Technique for Sketching Loose and Easy. Are You Making It Harder Than It Needs To Be?

[@serge8397]

Steve, this is an amazing video. Actually I had been looking everywhere including KZbin for any meaningful discussion of "loose" drawing. It turned out that your video is the first that actually started to talk about loose drawing and to show "how to". Many authors just use that term "loose" but never say anything concrete and instructive. So, I think you have a unique offering on the web on this very interesting subject! The major difficulty for me is a subtle difference between "loose" and "sloppy" and how to achieve the first and to avoid the second. I definitely hope that you will continue discussion of this topic (and yes, I watched a couple of very interesting videos that you posted after this one). My only regret was about what you called "making us suffer" by watching real time recording and speeding up your recording. In my view, watching natural hand/pen movements, that is in real time, provides a lot of subconscious information and helps us in acquiring your style. Slowing down playback to 0.75x or 0.5x unfortunately does not make the movements natural. So if you find a way to make recordings without timelapses (at least sometimes!), I would be happy "to suffer" and to focus on every second of it. And I am sure that many of your other subscribers will also appreciate it. Thank you very much for this and subsequent lessons!

[@taylorvanbuskirk8040]

What I have to fight is the compulsion to be "accurate." Loosening up is hard for me.

[@aishaw132]

That's a great idea for landscape and scenes... Using gogglemaps. Thanks.

[@sanderooij]

I love your style! I love your tip: Loose but not sloppy! Thank you!

[@brantbliss6633]

I’m glad to see you made a new video I enjoyed it

[@jamesgsr8587]

Great sketch, I’ll be looking for the coloring vid!

[@charleencollins1130]

That was nice...I too am in AZ...in the middle of Coconino pletau...like the drawing...freeing...

[@daleshawn1910]

Loved this. Looking forward to seeing it finished.

[@discoverer7175]

Great sketching. Please do it in color in your next video!

[@soladeogloriayahudit]

Thank you. This was very helpful. Great to know what’s possible with Google Maps, regarding subjects. You also spoke of capturing the Atmosphere which opened my Awareness too. Would like to see what you’d do with color. 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

[@karenjohnson6487]

Love the sketch and would enjoy seeing you add color. I was so happy when this video popped up. Thank you.

[@SteveAtkinsonFineArt]

Hi Karen, it's good to hear from you too. I just filmed the coloring of the sketch and will be posting it in a week or so.

[@karenjohnson6487]

@@SteveAtkinsonFineArt oh good. Looking forward to it.

[@davidhuth5659]

Nicely done Steve! I'd love to see how you color this.

[@susanw6203]

I love your work and your ability to diversify! Love to see the color version too. Thank you!

[@SteveAtkinsonFineArt]

Hiya Susan, thank you for the compliment. It's much appreciated! Color version is on the way...

[@SereneStudio]

Relaxing to watch. Thank you!

[@farmerfox3332]

Good to see you back👍🏼

[@ArtbyJoshuaBradley]

Thanks for making encouraging art videos. They are super helpful. I haven't been a urban sketcher but may just give it a try.

[@manostroulinos1726]

Hi Steve, thanks very much for this, really enjoyed it. Yes please, if you could do a follow up with colouring, that would be great. Many thanks!

[@charmcrumrine8750]

Loved this. Thank you

[@deborahdanhauer8525]

Thank you!🐝❤️🤗

[@daniellukensow4095]

Nicely done.

[@fredbrach9091]

Thanks for sharing

[@richardsong8]

appreciation... thanks!

[@susanreinersuedahl]

Thanks Steve. Really enjoyed this! I'm not an urban sketcher. I love your American West but really enjoyed this. I especially enjoyed the low volume, soft music as it didn't interfere with me being able to listen to your words. I fine alot of videos have the background music so loud that I can't hear the instructor. Thanks again.

[@judelistens510]

Loved this!

[@bobgoodnoe4583]

Well done, sir. 👍

[@unicorn6187]

very beautiful 👍 would like to see more such loose sketching!

[@sweethomes674]

Excellent 😊

[@rodrigocasarez1810]

Great drawing as always thanks for sharing your supplies and approach. Finish in color it’ll be cool watching you noodle away at the textures .

[@AbiNomac]

I really like this. Hope to see more like it.

[@brianpite0893]

Great lesson Steve. I haven't used a fountain pen since Catholic school. I'm going to have to try it again. Thanks

[@skerrie1]

Wow! Thank you so much for doing this! I love the way that you teach how to be loose and not a slave to the pencil lines when going over it with pen and ink. Keep going and show us how you finish it in color! 👍

[@SteveAtkinsonFineArt]

Thanks Merrie, here's a link to that color video! kzbin.info/www/bejne/jZPCmKOogtuGrc0 Enjoy!

[@valeriebreazeale2306]

Enjoyed your technique. Thanks for all the info.

