The aim of this exercise was to get familiar with loosening up whilst drawing and getting information down fast. It was to help show how rapid sketching trains your mind to pick out important details and move past being a perfectionist. I had to step up a still life using an assortment of everyday objects and set a timer for 3 minutes. Once the timer went off, I had to stop drawing, rearrange the still life or move to another position, and start again. After a few attempts, I was asked to shorten the length of the timer, making the sketches increasingly rapid.
Rapid sketching is not a concept I am unfamiliar with. After part 1 of Key Steps in Illustration, my tutor advised that I work on my drawing skills and attempt some rapid sketches to do this. I really enjoyed the process and spent a lot of time doing it. In my sketchbook for Assignment 1, you can see that I did some rapid sketches of still life models – something I find useful to learn anatomy. In last year’s sketchbook circle, I also tried to draw from the same reference photo in 30 seconds, 1 minute, 5 minutes, and 10 minutes. Again, this was a fantastic and enjoyable exercise that showed me how to identify the space, lines, and content when drawing.
I chose some random items from near or on my desk to set up a still life with. At first, I was worrying about the objects I was using and the positioning of them, but after a few sketches, I stopped caring and started just sticking things wherever they would fit. I made sure I had a range of shapes, angles, and intersecting objects, though, so that I wasn’t making it super easy for myself. I then set a timer for 3 minutes and started my first sketch. Naturally, I ran out of time before finishing the drawing. I left it unfinished, though, and moved on to the next one, which I managed a little easier. I had a better awareness of the timeframe and a stronger sense of urgency.
For the next two sketches, I reduced the timer to 2 minutes, which again led me to work too slowly and not quite get everything down. By the fourth sketch, I felt quite used to it and aware of where I was focusing too much attention. I then decided to do a full two-page spread of sketches overlapping each other, first using a red brush pen, then using my regular 1.0 fineliner. The timer for all of these was 1 minute, which weirdly felt more comfortable than 2 or 3 minutes. Maybe I push myself harder as I know how short a minute really is, I’m not sure. I love the composition of this page and the way each sketch interacts.
Rapid sketching is a super useful exercise to regularly undertake to explore new drawing techniques, or even just out of necessity. I find myself coming back to it regularly, and there’s something about the feel and look of rapid sketches that I enjoy. I would love to find ways to push it further and experiment with how to make my rapid sketches interact with other mediums or ways of drawing.
Learning Log 