urban sketching and beyond

Last year I created the illustrations for a children's book called Towers Falling. My drawings were meant to be the drawings created by one of the main characters, a boy called Ben. Just thought I'd show the process from my urban/observational sketches to the final illustration.

 As soon as I got the brief I knew (in my head) what I wanted the sketchbook pages to look like. I'd spent a good couple of years filling up these small cheap sketchbooks with quick drawings of buildings and people. Mainly people. These pages were my starting point.

I really liked the layout of the one above, with the different size faces.

I also wanted all the people, to be authentic; to be people that I'd sketched from life, on trains, planes and in cafes.

The brief here, was to illustrate a couple of Ben's sketchbook spreads, that he'd made of commuters on the subway. I chose this girl, above, to begin with - mainly because it was one of my favourite observational sketches. It's so much easier when they're asleep.

Starting with her, I then worked in the other characters around her, filling up Ben's sketchbooks with characters from my own (get's confusing, doesn't it?).

 A few friends, and people I sketch with, ended up becoming people on the subway too. And, I squashed another girl, from one of my favourite train sketches, below, in on the bottom left. Sure, it's not exactly like her, but that's why we have our artistic licenses.

I love how these random people have made their way into the story. I find myself creating whole new characters for them, as I draw them commuting on the New York subway. They take on a whole new life, out there in the world.

Urban sketching, observational drawing, whatever you want to call it is something I do to improve my skills. I don't associate myself, or my work, with a specific genre or group. I don't consider myself as an 'Urban Sketcher', it's just something I do a lot of. But, it's just a part of my work. I like the way I've embroidered it into my book illustrations here. I like taking it a step further.
Dunno why. Just do.

a new affair

Recently I've had this urge. An itch to scratch. I just cannot get enough of colour. Specifically watercolour. It coincided with the landscape stuff I've been doing (in my last couple of posts), and has pretty much taken over all of my work.

 I've always known that urge would come knocking on my door one day. My watercolour set has been patiently sat there, like a book that you're really excited to read, that's been in the pile of books by the side of your bed, just waiting for it's time to come.

 I'm not impatient about stuff like that. I totally believe that you shouldn't try something because it's the thing to do, or cos everyone else is doing it or because it's there. I wait.

 Until I really really want to do it. Until I have no choice in the matter.

 Now, you see, I LOVE ink. I am head over heels with it, but lets face it, ink is a pain in the ass. It's a pain to take out. It's high maintenance. I'm not talking about just taking out one colour, that's fine, but if you want a full palette it's just an impractical pain in the butt. And, believe me I tried to make it work.

 So, after a year of juggling dip pens and three or four bottles of ink on a street corner, or scrubbing the table at your regular café because you'd spilled the bulletproof black ink, again, the watercolour set caught my eye.

 Sure it isn't quite as dramatic as Mr Ink, he's more subtle, but, you know, more reliable. True, he's not as intense either, but, you get twelve colours in one set and he doesn't leak all over your bag. And, anyway, I'm kinda enjoying his subtle flatter tones. Plus, it doesn't show you up in your local café.

Yes, I have started falling for watercolours.

 I haven't got a clue what I'm doing yet, but I don't care. The fun bit is finding out where this new affair will go. And, if that turns out to be nowhere that's okay too. I'll have new stuff in my locker.

I've always loved monochrome drawings but it feels liberating to not be tied to that black line.

Prints of my new landscapes now in my Etsy shop

(sorry to be peddling my wares but I have bills to pay. Lots of bills).

shiny happy people (drawing)

 Above is my favourite drawing related photo. Ever. I just love it. It was taken in a Korean restaurant in Manchester. I'd made the sketch, below, of the guys on the next table. They knew I was sketching them and were giggling throughout at the idea of being sketched. When I finished they asked the dreaded question; "can we see it?"

I say dreaded question, because when I speak to people who are just starting out drawing in public, and specifically drawing people, that's the number one question. Has anyone ever asked to see the drawing? And, the second question is WHAT if they don't like what you've drawn?

 And, you know, it's a totally valid question. One that I ask myself when I know I've been clocked drawing somebody. WHAT if they ask to see it? WHAT if they are offended? WHAT if they hate me for it? Because, lets face it, it is in a way a bit of an invasion of their privacy. They didn't ask to be sketched. I am always aware of that. If I wasn't in the illustration game, and somebody had made a sneaky sketch of me, how would I have liked it?

So, that's all the concern, paranoia and anxiety out there. It's real. Those thoughts exist. So how do you get over that? I don't have the answers, I'm afraid. I'm not sure there are answers. There may be times when people aren't exactly chuffed. Lily, below, didn't seem that impressed (but actually, she was just being a great model and sitting amazingly still for me). The guys below her haven't quite made their minds up. In fact, that was really great fun drawing them and even if their views and critiques were brutally honest, it didn't take away from it being too much fun to have missed out on.

