A morning urban sketching people at cafes and a mobile screening unit in Tavira. Experimenting with different backgrounds and page layout compositions.

Urban sketch in ink and watercolour of some players taking part in a Pétanque match in the village. Also a couple of portrait sketches to finish of my latest A6 people sketching sketchbook.

Traveled to Ayamonte Spain for a day of urban sketching. I sketched people at the cafe, a few buildings and an iconic statue in the square in old town. My watercolour pencils saved the day, and I used this day trip to experiment with page layout ideas and using spot colour for areas of focal point.

We take a look at the different way Don Low sketches people using negative space, tonal shading, and high contrast in his comic book spreads. He creates impactful scenes with only a minimal use of spot colour. I evaluate how he uses these elements to lead the eye through the panels, and how he varies his panel layouts.

Urban Sketching at a local cafe at the end of the street. Combining people sitting in different parts of the cafe together at a table, and experimenting with compositions for a reportage post.

Urban Sketching afternoon at the Tavira Plaza to capture people in ink and watercolour. Experimented with a V-shaped Composition, tonal shading with a spot colour background, and creating depth with desaturated colours.

We take a look at two different approaches that Santi Sallés uses when using a comic strip style layout. One to tell a story, and the other to connect different locations and capture small details. I evaluate how we could use these approaches when urban sketching people.

My triptych sketch series in a photo booth style is inspiring me to explore more options for using grids and comic book style page design that is easy to read and not confusing or overwhelming.

Not much time today, but enough time for a quick coffee at a local cafe and a quick sketch, about being in a foreign country but still able to order scones and clotted cream. This was an experiment in reportage and page composition.

An exploration of using distorted perspectives on my people sketches. I did Regina Spector’s Making Sketches Expressive through Proportions Tutorial, and here’s the exercises we did, and some examples of other sketches I’ve done with distorted proportions.

A sunny day so I headed to the Algarve town of Olhão for a full day of urban sketching. I sketched on public transport there and back, and at the market, and a local cafe. There was also a surprise Carnaval parade that had taken place, and that greeted me when I arrived. Another interesting sketching opportunity.

Urban Sketching at a local cafe at the end of the street. Today the focus was just about sketching people, and I didn’t get too hung up on communicating a story. Although for the dapper gent in his sports coat, a story evolved as I sketched him.

An Urban Sketching trip to Tavira. Captured the Uber driver in a photo booth sketch series. Sketched in two cafes to finish one sketch. And drew a man in the park because I liked the way he posed his legs, but I ended up cutting his feet off.

Urban Sketching at a cafe, I used a comparison between objects to build a composition and plan the story I want my sketches to tell. Then Urban Sketching at a Pétanque game, where I had to rely on capturing a scene that developed organically into a pleasing composition. On this sketch I also used a collage element to fill some negative space.

A reportage sketch with a restaurant bill as some collage fodder, and a Valentine’s Day Poem to develop a story around a scene I only saw for a couple of minutes. Sometimes you need to invent your own story, when you have no idea what’s going on.

Day 58 of sketching people in ink and watercolour. A visit to the Tavira Municipal Museum with the Urban Sketchers Algarve chapter of the Urban Sketchers Org. A warm-up sketch of Tavira rooftops and washing line, and while other sketchers were sketching the Tile Exhibition, I focused on sketching my fellow sketchers.

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 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.

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 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.

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.

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.