Off the Grid – Designing a Page

Tuesday Tips and Tricks

Many Urban Sketchers use sketchbooks as a journal of their daily lives and travels. We add titles, text, and occasionally ephemera to some of our pages. It’s a natural to want the composition of those pages to enhance our sketches rather than distract from them. One way I design a page is by using the grid method.

A grid is a plan made up of a series of intersecting straight (vertical, horizontal, and angular) lines, similar to graph paper. It provides the skeleton of a page. It supports the elements on the page and makes them work in relation to each other.

Years of working in print production designing layouts for magazines, promo pieces, etc. has given me a lot of practice designing to the grid. It's second nature to me and a sketchy version of aligning on a grid is my go-to method for designing pages in my sketchbook. In graphic design the grid comes first. In my sketchbooks it can show up at anytime. It can be the before or after guide for a loose alignment of page elements. I want to emphasize it’s a loose alignment. The casual use of the grid is in keeping with the spirit and look of sketching.

Where, How, When?

Applying a grid before the sketch 

When I’m  traveling I sometimes choose a theme for a few spreads. On this trip to San Francisco one theme I was exploring was the trees. I drew the four frames freehand before I did any sketching and added the sketches over a few days. To keep the layout from being too static I left a section open for a possible surprise. Note the top and bottoms of the frames align, the bottom of the surprise pine cone and the baseline of the lower text align. The title on the left balances the lower right text.

Applying a grid after the sketch 

These sketches were quick observations at the ice rink in Millennium Park in Chicago. The frames were hand drawn to unify the spread after the sketches were done . The frames are lined up on either the vertical, the top, or centered on another frame. The skater on the left escapes the frame for a little surprise and aligns with the frame around the coffee drinker on the right. 

When the muse strikes

If you use a ruler on the examples above you’ll find the alignments aren't labored over but are guesstimates. When I’m sketching it’s about the fun and joy of sketching and I go with the flow. I don’t always stick to the pre-drawn plan as you can see in the sketch below. Take note where the text is placed. Can you tell why I placed it where I did?

When disaster strikes

This is a series of doodles done at Starbucks in our local Target. One disappointing scribble after another provides the perfect challenge for the my grid theory.

Creating a loose alignment on the (or near) grid lines can strengthen your sketches and the composition of the page. The sketch below is a demo I did for the Urban Sketching for Beginners workshop at last summer's USk-Chicago's sketch seminar. Look at the line up of the added frames and the added text. They add organization to the page. If you want to give the post-sketching grid a try without committing use a piece to tracing paper to work out your plan.

One More Tip

I almost forgot the most important thing – no matter what the Tuesday tip or trick, be brave and have fun!

Ruin Your Watercolor Sketches!

Wait, what?

That's right, I said to ruin your watercolor sketch.

In my opinion there is no other sketching experience to compare with the horror of watching your lines unintentionally smear. 

I vividly remember the horror of the first time I put watercolor paints on a sketch in water-based ink. The sketch was in a Moleskine pocket watercolor notebook and I'd spent about an hour placing the fountain, shadows, and luscious leaf canopy. The green I was adding for the copper fountain smeared with purple from the black ink. I'm pretty confident that I threw away the pen I used that day. 

But following last week's tip and looking through my old sketchbooks I realized that I really liked my "ruined" sketch! Well, at least part of it.

Frustration with my disappointed ideal had kept me from exploring the potential of water-based inks in watercolor sketches. So I invite you to join me as I begin exploring intentionally challenging my ideal of hard lines.

Statue from the Field Museum on Stillman & Birn Zeta in water-based ink

Last week I tried two methods to help me play with this technique.

1. Add watercolors (or water) to a sketch you aren't happy with or didn't finish – regardless of ink!

I took some watercolor to an unfinished sketch from our outing to the Field Museum. I'd begun a sketch of a statue but lost perspective and stopped. Normally I'm happy to splash on color and see how things take shape, but I'd done this sketch with an ink I knew was not water resistant.

I added watercolor any way.

The water didn't suddenly fix all the problems with my sketch, but it did change it.  As my lines smeared I realized water on water-based inks was a whole new technique I hadn't considered.

2. Test the variations of water resistance in your favorite sketching pens

This week I sketched the same building with three different pens, just to see.  I used blank note cards from Paper Source. They are inexpensive and hold watercolor fairly well considering they aren't watercolor paper. That means they are just about perfect for sketching in my opinion!

Building sketch on Paper Source blank note cards  in (L – R): Micron .5 , Uniball, and Sheaffer Skrip ink in a Lamy EF nib

Here are the pens I used from left to right:

A. Micron .05: Generally when I sketch around the city I use a Micron .05–.005. I like the level of detail it allows for and it dries quickly without the risk of smearing – by hand or water! Some folks find the smaller tips too scratchy to enjoy.  I like the way my .005 occasionally skips to give me some line variance.

