Presentation of a drawing or sketch

• A well presented drawing can make the eyes ignore some of its minor flaws.
• So before sketching you should plan the layout of the sheet.
• Keep in mind that brown or dark colored sheets make the sketches (especially pencil sketches) look extremely dull.
•  The font used in writing is also very important. So a little knowledge about calligraphy will definitely help to enhance the presentation.
• Formatting and maintaining the sheet is the key to a successful presentation. Make sure the sheets do not develop dog-ears(ends folded) Also take care while folding the sheets. Roll the sheets properly and make sure you use a butter-sheet or newspaper to cover your drawing.

Sketching Tips II - Scaling and proportion

Scaling and proportion complement each other. When you see a sketch in a book or magazine, you have to be able to conceptualize and imagine what scale will be suitable to your sheet.

Every line in the sketch should have some calculated proportion, and maintaining that proportion is important. For example, you cannot show a building or object far away in same size as an object that is closer to you.

After the sketch is completed it is important that any text to be added is also in proportion with the drawing. You cannot have a huge drawing and a very small text or vice versa.

Scaling and proportion is probably the 1st ingredient for a good presentation.

Sketching tips

As I've mentioned in earlier posts, sketching is something you become better at with practice. Your strokes and style only improve with effort and patience.

However, here are some things that I have learnt.

• Try not to smudge your drawings too much. The more you smudge your drawings, the less clear the drawings. That is where good dust-free erasers for pencil sketches and high quality ink erasers are invaluable. Also, when using ink pens, allow the ink on the paper to dry. Often this leads to mistakes that mess up the sketch.
• Make sure that you use the appropriate type of pencil or pen to create the sketch. Using the wrong pen or pencil can make your drawing illegible. Make sure the nibs are clean and pencils sharpened appropriately before use. This prevents costly mistakes that force you to redo the sketch.
• When creating pencil sketches, hold the pencil properly. What this means is that only the lead of the pencil should be in contact with the paper. If your hand or fingers rub against the paper continuously, your sketches will have a lot of smudge marks.
• If you have to create straight lines, draw the line gradually in small parts. This way you can correct any mistakes quickly.
• Be careful about the type of paper you choose to make a sketch. If you are learning the art of sketching, choose a paper that allows you to erase easily. Do not choose hand-made paper or other paper on which editing is difficult.
• Most importantly, do not sketch in haste. Take your time to draw. The more effort you put into creating a good sketch, the better it will turn out.

The above sketch is a good example of what not to do. The sketch above was one of my first efforts of creating a large sketch. I committed all the errors mentioned above. This resulted in the drawing being smudged and unclear.