 A week or so ago, I went into a café where I'd been drawing quite a lot recently. I'd put one of the drawings, that I'd made there, online. The girl in the drawing was there telling her work colleague about it. As I began a new drawing I was aware that they were talking about me and what I was doing. I spent the whole time being really paranoid. They probably hated the drawing I'd put online. They probably don't want to be in this one. More than likely they were going to come up to me and tell me to stop it or to get out. I spent the whole time a anxious wreck. When I went to pay the girls said "we love your drawings, they're really beautiful". Bugger. And I just spent that time listening to my thoughts and wasted the opportunity to create something else they'd have loved.

Thing is, for most, the reactions to my drawings of people have just been pure delight. The comment I hear most, from those who have been drawn, is "I've never been drawn before". And, "can I take a photo of it?" Oh, and, "is it okay to make it my Facebook profile picture?" These cheeky monkeys below brought all their neighbourhood kids out to get drawn.

Seriously, you'll be surprised how positive the response is. As always, the only way to get more confident about it, is to practice. But, whether people are happy to sit for you, or if they don't even know they're posing for you...

 ...if you don't do it you'll miss out on some of the greatest reactions to your drawings. My advise (not that you've asked for it, and I'm no expert) is that it's worth the risk. Be brave it's worth it. For me, the photos in this post are proof of that. It's the best feeling when you get that person to pose with their drawing. THAT, to me, is the money shot.

 And, I lied when I said the photo at the top was my all time favourite. This is...

on not looking a gift horse in the mouth

What did we do before phones? I mean mobile phones. And laptops. And tablets. How did we manage?

Our lives were so much more difficult. Everything was so much harder. Just think about how much easier phones, tablets, laptops, notebooks have made our jobs.

I cannot remember what sitting in a coffee shop was like before there were phones, laptops, notebooks. Although, actually, coffee shops didn't exist back then either. Not in this country anyway. But I can't remember what it was like sitting in cafes and greasy spoons before phones.

Or on a bus stop. Or on a train. What did we do?

I can't remember. Obviously, we'd have been much more self conscious. Exposed even.

But now, that's all so different. Now everyone is on a device and everyone around them blends into obscurity. It's great.

It is the greatest gift.

Really, technology is a complete gift to a sketcher.

For now we have models on hand. Everywhere you look. Still, focused models. Who never look up.

Who are so caught up in their Facebook/Twitter/Instagram feeds that they never move. So, yeah, how did we manage before phones? There is, however, one downside...

*These are a tiny selection of sketches that I've made of people on phones, tablets, laptops, whathaveyou. Seriously, I've millions*

how to make an urban sketch in ten easy steps

How to make an Urban Sketch (in the North of England in Autumn (i.e. it's cold)) in 10 easy steps;

(Optional step; Turn up to the location and realise you've brought all your inks but no pen. No really (I told you I was a rubbish urban sketcher). Go buy pens)

Step 1. Find a coffee shop with a window seat and a view

Step 2. Have a coffee and sandwich. This is one of the more complicated steps; I'm in the Northern Quarter, of Manchester, so will have to decide between ten different coffee beans, made in fifteen different ways, then there's the bread...sour dough, brioche, rye....

Step 3. Make a mess of the table

Step 4. Ah shit. Why did I put colour on it?

Step 5. Have another coffee. And a Danish pastry. Try to hide the mess you've made of the table when they bring it over.

Step 6. Add lettering to try to take away the focus from the awful colour work

Step 7. Pigeons

Step 8. Scrub the table then go outside and take the obligatory out of focus urban sketcher photo, whilst holding your book in front of the building with one hand and trying to take photo with the other hand whilst worrying that somebody is going to snatch your phone.

Step 9. When all else fails go shopping

Step 10. Reassess at home over a cup of tea. Followed by either throwing it in the bin or feeling a little bit smug.

you're like Manchester, you've got Strange Ways

This is the drawing that I made with all the tools that I took out with me in my last blog post. Well, I say 'all of the tools' but obviously I just mean one pen, one bottle of ink and one sketchbook. I must say I was overwhelmed by the response to that post, and to how many people related. I assumed it was just me. It's a comfort to know I'm not alone. Perhaps we could set up a support group?

Anyway as I said, this was the drawing I made on that day. The sketchbook is really difficult to photograph as it's so long. So here's the top, middle and bottom, of the Midland Hotel, Manchester, in bite size chunks. If I'm honest, it's really quite difficult to draw in too.

Top

Middle

Bottom

I made this drawing while out with Manchester Urban Sketchers. It's a building I love. A big ornate hotel in the city. It has everything I like to draw. It's a strange thing, I'd say that Modernism and even Brutalism is possibly my favourite style of architecture. But, I just cannot draw it. I have no desire to draw it. When it comes to drawing I want the exact opposite. I want twirls galore. The Midland has that.

I made the drawing in around two hours on a bench across the road from the hotel. It's getting freezing out there on the streets now, so I retired to the library to finish it off. I'm guessing that with winter approaching a whole new set of 'things to take on a sketchcrawl' are about to trouble me. I should just give in and drag a trolley around.

And in case evidence is needed as to quite how awkward this book is, here we are at the end of the session, look I can't even hold it.