Drawing and Sketching - Resources for Artists

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Learning How to Draw and Sketch - on the Internet

Internet resources providing information, guidance and/or support for developing your drawing skills

MAKING A MARK: Learn How to Sketch - advice and information by Katherine Tyrrell: This page on my website provides information and advice about sketching. This includes FREE downloadable files about starting to sketch and links to blog posts about sketching toolkits and materials. It covers:

TIPS AND TECHNIQUES

1. What is a sketch?
2. Sketching for Real - a class with assignments
3. Sketching Plein Air /Travels with a Sketchbook
4. How to sketch people and interior landscapes
5. From sketch to final drawing - a slideshow of a work in progress
6. Starting to Sketch with Coloured Pencils
7. How to sketch animals

TOOLKITS, BOOKS AND REVIEWS

1. Sketching toolkits - advice and information
2. Sketching Toolkit - product reviews
3. Recommended books about sketching

SKETCHING COMMUNITIES

Please note - material is for personal use only - no licence is granted for commercial use.
Sketching for Real - an online class in learning how to sketch: My very successful online drawing class all about learning how to sketch - in stages

Introduction: why do the class; what is a sketch; why sketch; outline of the assignments
Assignment 1: So you want to learn how to sketch.......
Assignment 2: Sketching the Familiar - from life and outside
Assignment 3: Getting out of Your Comfort Zone - Sketching in Public
Making a Mark: 10 Tips for How to Sketch People: This blog post is about 10 tips on how to sketch people - or at least my understanding of how I sketch people.
Wet Canvas - the Drawing Classroom Sub-Forum: a website forum which offers Drawing 101 (basic) and Drawing 102 (intermediate) lessons - covering various media and drawing subjects.
About.com Drawsketch - Drawing and Sketching Lessons and Tutorials: drawing - original drawing lessons, how to draw tutorials, drawing gallery and resources. Regularly updated drawing lessons, reviews. Learn to draw with graphite pencil, colored pencil, charcoal, and pen and ink.
Negative Drawing - a lesson from Mike Sibley: Negative Drawing is a conscious method of working that isolates and protects areas of your paper. See Mike Sibley demonstrate the basics and varieties of approaches to negative drawing and try them for yourself in Drawing 102 Class 7 in the Drawing Classroom on Wet Canvas.
Drawing Tips - Top 10 Mistakes Beginners Make: Drawing Tips - Top 10 Mistakes Beginners Make - find out the common mistakes beginners make when they learn to draw, and how to fix them.
Drawing development in children: Two perspectives on drawing development in children of different age groups set side by side
Drawing with Brush and Ink - by Russ Stutler: An article about to achieve variety in the weight of line when drawing and sketching
Sketching With a Moleskine - by Russ Stutler: Russ very helpfully illustrates what happens when you use watercolour in a Moleskine
Depicting Form - Terry Miura Studio Bulletin Board: Drawing - Depicting Form with edges: cast shadows and form shadows
MAKING A MARK Starting to Sketch with Coloured Pencils by Katherine Tyrrell: Starting to Sketch with Coloured Pencils by Katherine Tyrrell. This article looks at some of the issues which sketching with coloured pencils can help you address and basics you need to think about when you're starting to sketch.
Scribd - links to Andrew Loomis art instruction books online: Scribd is a way to easily put your documents online.
Andrew Loomis wrote some of the best art instruction books ever, however as you may know, they are no longer in print and nearly impossible to find.
Learning to draw again: A thought-provoking tale about what happens when you become good at drawing and the need to disable drawing to become good at other artistic skills

The Best Books about Drawing and Sketching

PLUS new books about drawing

Drawing - Resource Links

A variety of links to sites concerned with promoting drawing and sketching - and knowledge about how to draw

NEW!!! Making a Mark: Life drawing class - an introduction: It was suggested to me that maybe more people would try a life drawing class if they knew what to expect. So I developed a draft of a guide to life drawing and life classes. I've also decided to try something new. The complete guide has been compiled in pdf format and is available to download from my website publications page.
The Drawing Network: A web site providing information for those interested in drawing research. It presents information on people who have become associated with the Network; recent drawing projects; pointers to institutions engaged in drawing research and links to organisations involved in the promotion of drawing.
New Directions for the Drawing Campaign: My blog post about how the Drawing Campaign is changing
Drawing Power - the campaign for Drawing: The UK campaign to get everybody drawing
Playing with the Provisional: My review of a lecture on the connection between drawing and creativity by Professor Deanna Petherbridge, formerly Professor of Drawing at the Royal College of Art
The nature of serial process: how using themes and repetition in drawing and sketching enables insight, creates learning and improves drawing
Drawing / Sketching on About.com: The About.com website devoted to drawing and sketching
Drawing Resources and Tutorials for Artists and Illustrators: Drawing Resources: Tips, Tutorials, and Techniques for Artists and Illustrators
Studio Tips by Mike Sibley: Pencil Drawing hints, tips, tutorials and techniques - from the leading realist UK artist working in graphite - Mike Sibley
The Drawing Board for Illustrators: Information and resources for illustrators
Drawing: Art Studio Chalkboard: information on drawing linear perspective, atmospheric perspective, values and compositional models
Se.Be.Draw.'s blog of book reviews on the process of drawing: What is the natural order of progression for learning how to draw and paint well? In what order do you put your marks on paper? Over the past few weeks, the author of Se.Be.Draw. has been scanning books on drawing for answers and writing a short review about each book. You can find the results of her investigation in this link
everydaymatters - resource centre: Danny Gregory has started developing a resource centre for 'everyday matters' as a collborative work-in-progress using wiki - check it out!
American Artist: / Drawing: Measuring Facial Features: November 13, 2006: an extract from Measuring Facial Features by Dan Gheno
American Artist - Articles about Drawing: Drawing critiques and reviews by American Artist magazine

BOOKS: "How to draw" - Two books I recommend

Just beginning to learn how to draw or looking to improve basic drawing skills - read on..........