[@jessjoseph]

This is so fun & the kind of sketching that I'm drawn to. Love to try this loose method. Thank you for taking us through how you do it.

[@fuzzydragons]

love your sketch line work 😀

[@judelistens510]

Would like to see the color version too.

[@mailie6403]

I love this. I've just asked a friend if I can do a painting of a photo she posted, similar to your sketch, but after watching this video I'm inspired to do a loose sketch in pencil and ink. Thank you for very helpful videos.

[@rhonda1631]

Thank you for doing another urban sketching video. I'm really interested in getting into it but seem to be a tad intimidated, hoping to overcome it though! Would love to see more, I will be going back through your video's to see other wonderful drawings. Thank you again

[@SteveAtkinsonFineArt]

Thanks for watching Jinx. Don't be intimidated at all! It's really just a matter of drawing mileage. The more you do it, the better you will get, promise. Draw on!

[@JaredCullum]

Great video, Steve! I've been trying to do more small ink sketches on location especially focused on cars and figures so that my short-hand in paintings are a little sharper. :) enjoyed the video and hope you've been well!

[@SteveAtkinsonFineArt]

I hear you Jared, me too. We're never done working on our skill level, are we? Thanks for watching and I really enjoyed your new video too. We uploaded at almost the same time didn't we?

[@graffiti2006]

Nice sketch. Hope you color it! I'm in S.E. Arizona. I've tried pen/ink/watercolor sketching en plein air, when it's not too hot or buggy. The last pen I was into was the Sailor Fude De Mannen which allows great line width variation. Thanks

[@SteveAtkinsonFineArt]

If you're down there, then you do have to be careful about when you go out to paint! I'm here in Prescott at 5,000 feet, so that helps! I do have and use the Sailor Fude de Mannen and it's fude nib. I love it too and may one day do a video with it, but thought it might not be the right one to have folks start with 😳. Excellent comment! Thanks for watching John...draw on!

[@shellycristiani5339]

If would be great if you could paint this, Steve !! Also, do you ever have painting workshops? We live in Green Valley arizona so we're not too far from you. Thank you so much for your beautiful work and your willingness to share your knowledge. Best regards, Shelly Cristiani

[@SteveAtkinsonFineArt]

Hi Shelly, thanks for the compliment, it's much appreciated! I usually teach one workshop a year through the Phippen Museum. It's a two-day on-location sketching workshop where I take you to some of my favorite locations in the Prescott high desert country and we sketch. Sometimes I'll take everyone downtown to sketch the courthouse or Whiskey row. Usually it's in the Spring or Fall. If you want to get on my notification list, email me and I'll add you: [e-mail] Draw on!!

[@stanwellback]

Very nice sketch! I actually prefer the view that you’ve created in your sketch to the view in the original photo. Your manipulation of the various elements’ size (particularly the enlargement of the stairs) has enhanced the surroundings. Well done! 👍🏻

[@johncollado1151]

Hi Steve.... another great piece. Guess you are like me, a cave dweller!

[@sukim2258]

Hello, I’ve been watching on TV, I’m interesting $6.99 for 3 months plans. Is that plans still possible for me? If so, I like to resister the class. Please let me know, I love your sketches, beautiful colors... thanks

[@ruthbosveld449]

A terrific suggestion for source material, but I'm wondering how that goes for copyright and selling your work?

[@SteveAtkinsonFineArt]

Yep, I should have mentioned this during the video, but will when I do the color version. If you are using Google maps and you're not using a photo that you'll find on the maps marked with a blue circle (like I did for this sketch), you will be fine. But if, like me, you decided to use someone's photo that they uploaded for the world to enjoy, just to be safe... don't sell your drawing! Because someone halfway around the world could sue you and take you to court to recover the damages of a percentage of the $20 bucks you made from selling your little drawing... ahem. Seriously, don't do it! =0)

[@ruthbosveld449]

@@SteveAtkinsonFineArt Thank you!

[@jessjoseph]

Hi Steve, can you please provide the link for your photo reference source again? It seems to be the wrong link...

[@SteveAtkinsonFineArt]

Hi Jess, the link gets you close but is meant for you to be able to move around to find your own angle and view. But here is a link to the closest view I could find. You may need to click and drag your mouse to look around to find the view that's similar to the one I used. Here you go: www.google.com/maps/@44.5992217,2.3970583,3a,75y,339.81h,90t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipMfbiA2xgbbyvP4v4oIcKqGw1mJMyO1qg3rDxkB!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipMfbiA2xgbbyvP4v4oIcKqGw1mJMyO1qg3rDxkB%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi0-ya183.83012-ro0-fo100!7i8704!8i4352?hl=en

[@cholosting1982]

pero tu canal lo sigo exitos!!!( note reseintas por lo de la L carnitina )

[@SteveAtkinsonFineArt]

¡Gracias!

[@jeanneprice6736]

Yes, I want to see you use watercolors here...and how loose you are with them.

