TIP 275: Loosen up your lines to sketch people (drawing in a cafe with my Ipad)

Drawing people at a cafe with Ipad Pro using Procreate

Hello sketcher!

I show you the time-lapse of today’s sketching session at a cafe called Phuc Long in Ho Chi Minh City.

I took a cup of Milk Tea with ice and sit outside to sketch with my Ipad Pro and Pencil.

I put the earphone with music I love in my ears, and I was ready to sketch with no distraction.​

Having no much inspiration on what to draw, I simply looked around me and draw people.

I started to draw a woman in uniform. And I was no much satisfied with the outcome. My lines, and the body posture came out pretty stiff.

My lines are stiff when I start a sketching day

I realised such thing happened a lot before when I started a new drawing session. I felt like my level downgraded.

Sometime I gave up while I just needed a warm up session.
So my Brain – Eyes – Pencil could recalibrate.

So if your first sketches are “rusty”, don’t give up.
The next one will naturally get better.

The rain started, so I found refuge inside the cafe.

I noticed the waitress at the right counter. She mostly remain still at her position, so it was easier for me to draw her than other waiters who were constantly in movement.

My 2nd drawing of the waitress (on the left) start to loosen up a bit more. Yeah!

To succeed and have fun with the techniques of quick sketching:
Don’t try to reproduce 100% what you see – but what you feel.
You may even exaggerate some lines.

The proportions need to look right but don’t have to be perfect.
Sometimes I like to elongate some body parts.

The girl on the right was slim, and I elongated her arms

Draw without perfection purpose, but to experiment! You will progress a lot faster.

I sometimes feel shy looking at people.
It happened I stare at them a bit too long. Haha.

But remember that you don’t have to be afraid of looking at people when you draw them. If they catch you drawing them, they will smile to you.

It is fun to try to catch up with information in a few seconds only.

At first, try to catch the body posture, the attitude. (Ignore the details)
This “feel” will guide you.

Then, look at your model again, and catch some big elements, then details.

It is a real pleasure to draw that way.
It inspires me a lot in my Product Design sketches.

I don’t exactly remember how long it took me to draw this board. I easily lost track of time when I draw. I believe around 1hour30. It could be more though.

Play with the composition adding various scaling of your subjects.

Alrighty!

If you too have some free time, I invite you to draw the people around you!
If you are confined at the moment, you may draw your family members.

Do not ask them to pose for you.

“Secretly” draw them during their usual activities of the day: cooking, watching TV, doing gym… “Draw their natural”.

Cheers,
Chou-Tac