When I'm out sketching, I'm often asked to recommend a book to people who want to learn how to draw and sketch. I always recommend one or both of these two books as they're both excellent in terms of what they cover and the approach they use for people learning a new skill or seeking to improve their drawing.

Read my book reviews - click the links below

The Drawing and Sketching Toolkit

Ever wondered what people use for drawing and sketching?

Do you want to know what I use for drawing and sketching? You can find out here PLUS I've also listed the links to sites where other people share information about their basic toolkit for drawing and sketching. Let me know if you think you have a good link for this section.

Pastels and Pencils - Art Materials & Other Resources: A summary of information about the art materials I use and other resources for artists using pastels and pencils
Observations on the waterbrush: Russ Stutler discusses different brands of waterbrush.
What's your favourite make of sketchbook: Artists on Wet Canvas display and discuss their favourite make of sketchbook in this thread
My travel sketching toolkit: An overview of my sketching toolkit for sketching abroad
A portable watercolour sketching kit: A watercolour coloured pencil sketching kit
The Pencil Pages: The most comprehensive website about pencils
Types of Drawing Papers/Surfaces: An article by Murray Chowlosky on different types of paper and other supports for drawing with comments about what sort of media can be used on different types of support
Clairefontaine - Dossiers de produits Beaux-Arts - Inks: How to choose the right paper for using ink in your drawings
A4 paper format / International standard paper sizes: Explains standard paper sizes like ISO A4 that are today widely used all over the world.
Cheating? How to Make a Perfect Work of Art - Victoria and Albert Museum: If artists use optical aids or computers in their art does it compromise their work? Are they in some way cheating? Controversy often surrounds discussions about the use of artistic aids. Yet artists have always used techniques and devices to push out the boundaries of what they can achieve or to make their work easier. This web feature explores some of the tools and 'tricks of the trade' used by artists from 1400 up to the present day and considers how and why these devices were used.
Making a Mark: Advice on Sketching - tips, techniques and toolkits: I've reviewed and updated the page on my website, Pastels and Pencils, which provides Advice about Sketching.

Observations on drawing

you can always continue to learn more about drawing!

Hokusai - Morning Glories in Flower and Buds

I drew some pictures which I thought fairly good when I was fifty, but really nothing I did before the age of seventy was of any value at all.

At seventy-three I have at last caught every aspect of nature- birds, fish, animals, insects, trees, grasses, all.

When I am eighty I shall have developed still further, and will really master the secrets of art at ninety.

When I reach one hundred my art will be truly sublime, and my final goal will be attained around the age of one hundred and ten, when every line and dot I draw will be imbued with life.

Hokusai (I780-I849)
who has influenced very many artists

Image: Morning Glories in Flowers and Buds by Katsushika Hokusai (Brooklyn Museum)

BOOKS: How to draw - advanced students

More advanced books from Amazon

You've worked your way through basic drawing books and now feel ready to take the next step - these books will stimulate your drawing and I recommend them.

The Big Drawing Book Review

...takes place during Big Draw month - October 2007

In October 2007, I organized a project which generated a number of reviews of drawing books by people who draw. Read more about it below. The emphasis was mostly on fine art drawing, sketching and creativity (ie NOT comic books and manga - as those are both a very specialised area)

Making a Mark: The Big Drawing Book Review: An overview of the Big Drawing Book Review
Making a Mark: The Drawing Bible: I've chosen "The Drawing Bible"for my first Big Drawing Book Review because it's a really useful basic guide to drawing for those who'd like to achieve a more painterly effect in their drawings.

The Drawing Bible is full of information in relation to drawing materials, techniques and treatments of different subject matter which is put across in a bite-sized and succinct way. In other words it's both well written - by Marylin Scott - and well edited. Plus it includes some excellent examples of drawings by well known artists.
Making a Mark: The Pen and Ink Book: I am particularly fond of working in pen and ink as anybody who has reviewed drawings on my website will know. The Pen and Ink book by Jos. A Smith (published by Watson Guptill) is certainly one of the things that stimulated my interest.
Making a Mark: The Drawing Book - into the vivid heart of drawing: I've attended two lectures on drawing by Dr. Sarah Simblet in the last 10 weeks. She is an excellent lecturer as well as a practising artist - very knowledgeable and thoughtful with a very bright and energetic approach to providing an insight into the language of drawing.

Her style is reflected in her book The Drawing Book which is described as 'an innovative, practical approach to drawing the world around you'. It is published by Dorling Kindersley (2005) who always seem to produce marvellous looking books and this one is no exception.
Making a Mark: Drawing from Life - The Journal as Art: Jennifer New's book about drawing - Drawing from Life - the Journal as Art - is very unusual book about 'drawing'. It's not a 'how to' instruction book, nor is it an art history tome. What it does instead is look at the multi-faceted way in which people use images in journals
Making a Mark: So you want to learn how to draw.......: Two books I always recommend to people wanting to learn how to draw - plus a review of Betty Edwards' book Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain.

