holder (as recommended by Mike Sibley). You could put a large rustproof nail through a piece of dowel, and sand the point to a suitable diameter (Porter, n.d.).

Reference:

Porter, L. (n.d.). Types of Drawing Tools. 
http://www.ehow.com/list_6369660_types-drawing-tools.html


South, H. (n.d.). Before You Buy Pencil Drawing Equipment.
http://drawsketch.about.com/cs/suppliesbooks/bb/bybdrawequip.htm


Picture Reference:
Fig 1.0 https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvxwENkHjORbpKsWd21W9AIo_Zqi5vcmAiBOUsuYyvSRun4lOnug3hgHS9GeSV3FAH5FWMyyHQYfziYBsYjoVkoPw9pI3b5Z3Vgd58AikcHLieY2malbWA5i-J4QuKrOEbHN4rVIVo0i5-/s1600/images.jpg


Fig 2.0 https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs5rkt5R1igV8B_BxB6__-D_V-u5bGfh5tb2wOkFPfXJIxrDdGWtWR2onyr6wnolUao_6R-XVYYMDjCX5Vzcx7yNHozexu8a4hzyXpj1id2lmwHEmg3nq-gIkrkixrXm5YaNkGGc3M-yMH/s1600/drawing-pencils.jpg


Fig 3.0 https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoiDkRButnwPJHvhD46ayoD8Xdts7fNQRwVhdY9XYKfScb15u9jUQsQ65wP8Vh90HcnY1-JeAOcfnjHeX-dhJ3laIVZOZvdSGHl2wqrXTQWaFp2migo87nga0zNq3f2h7wkkN9LWI8yLf6/s1600/4E69AB0F3CC7091CE1008000AC193D36.jpg


Fig 4.0 https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBNCPLQ2Sc2J-gPt8Z4BZhGTCK13X-qu814FeO_dtd-MvPTQTrHTsppaZwM9Y7lP9MFXBDEehllN4-NGs_MrLrbrkz-lmQsBYxk3-5ot_dOzmKt8BGymmuKqmyZG7KLkz5rC06Dv_nODH5/s1600/step-5.gif


Fig 5.0 https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYkjWTCkNZJyWwgXIVjVIyEp-0FNecWtwWQ6CpucOhVVjMfnmC7KIkROGnqtGs59HNHIYGNPu5hSPOxIGe6OP080PpfuadEsIpElcLGZ1WqYb4MSKTEeChwXB8w6ptNiReUfSjSMm6cMg-/s1600/1045498_image.jpg


Fig 6.0 https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgCaVeXe703Wu4BRHjXNlAVMe2K_lXXYATsGI4NvoMJo_yViyu_Q6bEg9wOEqSmXIDuGOBnrLL9EyNcKKHglVMBF48x3HtWPZG0WrB3WIQAHwU9-M1eD7DPi5Y7d8ZsP1NBQzM8NV2cNLZ/s1600/Five+Point+Art+supplies+(1).jpg


Fig 7.0 https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0gtf6vf_1DDeqvSfVA4jfWhw0Do84MU3ofoqaEozRMgXyPeEMBceKoe-LtW3I13on5PJ9G_Ig3mUeeEbWnPACtSO0fqBpoPx3nsSDqPbC-CrMfLR53mQDSAtWp5Vmvmaf_YKkXZi8Uzs-/s1600/drawing_board.png

What is SKETCHING?

Fig 1.0

Sketching is a quick form of drawing, allowing the artist to draw a rough idea of their subject, yet it captures the essentials of drawing (South, n.d.). It is a part of preparation for move developed drawing or painting. A sketch may be created in any medium, though pencil is the most common (South, n.d.). Sketches are often done in ink or charcoal too. =D

Fig 2.0 An example of charcoal sketch.

Fig 3.0 An example of ink sketch.

How to sketch?

Sketches are often part of the preparation for a more developed drawing or painting, allowing the artist to rough out their ideas and plan the finished piece before embarking on a more precise work, sometimes with several small thumbnail sketches on a single page being used to explore composition. It may be this practice that has led to 'Sketches' becoming the name for the layouts used for album pages in the popular hobby of photo scrapbooking (South, n.d.).