B. Uniball micro roller ball: These pens were the first ones I ever saw suggested on a sketching blog. They are advertised as having fraud protection ink (for checks). In theory they are water resistant, but depending on the paper I've found they will sometimes smear. Also, these skip badly regardless of the paper. I love their line, but they skip too much for me to use all the time.

C. Lamy Safari (EF nib): I used a rich black ink I inherited from an older relative in this pen. Shaeffer Skrip black ink (date unknown) to be precise.  It flows without skipping from the EF nib, but it takes a long time to dry, and if it once had water-resistant properties they have not stood the test of time.

Sketches with watercolor

I used the same three colors on all three paintings and tried to use similar "wetness" in each piece to see how the ink would respond. As expected, the Micron and Uniball did not move much. Because I let the ink dry for about thirty minutes, the Shaeffer ink didn't smear as much as I expected either.

However  I was surprised at what a difference the moveable ink made when I was blending colors on the paper! The undertones in the ink made a marked difference. In some places this blending had a muddying effect. In other places it seemed that the ink colors added to the pigment of my paints.

Detail from above, right.

You know what else I discovered? 

I liked the painting with the smeared lines best! What I had thought would ruin my sketch turned out to be a technique I want to continue using.

Do you ever intentionally mix "un-mixable" elements in your sketches? How do you feel about intentionally ruining your sketches? What makes a "ruined" sketch for you?

The Corner Coffee Shop, Elmhurst, IL

Well it seems as though I have lost it. 

I had one comment that has haunted me about this sketch and I can't find it. But I will never forget the basic message. It was about a year ago that I first posted this image of this Corner Coffee Shop. It is a period piece of architecture in Elmhurst and I had to capture it as a sketch. I posted it and received an appreciated number of accolades and "likes" from my fellow urban sketchers. Here was the image in question:

But then I had one comment that cut through all the clutter. Andrew Banks, a professional illustrator among us whose opinion I greatly value, had delivered the most important feedback of my time here at urban sketchers. He simply told me that he could not figure out the source of the light in my sketch because my shadows conflicted each other. He was absolutely right too. At the time I was not in the right frame of mind to truly appreciate his comment. I had fallen hopelessly in love with my own sketch.

But now, after reading Andrew's recent Tuesday Tips & Tricks about revisiting your old sketchbooks with fresh eyes, I did just that and headed straight for this sketch. I had to redo this sketch and do it the right way. Outside of adding color in this second approach, I went back to my reference photos and studied the lighting from that day.

I think I am a much better illustrator now because Andrew thought enough to call out what bothered him about my sketch and it affected me so deeply that I had to act. That is the real power of being an Urban Sketcher and belonging to this group of peers who are all interested in getting better. That is why we are here.

I encourage you to offer constructive and receive criticism in the spirit of improving your craft. Your "Andrew" is in this group and you will become a better artist because of it.

Lessons From Your Own Sketchbooks

Tuesday Tips & Tricks


With only 17 days until spring, there is light at the end of this wintry tunnel, and before you know it you will be able to sketch this incredible city outdoors again.  Every year around this time, I start getting antsy for the upcoming spring and summer months. After being cooped up and restricted by the subzero temperatures, short days and lake effect snow I am ready to get back outside and fill up new sketchbooks.  I am sure all of the Chicago sketchers can relate.  For those of you who have the privilege of sketching in a warm climate all year round, this may enlighten you to the struggles of a Chicago sketcher in the winter:

You might be a Chicago sketcher if....

• You have sketched the view from your living room window this winter more times than you can remember.
• You look out this same window hoping something new to sketch magically appears so you can satisfy your sketching needs.
• you have had to out-sketch mother nature freezing the ink in your pens or watercolor pallets
• you have put on more than three layers of clothing just to stay warm on a sketch outing
• you have spent hours flipping through sketching blogs, galleries, books and old sketchbooks in anticipation for warmer weather and more sketching opportunities....

If you have been thinking about urban sketching  more than actually sketching lately, you have also likely thought about your personal sketching style and at some point wondered how you could develop it, improve it or take it in a different direction.  I know I have, and as I recently flipped through my collection of sketchbooks I was reminded of how incredibly valuable our own sketchbooks are as teaching tools.  So much of urban sketching is about experimentation, trial and error, process and spontaneity.  Whether you realize it or not, each sketch you create is a compilation of countless artistic decisions.  These decisions shape your sketching style and express the way you see the world around you on paper.

