OneWeek100people 2021: Day 2 and 3

March 10, 2021 | 18 Comments


Another two days of sketching people at my local cafe and a little bit of warmup beforehand (sketching from photos). My favourite sketch of the two days is this one of Anthony, the owner of the cafe. It was the last one of Day 2 when I was getting a little tired.


I like the other sketch I did of him too – when he was doing an extremely grumpy pose for me. I was laughing so much it was hard to concentrate on the sketch.

Both of these are very simple – just a few lines and a few strokes with my brush. This is what I want to achieve with my people sketches but it requires more anatomy study so that my simple lines more accurately capture the features and so that my washes relate more to the planes of the face.

Research is so critical when it comes to drawing moving people on location as you need to rely on your knowledge of the human body to fill in your sketch. You can’t just simply draw what you see as your subject is constantly moving.

I haven’t much time for research this week, but I think the main point of this challenge is to get me sketching people again and to motivate me to continue my study.

Here is a big dump of my pages from Day 2 and 3. All of these sketches are done in 2-3 minutes – approx. 1 min for drawing, approx. 1 min for painting and some observation time – so they are hit or miss… but always a lot of fun to do!

   

How are you going this week?

 

 

18 Comments

  • Enjoy seeing your sketches, as always, Liz. I’m going to follow your lead and study anatomy; my efforts show my 100People lines and washes could be more “to the point”. @bethodell303

  • Suzanne Spaid says:

    Love how quickly you can depict these individuals. Wonderful study.

  • Louise Cuff says:

    These look so effortless. So it’s encouraging to a beginner to hear at your level you still push yourself to research and get motivated. Just received 5-Minute Sketching: Architecture. Not only GREAT content, but probably the best, most helpful layout of any of the materials I’ve purchased. And I’ve purchased probably too many. 😉

    • Liz Steel says:

      Hi Louise – enjoy my book. Yes, lots of research over the years go into this… its a constant battle to refine the line so it is accurately describing the details of the features.

  • Ann Chalker says:

    These are wonderful, Liz. So much personality. Perhaps your research will lead to a SketchingNow class on how to add people to sketchbook pages. ;D

    • Liz Steel says:

      Thanks Ann – I already have videos in Edges Lesson 2 bonus section (dealing with faces in this style) and Watercolour On Location Lesson (dealing with my top tips for people – both individuals and adding them to scenes) So not a lot more to add to these existing videos at the moment. 🙂

  • Vickie Wilson says:

    The fore thought that has gone into each line and brushstroke is inspiring. Would you have any recommendations for study materials on anatomy that you would share?

    • Liz Steel says:

      Thanks Vickie, I have a lot of different books and refer to them all. So no few books specifically come to mind. Anatomy for artists is the topic to look form

  • Sabine Remick says:

    Love the people sketches you did. Seeing your post this morning made me want to sketch people for the first time. I used (a rather boring) zoom meeting, which turned out to be perfect for sketching faces 🙂 Just wanted to say thanks for the inspiration…

  • Ginia Rogers says:

    Thank you for sharing your people sketches. They are wonderful. Would you consider sharing any of your research sources? I would love to sketch faces in your loose and lively style. And I second the request for a class by you in adding people to sketches. Most books I have found start out above my skill level.

    • Liz Steel says:

      Thanks Ginia – I have a lot of different books and refer to them all. So no few books specifically come to mind. As for courses – I already have videos in Edges (Lesson 2 bonus) and Watercolour On Location Lesson 3. 🙂

  • Barbara Schleuning says:

    Love all the people sketches. We are still not ble to visit inperson coffee shops in Portland. Oregon. Soon it will be warm enough to sketch outside.

  • Tina Koyama says:

    I envy that you are able to sketch live for oneweek100people! I have done all the previous years out in public, so I’m very sad this year that I just don’t feel safe going where there are lots of people, even outdoors. I already do regular life drawing on Zoom, so that didn’t seem like a challenge, and I don’t like using photos. So I’m doing self-portraits from the mirror this year! Arghh, I regret it! 😉 I’m only up to 47 today. I’m spending 5-10 minutes each, which is way too long. I’m used to spending less than a minute each on figures walking by! We’ll see if I make it to a hundred.

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