Which already shoots on a par with a DSLR, there is a group of people who are ready to walk half the city to catch the perfect moment, stop ... and sketch it. We talk about travel sketching as a way to save memories and share them. Even if you can't draw, it's worth a try. And that's why.

What is a sketch?

Sketch - a sketch, a sketch, a sketch. In other words, this is the fastest drawing in the world, which is available even to those who have forgotten how to hold a pencil. With the help of sketches, you can make plans for tomorrow or take notes on lectures, as they do in Japan. And also “write down” recipes, emotions from books read, brainstorming results, and so on ad infinitum. With travel sketches, everything is the same, including all the delights of life that the word “travel” carries in itself.

What types of sketches exist?

Sketches. Such sketches suggest that the lines should not be even, and the characters should be clear, the main thing is to convey the atmosphere and their state at that moment. Everything is like with photography, only more exciting.

Cards. Having your own map is the best way not to get lost in a new city. Draw a map of the historical center with objects that are of interest to you and put on it the location of coffee shops and restrooms. Walking will be more enjoyable!

Travel notes. The format of the visual travel diary allows you not to be limited to drawings, here you can come up with your own formula for the perfect trip. Add text to the sketches, connect the routes with arrows, highlight the most important things: the best views, food, oddities of the locals... absolutely everything will do!

For inspiration, take Katya Gushchina, who once got on a Moscow-Vladivostok long-distance train and made an amazing sketch story about it.

Travel books. And if the mood is very decisive, sit down immediately for a travel book! An important rule: one trip - one book. Combine all of the above in one notebook, and also draw sneakers that have traveled thousands of miles with you, and a dessert that you will definitely want to repeat at home. You may have to carry a glue stick with you to stick tickets from the gallery and cards from the photo booth at the railway station into your chic travel book, but it's worth it. After all, a travel book is even cooler than an album of photos, which you don’t already have.

A kind of travel book is "Walks around St. Petersburg" by Yana Frank, so maybe you will print your own when you get back?

Climb into someone else's sketchbook

We invite you to look through the thoughts and drawings of travel sketching practitioners.

Inna Karney

Keeps visual notes and draws maps on travels.

About how to start

At the very beginning, there was the idea of ​​a drawn diary to record the events of life. At first it seemed that there was nothing to fix, well, what happens there in a day? The first drawings were primitive and described one or two events. Escorted her husband to the airport, for example. Everything fit on a piece of A6 paper. About two weeks later, I discovered that I needed a larger sheet, and since then my visual day has taken up the entire A5 sheet. An experiment with a drawn diary was designed for one hundred days. Just at this time, we were returning from a trip to Mongolia and Baikal, the last pages were notes about a trip to the rocks in the Baikal region. These were already travel sketches, but then I didn’t single them out as a separate genre, because in fact they were drawings of the past day.

About goals

I drew a map of Warsaw in order to recognize iconic places during a walking tour of the old town. The fact is that when I read guidebooks, my head is a mess of facts, objects and descriptions. Another thing is a map, especially a hand-drawn one.

The Iran travel sketch has a route, an idea and a budget, here the emphasis is not on impressions (impressions in sketches of individual cities), but on useful information for other travelers.

Beginner Tips

1. Practice. Best daily. The idea of ​​a drawn diary worked for me. For some, an online extreme sketching course is suitable. In any case, gradually you will develop the skill and become a level eighty sketcher. If you practice.

2. Shut up your inner critic. You are not an artist, just allow yourself to capture impressions with the help of words and pictures as it will turn out. Yes, I still draw crooked little men and make mistakes in the inscriptions. But when I look at the drawn route through Jerusalem, the city with all its narrow streets and the people I meet there rises in front of me. It's priceless.

About my favorite sketch

Since we are talking about travel sketches, let's take a look at the map of Riga. Although actually my favorite pancake recipe sketch, but that's a completely different story.

Arseniy Chubich

Sketches panoramic views and details of travel "here and now". Once he went to France alone and kept a diary for.

About courage

I'm sure everyone can draw, just in different ways. Therefore, if the soul asks, then why not. The most important thing is to overcome your fears, then everything will be fine, and passers-by smiling at you will cheer you up even more.