Every once in a while it is well worth our time to look back at old sketchbooks to see where our sketching journey began, what artistic thoughts were running through our mind, what types of media we were experimenting with, and which techniques worked and which didn't.  Did you take notes about some valuable insight you discovered in the process of creating a particular sketch?  The nature of urban sketching is so spontaneous that we often move onto the next sketch, forgetting all about the sparks of genius that happened in our past sketches.  There are so many opportunities for us to learn from and build upon our own work.  Taking a look at our past sketches is a great way to see how much we have grown, to be reminded of where our creative process was at different stages of our lives and how it has evolved.  

So, while we wait through the rest of what Chicago winter has to throw as us, my challenge for you is to dig up the very first sketchbook you ever kept and flip through it.  



Go through the rest of your sketchbooks until you get to your current sketchbook (or most recent sketches).  What are your gut reactions?  You will be reminded of all of the great work you have already done, all of of the places you have seen, and all of the techniques you have tested.  Here are some more questions to ask yourself while doing this.  I hope these will start turning some wheels about how much you can learn from your own sketchbooks:

• What kind of things did I sketch?  Do I need to add variety to my choice of subject matter?
• Have I challenged myself by choosing subject matter that is out of my comfort zone?
• What different types of media have I tried?  
• What have I learned about my favorite pens, paints, markers etc...and how they react to different types of paper?
• What kinds of improvements do I see in my technique and how can I continue to build upon this?
• Which artists or sketchers influenced my work early on, and who influences my work now?
• What are 2-3 techniques I have always wanted to learn more about, but still have never gotten around to trying?

I hope that those questions begin to allow your sketchbooks to teach you.  Remember not to be too hard on yourself.  We can often be our own worst critics.  If you are looking to pick up some new sketching skills, USk Chicago will be hosting it's second annual Sketching Seminar in July.  More details about this will be on their way in the near future...

Best,
Andrew Banks

SOLD!!

Tuesday Tips and Tricks

Flon Flon et Musette, Lincoln Square, Chicago

In the last few weeks I had three separate conversations with three different artists who asked for suggestions how to price artwork. I wrote to them separately in private messages and emails essentially the same set of suggestions. Perhaps if I share these suggestions here, they will be useful for someone. 

Pricing artwork has always been a mind boggling subject. And like politics or religion it seems to be a sticky and uncomfortable topic to discuss. But someone has to talk about it, so we will here. 

There are many different ways to price artwork. I will talk about one of them - the one I use - pricing by size.

First I want to share with you 10 Commandments of Art Pricing by one of my favorite art writers, late Robert Genn:

Thou shalt start out cheap. 

Thou shalt publish thy prices. 

Thou shalt raise thy prices regularly and a little. 

Thou shalt not lower thy prices. 

Thou shalt not have one price for Sam and another for Joe. 

Thou shalt not price by talent or time taken, but by size. 

Thou shalt not easily discount thy prices. 

Thou shalt lay control on thy agents and dealers. 

Thou shalt deal with those who will honour thee. 

Thou shalt end up expensive.

http://www.painterskeys.com/clickbacks/pricing.asp#.VOpHrkIvc3g

When I first read Robert’s Commandments I knew that I found my pricing system. I started then and continue to this day to price by square inch. This system takes amorphous and emotional things like “This was complex”, or “I struggled with this one”, or “My sister really likes it”, or my favorite “I don’t need prices, I am not at that stage yet” out of consideration. If we are selling work, it it a good idea to be objective and consistent. This is business.

But can we get a little more specific? Let’s see the numbers! How much per square inch? A little research is in order. Find work by others that is similar to yours in quality and style. Browse art selling websites like eBay, Etsy, online galleries. Perhaps you will find a drawing 5”x8” priced at $35. Or  another one 7”x7” for $80. Try these prices for your art piece, do they seem to fit?

When you find an approximate suitable price that works for you, you can figure out your price per square inch. For 5”x8” $35 sketch, price per square inch is $.88. Take this number and calculate prices for your other drawings of various sizes. You will come up with a little table that may look somewhat like this:

6”x6”  - $31.68

5”x8”  - $35

8”x11”  - $77.44

12”x12”  - $126.72

How does it look? Too low? Too high? Adjust the price per square inch so it feels comfortable. Then round your prices to drop funny cents. Now you have your price list, it will look something like this:

Jane Sketcher’s Price List 2015:

6”x6” - $32

5”x8” - $35

8”x11” - $77

12”x12” - $127

Now, if you find yourself in a situation when a music band you sketched on a sketchcrawl wants to buy your sketch to put on their album, you are not going to be caught off guard, unprepared and coming up with apologies, like I did. Instead you can sound professional and say: “Oh thank you for your interest! Let me email you my price list.”

Flon Flon et Musette, Tunes from Last June. Artwork by Alex Zonis

Oh, and please note that this price list is good for 2015. In the beginning of 2016 you may consider increasing your price per square inch by 10%. Happy pricing!

