Sketches

I have compiled the ten sketches included in this post to create a sketchbook showing the progress of my drawing skills over the past few months.



Sketchbook Cover, 29 April 2012

Reflecting on My Progress, 29 April 2012
Over the past few months, my drawing skills have significantly improved. For example, the cross-hatching in my fifth sketch of the corner of a wall is much better than in my first sketch of a banana. In the banana drawing, the cross-hatching is very structured to the point that it looks unnatural. In the fifth drawing, however, my cross-hatching is much more relaxed and realistic. Since January, I have begun to understand how to utilize good shading techniques like cross-hatching and scribbling. I have also started to include good graphics in my drawings using methods such as professional gaps and hit-go-hit lines. 

Value Sketch, 18 April 2012

These two sketches are of the same room shown with different values with the same media. The first sketch uses various line weights and the second uses high contrast shading. I struggle with sketching rough drawings like this; it is hard for me to find a way of sketching that is somewhere between too structured and too sloppy. I think this sketch looks too sloppy, while ny sketch from April 10, for example, looks too structured.

Negative Space of a Chair, 10 April 2012

Today I sketched the negative space surrounding a poolside chair. I chose an image of a chair from a magazine and used crosshatching to sketch the negative space around the chair in the photograph.

Revised: Door Frame Detail, 6 April 2012
I added color to my original sketch to make the drawing more vibrant. I think the color makes the sketch more exciting and interesting. The browns and whites I used before were much more difficult to see on the black paper.

Door Frame Detail on Black Paper, 3 April 2012

Here, I have sketched a portion of a door, the door frame, and the surrounding wall onto black paper. It was interesting to see how the colored pencils showed up on black paper and how the black background provides a different effect than a white one would. I think this sketch turned out well, but I wish I had done a better job shading the white white to be more evenly colored.

Figure Trace from Photograph, 20 March 2012

This sketch is my first attempt at a figure drawing. Using little detail, I traced a photo of a cross country runner. This sketch was good practice for drawing figures in interior and architectural designs. I am surprised by how well it turned out, and I think that with practice I will eventually be able to draw good figures without tracing them.

Fruit Cross Section, 28 February 2012

Here, I have drawn different cross sections of a tomato as well as an uncut one. I worked with colors and 3-D in this sketch and was able to show one object from multiple views. The colors did not scan very brightly, but I like the way this sketch turned out.

Use of Shading to Show the Corner of a Room, 12 February 2012

This sketch shows improvement in my sketching using professional techniques, such as crosshatching. I think that my skills in perspective sketches are improving, and perspective drawing is starting to come more naturally.

Various Viewpoints of a Chair to Illustrate Proportion, 5 February 2012 I think this sketch shows the chair relatively accurately, despite a few errors in symmetry. For my first sketch of this nature, I am proud of my work.

Various Viewpoints of a Chair to Illustrate Proportion, 5 February 2012

I think this sketch shows the chair relatively accurately, despite a few errors in symmetry. For my first sketch of this nature, I am proud of my work.

Perspective and Floor Plan Views of My Apartment on a Napkin, 31 January 2012 Here, I have drawn two different views of my apartment. I think that my skills in sketching perspectives are improving. The floor plan view took a few draft sketches to accurately portray the dimensions, but I think that by this draft, I clearly and accurately showed the dimensions of each room.

Perspective and Floor Plan Views of My Apartment on a Napkin, 31 January 2012

Here, I have drawn two different views of my apartment. I think that my skills in sketching perspectives are improving. The floor plan view took a few draft sketches to accurately portray the dimensions, but I think that by this draft, I clearly and accurately showed the dimensions of each room. 

Mind Map Starting with a Principle of Design: Rhythm, 24 January 2012 This "mind map" began with a single word: rhythm. I wrote and doodled without stopping for about fifteen minutes, writing and sketching whatever came to mind. This sketch shows the connections I make in my mind, and how they all originate from a principle of design.

Mind Map Starting with a Principle of Design: Rhythm, 24 January 2012

This "mind map" began with a single word: rhythm. I wrote and doodled without stopping for about fifteen minutes, writing and sketching whatever came to mind. This sketch shows the connections I make in my mind, and how they all originate from a principle of design.

Still Life Sketch Using Crosshatching, 17 January 2012
This was my first time using crosshatching techniques. It took me a fair amount of time to revise and perfect this sketch, but I think it turned out well for my first attempt at crosshatching.

Egyptian Textile Pattern

This pattern was designed to be repeated throughout a textile. The theme was inspired by Egyptian design between 4500 BCE and 30 CE. Since ancient Egyptian design includes many natural tan colors and navy blues, the main color scheme within this textile is a split complementary triad; the primary color is orange and its complements are blue-violet and blue-green. The design has a large emphasis on oranges and blues, which are a complementary pair. The texture is primarily rough like the carved rocks in ancient Egypt. The main focus of the textile, however, is the Egyptian god Horus, which looks smooth. These differing textures provide contrast in the image, while the similar values between the columns and Horus create harmony. As seen in this textile, Egyptian design contains both straight and curved lines, and the god in the center shows curves. The hieroglyphics at the top of the design illustrate both of these types of line. I chose to incorporate hieroglyphics since so many ancient Egyptian walls were covered in them. The main background is an Egyptian textile design with altered color, and the center image is the Egyptian god Horus. The outside columns reflect a very common Egyptian architectural style, and I altered them to have more shading and a darker value.


I like the way I used half a column on each side of the textile so that they would match up when connected. I also like that I placed Horus in the center because many Egyptian wall carvings included a god or goddess in the center of their designs. I improved my Photoshop skills with this project, but struggled with making the pattern match up perfectly from square to square. I am pleased with the final product of this design, and think it encompasses a few important elements of ancient Egyptian design.

This image shows the grayscale view of the above textile. It emphasizes the value changes throughout the design, and shows a large focus on Horus and the columns.

This is the final view of the textile checkered three times across and three down. Though I like the design, if I were to do it again, I would make it look more like a classic textile and either exclude the columns from the design or incorporate them in a different way. Although I like the design, I don't think it looks much like a fabric.

Egyptian Geometric Pattern

For this design, I used images representing the core themes of ancient Egyptian design and manipulated them using various techniques in Photoshop. I used many different filters in addition to changing the brightness, contrast, and hues of the images. I created a split complementary color scheme using yellow-orange, violet, and blue. Once the images were edited, I made them into the geometric pattern pictured here. I like the color scheme I chose, and I think it reflects ancient Egyptian design. I also like the images I chose and various ways I edited them. However, if I were to create another pattern like this, I would make the image subjects even less discernible and more unique.