In my opinion, it's an excellent book for adults who haven't picked up a pencil to have a go at drawing in years. It's also very helpful for self-improvers who have already started to draw again but are finding they continue to have problems in drawing the object they see in front of them.
Making a Mark: Keys to Drawing: "Keys to Drawing" by Bert Dodson is one of the first drawing books that I bought after I got back to doing art after a break of over 15 years. It opened my eyes, stimulated my enthusiasm for drawing again and provided me with some really excellent guidelines about what to think about when drawing.
Making a Mark: Experimental Drawing: This book was first published in 1980 (just prior to his retirement as Professor of Art at New York University) with a paperback edition published in 1992. Since publication, it has been used as a standard text in colleges and universities across the USA. Indeed one of the people commenting on Amazon says there are few books about drawing available which are suitable for use with university level students but that she recognised some of the exercises in this book as ones she herself did in college. Despite its age it's still in print and available via Amazon.

Drawing Education

Websites associated with universities, colleges and schools providing an education in the art of drawing

The Prince's Drawing School: This is an educational charity set up by the Prince's Trust and is dedicated to drawing. The faculty of over 35 practising artists work on the premise that drawing is a living, evolving language. The well-lit studios and gallery are in a converted warehouse in Shoreditch, the heart of London's East End creative community.
New English School of Drawing: The New English School of Drawing was started some years ago by a group of young artists. It promotes the practice and understanding of painting and receives sponsorship and patronage. The Drawing School runs many workshops and courses and collaborates with museums, institutions, schools and galleries.
A Drawing Glossary: This is a link a comprehensive Drawing Glossary written by Edward Saywell, Lynn and Philip A. Straus Drawing Intern, 1996-97 and included in the website of the Fogg Art Museum, part of Harvard University Art Museums. It provides definitions and explanations of a number of words used to describe drawings and the media used to produce drawings.
The Ruskin School of Drawing & Fine Art - The University of Oxford: The Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art, University of Oxford.
Drawing Power: The UK campaign to get everybody drawing
The Art Students League of New York | 215 West 57th Street, New York: Established by artists for artists, and continuing to hold to its founding principles, the League is an atelier school in which the language of art is taught and developed through immersion in the practices of drawing, painting, sculpture, printmaking and assemblage. With an emphasis on mastering skills and visual thinking, students engage in the process of making art.
The Drawing Center | New York, NY: The Drawing Center has been a unique and dynamic part of New York City's cultural life since 1977. The only not-for-profit institution in the country to focus on the exhibition of drawings, it was established to demonstrate the significance and diversity of drawings throughout history, to juxtapose work by master figures with work by emerging and under-recognized artists, and to stimulate public dialogue on issues of art and culture.

Called "one of the city's most highly respected small art museums" by The New York Times, The Drawing Center has become the country's preeminent venue for important contemporary and historical drawing exhibitions, attracting more than 55,000 visitors annually from the local area, across the country, and around the world
New York Studio School of Drawing Painting and Sculpture: Exploring drawing, painting, sculpture and art history in depth.
The Ashmolean Museum - Ruskin - The Elements of Drawing: The Elements of Drawing The Elements of Drawing is a searchable and browsable online version of the teaching collection and catalogues assembled by John Ruskin for his Oxford drawing schools

Terms and Conditions: Your use of the Elements of Drawing website is governed by the following Terms and Conditions.......
Making a Mark: Life drawing in the Royal Academy Schools Life Room: On Saturday afternoon, I did a life drawing workshop in the Life Room at the Royal Academy Schools. To be honest I really did it to be able to see this famous Life Drawing Room and to sit on the benches sat on by very many famous British artists - such as Turner and Constable - who studied at the Royal Academy Schools.

Drawing Lectures

These are blog posts about the content of lectures I've attended about drawing.

The first two from a lecture series concerning an Enquiry into Drawing and delivered by Deanna Petherbridge, the Arnolfini Professor of Drawing at the University of the West of England, Bristol who was previously Professor of Drawing at the Royal College of Art.

The third is a lecture given by Michael Archer, Head of School at the Ruskin School of Fine Art at Oxford University on The Draw of Drawing. This was the second in the Diversity of Drawing series of lectures at the National Gallery.

Making a Mark: Playing with the Provisional: This concerns the nature of drawing on a provisional basis as part of the process of creativity and developing a design
Making a Mark: Crassness and Cruelty: Some odd comments and conclusions from this lecture which gave me pause for thought
Making a Mark: Comments on The Draw of Drawing: An interesting lecture which erred on the side of the conceptual and a different perspective on the act of drawing - including images which might not be considered drawing by some
Making a Mark: A 'Day to Draw' at the National Gallery: Observations by Gerald Scarfe on his approach to drawing and the process of drawing

The Drawing Challenge

Blog posts and websites that highlight a drawing challenge

paintings prints and stuff: sketching simple subjects - paintbrushes: "Your task grasshopper, should you wish to take it, is to sketch your paintbrushes."

Vivien Blackburn often gets the total beginners in my classes to sketch paintbrushes. They can be put right next the drawing area so it's easier to do the hand-eye coordination bit and build observational skills. Gaining confidence in achieving the shape and texture of the brushes - making the hair look like hair and the metal look shiny and reflective etc is excellent practice. (See examples in this blog post)
paintings prints and stuff: my day - cartoon strip: Vivien Blackburn makes her day into a comic strip

I went to an artists talk by illustrator Liz Minichiello. After the talk about her work she gave out A2 sheets of paper with rectangles printed and asked us if we would do sketches of our day, with detail and tone, and email/post them to her. 12 rectangles, each about 4 x 2.5 ins. The brief was to do this from memory rather than observation.
Leave a link on Vivien's blog if you have a go at this exercise.

