Then THIS is the course for you!
Taking this course was one of the best decisions I made this year. I was excited to learn and enjoyed every workshop and challenge. Thank you very much Toby! Your detailed feedback kept me motivated. I also gained more confidence in sharing my work, which was one of my objectives. Looking forward to continue with the next course. Thank you once again Toby for being such an inspiring teacher!
Hanne - 'Developing Line Work and Mark Making'
And don't forget to check out the information below too.
If you have any questions, send me an email - toby.h.email@gmail.com - or click the button below:
So, now I finished the developing line course and I really loved it. I learned a lot on perspective and lines and loosening my sketching. Most important: it was great fun. I had to change some of my habits, but that was a reason for me to join here. I always wanted to be safe, so I used pancil to be able to erase. Now I use water resistant ink and I like what I am doing.
Alex Welz - 'Develop Line Work and Mark Making'
You can expand each section to see what exciting sketching is just around the corner.
I'm thrilled that you've decided to join me in this sketching adventure, welcome to the first course on 'SketchLoose.co.uk' - 'Developing Line Work and Mark Making'.
As part of this course you'll get an in depth handout, over 30 pages long, giving you all the background and inspiration you need for sketching.
You'll also get over 4 hours of sketching demonstrations and discussions that you can stream whenever you like, as many times as you like.
And of course, you get the opportunity to ask questions and get feedback on your sketches by posting them in the community.
And through this we will cover the five KEY concepts in sketching, with an emphasis on pen and ink sketching.
In this section we will cover some basics or fundamentals of sketching.
Loose sketching relies on us understanding some key fundamentals of sketching, it's not enough just to throw our pen around the page and hope for the best.
But don't worry, these fundamentals are all you need to start off this course and start developing your own sketch loose style.
Sketching loose might sound like something that just involves letting go, and having your ink and pen do all the work. But if we don't remember our fundamentals we'll be left with a mess on the page instead of a fascinating work of art.
We'll look firstly at having a relaxed mindset, and how to think about our sketching.
Then we'll cover what I consider to be the five fundamental techniques of sketching that we can build on through our in depth workshops.
This will make sure we are all on the same starting point when we get to our first workshop!
Mark making is the literal art of creating marks, blobs, lines, spots and whatever else you can dream up, using our sketching implements and sketching surface!
This quirky sketch of an airport has a big variety of marks - from bold lines, blocks of black, through to delicate loops and simple hatching. The variety allows a very simple sketch to not only appear more complicated, but also creates a plethora of interest for the viewer.
In many ways this is a really simple step, but it's also a vital step in our art journey. Through experimenting with our sketching supplies we will end up discovering a huge variety of marks we can make, unlocking possibilities and increasing our inspiration for creation!
Perspective can often feel challenging, but it really doesn't have to be - let me show you how I think about perspective, using my simple mind and simple terms!
By the end of this chapter you'll be able to understand how to find your points of perspective and be confident in producing increasingly complex perspective sketches like this one.
We are introducing perspective really early to this course for a few good reasons
Perspective is present everywhere, and particular in urban/architectural scenes
It's often feared, but I believe I can simplify it for you
Understanding perspective opens up a world of possibilities in terms of sketching composition and subject choice
Shapes and structure are two concepts I love in sketching, and are at the heart of all sketching - especially if we are looking to be quick, efficient and flexible in our mark making.
Through finding the key shapes, and the structural lines within these shapes, we can quickly and effortlessly create loose sketches like this.
In this workshop we'll shop how simple 'shapes' really are, before looking at how structure can add realism and interest to our simplified sketch.
Line weight and quality is the logical next step to take after simplifying down with shape and structure.
Varying line weight and quality lets us quickly make sense of complex scenes, develop shorthand for our sketching, and making our sketches more characterful and interesting.
Using varied line weight and quality makes an image really exciting and interesting.
Done well it changes a simple sketch into a real work of art, and enables us to transmit so much fun and information through a well chosen set of lines, without having to spend hours and hours sketching every detail.
Loosening up is more than just letting our pen and ink run away with us, and in this workshop we'll look at loads of techniques and tips that we can utilise to really loosen up our sketching style whilst not forgetting our fundamentals.
One of my favourite recent sketches - this is HM Treasury in London. It took me five minutes, and loose techniques, whilst remembering my shapes and key aspects of perspective made this five minutes well spent.
It's natural to become rigid and perhaps even a little stressed when trying new things and having to overthink all our sketching.
Try and take a deep breath and let that go, and dive on into the world of looseness again - whilst keeping in mind some of the biggest learning points so far.
Here we will reflect on our progress, and think about the next steps we can take both on our own and in this course to keep on developing our sketching.
I have really enjoyed this course. Your positive attitude and loose style, makes the whole process approachable and fun. Finally ,the negative attitude which prevented me from even trying to draw buildings has gone. Thank you and I look forward to the colour course next.
Helen Sutherland - 'Develop Line Work and Mark Making'
I think feedback and interaction is a vital part of progressing in art, so I promise to answer every question you have, and give feedback on all your art from the course.
If you have any difficulties or challenges in the course, just email me to make sure we can make it right!
If, for whatever reason, you purchase this course and feel it's not right for you then I'll make it right. Whether that is a transfer to a different course or a refund.