Instructor: James Richards
Workshop description
This workshop builds on many of
the key concepts of my approach to urban sketching, but with an emphasis on people and crowds that animate great
urban spaces. The most frequent
questions I receive from workshop participants involve incorporating people
into their sketches in a believable way.
Integrating people into your sketches can take a static scene of a
building, plaza or park and bring it to life with the movement, energy and
exuberance of life in the city. In this
workshop you will learn the foundational techniques that demystify drawing
figures in context, as well as cool tricks I’ve learned over decades of
incorporating people into bustling city scenes.
By workshop’s end you will be incorporating lively and convincing
figures and crowds into your sketches to give them new life and energy.
Workshop Schedule
Travel to workshop site
First hour: Focusing on people/crowds only
Introductory
remarks/key concepts/demonstration (20 minutes)
Speed
exercise: Draw a crowd in 5 minutes
Sketchbook
throwdown, review and comment
Second hour: The crowd in context
Demonstration: How to start, people first, entourage next,
buildings as backdrop (20 minutes)
30-minute
sketch exercise
Sketchbook
throwdown, review and comment
Third hour: Bringing the scene to life
Demonstration: adding strategic use of darks, color, notes
(15 minutes)
30-minute
exercise to complete their scene
Sketchbook
throwdown, review and comment
Group
photo
Return from workshop site
Learning goals
- Understanding key human proportions: the basics and exceptions
- Using people to create an illusion of depth
- Foreground,
middle and background and corresponding levels of detail - Eye-level
issues: Artist standing, artist sitting, people on slopes and steps - Diminishing
size - Overlapping
and grouping - Capturing movement: gesture, walking
- When and how to incorporate features and details
on figures - How to begin a city scene incorporating lots of
people - Fleshing out the surrounding scene
- Using
buildings as backdrop - Adding
signs, furnishings and trees - Strategic use of darks and color for maximum
effect
Supplies
Please bring:
- Watercolor
sketchbook–size per personal preference - Sketching
pencils and waterproof ink pens (technical or fountain pens) - Travel
watercolor set - Waterbrushes
or traditional brushes, one large flat, one medium round - Small rag
- Small leak-proof
plastic container of water - Small
lightweight folding stool (optional)