Sight Size Drawing

The Sight Size Method is a method of constructing realistic drawings with great accuracy that has been used to draw and teach drawing for centuries. It is a method by which anyone with any amount of drawing experience can set up and execute a realistic drawing.

It's associated with classical drawing. The articles which follow describe the method

Check the Charles Sovek link for a shorthand and more accessible version

Ben Rathbone: The Sight-Size Method by Ben Rathbone
I put up this page in 2001 in basic form, expanded the text in 2003, and I've recently revised it again. It gets a steady stream of traffic and seems to help people. I hope you find it useful. -B.R.
American Artist: The Benefits of Sight-Size Drawing: McGuire and others who teach the sight-size method carefully prescribe the way subjects are set up to be drawn and the surface on which the drawings are made.
American Artist: Tim McGuire: Sight-Size Demonstration: View a sight size demonstration by Tim McGuire
Learn to See - Bargue Drawings Copying Technique: Explains the sight size technique for copying Barque Drawings
Charles Sovek, Artist and Author | Lessons from the Easel - The Basics: Line - Sight Size Drawing: Lessons from the Easel THE BASICS: LINE
#3. Sight Size Drawing
Copyright 2003 - All Rights Reserved - Charles Sovek

This is a much more basic and more accessible explanation of sight-size drawing.
Ludlow Art Society - INFORMATION SHEET 2 : On Drawing Sight Size.: INFORMATION SHEET 2 : On Drawing Sight Size.
Applying sight size to a drawing is a good way of disciplining the eye. Acquiring a 'good eye' enables you to assess shape and proportion almost instinctively which is of great value to a painter. Do not become a slave to the method though or your drawing may become tight but apply sight size checks from time to time to make sure your eye is performing well.

BOOKS: Drawing and Sketching

Books from Amazon - more of my recommendations

Drawing and sketching - Illustrated Blogs and websites

Illustrated Blogs which I often read - in alphabetical order

Gurney Journey: This daily weblog by James Gurney is for illustrators, comic artists, plein-air painters, sketchers, animators, art students, and writers. You'll find practical studio tips, insights into the making of the Dinotopia books, and first-hand reports from art schools and museums. Plus, for you lateral thinkers and pop-culture trekkers, a few bizarre rabbit trails.
lines and colors :: a blog about drawing, painting, illustration, comics, concept art and other visual arts: A blog about drawing, painting, illustration, comics, webcomics, cartoons, concept art and other visual arts.
Learning Daily: Cindy Woods' unique perspective on life
(Cindy died in November 2008 but her blog lives on)
Drawn! The Illustration and Cartooning Blog: Drawn! The Illustration and Cartooning Blog
Drawn! is a multi-author blog devoted to illustration, art, cartooning and drawing. Its purpose is to inspire creativity by sharing links and resources.

Albert Einstein said, "The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources," but what the hell did he know anyway?

The links and posts on Drawn! are written by a small group of professional illustrators, designers, and cartoonists.
Urban Sketchers: Urban Sketchers is a network of artists around the world who draw the cities where they live and travel to. We have this blog, which is by invitation, a Flickr group, where anyone can share their location drawings, and a Google group to stay connected and foster discussion. USk was started on Flickr by Seattle journalist and illustrator Gabi Campanario in November of 2007. The blog was launched in November of 2008.
EveryDayMatters Bloggers Blog: EveryDayMatters Bloggers Blog: Recent blog postings from members of the Everyday Matters Yahoo! Group
Laurelines: Laura has a new theme for her drawing and sketching each month - and a few sidelines
Crackskullbob: Sparky Donatello draws self-portraits, Starbucks, Norfolk Virginia and off the wall
andrea joseph's sketchblog: Andrea does absolutely amazing drawings.
Vivien Blackburn Sketchbooks - Main Page: Vivien Blackburn's sketchbooks - Vivien has a complete website dedicated to her sketchbooks; she uses a range of media to fill them
Sketchbooks - a photoset on Flickr: Mattias Adolfsson's pile of fantasy sketchbooks
Posemaniacs.com: Posemaniacs
Pose Maniacs supports all artists, including art students and people who study illustrations and mangas on your own. This blog is for uploading variety of poses for nude sketching, and introduces other FLASH training tools for drawing.
Posemaniacs.com: Posemaniacs
Pose Maniacs supports all artists, including art students and people who study illustrations and mangas on your own. This blog is for uploading variety of poses for nude sketching, and introduces other FLASH training tools for drawing.

Drawing and Sketching: Internet Forums

Internet Forums providing information and cameraderie for people wanting to drawn and sketch and improve their skills

The Sketching Forum: A forum dedicated to sketching started by Russ Stutler.
The International Sketchcrawl Forum: There have been 15 International Sketchcrawls - this is the forum in which plans are made and results are posted.
The Drawing Club on Yahoo Groups: This is the Yahoo Group which goes with the collaborative Blog of the same name.
Wet Canvas: Drawing and Sketching - main forum: a forum to discuss drawing and sketching - and to display and comment on work by members

Drawing communities: collaborative and illustrated Blogs

These are blogs which have contributions from a community of artists either on this blog or via a list on this blog

Illustration Friday: Illustration Friday is a weekly creative outlet/participatory
art exhibit for illustrators of all skill levels. It was designed to challenge participants creatively. It's a chance to experiment and explore and play with visual art. Both novices and pros are welcomed alike.
The Drawing Club: The Drawing Club is a blog about drawing founded by artist and blogger Michael Nobbs. Artists and drawing enthusiasts from around the world blog regularly.
Inspire Me Thursday: A weekly dose of inspiration to be creative, try new techniques and explore new mediums. We challenge all artists to get out their art supplies, experiment and CREATE!
Drawn - the Illustration and Cartooning Blog: Now a member of the Times 50 coolest blogs 2006! "Drawn!" is a multi-author blog devoted to illustration, art, cartooning and drawing. Its purpose is to inspire creativity by sharing links and resources. The links and posts on Drawn! are written by a small group of professional illustrators, designers, and cartoonists. Learn more%u2026

Drawing - Graphite, Pencils, Sticks and Charcoal

Art supplies - what you need to know, what to buy, where to go and what you need to do once you've got them!