Reference:

South, H. (n.d.). Sketch - What Is A Sketch?. http://drawsketch.about.com/od/drawingglossary/g/sketch.htm

Picture Reference:
Fig 1.0 

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPdZFHyysceNAaJBS_Y3uOY5mm0wjh_TLA6PLI0M3ZfrZWIhO2_oq2ZIX1eXf2MuZlMSgnldUaUv8z0zSQXxrNB7PsWGF_CDHVdRWzQaxykn4z-LSrsAZh2UMsnnSmFl3fbrPkXSsb72z4/s1600/chuckmclachlan-SketchingWinterTrees.jpg

Fig 2.0

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgONh41ToqpHCjVlbCSeyI3V-h4C1iRLj0ndiPATt847XV9Ml2IQIeVahHv_BnoIMyK9AN3_q3A3ejET2159FZPAUkP5plc8eJfDbS0DGpUAkvDV4XZ63Eg3221q6AxhmEl_B1KxxI0LEn-/s1600/Unknown.jpg

Fig 3.0

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGn5GRUAy_E9fZy11szrJoK5VcxWzQ4adL5a_ukxi4IRTTUuNnCxJmSL99Q3MjN5lr3iTYut22T3tO8xRaaoGKryOEyI-RjmduKnVY9EbvDlM89SDXUg5sbispv8pgCcsbzjWIcz8wmmVu/s1600/boxerx.jpg

Video Reference: 
How to Sketch?. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_3sh1pbCpI

Exegesis

   Blogs started in the late 1990s as online diaries, A blog is a website that allows users to record and share opinions and information on a regular basis. Blogs are a hierarchy of text, images, media objects and data, arranged chronologically, that can be viewed in an HTML browser(Winer, 2003). A blog allows two-way communication between the user and other users. You can post countless posts

   For my web presence, i choose a blog as my central node to introduce the aspects i am going share - Sketch. This blog was created for assignment purposes - Web Communications 101 unit. I will be introducing Sektch and sharing some information about sketching. The reason why i choose a blog is because it is easy to maintain and easier to use comparing to wikis and webpage. With a blog, i can easy share images and videos with only a few clicks.

   The idea of my layout is simple, since sketching is also something simple. Every sketches you find are mostly in black and white. So to make my blog look really simple, i chose a sketch of trees as my background - as it fits with the topic i am going to discuss about. And black/grey and white layouts to simplify the whole thing.

   I have a few contributing nodes in my blog to promote my web presence. The three main conrtibuting nodes i would be using most of the time are About.com, Youtube and Google Image. The other two are Twitter and Facebook.

   About.com has a DrawSketch page which teaches almost everything about drawing and sketching, including the tools you will be needing and tips of how you draw and sketch. There is an artist - Helen South who gives plenty of information about darwing and sketching that i find useful to be shared in my blog.

   Youtube gives me the chance to look for videos on how to sketch different stuffs. From the basic till the most complicated videos that shows you how sketches are made. It is easy to learn by viewing and understanding the ways of how to sketch through the videos.

   Deviantart is a place that allows everyone to view each others drawings and is a place where i can get some pictures as examples for my blog. I have been using Deviantart for years, viewing other drawings and getting ideas of what to draw.
  
   Google Image is where i get the samples of pictures as examples of the things in my blog.

   Twitter and Facebook which are popular social websites serves as a platform where i can share my blog with others and get others to leave comments, opinions and ideas.

   A blogroll was added as a gadget where i share blogs of my classmates with others. The blog archive shows the posts i have posted in the past few months and days. A view gadget for showing the amount of viewers that have viewed my blog.

   An about page for my personal details can be seen in the front of my blog, users can easy know who i am and what is my purpose of having this blog. I have added a Recommendations list in my blog. The few listed websites are recommended to let you know more and learn about sketching. I found it quite interesting to surt the websites, as you can earn knowledge about drawing and sketching from different artists around the world.

   In conclusion, it seems inevitable that blogging will become even more powerful in the future with more people and businesses recognizing the power of bloggers as online influencers. Anyone can start a blog because of the simple tools available(Gunelius, n.d.). I hope my web presence can be useful to the people who have intention in getting knowledge about sketching.


Reference:

Gunelius, S. (n.d.). What is a Blog?. http://weblogs.about.com/od/startingablog/p/WhatIsABlog.htm

Winer, D. 2003. Weblogs at Harvard Law. http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/whatmakesaweblogaweblog.html