Best Practices for Sketching People in Public (and not getting caught)

I am often asked how I am able to sketch people in public without getting people angry or upset. After years of sketching people at airports, on commuter trains and even while in waiting rooms, here is what has worked best for me. Perhaps one of these will work for you. A special thank you to fellow urban sketchers Ted Gordon, Angie (Haugh) Novak and Emily White for their experiences and shared tips.

1.    Sketch first, ask later. In my experience, when you first ask for permission to sketch a person, it may be met with initial resistance, or it will effect the pose you were originally attracted to. Besides, if you already have a sketch started and the person asks what you are doing, having a concrete example can work better than explaining what you are planning to do.

2.    Creative Disguising. Normally accepted disguises, such as hats and sunglasses work well to cover your gaze. The idea is to blend in, not stand out and attract attention so sunglasses in a dark restaurant or tavern might cause suspicion.

3. Sketch in a smaller book is a great way to disguise that you are drawing.

4.    Don’t Be A Bobble-head. Pick a more crowded location. If you are the only other person in the room, anything you do will be noticeable. Cartoon of head movements.

5.    Leverage reflections at night. If someone looks back at you, move your head side to side as if trying to look past them. Cartoon of subject upset, on window is warning “Caution: objects in reflection are closer than they appear.”

6.    Sketch from inside your car. Lots of people eat or have phone calls inside their car. Sad cartoon of lowly artist sketching from behind steering wheel.

7.    Sketch from an upper level, or from the side, out of their line of sight. Sketching from below is still within their peripheral.

8.    Capture first in pencil to block out the basic posture and position. Add color or shading later if you have time. For moving subjects, go for your impressions of their movements such as dancers or skateboarders at the park. 

9.    Pick subjects who are fully engrossed in their activity. Examples might include commuters on their electronic devices, a chef at work behind a viewing window, or an athlete during a sporting event.

10. Invite a friend to lunch or coffee and chat while sketching over their shoulder. I used this technique when I got together with Liz Steel while we planned out our WGN-TV interview while sitting at a coffee shop. She, of course, did the same and we sketched in opposite directions.

In the event that you do get "caught" and the subject confronts you, simply show them your sketch and allow them to look at it. Most of the time, people will be relieved that you were not taking photos and sketches are more flattering than photographs. Feel free to start a conversation with the person if the opportunity presents itself.

I'd love to hear which one works best for you and your stories of how it turned out in the comments below. 

Urban Sketchers and #MetraManners

By Wesley E. Douglas, Urban Sketchers Chicago

Some people text or read, daydream, some meet with friends, while others eat or nap on the train. There is, however, a group of artists who sketch a wide range of passengers on various Metra routes. They represent a local group known as Urban Sketchers Chicago (USk Chicago) and they are part of a global community of artists that enjoy drawing on location in cities, towns, and villages in which they live, work, or have visited. Examples include but are not limited to cafes, street scenes, buildings, houses, shops, landscaping, people, domestic animals, transportation centers (i.e. airports, train stations and buses) as well as what you see while you are traveling.

Illustration: Brian Wright                              Illustration: Wes Douglas

Sketching people on public transportation is a favorite subject of these artists because they are always different and interesting. In our own way, Urban Sketchers are quietly doing our part to elevate the current Metra Rail “Ride Nice” campaign #metramanners. Who knows? Maybe the more smiles we can create with our sketches the less riders will be throwing digital jabs at one another about inappropriate behavior.

Urban Sketchers do not sketch from memory or photographs but by direct observation in person. This becomes particularly challenging because people on trains move around a lot. But it is also rewarding when those being sketched discover how their likeness is elevated to a fresh new perspective by these artists.

Wes Douglas remembered hearing one lucky passenger exclaim, “When someone snaps your photo on the train, it’s a little creepy. But when someone sketches you it is a relief.” These artists capture many different positions, colorful clothing and the expressions of commuters on paper.

Our urban sketchers are located all over the Chicagoland area and depend on public transportation for traveling between work and home as well as gatherings with fellow urban sketchers. And since a large portion of their day is spent on commuting, urban sketchers make the most of it by knocking out a few sketches to pass the time.

To learn more about Urban Sketchers Chicago and where they will be sketching next go to: https://www.facebook.com/groups/UrbanSketchersChicago/

To learn more about Metra Rail’s Ride Nice campaign: https://metrarail.com/about-metra/newsroom/metra-customers-select-new-subjects-courtesy-campaign