Heaton Cooper Studio Ltd > Graphite pencils, single and in sets: Graphite pencils, single and in sets - from Daler Rowney, Derwent, Lyra, Faber Castell, Koh-i-Noor, Woolff and Pilot
Heaton Cooper Studio Ltd > Graphite sticks and powder: Graphite sticks and powder from Cretacolor, Derwent, Faber Castell, Koh-i-Noor, Lyra and progresso
Artifolk - drawing pencils: For anyone wanting to sketch or draw, there should be a pencil here to suit. Collections from Faber Castell and Derwent containing sketching and graphic pencils, charcoals and pastel blocks. Tins and wooden boxes of pencils to suit all budgets. Also Faber-Castell TK Clutch & Mechanical pencils and spare leads
Making a Mark: Derwent Tinted Charcoal Pencils: At the end of March Derwent announced a new product - Derwent Tinted Charcoal. These are wood encased pencils (no mess!) which contain a mix of charcoal and small amounts of pigment and clay. It appears to be a charcoal version of the Graphitint pencil.
The Cult Pens Guide to Mechanical Pencils: Cult Pens - The Knowledge - Mechanical Pencils
The Cult Pens Guide to Lead Hardness: Cult Pens Pencyclopedia Lead Hardness
Pencil lead@Everything2.com: Complete definitions of pencil lead types
Dave's Mechanical Pencils - Lead reviews: "The Lead Cup" - Lead trials in a sports competition style
Round A - Parker, Pentel, Staedtler, Students Choice.
Round B - Faber-Castell, Rotring, Waterman, Zebra .
Round C - Caran d'Ache, Cross, Micro, Mont Blanc.
Round D - Insung Hands, Lamy, Papermate, Pilot.
Elimination Round - Caran d'Ache, Cross, Pilot, Zebra.
Semi-Finals - Caran d'Ache, Papermate, Pentel, Zebra.
Final - Caran d'Ache, Pentel.
Roz Wound Up: Just What I was Looking for to Carry My Pencil: Above: A view of the new journaling tool I picked up. It's a pencil with a cap on it. The cap contains a sharpener. Read on. (Sorry for all the shadows in the image, but you get the idea!)The other...
The art of sharpening pencils: The art of sharpening pencils - identifies a variety of methods and the pros and cons

Drawing in Dry Media

resources for artists

Making a Mark reviews......

a consumer's guide to quality and value in art books, art supplies and services to artists

This blog highlights:
- book reviews (art instruction and art history)
- reviews of art media, art materials and art equipment
- reviews of places where you buy (art shops, online art suppliers and art bookshops)
- reviews of other products or services used by artists
- summaries of good quality and relevant reviews by other practising artists

BOOKS: Rendering and realism in drawing

books on Amazon

Drawing and Sketching Pens

Heaton Cooper Studio Ltd > Drawing and Sketching Pens: Drawing and Sketching Pens
Large selection including Rotring, Pentel, Faber, Edding, Zig
Cult Pens: Cult Pens - Top-quality writing instruments at discount prices. Large range of hard-to-find pens, pencils and accessories.
Cult Pens Pilot G-Tec-C4 Microtip Gel Rollerball: Cult Pens - Pilot G-Tec C4 Microtip Gel Rollerball
Making a Mark: The Rotring Art Pen: When I first started drawing in pen and ink I struggled to find a suitable pen to draw with. However, once I came across the Rotring Art sketching pen I was in raptures - it's a very nicely balanced pen which seems to make the lines flow very easily! My favourite is the one with the exyra fine nib which I find I can use right way round and in reverse. There was no stopping me once I'd discovered their 'marron' sepia coloured ink as well - I started drawing absolutely everything in ink!

Drawing in Pen and Ink

resources for artists

BOOKS: Books about Drawing and Drawing materials

books from Amazon

Two really excellent books originally published by Watson Guptill as part of their series on Art Materials and Techniques

Art Supplies

resources for artists

Drawing supports: paper, boards and sketchbooks

Paper size - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: Comparison of the most common paper sizes. There have been many standard sizes of paper at different times and in different countries, but today there are two major systems in use: the international standard (A4 and its siblings) and the North American sizes.
Paper and Supports: Resources for Artists: This lens is another in the Resources for Artists; series. It aims to provide information about and links to suppliers of fine art paper products and other non-canvas supports used by visual artists who draw and paint.
Making a Mark: Which sketchbook?: I'll show you mine if you show me yours! Now I know this has been discussed before (but I can't find it!) but I think this exercise bears repeating!.......
Roz Wound Up: More Commercially Made Sketchbooks: Above: More commercially manufactured sketchbook/journals, I've not discussed on the blog before (with one exception). In the text below I discuss them by "letter-label." Click on the image to view the enlargement.
Dani Jones Illustration - Make your own Sketchbook: An EXCELLENT explanation of how to make your own sketchbook. RECOMMENDED

Why Make Your Own Sketchbooks?
* Use your favorite paper. Why settle for the same old white paper when you can use toned, textured, heavy weight, watercolor, or lined paper instead? Or, this is a great way to get rid of all those half-used sketchpads you know you've got tucked away somewhere.
* It's cheap. Since most of your materials consist mostly of scraps, paper, and glue, this project is pretty easy on the wallet.
* Style points. No more boring black sketchbooks! Choosing the colors and patterns to use for your sketchbook is half the fun. I once made a sketchbook that was entirely pink, just for the heck of it.