About places

I try not to skimp and draw on the spot, because otherwise it is difficult to consider it as travel sketches. But sometimes circumstances do not allow, if, for example, I am not traveling alone. Sometimes it happens that I look through photos from trips and understand: “Oh! I need to draw this ASAP!" And sometimes I start on the spot, and finish after. Sometimes I like to finish something in a graphics editor. My best sketches came from nature, not from photos. Perhaps this is because the photograph is flat, and there I am directly surrounded by what I draw.

About materials

It really depends on the mood. I try to take different materials, although at any time you can buy something on the spot. I love pencils and pens. Sometimes I want to draw with colored pencils - I use Faber Castel. I have the simplest pens, ballpoint or gel. Sometimes you really want to paint with paints, but it's hard to carry them with you. I think I'll start painting again with watercolor, it's very good for a sketch. In general, you can draw with anything, whoever likes what more, except that it’s always hard to carry. I have a pencil case that just fits all this.

Beginner Tips

You can draw anything. Starting from the narrow streets of old cities, ending with seascapes. Who likes to draw objects and details - it's great to draw in antique shops, you will never be refused if you ask. If you like to draw food, markets are the best. In the same place, by the way, you can draw general multi-figure plans, as well as practice sketching faces. You can draw in museums, especially in zoological or technical museums. Animals do not move there, which facilitates the process. On the other hand, something very simple can also be interesting. There are no limits here except those that are in our heads, so the sooner you overcome your shyness, the better!

About my favorite sketch

The sketch has recently been gaining the attention of beginners and continuing artists. Sketches are a unique opportunity to see the world through the eyes of an artist.
A sketch is the best way to reflect reality on paper in a short period of time. How to start sketching? This requires practice, as well as the availability of the necessary materials to create a sketch.
To get started, you need inspiration and a lack of fear. Inspiration will help you see a certain picture that you want to remember and reflect on paper. And the absence of fear will allow you to quickly switch to creating a drawing and not be afraid of a blank sheet of paper. As practice shows, if you are a novice artist, then it is the fear of the result and self-doubt that can slow down any inspiration you have. Try to draw, let creepy images come out at first, with time and practice, high-quality images will appear that you will look at with pleasure.

Further, a sketch is a sketch, a picture that you want to keep in memory, and then enjoy viewing the pictures after some time. To do this, it is best to purchase a special notebook where you will add drawings every time you see something interesting. Such a notebook will encourage you to draw better and more, as you will be able to view the resulting drawings. However, having a notebook does not mean that you will be sketching. If you have inspiration and desire, then at first you can draw sketches on plain paper, the main thing is that it be at hand at a certain time. In the future, the choice must be taken more seriously.
The sketch can become your book of impressions, memories and ideas for the future. If you still bought the necessary sketchbook, then you can collect various tickets, checks, small photos in it, as well as make notes and, of course, draw.

Sketches should be light, fast and uncomplicated, this rule is the main idea of ​​sketches. So, you do not need to have a full-fledged art education for your sketchbook to become the embodiment of creativity and beauty. The idea of ​​sketches is that the artist draws what he sees, so there is often a small amount of time to create a sketch. It is enough to outline the silhouette, and then work out the details. Let the resulting drawing not be a clear copy of what you saw, but it will convey your feelings and impressions at that very moment.
If you're painting in a public place, don't be afraid to be judged or looked at from the outside. You draw for yourself, and everyone who looks with condemnation may not even know how to hold a pencil in their hands.

How can you draw a sketch? Everything you have on hand is suitable for - liner, pencil, felt-tip pen, pen. At the beginning of your creative journey, use a simple pencil, it will allow you to make adjustments to your drawings. Also, a nag will become an indispensable assistant.
Your goal is not to build an academically correct drawing, but to create an interesting illustration that will remind you of a specific point in time. Of course, do not forget about practice and certain skills that you need to achieve before you admire your drawings.

The first steps in drawing are perhaps the most convenient to start with. Making sketches is easy enough and with their help you can learn to avoid serious ones in more detailed drawing.

Sketch like artist's notes

To create a sketch, any paper, pen or pencil is suitable - the choice is yours. Small sketches are like a kind of notes made by an artist, sketches of a future picture. They are made without corrections, on the fly.

Sketches - helpers and drawing tools

Pencil sketches can serve as memory aids. With sketches, you can quickly outline the main features of a subject or make a quick sketch of the whole picture. Also often artists use sketches for the general planning of the subsequent painting. Without worrying about the details, in sketches you can quickly manipulate objects, the horizon and other parts of the sketch, creating a future shape or indicating movement.

