Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Bit of Speed Sketching for the Evening - Trial for a new Sketching tool

While most of the students and their families decorated their holiday cards, I started taking requests for quick sketching demos. My trusted Sakura Pigma Sensei 0.6 mm pen which is my usual first choice for event sketching turned out not to be up for the task on account of being rather dry. Thus, I ended up switching to a black Copic Sketch marker outfitted with a medium round nib. This was the first actual field test for this customized sketching tool that I put together mainly for sketching cartoon portraits. Its line is much thicker than 0.6 mm, and proved quite suitable for drawing bold strokes quickly and smoothly. It is certainly a good choice for keeping up the sketching speed though it is difficult to render small details with it. Its other advantage is that Copic markers are refillable, so carrying a bottle of spare ink would ensure continuous reliable service even when the ink supply runs out halfway during an extended event.
The first sketch request for the evening was for a picture of Strawberry Shortcake.
Good thing dragons were requested often since they are one of the subjects that I can draw quite quickly. Since my family name means "Dragon" in Chinese (notice the dragon character printed on the back of my coat in the last photo of this entry), I am rather fond of them.

Demonstrating how loosely stringing a few basic geometric shapes together can quickly convey the concept of a robot city that would fit in the Transformers universe.
Since mermaids always seem to be a popular subject with Elementary and Middle School students, 2 of the available bonus sketching sheets featured them.
I think this was the third mermaid cartoon portrait request for the evening, but I have to admit I lost track of the actual number of sketches I managed to produce on this evening.

Tinkerbell was another popular request.
Trying to explain the drawing and design process while sketching as many doodles as possible can be a challenge sometimes.
Also recall doing a Sponge Bob, Patrick, Spiderman, and Winnie the Pooh quick sketches. Bit surprised nobody asked for a Batman sketch.
Kept on drawing the students' requests until the very end of the Family Night event. I think most were pleased with their sketches though I was not able to undertake all of them in the time allowed. It was quite fun and looking forward to performing in similar venues in the future.

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