first Version

Roadmap to Sketching

            There are many different ways to create a work of art and almost all start with a sketch.  Different people use different techniques and styles.  They have different ways of giving a sketch detail and life.  Using light lines to begin a sketch is the easiest way to stop or fix early mistakes.

            There are two main ways to plot your sketch.  One way is to use stick figures or lines to figure out the pose you wish to try.  First you’ll want to decide what kind of pose you want, then decide whether the character or thing is in motion or not.  Most sketched start off with the placement of the spine and then add the general placement of the shoulders, arms, neck, hips, legs and head are.  Two lines across the face one horizontal the other vertical can help with the placement of the eyes, nose, mouth, ears.  They can even help show which way the face is facing.

            Another way to plot a sketch is by outline.  Every creature, person and thing has basic shapes in their anatomy; whether it’s a lamp, a dog, a cat, or a table, even Nelly and Maurice do.  Women have more curves and are rounder in certain areas then men who are more sharply defined.  Still rectangles, squares, trapezoids, ovals and circles still work for both males and females of any living and nonliving creature.  An outline doesn’t even have to be a basic shape it could be an undefined, empty blob or object.  You can even take and combine the two techniques anyway you see fit.  If it works then it’s just right.

            Detailing is one of the most important elements to any sketch.  You could be plotting shadow, separating color areas or adding a sense of light and dark.  A sketch is a work of art too.  If you put enough effort and time into it, it can be just as beautiful as a painting.

            Scribbles on any sketch can represent bushes, leaves or behavior of fur depending on the shape.  Lines can represent color and, depending on how much pressure you apply, shade.  The closer the lines the darker it appears and the further the lighter it seems.  Lines can also help with placement of your horizon, where the sky meets the earth.  Light lines as you may have already noticed also make up the outline of all characters, things and objects in the picture, along with any detail you add.  The pressure you apply to the pencil will act mainly as shadow.  The harder you push the darker the line and vise versa.

            Finally we have different styles or sketching or drawing.  One of these styles is called Anime.  It is one of the more attractive styles.  This style appeals to a wide range of readers and fans by playing on emotions and visual taste.  It evolves at a slow rate however and does not seem to change by much from one “manga” to the next.  Anime almost always shows “cute” characters, lovely young girls, girls with larger features and girly young boys or girly men.  Manly-looking men are a rare sight in anime.  Almost always you will find hints at comedy or “comic relief characters” like: Miroku, a perverted monk, from InuYasha or Kon, a modified soul trapped in a stuffed animal, from Bleach.  Some examples of funny hints are: when Rukia (Bleach) beats up Ichigo for being depressed, when Kagome (InuYasha) makes Inuyasha “sit” by activating the prayer beads and when Naruto (Naruto) is chased around all of Konahana by Tsunade or another teacher (because of his most recent prank and/or is running from punishment/harm (which is almost never)).  Anime is also used to tell a stories about heroes, love, action or other captivating tales of triumph over the evils that plague the main character.

            Real Life is also a style that one can choose when sketching.  This is one of the hardest styles to do as you are trying to recreate what you see.  This style includes still life, inanimate objects, landscapes and portraits.  Self-portraits are perhaps one of the hardest works of art one can do.  It’s easier with a mirror and canvas as long as you can stay still for as long as need to complete the portrait.  Landscapes and other portraits are easier though a landscape takes a lot of detail to complete regardless of the location.

            Cartoons are also quite common and usually the most inaccurate in anatomy.  They are also often funny and show the opinion of the artist or author.  This is also where caricatures come from.  Caricatures usually involve a person whose features are blown out of proportion in a funny, unrealistic way.  Chibis are also drawings that have unusually large and small features, often making the person in the picture to appear chubby, little and cute.  Cartoons are also found in comic books and strips.  Garfield, Superman and Nonsquiter are a few of those Comics.

            Hopefully this has enlightened and awakened those you who did not know how a sketch is created.  Regardless of the project, sketching is a necessary element to create any piece of art.  You should now have all of the information to plot, detail and decide what your sketch will resemble.  And you also now know why are creating your sketch and who you will attempt to appeal to.  Perhaps you will show us your technique, how you detail and finally what style you can offer.

Second Version
(I had to cut it down to 500 words >.< )

Roadmap to Sketching

There are many different ways to create a work of art and almost all start with a sketch.  Different people use different techniques, styles and have different ways of giving a sketch detail, or life.  Using light lines to begin a sketch is the easiest way to stop or fix early mistakes.

There are two main ways to plot your sketch.  One way is to use stick figures or lines to figure out the pose you wish to try.  First you'll want to decide what kind of pose you want.  Most start off with the placement of the spine and add the general placement of shoulders, legs, etc.  Another way to plot a sketch is by outline.  Women have more curves and are rounder in certain areas then men, who are more sharply defined.  Basic shapes work for both males and females of any living and nonliving creature.  It could be an undefined, empty blob.  Two lines across the face, one horizontal and one vertical, show which way the face is facing.  You can take and combine theses two techniques as needed.

Detailing is one of the most important elements to any sketch.  You could be plotting shadow separating color areas or adding a sense of light and dark.  A sketch is a work of art too.  If you put enough effort and time into it, it can be just as beautiful as a painting.  Scribbles on any sketch can represent bushes, leaves or behavior of fur depending on the shape.  Lines can represent color and, depending on how much pressure you apply, shade.  The closer the lines the darker it appears and vise versa.  Lines can also help with placement of your horizon.

Finally we have different styles or sketching or drawing.  One of these styles is Anime, a more attractive style.  This style appeals to a wide range of readers and fans by playing on emotions and visual taste though it evolves very slowly.  Anime almost always shows cute girls, girls with larger features and girly boys/men and is usually funny.  Anime also tells a story about love, action or other captivating tale of triumph.  Real life is one of the hardest styles because you are trying to recreate what you see.  This is where you find still life, inanimate objects, landscapes and portraits. Cartoons are also quite common and usually the most inaccurate in anatomy, but, are often funny and show the artist/author's opinion.  This is also where caricatures and chibis come from, which involve a person with blown out features.

This should enlighten and awaken those who did not know how a sketch is created.  Regardless of the project, sketching is a necessary element to create any piece of art.  You should now have all of the information to plot, detail and decide what your sketch will resemble and whom you will attempt to appeal to.  Perhaps you will show us your technique, how you detail and what style you can offer.