Drawing Accessories

Art Equipment - Resources for Artists: This site is for visual artists. It provides: links to:
items of art equipment and tools;
recommended ways of putting together toolkits and
recommendations for equipment for working in the studio or plein air
Additional information about specific media are available in other featured lenses
Artifolk - Pencil Extender: Penhttp://static4.squidoo.com/images/icon-reorder.gif
reordercil Extender/Lengthener - When your pencil becomes too short to hold, just insert it into this handy tool and carry on using it!
T N Lawrence & Son Ltd - Fixatives: Various types of fixative
Artists Network - A Word about Drawing Tools - by Butch Krieger: A Word about Drawing Tools - by Butch Krieger

Digital Drawing Software

I've started to explore Digital Drawing software and will be including links to the software I find useful

Autodesk SketchBook Pro: Autodesk® SketchBook® Pro paint and drawing software enables you to transform your desktop computer, laptop, or tablet PC into the ultimate sketchbook. With professional-quality sketching capabilities and an intuitive interface, even new users can be productive within minutes.

Digital Drawing and Graphics Tablets

Which Graphics Tablet or Digital Graphics Pen Display Should Graphic Designers Buy.: Blog about graphics, graphic design, web design, graphic design tutorials, tips, articles, photoshop, images, filters, plugins, and other graphics tools.

A review of different graphics tablets
What to Expect with a Wacom Cintiq Drawing Tablet (and How to Set up Your Cintiq).: Blog about graphics, graphic design, web design, graphic design tutorials, tips, articles, photoshop, images, filters, plugins, and other graphics tools.

A very detailed look at a Wacom Cintiq and how to set it up - with lots of images

Sketching - Resource Links

Links to websites and blog posts focused on the practice of sketching

Making a Mark: Advice on Sketching - tips, techniques and toolkits: My popular advice page providing advice about developing skills in sketching has been revised and updated February 2008
Sketching in Public - a survey: two surveys about the popularity of sketching in public
Sketching with coloured pencils: an overview of my article on sketching with coloured pencils
10th International Sketchcrawl - my contribution: my sketches for the 10th International Sketchcrawl on 1st July 2006
Walk and sketch blogs: a new initiative in 2006 - the "walk and sketch" blog - an aid to regular exercise of the hamstrings and hand eye coordination
Russ Stutler's Sketching Booklist: Russ Stutler discusses various books he's found useful and inspiring for his sketching
Postcard Sketching - by Russ Stutler: Russ focuses on sketching on postcards using a waterbrush in Japan
Making a Mark: Trumpetvine Travels: My review of two volumes of Trumpetvine Travels - which is an e-zine in pdf format with wonderful articles about travel sketching and more with lots of illustrations. Both volumes are freely available to download - but BEWARE they are both extremely large files
Travels with a Sketchbook: Taking a line for a walk - from Le Havre to Rome: A review of Christopher Lambert's facsimile sketchbook journal used during his 1,0000 mile walk from Le Havre to Rome through France, across the Alps and down the pilgrim route to Rome. It shpws what can be done with a small sketchbook, a couple of pens and a few coloured pencils.
Dordogne Painting Days: 'Wet' Sketching in Pen & Ink using washes - includes advice about materials & techniques: Dordogne Painting Dayspaintings & drawings from the south west of france
lundi 3 mars 2008
'Wet' Sketching in Pen & Ink using washes - includes advice about materials & techniques

How to draw a tree

Travel Sketchbooks

"Painting is just another way of keeping a diary" Pablo Picasso

Links to the websites and blogs of people who sketch when they travel.

Travels with a sketchbook - my website: I've been keeping travel sketchbooks for years. This is the section on my website where I keep extracts from my travel sketchbooks to Europe, Asia, Australasia and North America
Travels with a Sketchbook in......: When I travel, I sketch. When I sketch on my travels I now record it here - along with narrative and some photos from recent trips
Paris Journal by Rozlyn M. Stendahl: Roz Stendahl's Paris Journal. There are more journals on her site plus she explains about making sketchbooks
Shirley sketches London: Shirley illustrates her "Paper and Threads" blog http://www.paperandthreads.com/ from her very first travel sketchbook which she kept when visiting London in July 2006.

SKETCHBOOKS: Travels with a Sketchbook

Facsimile Books on Amazon

BOOKS: Facsimile Sketchbooks

Available on Amazon

Read my review in Taking a line for a walk - from Le Havre to Rome

Travels with a Sketchbook in......

a website, a blog and a squidoo lens

People often ask me whether they can have a look at my sketchbooks. This page lets you access some of the sketches in the numerous sketch books that I've used on my travels over the last 15 years or so.

You can see my sketches and read about where and how they were done on my blog "Travels with a Sketchbook in......" (Also see below)

You can read my advice on sketching on my website page Advice on Sketching

Finally, if you like looking at sketchbooks or want to know how to keep one, why not take a look at my lens which is dedicated to information and advice about travelling with a sketchbook.

