Last year I managed to do 300 people sketches (100 ink and wash sketches in a local cafe, 100 from photos at home and 100 line drawings in one sitting) but this year I only managed 100.
I haven’t been well lately so sketching on location was not an option but doing 20 marker sketches from photos each day was manageable over two 20 minute sessions. There is something special about this goal of 100 sketches – no matter how you tackle it and no matter what the final number you achieve.
I have to say that I was super impressed by Marc’s marathon of sketching 100 on the first day! Maybe one year I will be able to devote a full day to sketching people – that would be very cool!
I definitely missed sketching on location this year (it is SO much more fun to sketch from life and particularly with fun interactions with people around me) but I hope that this week’s challenge will inspire me to start sketching people more regularly. (I know that I say this every year!)
Sketching with markers was a good experiment – it was a little less forgiving than I expected but much easier than using watercolour (no waiting time!)
If you join in the challenge this year, I hope that you have a lot of fun and haven’t put too much pressure on yourself to hit 100. (I felt the pressure of the 100 goal this year, so I truly understand!)
16 Comments
I’ve been thinking of you Liz. It was so not like you when you said earlier in the week you couldn’t get out and about. Rest up, and look after yourself.
I’ve also been inspired by Marc Taro Holmes’ approach to sketching people, especially people on the move! Thank you to you both for initiating this wonderful challenge.
I’m stretching the week to 7 days and am up to 77 people so far. Loving it! So much more than I thought I would. All your great teaching seems to be falling into place: see the shadow shapes, use quick, decisive brush strokes, leave light. Even a bit of measured set up! And I’m keeping your words “consistency” and “freshness” to the forefront in my mind.
Well done Ginie!
Great job on this. I have yet to start. I was wondering why you only drew men?
Thank you. I Hope you’re feeling better soon.
Thanks Pam. I didn’t plan just to sketch men but as I was using markers with crisp blocky marks I started drawing a few men in an angular manner on Day 1. I have a big folder with lots of screenshots from YouTube videos and I just kept going – intending to start drawing women once I got through all the photos of men… but it never happened. So next I will have to draw 100 women.:-)
I am sorry to hear you’re not feeling well, I ‘ll hope you get better soon. And so impressive you still got to finish the challenge. I did this challenge for the first time, with support of classmate Barbara, and I am happy I got to get to a 100, and even done some live sketches (people move so fast….).
Thanks Martine!
I notice you only sketch male figures? Or did i miss the female post?
Hi Veronique – refer to my comment to Pam above 🙂
This is my 2nd year and I hit 100 in 4 days! I wasn’t nearly as nervous as a year ago 🙂 but finding people isn’t easy. It’s winter in the off-season and the island has only 2 small cafes open, so I spent some time each day parked outside the grocery store and did gestural sketches. I had only 5-10 seconds to capture people coming in & out of the store (using a loaded brush or a brush pen). It was surprisingly fun!
Praying you get well soon, Liz!
Hi Susanna! Well done especially for hitting 100 in 4 days! Sounds like you had a really effective plan for this challenge!
Great sketches! I’m really impressed with how much personality and character you can convey with just a few marks. Seeing them all together highlights how unique each one is. I hope you’re feeling back to your lively self soon,
Thanks Cathy!
I made it to 91 over 5 days. The challenge definitely encouraged me to do more than I ever would have on my own.
Well done Jani!!!!
I do love the marker sketches for people. Great job figuring out a way to still do the challenge while honoring your health recovery needs! I’ve been down the last couple weeks myself, so lots of indoor time for me too. I did not sketch people, this year, yet. I can still try! I was also wondering about your men, and who they were and why only men. My first thought was did you sketch architects through history? (I see your comment above, these are You Tubers.) I wish you a full health recovery and may you feel ever so much better! You’ve been much in my thoughts these past couple weeks.
Thanks Jamie!!! One other reason for sketching men – they are easier and doesn’t matter so much if they turn out ‘ugly’ 🙂
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