Seeing Six Shades of Gray

Tuesday Tips and Tricks

Navy Pier, Chicago

It's been such a gray winter in Chicago that I’ve been seeing the urban landscape not in terms of color but as patterns and shapes created by light and shadow. As a sketcher it's made me more sensitive to value. Value, a.k.a. tone, is defined as the lightness or darkness of a color in relation to a scale from white to gray to black.

Many photographers and artists use a value scale to check the accuracy of their vision. The scales can be as involved as twelve shades of gray to as simple as three tones, a dark, a midtone and a light. You can buy a value scale at any art supply store or download one from the internet. I prefer a six toned scale and think there’s much to be gained by making your own scale. It develops your sight for awareness and perception of tone.

Making a Value Scale

1. Draw six (or as many as you choose) blocks about one inch wide.
2. Leave the first one blank/white. Shade the last one as dark as possible.
3. Fill in the remaining boxes to show the gradation from the darkest dark to pure white. For this scale I used a 2B pencil since that is what I often use when I sketch.

Using a Value Scale

Cut the scale out and take it along on your sketch outings. Hold it up to your subject and check the accuracy your perception of the tones you see. (Hint: Squint to help simplify the values .)

Try seeing your subject in terms of value shapes rather than named parts or colors. Both these squares are painted with blue taken right from the tube but where do they fall on the value scale? Which blue is the tone you may need?

  

              Holbein Verditer Blue             Schmincke  Prussian Blue

Which of these center gray squares is darker?

How we see the value of a color is effected by values around it. Using a value scale can help clarify what is actually in front of us. The center grays are exactly the same. 

The Value of Values

1. When a painting seems lifeless or dull, or just a little off, it’s frequently because the values aren’t correct. 
2. Rendering values will add dimension and light to your work.
3. Color can be a personal choice but the lightness or darkness of that color must be on the mark. 

Tackle your Toolbox

Ever put the wrong color on your sketch? Realize you didn’t bring along any water-resistant pens? Forget which pen skips on watercolor paper? Stare at a completely blank sketchbook afraid of making the first sketch? Or maybe you hoard art supplies and can't remember which palette has your favorite yellow? (Oh, maybe that's just me.)

Today’s Tuesday Tips and Tricks is my favorite way to help prevent some of those bumps in happy sketching. It’s especially fun because it involves using your tools!

Sketch & originals of my current palettes and tools

That’s right this is about sketching your tools.

 My solution to help prevent all these problems? Sketch my tools in each sketchbook.

Tools on paper over back cover of S&B Zeta Sketchbook

Depending on the book’s purpose, I like to chart out my tools in the front or back of the notebook.  With my first Stillman & Birn sketchbook, fear of a huge stack of nice blank paper kept it that way for nearly a month. Finally I decided to sketch my palette on the back of the front cover to help me get over my fear. It worked and I’m happily filling it with paintings! However, in the smaller watercolor sketchbooks I carry for Urban Sketching, I prefer to make a chart or drawing in the back. When I’m out sketching I find it easier to reference a chart in the back than in the front. In my Zeta series Stillman & Birn sketchbook, the endpapers are so close to the rest of the pages that I sketch my tools there. Those of you who received sketchbooks at last year's seminar should check the end papers in your sketchbooks--unlike other sketchbooks I've used, these are high quality and can often hold watercolor!

How to get started? Well, you can always just jump in and get started making up your own method. For those of you who less inclined to experimenting, there are great examples by other Urban Sketchers, like Liz Steel with USK Australia, who sketch their tools often. Here are some ideas to get you started and examples from my sketchbooks:

Here I only draw one pen & pencil to represent multiple variations

Pens:

• Draw one pen to represent multiple pens of the same type in different widths. Draw a line from each pen coming from the tip or under the pen and label its size.
• Draw your pens and make a line coming out the tip of each. After all have dried, take a wet brush or q-tip and run it over the lines so you can see (and refresh your memory about) how each pen handles water.
• Draw only your top three favorite pens. Sure your favorite may change in a month or so, but this will help you see which types of pens you like best over time.

Watercolor Pencils:

• Draw a watercolor pencil and a swatch from each color under it. Label each swatch with the color name on the pencil, then wet half of each swatch to see the color wet and dry.
• Make swatches of your pencils inside a rectangle or square to keep your pencils together. Label each swatch with the color name on the pencil, then wet half of each swatch to see the color wet and dry.

This was my first watercolor chart in the back of a pocket Moleskine

Watercolors:

• Draw the palette you want to take on your next sketch outing and fill in each pan with the appropriate color. Leave the     colors flat to see how they’ll look on the paper or practice shading to show the texture of the paint.
• Draw all of your palettes to help you remember which ones have certain colors without having to test them all again.
• Paint a stroke of each color on the page where it would appear in your palette. This quick method is still a great reference in the field. 

What about you, how do keep track of your tools? Are there tools not mentioned here that you bring along to sketch with?