Day 31 of sketching people. Three different live sketching events online. But using different materials and styles for each one, including blind contour sketches for Drawing is Free event, and my usual line style for the Drawing with Dylan live zoom. A busy day of speed sketching.

Day 30 of sketching people. A successful Earthsworld Portrait sketch, and I attended the Drawing is Free speed sketching portrait session on zoom. Some interesting and challenging poses, and plenty of hands to sketch.

Day 29 of sketching people in ink and watercolour, was all about not liking my first pass at Doug Jackson’s 10 minute ink challenge and the Sketching Earthworld’s Challenge. So I had a second attempt at both challenges and learnt a couple of valuable lessons about using the right pen for the job, and the value of walking away from a subject if it doesn’t inspire you.

Day 28 of sketching people in ink and watercolour. Today was an urban sketching session at the Tavira Plaza Mall, where I spent a couple of hours in the Food Hall sketching and painting diners.

Day 26 of sketching people, and today I participated in the Pencils4Tea speed sketching zoom event, drawing portraits in ink and pencil.

Day 25 of sketching people and I experimented with painting tonal shapes then adding ink afterwards, and Inking figures first and adding tonal shading. Two different approaches with different results.

Day 24 of sketching people. A quick and loose urban sketch of a boy waiting for his mum. And at night I attended the speed sketching portrait event with Dylan, and churned out some pretty consistent portraits within the 30 second to 6 minute time limit.

Day Twenty-Three of a 365-day people sketch challenge. Ventured to a cafe for some live sketching of people, and then joined the Drawing is Free speed sketching zoom session for some live portrait practice.

Day Twenty-One and Twenty-Two of a 365-day people sketch challenge. Only got around to the Earthsworld’s portrait challenge, and refining my approach by relying less on lines to denote changes in tone, and relying more heavily on the use of watercolour values.

Day Twenty of a 365-day people sketch challenge. Experimenting with a bright colour triad for the Earthsworld’s portrait challenge. A portrait of Oliver Hoeller to kick off my Colour Confidence Tutorials. And a Reportage sketch of a fond farewell at Faro Airport.

Day Nineteen of a 365-day people sketch challenge, supplementing my daily Earthsworld Challenge experiment with skin tones, with my first attendance of the Pencils4tea speed sketching event.

Four more days of a 365-day people sketch challenge. Using different styles for the Earthsworld Challenges, including a tonal study. Plus a travel journal sketch of people at the checkout during the pre-Christmas rush.

So you’ve started your figures too long on the page, and you don’t have room to sketch the feet? It’s a common problem. Here’s a review of how to use ink lines and watercolour to approach the problem of running out of room at the bottom of the page when people sketches. My thoughts on which approach works best, and what doesn’t look good.

In my ongoing 365 Day Challenge, I sketched during a trip to Córdoba, Spain. I sketched from photos. I explored different sketching styles, balancing detailed and loose, based on the urgency of the situation.

How I started my 10 minute daily people sketching practice, and some tips and inspiration for starting your own sketching habit.

Feature Sketch: my Urban Sketch of a man with big ears at a cafe in Tavira Looser Urban Sketching Lines…

Day eight of my people sketching challenge I attended the Drawing Is Free speed sketching event, and did the Earthsworld Portrait Challenge.

On Day Six of my people sketching challenge, I sketched people in a café, and considered how to find the story I want to tell. I also sketched people at the till in a supermarket.

The start of my new 365 day sketching challenge, where I’m focusing on Sketching People in Ink and Watercolour. Here’s the first two days, with tips on where to find inspiration for people sketches. Some Drawing Earthsworld Challenge Portraits and a local urban sketch of people.

New beginnings. A fresh start to building skills for urban sketching people by putting a methodical plan in place for sketching focal point people, supporting character people, and background shapes for context and scale.

How to use watercolour backgrounds in your sketches to supplement the story you’re trying to convey.

Here’s some tips for sketching groups of people, without getting overwhelmed by the crowds and complexity in your scene.

Some ideas and inspiration for creating interesting sketchbook page layouts when urban sketching people.

Urban Sketching during our trip to Turkey. In Istanbul, and at the beaches and cafes of Bodrum. Also sketched during a windy ferry ride to Datca. All Ink Sketches, no Watercolour.