How to draw sketches

Think of your subject as almost devoid of detail, as if you were looking sideways or in low light. All that remains of your "hero" is just rough lines and some shapes. now make a rough little sketch. Maintain proportions and arrange objects (or orientation) as for a future large drawing. Clearly define key shapes and use shading to indicate dark areas. And one more thing: in the sketch there is no concept of "right / wrong" - this is a completely individual work.

Adding color

Sketches are convenient to use to indicate the color spots of the future drawing. In the course are pencils, markers, watercolor. You don't have to paint the entire surface. It is enough to make only certain sketches that clearly show the colors, but do not distract from the main details.

Take notes and sketches

Once you've created your sketch, you may want to make some more notes next to it. For example, about the position of the sun, the play of colors, or make a couple more very small sketches of specific objects. You can also make a working sketch. It can be in size, like the finished work. With the help of such sketches, you can work out problem areas in advance or more accurately portray some points of the picture.

Our world is full of colors and magic. Sometimes, walking around the city, you want to leave an imprint of this atmosphere. The best option is to create it yourself, on paper. Or rather, make a sketch. In order to start drawing sketches, you don’t need any, you just need a desire.

sketchbook

First, you need to buy the right sketchbook. Ideally, this is an A5 or A6 size notebook that fits into any bag. A6 can even fit into a pocket. Density should be from 90 g/m^2. You can draw with anything: a ballpoint pen, a liner, a regular pencil. The album is a kind of diary. Sketches are different in that you have a certain connection with what you are drawing.

Inspiration

Where do you get inspiration for drawings? My advice to you: get out of the house more often. Every day something interesting happens in the city, not necessarily large-scale. Try to perceive what you have already seen in a different way. At any time, you can sit on a bench or go to a cafe with large windows and recreate what you saw. With a strong desire at home, you can paint on some details that you remember.

Start

Never be afraid to start. In fact, speaking of the fear of ruining a new notebook, first of all, we are afraid of being disappointed in ourselves, because I already imagined how beautiful it would be, but when I started drawing, I realized that it was absolutely wrong. But the sketchbook exists just to try, make mistakes and learn. It is not necessary to start drawing from the first page. You can start from the middle or even from the end. Drawing will become much easier. After all, the essence of the sketch is the recording of ideas, and not the creation of art.

Notes

Notes give a special style to the drawings. Notes create a new level, carry additional information, because some things, for example, music or smell, cannot be drawn, and the inscriptions will very much complement the overall picture and bring even more emotions into it.

collages

In addition to notes, you can add various elements to your drawings, such as tickets, restaurant receipts, or postage stamps. After a period of time, they will add to your story in a way that photography does not.

Thoughts on paper

From time to time, fill in empty sheets with different patterns. You have heard about the so-called "telephone drawings", when you are focused on the conversation, and the hand itself draws whatever it wants. Don't let your drawing be planned. This is how freedom of expression can be achieved. Believe in yourself, in your perception and every time you will be surprised at your capabilities.

Idea and implementation

As children, we had a lot of fantasies. Especially the ones that didn't come true. Fortunately, such fantasies can easily appear on paper. After all, the picture does not have to contain only what exists in reality.

The senses

According to how you see things, what feelings are behind your drawings, you change. Feel free to draw the way you feel. Your drawing should show your personal view of things. The brighter the emotions in the picture, the more interesting it is.

Of course, in such drawings, in fact, there can be no rules. Draw as you wish. But, nevertheless, there are small tips on how to make the drawing as close as possible to the drawing in your head. Key Tips:

• Consider in advance the size and location of the parts
• Practice calligraphy and create your own special "style"
• Keep it simple
• Show only the elements that are important to you
• The drawing doesn't have to be perfect.

Most importantly, all you need to convey thoughts on paper is a notebook, a pen, and a stream of imagination. Turn this world upside down if you so desire. Paper will take everything. We must learn not to be afraid to start and express thoughts. This process made many people wonder at their capabilities.

Two quick sketch problems: how and where to start?

Probably every aspiring artist was given advice: "It's time to do quick sketches." Indeed, in the life of any painter there comes a moment when there is a need to go beyond the apartment, studio, courses and try a radically new way of depicting the world. And if it is still clear what to do with landscapes and architecture, because houses and trees do not strive to escape, then with living nature things are much more complicated.

Of course, the creative process is a very personal, even intimate matter, and each one proceeds in his own way, however, for sure, at first everyone faced at least two problems.

