Urban Sketch at a Cafe in Tavira on a cold winter day

Back to Sketching People

After recently getting distracted by boats during #Boatober and buildings in preparation for the next Urban Sketchers Symposium in Toulouse next July, I’m back on track pursuing my passion for sketching people from life.

Part of my regular practice regime has been sketching groups of people in local cafes, on the train, or anywhere else people cluster and sit long enough for me to capture them.

In an effort to stop myself darting off into another artistic tangent (….shiny ball, shiny ball!), I’m pulling together an organised plan to supplement my current skills development and learning activities with:

• studying books about urban sketching people
• watching youtube videos about sketching people by urban sketchers and other artists
• doing daily sketching and watercolour practice in my studio to fine-tune my people sketching skills.

I’ve already established a daily sketching habit, but it’s erratic and unplanned. I’m absorbing information like a sponge, but it’s not a methodical approach to learning, and it’s starting to get overwhelming. That endless scrolling of online content doesn’t seem to be a good use of my time, and without a some structure, I know I’m just going to continue drowning in information overload.

Why is this really important for me? People are my favourite subjects in urban sketching, and I think they’re an integral part to help us convey a location’s story.

If you dare to venture through the self-checkout line
Beware the guard with a smile so sublime
Not there to help, just there to judge
And if you take too long, she'll give you a nudge.

So it’s time to develop a plan for becoming confident and proficient when adding people to my urban sketches.

But, not all people in urban sketches are created equal.

Three Types of People in Urban Sketches

I’m starting off by looking at the type of people I add to my urban sketches.

• Focal Point
• Supporting Character
• Background Shapes

My primary interest is adding people as focal points, so I may need to master a higher level of detail to convey features as effectively as possible (unless I’m cheating and sketching them from the back!)

But sometimes I like to add figures as supporting characters to a scene. And I know that a lot of urban sketchers like to add figures as simple shapes to add context and scale to their building sketches and scenes.

Depending the role people are playing in the sketch, will determine the type of skills that are needed.

Plan for Urban Sketching People

I’ve dashed around from pillar to post between different online and offline resources to hone my people sketching skills, but I’ve decided to go back to the start to make sure I haven’t left any learning opportunity stone unturned.

My plan will look at the different approaches for the three different types of people in an urban sketch. The level of detail in each of the sketches will vary, and consequently, the line and watercolour techniques will need to be adapted to suit the role they play in my sketches.

I could construct this plan behind the scenes, but I’m sharing it online via this blog. I want other urban sketchers who are struggling with adding people to their sketches, to benefit from the information I’m going to be sharing.

It’s also a way to hold myself accountable to a plan, and not going down an unrelated rabbit hole of information and inspiration.

Something to bear in mind, people sketching skills is not a quick jog, it’s a marathon. So are you ready to strap on your running shoes and join me on the journey?

Or is this going to be …. the loneliness of a long-distance runner.