The Urban Sketching Handbook Drawing Expressive People

Essential Tips & Techniques for Capturing People on Location

Róisín Curé

• Publisher: Quarry Books
• Year: 2020
• Print ISBN: 9781631599316
• eBook ISBN: 9781631599323
• Topic: Art
• Subtopic: Art General

In The Urban Sketching Handbook: Drawing Expressive People, urban sketcher and workshop instructor Róisín Curé shows how to make your figures more than just anonymous bystanders by sharing the basics of drawing people on the go as well as how to successfully render poses, faces, and expressions.

Following an essential section on proportion, you’ll find tips, tricks, and examples for surmounting the intimidating prospect of capturing ever-shifting subjects, plus techniques for portraying poses accurately and distilling details that convey personality and emotion, whether individually, in small groups, or in crowds.

Bring figures and people to life on the page and tell an authentic visual story with The Urban Sketching Handbook: Drawing Expressive People.

The Urban Sketching Handbook series offers location artists expert instruction on creative techniques, on-location tips and advice, and an abundance of visual inspiration. These handy references come in a compact, easy-to-carry format—perfect to toss in your backpack or artist’s tote.

KEY I

TOOLS & SUPPLIES

The thing about sketching people—who come and go—is that you never know when an opportunity will present itself, so it’s good to be always prepared. Drawing people quickly in a candid manner is one of the best ways to get the practice you need to improve. If your bag is always ready, always within reach, and always stocked with paint, pens, paper, brushes, and water, the volume of work you produce will increase dramatically—and so will your skill.

RÓISÍN CURÉ

On the Plane to London

A4 (8¼” × 11½” | 21 × 29.7 cm), brush pen and watercolor.

BASIC KIT: THE BARE ESSENTIALS

Because you may need to get to work fast and efficiently, your kit should be as small as possible. Have a bag always packed and ready: I have one with a kit that never changes because it works really well. I can fit everything into a small bag no bigger than my largest sketchbook (A4, or 8¼” × 11½” | 21 × 29.7 cm). But I can get away with a really tiny kit, if I find myself in cramped quarters. It’s amazing how compact your kit can be! That said, tastes vary as much as sketchers: I have seen marvelous feats of athleticism in the hands of sketchers who use and exchange many different tools all at once, each finger holding a different color. I’m not quite so dexterous.

The minimum equipment I can get away with is as follows:

• Two waterbrushes, medium-sized (one for dark colors and one for light colors)

• An A5 (5¾” × 8¼” | 14.8 × 21 cm) or A6 (4¹⁄₈” × 5¹³⁄₁₆ | 10.5 × 14.8 cm) sketchbook with 200 gsm watercolor paper, stitched, rather than spiral bound

• A tiny metal box containing up to 13 half pans of artists’ watercolor—make your own!

• Two bulldog clips with a magnetic surface

• A fude pen (55-degree nib brush pen) with waterproof brown ink (or any pen in any color)

• A tiny screw-top container for water with magnetic tape or tab on the bottom

Tiniest paint kit.

A6 (41⁄8” × 513⁄16” | 10.5 × 14.8 cm) sketchbook (small enough for anywhere).

My beloved fude pen (fude meaning brush in Japanese).

A waterbrush can go where no water containers are allowed.

A tiny water container.

A magnetic clip for attaching paintbox.

I was able to draw these guys on a plane to Portugal discreetly—not that they would have noticed anyway.

RÓISÍN CURÉ

The Stag Party

A6 (4¹⁄₈” × 5¹³⁄₁₆” | 10.5 × 14.8 cm) (double spread); Hahnemühle watercolor sketchbook, fude pen, brown ink, and watercolor.

Tip

Make your own mini paintbox. Fill empty half pans with paint from tubes and secure them inside an Altoids t...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Contents
• Introduction
• Keys
• Challenge Yourself
• Contributors
• Acknowledgments
• About the Author
• Copyright
• About This Series