The first is psychological

Imagine you got on the subway/bus/tramway, arrived at a museum/zoo/cafe, took out a specially bought cute sketchbook, a pencil, and… just petrified with horror: the hand doesn’t obey, there’s nothing to catch on the eye, it seems that the people around from all sides they look over your shoulder, and the selected model looks intently into your eyes or completely retreats. It immediately becomes too crowded, or vice versa, too empty. This is how many aspiring artists' first attempts at sketching in public ended in failure.

What to do if this happened to you too?

Relax. Look around: people are buried in smartphones, newspapers, books. No one cares about the man with the pencil and notepad. Moreover, as experience shows, if someone notices that he has become the object of close attention of a draftsman, then he himself begins to get terribly worried: at best, he poses tensely, at worst, he blushes and hides his eyes. Conclusion: people are more afraid of you than you are of them.

If the problem of the psychological block was left behind or did not arise at all, then problem number two appears:

The model is not posing

As soon as you chose a colorful character in a picturesque pose, he immediately changed it, and then left altogether. Obviously, there is simply no time for drawing according to the rules, when it is necessary to choose the center of the composition, build a figure, etc..

There is an excellent technique: you must start not with a gradual construction, but with a general silhouette. Thus, you solve two problems at once: compositional arrangement and general image. Notice that by outlining only the silhouette, you have already betrayed a certain character to the figure.

By the way, about the character. In some creative schools, they give this exercise: students draw portraits of each other, but each time they do it in less time and with less detail. Thus, they reveal the most striking and characteristic features of a person's appearance. In fact, we are faced with the same task.

If quick sketching in public places is difficult and stressful, you can start with special meetings where artists draw invited models for a fee. In such places, a calm working atmosphere always reigns, and at the end there is a viewing, where everyone can put their work to the general court and listen to constructive criticism from the pros.

Like any other technique or exercise, a quick sketch takes time to master. At first, this can be annoying, tiring, and uncomfortable, but gradually the hand will begin to move more relaxed, and the eye will notice and remember interesting details. There will be new ideas for more serious work, moreover, sketches for these ideas can be done in any place and position.

It is foolish to think about how high your level is to allow yourself to draw in public. Firstly, because most passers-by see you for the first and last time and their opinion does not matter, and secondly, they themselves are unlikely to be able to either. To go beyond the usual limits, even if it is the walls of your own artist, is already an act, a movement forward.

So, the next time you leave home, don't forget to bring everything you need for a quick sketch:

First- a sketchbook or just a small paper, up to A4.

Second- a simple pencil, you can use a mechanical one that does not need to be sharpened. As soon as the hand begins to move quickly and confidently enough, you can switch to a liner or marker, some even manage to use charcoal.

Third- a nag that will not cover everyone around with spools.

When you see an interesting composition, pull yourself together and focus on your work, try to sketch with general silhouettes, noticing and focusing on the most interesting and characteristic details and features - it will be more convenient to finish the work at home.

Do not be upset if after a tiring day of drawing there are almost no successful sketches. It is the matter of time. With regular practice, the result will be noticeable in a few days.

Sketching is a technology of quick sketches with any materials that are at hand, from a regular marker to watercolor. Visual notes and sketches give freedom, happiness, and even fill your life with meaning. The ability to draw with a marker using the sketching technique gives the same wonderful impressions as the ability to breathe, sing, love each other. This is another way to capture the here and now moment and capture it forever with a sketch.

What are the types of sketches?

Now we will analyze the types of sketches.

Tools

Anything can be used to create sketches, even a napkin and a toothpick soaked in espresso. But since we are just starting to learn, it is best to take thick paper (for good drawing) of A4 format, no more, pencils of various densities, a marker and an eraser.

An object.

Almost anything can be an object for a sketch, but first you need to take an object that is motionless, independent of simple light sources, accessible. That is, you don’t need to choose animals, it’s better to start with the interior (the first sketches will take a long time to get, the horse will not last that long).

How to draw a sketch?

Let's imagine our object without different elements, as if we are looking at it in the dark. You can practice by turning off your light. What will be the most important? What lines, contours, shadows indicate that this is a stool, and not a bucket or a cactus? Any fantasies? Forward!

Lesson Description:

Try sketching and don't give up, sketching is fun! With the help of sketching lessons and courses, you can learn how to draw beautiful drawings with a marker. And it is not necessary to pay money for courses, they are now full of them on the Internet, many begin to draw people, especially girls.