Alistair Long's Key Ideas from Sketch Now, Think Later
by Mike Yoshiaki Daikubara
Ideas, facts & insights covering these topics:
14 ideas
·185 reads
Explore the World's Best Ideas
Join today and uncover 100+ curated journeys from 50+ topics. Unlock access to our mobile app with extensive features.
Keep a minimalistic sketch kit
You'll want it on you at all times, for the desire to sketch a moment can strike at any time. So keep it light.
- Compact, discreet, lightweight bag to store all your supplies
- A "cheaper" sketchbook that won't intimidate you from "ruining" the pages.
- The idea is to be loose and fast. No pencils or erasers. Any pen of your choice will suffice.
- A travel watercolor kit will also suffice for color, and usually takes up very little space.
6
19 reads
Start sketching what's interesting first
You want to be and to capture as much of the scene as you can in the short amount of time you have. Pick the most eye catching thing to you, expand upon there, but don't get caught up in all the small, surrounding details.
Negative or empty space may also be used for annotations and ideas.
6
14 reads
Patterns
The mind likes to fill in the blank. If there is a repetitive pattern, simply start drawing the pattern, and leave the rest of the area blank. Saves time, and then mind translates the detail by itself.
If an image is symmetrical, simply drawing about half of the object will give them viewer enough information to fill in the rest.
6
15 reads
When sketching very famous landmarks, sometimes focusing on the well-known postcard view can be boring, [...] it’s fun to look for the most unusual view to sketch. Sketch the most extreme angle, such as looking straight up at a statue/building or looking at it from the back side.
MIKE YOSHIAKI DAIKUBARA
6
10 reads
Color
With a travel watercoloring kit, there usually comes
- an aquabrush (watercolor paintbrush with a water reservoir for a handle that allows you to quickly wet your paintbrush
- a sponge for cleaning your aquabrush with pigment
- pallete
- watercolor pigment cakes
It is advised to use the colors just as they come, straight from the cakes. Use the pallete to gauge color saturation and mix colors on the paper.
As a general watercolor rule, paint light to dark.
6
12 reads
We all make bad sketches, but sometimes a sketch that looks bad in the beginning might surprise you and turn out nice in the end.
MIKE YOSHIAKI DAIKUBARA
6
8 reads
Wind down and synthesize your sketch
After you've finished your sketch, take a moment and weigh what you did well and what you can do to improve later.
Experiment with different forms of sketching!
6
10 reads
Mind your space
- Avoid standing/sitting in anyone else's way. Sketching entails occupying a single space for an elongated moment.
- Keep your bag and possessions close to your chest, to mitigate fear of theft while you are in focus.
Unplug your ears. No music.
- The natural ambience will enhance your sketch and focus for your surroundings.
- Opens positive social interactions from curious strangers.
6
8 reads
Sketch standing
- Allows you to more easily change the angle you're drawing from.
- The uncomfortable position will encourage you to concentrate and raw faster.
6
12 reads
Follow your whims
- If you "feel like, maybe..." just do it. Don't just regret it later. Just Sketch it Now.
- Sketch for however long suits your mood.
- Think of each sketch as "just practice." Don't fuss over perfection.
6
10 reads
6
10 reads
IDEAS CURATED BY
Aspiring freelance illustrator. I intend to learn by synthesizing what I take in, so that others may learn as well.
CURATOR'S NOTE
For developing artists that need direction on how to draw ideas and memories faster.
“
Discover Key Ideas from Books on Similar Topics
6 ideas
The Artist's Way
Julia Cameron
14 ideas
Keep Going
Austin Kleon
9 ideas
One Million Followers, Updated Edition
Brendan Kane
Read & Learn
20x Faster
without
deepstash
with
deepstash
with
deepstash
Personalized microlearning
—
100+ Learning Journeys
—
Access to 200,000+ ideas
—
Access to the mobile app
—
Unlimited idea saving
—
—
Unlimited history
—
—
Unlimited listening to ideas
—
—
Downloading & offline access
—
—
Supercharge your mind with one idea per day
Enter your email and spend 1 minute every day to learn something new.
I agree to receive email updates