CATS OF JUNE 2019 ART CHALLENGE – DAYS 9 TO 16 : SKETCHING

Days 9 to 16 of the Cats of June 2019 Art Challenge, saw me Sketching Other Artists Work. I sketched from various Inspirational Art books and Magazines, and while it was a pretty laid back week, it was also an eye opener.

I realised this week, I don’t Sketch Enough. I’ll talk a bit about that in a minute, and why I think Crappy Sketchbooks are the way to go when sketching, but first, here’s a lil video, followed by the 8 sketches I did for days 9 to 16 of this Art Challenge.

DAYS 9 TO 16

DAYS 9 TO 16

The following links are videos of the various art books and magazines I sketched from :)

DAY 9 : SKETCH OF A JAMES A. CASTILLO CAT FROM CHARACTER DESIGN QUARTERLY MAGAZINE 1

DAY 10 : SKETCH OF A BLUE STUDIO CAT FROM CHARACTER DESIGN QUARTERLY MAGAZINE 1

DAY 11 : SKETCH OF A STEPH LABERIS CAT FROM CHARACTER DESIGN QUARTERLY MAGAZINE 7

DAY 12 : SKETCH OF A DANIEL ISLES CAT FROM CHARACTER DESIGN QUARTERLY MAGAZINE 3

DAY 13 : SKETCH OF A ANDY ESTRADA CAT FROM SKETCHING FROM THE IMAGINATION: CHARACTERS

DAY 14 : SKETCH OF A RICHARD ANDERSON CAT FROM SKETCHING FROM THE IMAGINATION: CHARACTERS

DAYS 15 & 16 : SKETCH OF A LOIS VAN BAARLE CAT FROM THE SKETCHBOOK OF LOISH

I DON’T SKETCH ENOUGH

This past eight days really showed me that I don’t Sketch Enough. I’m going to do a separate blog post about Sketching after this challenge is over, but the truth is, Sketching is where the Magic Happens.

Sketching is where you Play. Let Go. Take Risks. Have Fun. Be Adventurous. Practice all the tings that one day will find their way into your finished drawings.

So Sketching is maybe the Most Important Drawing Exercise you can do, and I have massively neglected it over the past few years.

When I first started learning how to draw I’d be sketching all the time. I’d Sketch Videogame Characters, Sketch scenes from Anime, sit on my bed and Sketch random corners of the room for 5 Minute Burn Exercises. I’d Sketch pages and pages of Spheres, and what I now know to be Thumbnails.

I’d be Sketching on the Bus, Sketching at Work, Sketching, Sketching Sketching … even sitting in the middle of town Sketching People as they walked past. I was Sketching like there was no tomorrow.

WHY DID I STOP SKETCHING DAILY?

Like a lot of my drawing stuff, around 2016 things slowed down due to my Transition. You can’t do everything, and instead of sketching, I focused on Meditating, Writing and dealing with Mental Health Issues; My sketchbooks got pushed to the side. Fell on the floor and started gathering Dust.

Once a Habit gets Broken, it Requires So Much Effort to Get Going Again too. So while it won’t be easy, I’m determined to restart a daily sketching habit.

One of my lil Art Tips is to Always Carry a Sketchbook with You, and this is key. No excuses, even if you’re going out wearing nothing but panties and a bra, find a way to stuff that sketchbook somewhere lol

Always Carry a Sketchbook With You!

CRAPPY

I realised something crappy too lol

1. Crappy Sketches.
I have a fear of doing crappy sketches, even though that is part of the fun. Crappy sketches are good, because you can’t fail. I know this, I know the key to sketching is to let go of the finished product, yet I’ve started finding myself trying to create masterpieces each time I sketch.

2. Crappy Sketchbooks.
I used to have these crappy sketchbooks, really cheap things that I didn’t realise till thinking about it this past week, actually freed me up.

As they were so crappy, I didn’t feel any preciousness to the sketchbook, I could just go for it and was comfortably doing Crappy Sketches.

It was like Crappy Sketchbooks for Crappy Sketches lol

I purchased some nicer, but still cheap, sketchbooks at the start of this year to practice my lilSOPHiE‘S, and that’s when I stopped doing the crappy sketches. Instead, my sketchbooks have become a sort of collection of finished drawings.

I think I’ve found a new lil art tip … as the actual sketchbook you use is important, Invest in Crappy Sketchbooks, for a more Messy, Fun and Crappy Sketching Experience :)

THESE CRAZY CATS

In terms of sketching these cats though, it was fun, and interesting studying other artists work, but it didn’t feel like proper sketching. The whole time I was thinking about having to create a finished sketch for this Art Challenge, so I never fully let go.

Sketching has to be done with no Expectation of Sharing it. Sketch for Your Eyes Only, if you happen to stumble upon a Mini Masterpiece, share it if you want, but always Sketch with the intention of it never being seen by anyone but you :)

THE NEXT 8 DAYS?

Watercolour’s next. I’m going to turn some cats into silhouettes and sketch the basic cat shape in pencil, than play with the watercolour to see what it looks like. The last time I experimented with watercolour was back in the 30 in 30 Painting challenge.

I sort of miss Watercolour as it’s so random; it has a mind of it’s own, yet you still sort of have control.

Actually, Water colouring is a bit like Lucid Dreaming. You control the Brush, which in a Dream is your Dream Character, but the dream environment still decides what it wants to do, much like how the Paint will fall off the brush and go off on it’s own adventure.

Hopefully this next eight days will be quite liberating.

You can find my lil cats on YouTube via MY ART PLAYLIST but check out Joen’s Cats of June 2019 SVSLearn Forum Post for more information, and if you draw any Cats this June, tag them with #CatsOfJune to play along :)