BOOKS: How to keep a sketchbook

books from Amazon

SKETCHBOOKS: Moleskine Sketchbooks

Available on Amazon

Moleskines are a great small sketchbook. The traditional Moleskine sketchbooks have lovely paper which is great for pencils, pen and ink and coloured pencils - but is not so great for watercolour (hence the new pink one - which doesn't yet seem to be available on Amazon!).

Drawing - quotations

Drawing Art Quotations - The Painter's Keys Resource of Art Quotations: Art Quotations about: Drawing
Drawing Quotes - Quotations About Drawing: Quotations about drawing by artists and others.
Quotations Book: Subject - Quotes about Drawing: Famous quotes about Drawing
Think Exist: Drawing quotes & quotations: drawing quotes,drawing, keyword, keywords

Art History - Drawings and Sketchbooks on the Internet

Drawings and sketchbooks which show you how artists have drawn and sketched from life over the centuries up to the present day

Turner Collection - 300 sketchbooks: The Turner Collection at Tate Britain has 300 of JMW Turner's sketchbooks from the 1780s to the 1840s. These include many sketches he made on his travels. Click the sketchbook link to see the sketchbooks or explore the rest of Turner's bequest to the nation.
Showcases :: Leonardo da Vinci's Notebook: This notebook of Leonardo da Vinci is known today as the Codex Arundel. It is not a bound volume, but was put together after his death from his loose papers of various types and sizes.
John Constable's sketchbook: John Constable's sketchbook - kept by the Victoria and Albert Museum
Sketching with Darwin on the Beagle: This is a link to the sketchbooks kept by Conrad Martins when he travelled with Darwin on the Beagle - now kept in the Cambridge University Library
Van Gogh drawings: A sample of the Van Gogh drawings - mainly in pen and ink - seen in the recent exhibition at the Met. Museum in New York
Sketchbooks in the Smithsonian archives: Sketchbooks in the archives of American Art at the Smithsonian Museum "form a vast repository of ideas, perceptions, inspirational imagery, and graphic experiments. As personal records they afford an intimate glimpse of an artist's visual thinking and reveal aspects of their creative process."
John Singer Sargent - Harvard Collection: The Harvard collection has sketchbooks and albums compiled by John Singer Sargent - with more than 800 records - many of which were done on his travels.
NGA - A Century of Drawing: Works on Paper from Degas to LeWitt: Exhibition brochure on twentieth-century drawings, including works by Edgar Degas, Pablo Picasso, and Robert Rauschenberg
David Hockney - sketches: A sample of sketches done by David Hockney while in London
Under Cover - Artists' Sketchbooks at the Fogg Art Museum: A website developed for "Under Cover" an exhibition of artists sketchbooks at the Fogg Art Museum, Harvard in 2006.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art - Works of Art: Drawings and Prints: The Metropolitan Museum of Art's collection of drawings and prints - including online access to part of the collection
American Artist:: 10 Great Drawers, (and What They Teach Us): Article by Bob Bahr from American Artist - includes drawings and details of further reading/resources. Artists covered include Leonardo da Vinci; Michelangelo; Albrecht Durer; Peter Paul Rubens; Rembrandt; Charles le Brun, Edgar Degas; Egon Schiele and Kathe Kollwitz.
Il Libro dell' Arte - Cennino D' Andrea Cennini. (The Craftsman's Handbook - translated by Daniel V. Thompson, Jr.): e-book version of the Notebook - this section focuses on drawing
New York: Dover Publications, Inc. 1933, by Yale University Press.
Artist Sketchbooks Online: This site lists and provides links to a large number of sketchbooks which range from contemporary sketchbooks kept by ordinary people to sources of sketchbooks by artists of renown, including facsimile sketchbooks which have been published.
MoMA.org | Exhibitions | 2003 | Pencil: Drawings from the Collection: MOMA Pencil: Drawings from the Collection
September 18, 2003–March
8, 2004
Pencil is the most basic of materials for art. Artists have achieved some of their most evocative and powerful works using only pencil. This exhibition highlights pencil drawings from MoMA's collection by many of the most important artists of the past 100 years. Drawings by Paul Cézanne, Henri Matisse, Kazimir Malevich, Pablo Picasso, Alberto Giacometti, Max Ernst, Cy Twombly, Claes Oldenburg, Ellsworth Kelly, and Jasper Johns are included, along with works by emerging artists. A full range of styles-figuration and abstraction, portraiture and landscape, naturalism and cartoonlike renderings-is represented.
MoMA.org | Exhibitions | 2003 | Pencil: Drawings from the Collection: MOMA Pencil: Drawings from the Collection
September 18, 2003–March
8, 2004
Pencil is the most basic of materials for art. Artists have achieved some of their most evocative and powerful works using only pencil. This exhibition highlights pencil drawings from MoMA's collection by many of the most important artists of the past 100 years. Drawings by Paul Cézanne, Henri Matisse, Kazimir Malevich, Pablo Picasso, Alberto Giacometti, Max Ernst, Cy Twombly, Claes Oldenburg, Ellsworth Kelly, and Jasper Johns are included, along with works by emerging artists. A full range of styles-figuration and abstraction, portraiture and landscape, naturalism and cartoonlike renderings-is represented.
MoMA.org | Exhibitions | 2003 | On View Checklist: Pencil: Drawings from the Collection
Works on view as of September 9, 2003
This checklist is subject to change
The Courtauld Gallery : Drawings & Prints: Courtauld Institute of Art - Gallery: Drawings Collection
A collection of over 7000 recently digitised drawings

SKETCHBOOKS: Alfred Wainwright's Lakeland Sketchbooks

Books on Amazon - Drawing the landscape in pen and ink

Wainwright's pictorial guides to the Lake District in the north of England are annotated with detailed hand-drawn maps and drawings of the Lake District. They used to entrance me when I was small and still do. These books are more focused on his sketches and give an insight into what can be accomplished with pen and ink.