[@FrankMakesMovies]

Color, please.

[@cholosting1982]

la lcarnitina importante para el organismo , de donde viene? tu eleccion de alimentacion es validad , pero no satanises lo otro.

[@wakeupuk3860]

Really like your drawings but having a background of technical illustration when leaving school and learnt about perspective i.e HL and VPs, later a teacher, trainer and producer of training videos, now retired about 3 years of WC and Oil painting plus a good amount of art tuition, I have to say the following. Sadly as you and so many other ready good artists and saw as with many long term teachers is an inherent unknown arrogance in that what is so completely obvious to them is the total inability to not explain the 'whole picture' to their student i.e. what is so obvious to you is not the student. A case in point, as I find a lot with artists teaching on here, is that the standard skill of using a soft pencil with a light touch is that when filmed it is virtually invisible to see even though is the most important part, as it serves as the fundamental layout for the drawing. You went straight into the actual drawing, with no explaining , giving tips, reasons, techniques i.e. HL, VPs , linear and atmosphere perspective, layering space, arm distance i.e. pencil choking, back/middle/foreground etc. You also, as so often happens by artists intending to teach on KZbin is after giving an introduction which is fine, the next second you are at a very fast pace whipping over the page.

[@SteveAtkinsonFineArt]

Hi WUUK, I appreciate your well thought out comment! I understand your critique and agree that perspective needs to be taught to beginning artists. What you categorize as "arrogance" is simply a reality of keeping these videos short since a quick look at my analytics reveals that almost all viewers watch for only 5 minutes to any of my videos. This includes the ones that are 1/2 hour or longer. So, I can't take the time to fully explain something as complicated as perspective in a video like this. But, I do love the idea of doing a perspective video for all those who are interested. One point, two point, three point... and horizon line. The second thing you are critical of is my use of time-lapse. You may not know this, but I am a full-time fine artist and have the reality of deadlines for paintings for my shows and galleries. I do these videos to help artists by explaining what I'm doing and why I do it. I don't have the time to do hour-long videos with voiceovers the whole time. These take an extraordinary amount of time, so I do the best I can, but I don't charge anyone anything for these videos, i do them because I enjoy helping as I can. I suggest that if you aren't finding artists who meet your standards, you make and upload your own videos. You sound like you are more that qualified and I have no doubt you'll find great success.

[@wakeupuk3860]

@@SteveAtkinsonFineArt Hi Steve, firstly thank you for the taking the time to write a very fair and reasonable reply, I rarely ever come across such a courtesy on here. As an ex teacher and my involvement in producing training materials was for VHS before the use of KZbin, your point about short attention spans i.e. 5 min I accept is a very fair point. Steve I can assure you, I can tell you are a full-time fine artist. I expect you can appreciate I can be very critical, thus I would put in a totally different league to most of the so-called artists on here. Not one for blowing smoke up people arses but with a doubt your work is going to be around for centuries. A year ago, I decided to enrol for a 2-year Diploma in Art at my local college and went a long for an interview, taking some of my work. I simply could not believe how bad the examples of students paintings were. I do like abstract and I am moving to concentrating on semi-abstract landscaping but what I saw was on par with finger painting that kids would do and bits of things glued onto existing poster, suffice to say I did not enrol. Apart from incredible artistic skills, your paintings so much capture a road journey with my son from Denver to LA, passing through Monument Valley where you capture the feel of the west. I also do appreciate and can see in your KZbin's, unlike so many KZbin wannabees artists who have absolutely no idea how to teach but do so for their own vanity - that you have the teacher in you. For 16 years I was obsessed getting t tough kids their Maths GCSE so as I did, but later in life the advantage of getting an education. I recognize you want people to get the buzz and enjoy the thrill of creating art. I also accept the time taken to make quality KZbins as you do but we both know and I have no problem that doing so does drive traffic to your website to promote and sell your paintings. As stated, coming from industry before teaching and then later promoting my self as private tutor, no problem in doing both. I did laugh and don't blame you at your somewhat sarcastic comment of "If you can do better than do so". There is absolutely no way would I even dare to put my work on the internet (albeit I do say is better than some I find). Done about 300 WC and Oil paintings mainly copies or KZbin tutorials but it was only last month I did one that I felt was not bad and actually signed it. Always have set my self high standards thanks to a very critical father and the four professions I chose, all required very high expectations. In the few years I have left, I don't just want to draw or paint, I want to create at least one painting that gives people the same 'feeling' , mood emotion, response or even life changing I felt when I first looked at Nighthawks by Edward Hopper.

[@SteveAtkinsonFineArt]

@@wakeupuk3860 I get the feeling we could sit down and have a pint or two and really enjoy the company and conversation! Cheers WUUK, and I wish you the very best in your Nighthawks quest!

[@wakeupuk3860]

@@SteveAtkinsonFineArt Ditto

[@nowirehangers2815]

Best place to learn perspective then please?