ROVING JAY

Day 57 of sketching people. A visit to a local bar in Cabanas to sketch in the sunshine to sketch groups of people, to practice compositions with a group of people. And also try out a new sketchbook format in the shape of a photo booth strip of images.

Day 56 of sketching people, and today I attended the second half of the speed sketching portrait zoom event called Musink. Each pose is the length of a music track. I sketched in pencil for the big shapes and then sketched in ink.

Day 55 of sketching people in ink and watercolour. Speed Sketching Portraits for the Drawing with Dylan live Zoom event. 6 minute poses with tonal shading and primary colour Tombow brush pens. Experimented using my Noodlers Flex Nib Pen and Carbon Ink, which didn’t dry quick enough for my liking.

Day 54 of sketching people. Drawing is Free speed sketching event on zoom. Sketched a series of portraits, where every pose is the length of a music track. Experimenting with pencil gesture sketch, ink, and tonal shading. Also sketched urban sketchers who are hosting workshops at Toulouse in July.

Day 53 of sketching people in ink and watercolour. A quick jaunt down to a neighbourhood bar to urban sketch a couple sitting outside, huddled up against the weather on a chilly Sunday afternoon. This sketch taught me a couple of valuable lessons about ink lines and the use of colour.

A blind contour sketch of Urban Sketcher and Illustrator Lis Watkins, to illustrate this post about her sketchbook Tour of Toulouse, where she uses bright and vibrant colours to capture the essence of this French city that’s hosting the new Urban Sketchers Symposium in 2026

An in-depth post about how to evaluate whether your people sketch is successful. Discussing the merits of technical accuracy vs. the value of finding and conveying the story in your sketch. Peppered with examples, this article talks about how to get your sketch to show a story, rather than telling a story. And using text to turn your sketch into reportage.

Day 52 of 365 Days of Sketching People. A couple of urban sketches of people in Tavira, and the sketches I did while attending two tutorials about sketching people with distorted proportions and perspectives.

Day 51 of sketching people and portraits at a local clinic. Using gesture sketches, and added ink lines and watercolour. Created colour harmony with a vivid colour triad opera pink, hansa yellow light, and phthalo blue. Used the colour to create a visual hierarchy within the page layout.

Day 50 of sketching people in ink and watercolour. Speed Sketching Portraits for the Drawing with Dylan live Zoom event. 6 minute poses with tonal shading and primary colour Tombow brush pens.

Day 49 of sketching people. Drawing is Free 8am speed sketching event on zoom. Sketched a series of portraits, where every pose is the length of a music track. Experimenting with colour pencil and biro sketches, as well as fineliner and watercolour. Simple lines, gesture sketches, and loose watercolour.

Day 48 of sketching people. Used the daily prompt from Urban Sketchers Org to sketch a couple of Toulouse-inspired sketches to minimise being overwhelmed by sketching complex buildings. Also a selection of ink sketches with tonal shading.

Urban Sketchers Org daily prompt list calendar for February 2026

Day 47 of sketching people, a busy day at the Tavira second hand market, municipal market, and at a nearby café. Also sketched my uber driver going there and coming back. Different people sketching styles, and some interesting perspectives and colour choices.

Continuing with a new week from the 2026 run through of Liz Steel’s watercolour course by doing the swatching exercises for four of our favourite colour mixing combinations.

Day 46 of sketching people. A visit to the Tavira Plaza to sketch groups of people in the cafe, to practice gestural sketching in pencil, before adding ink and watercolour. I also sketched portraits at the weekly Pencils4tea speed sketching event on zoom. Experimenting with ink lines with bleed.

Day 45 of sketching people. Sketches of Suhita Shirodkar, an urban sketchers who is presenting a lecture and demo at the next Urban Sketcher’s Symposium in Toulouse.

Revisiting a Marc Tarot Holmes Craftsy tutorial about Sketching People in Motion. Breaking down his approach to gesture sketching in pencil to capture the expressive nature of the line of action. Making me evaluate my decision to always sketch directly in Ink, and hoping gesture sketching will help me fit more feet on my page when I’m urban sketching people from life.

Day 44 of sketching people in ink and watercolour. Speed Sketching Portraits for the Drawing with Dylan live Zoom event. 30 second to 6 minute poses. And a series of blind contour self-portraits.

Day 43 of sketching people. 13 tonal portraits with spot colour sketched during the speed sketching event on Zoom – Drawing is Free, where every pose is the length of a music track.

Day 42 of Sketching people in ink and watercolour. Three urban sketches capturing daily observation commentary at Faro Airport in Portugal. Experimenting with reportage by adding text to two of the sketches, and a short poem about my urban sketching experience at the airport.

Day 41 of sketching people. Sketches of Delphine Zigoni, Len Grant, and Rita Sabler, three urban sketchers who are presenting a lecture at the next Urban Sketcher’s Symposium in Toulouse.

This is my first Reportage Urban Sketcher Profile, and features Norwegian illustrator Per Ragnar Møkleby. I cover Per’s method for using text to convey mood, embracing wonky lines, not being a slave to reality, daring to urban sketch, sketching complex scenes with simplified figures, and how self-portraits can save the day.

Day 40b A collection of portraits sketched at the weekly Pencils4tea speed sketching live zoom event, using colourful backgrounds with tonal sketched portraits.