SKETCHBOOKS: Art History: sketchbooks

books on Amazon

Ever wondered what the sketchbooks and notebooks of notable artists looked like? Now you can see them in books like these.

Art History and Drawing

American Artist: Letters on Landscape Painting: American Artist August 28, 2008 'Letters on Landscape Painting'
Asher B. Durand's "Letters on Landscape Painting" from the mid-1800 publication The Crayon are today considered an invaluable source of information for landscape painters, offering advice that is as evergreen as it is enlightening. Here American Artist presents an excerpt of a letter from 1855, in which Durand advises artists to spend considerable time studying and drawing from nature before painting it.

Illustrated art journals - Resource links

How to create and keep an art journal by aisling d'art: Artist's journals are illustrated diaries and journals on any theme.

An art journal can be a record of your daily thoughts, a travel journal, an exercise or diet diary, a dream journal, a place where you jot down your goals or to-do lists, or... well, almost any record that you'd like to keep in a book or notebook. They become "art journals" when you add any kind of illustration or embellishment to the pages.

These pages share ideas and tips for creating and keeping your own illustrated journal.

The Elements of Drawing - by John Ruskin

The Elements of Drawing: Texts: This section of The Elements of Drawing contains the texts of the catalogues of the teaching collection written by Ruskin between 1870 and 1878. It allows you to search the texts for specific words or phrases, or to browse through the texts catalogue by catalogue.

Whichever option you choose, you will be able to read Ruskin's own words, together with pictures of the items within the collection that he is writing about. At the foot of each section is a list of cross-references to other passages which are related to it; click on the link to follow the cross-reference. Clicking on the images will take you to a more recent catalogue entry for the item.

Pastels and Pencils

Fine Art by Katherine Tyrrell UKCPS

My website - galleries of paintings and drawings

Pastels and Pencils - the website: Original fine art by Katherine Tyrrell UKCPS
Galleries of drawings of landscapes, still life and flowers in pastels and coloured pencils; plus drawings and sketches in pencil and pen and ink. Information about art materials resources and supplies
Fine Arts by Katherine Tyrrell at Imagekind: Galleries of fine art prints of drawings and paintings by Katherine Tyrrell UKCPS. Customised ordering available online.

Making a Mark

Artist and author Katherine Tyrrell draws and writes about art for artists and art lovers.

Topics include: artists, art exhibitions, art blogs; art history; art techniques and tips; art business and marketing; art economy and making a mark with pastels, coloured pencils and pen and ink.

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sam_daryl Mar 19, 2012 @ 6:04 am | delete

I can't imagine how many hours, days or even weeks have you spent to put these all information together. A one-stop-must for drawing enthusiast in this community. GREAT JOB! Thanks a bunch! :-)

Reply

Goodhairsaloncards Feb 21, 2012 @ 6:26 pm | delete

Negative drawing by Mike Sibley is great. And John Singer Sargent is my favorite artist. Thanks for sharing.

Reply

masaad Dec 23, 2011 @ 6:25 am | delete

very useful informations thanks

Reply

Seker22 Dec 6, 2011 @ 2:29 pm | delete

Very informative. Great contribution.

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Consultant609 Oct 20, 2011 @ 10:50 am | delete

Nice collection of resources - thank you

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Mamaboo Sep 29, 2011 @ 8:48 pm | delete

Thanks for all the info. We homeschool and NEVER have enough resources!!!

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Morgannafay Sep 19, 2011 @ 8:33 pm | delete

awesome resource! I'll be checking back and digging in. :)

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luckyjinx Sep 16, 2011 @ 4:47 am | delete

i hope i can use these tips soon...

Reply

cornelsimms Sep 4, 2011 @ 9:40 am | delete

Wonderful lens. I think everything about making marks is totally here. Great ideas.

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salcha00 Jul 21, 2011 @ 10:28 am | delete

Very nice lent, very complete. I am going to put some of this ideas and materials in practice.

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Judy_Filarecki Jun 27, 2011 @ 11:29 am | delete

So much to see. I'm just going to have to set aside some time everyday to explore you lenses.

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Mujjen Apr 3, 2011 @ 9:39 am | delete

So many useful links! I really enjoyed your sketchbooks, as well. thanks for sharing.

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glowchick Mar 30, 2011 @ 2:39 pm | delete

Awesome~ what a great resource :)

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ShirleySunshine Mar 9, 2011 @ 2:46 am | delete

Great work, fantastic amount of useful information, very well presented!

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jackiebolen Feb 18, 2011 @ 6:04 pm | delete

A very comprehensive lens, thank you!

Reply

sunita Jan 28, 2011 @ 5:34 am | delete

Intersting Topic of Drawing and skecthing

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Asinka Dec 13, 2010 @ 1:03 am | delete

Simply Fantastic!

Reply

Chinajoy Nov 25, 2010 @ 6:45 am | delete

Wow...great source of resources!

Reply

jonart Nov 24, 2010 @ 10:57 pm | delete

Very thorough coverage of the medium......I'll be back to visit. Thanks, :)

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LittleJadeLizard Oct 23, 2010 @ 5:51 pm | delete

There is so much information here, I will have to come back again and again. Thank you for working to make this lens so helpful.
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