1. ENGLISH ASSIGNMENT 1
HOW TO MAKE AN ATTRACTIVE
SKETCH
Liew Yong Sheng
Foundation in Nature and Built Environment
Mrs. Thivilojana
31st
May 2013

2. Prewriting
+Introduction to types of sketch
-inked sketch
-pencil sketch
-colored sketch
+Materials
-Pencils, Papers, Artline Pen, Watercolor.
+Preparation
*thesis statement* -Understanding
- Light sketch draft
- Finalization
Paragraph 1
+Explain the goal of sketching –fun or communicate ideas
+Observe scene or visualize longer- understand the idea better
- take note on small details
+Begin measuring proportion-using thumbs on pencil method
Paragraph 2
Light sketch- use 2H pencil for basic shape.
- B or 2B pencil to increase detail
- Make sure scene in good proportion
- Using H or HB to add in shadow, tone or texture.
Paragraph 3
Finalized inking- Use 0.5 artline pen to ink
- 0.2 for details such as texture
- wait 10 minutes to avoid smudges of ink

3. Conclusion
-Emphasize on understanding and research.
-There are more than one method
-Add in Color as option of attractiveness.

4. So You Want To Sketch
Everyone wanted to sketch but when the time comes, they‟ll complain that they have no
„artistic skills‟ to sketch. I will hereby tell you that, as long as you can grab a pencil and
draw a line, you can sketch. However, in this essay, I hope that you will understand my
method of sketching. Of course, there is a need of prepare equipment before you do
anything. For this tutorial, I suggest you to prepare a set of different type of pencils,
desired size of paper (how to sketch by Kajsa.mc, Dvortygirl, et al), if you are going to
watercolor then I highly suggest you to use papers that are higher than 180gsm with
smooth surfaces, rulers, 0.1mm artline pen, 0.2 artline pen, 0.5 artline pen and finally a
set of water coloring tools or oil paint or charcoal (How to sketch techniques by Roger).
To make things easier, I have divided the methods into three parts: Understanding,
Light draft and Finalization.
Let us begin with our first step, the understanding. There are a lot of questions to ask
before moving your pen on the paper. The first question is “What is the goal of
sketching?” It is very important to understand what in exactly do you want to show or to
convey to the public of what you have visualized in your mind or in real life (Draw and
sketch buildings : sketch with confidence in 6 steps or less by Jim Woods). After
understanding what you want to draw is to understand further of what you are about to
draw. Take extra note of the small details such as textures, expressions (if there‟s any),
color, and perspective. There is no need to draw an exactly detailed scene of what you
are about to draw but it is important to allow people to visualize or understand the
sketch. After that, you should begin measuring the proportion of the scene such as

5. height of human compared to the building in your perspective. Certain artist presses his
thumb on the body of the pencil to determine the length of the object from that distance.
(Distance and Proportions -- Measuring Like An Artist Drawing Lesson by Anonymous)
Once done with the proportion measuring and details noting, you may begin with a 2H
pencil to simply draw the basic shape of the scene. Avoid pressing too hard or else it‟ll
be too hard to rub the lead off the paper and will leave a mark which will affect later
procedure. After that, use either B or 2B pencil to darken and refine the basic shape.
This time, add more details. While drawing, make sure the scene is in good proportion.
After that, you can use a lighter pencil such as H and HB pencil to add in the shadow,
tone and texture. Before adding the texture or tones, I suggest it is better to experiment
before adding it into the paper you are drawing. Certain type of strokes can produce
different types of texture. For example, drawing the shades in a circular manner will
produce even shading while drawing shades in strips can form a tree-like texture. After
finish with the light sketch, double check everything. If things don‟t seem right, take
some time to discover the problem. After then, take some time to think of the solution. If
patient, I suggest it‟s wise to experiment it on another paper. Avoid erasing a small part
of the sketch; it will be hard to replace the erased part with a similar hardness and
strokes. Instead, try to darken the sketch to camouflage the problem.
If you are satisfied with a darken draft then that will be it for you but if you are not then
move on to finalization step or ink sketching. Use a 0.2 artline pen to ink the outline and
textures. After that, use 0.1 artline pen to ink the shades of the sketch. Try to

6. standardize the direction of shading strokes. Once done inking, wait for ten minutes to
avoid smudging the ink while erasing the pencils. Finally, you may use a brush to add in
the color of the scene. Once again, do not paint on the picture before experimenting. Do
everything slowly, patiently and think twice before painting because once done cannot
be undo.
These are only the basics of drawing a sketch. Of course, these steps are not
standardized. It is up to you if you want to use your own method to sketch. To produce
an attractive sketch, it is important to understand what is it they want the public to
imagine. Color can attract people to your artwork and enhance their ability to imagine
the scene you experienced. However, it is not easy to achieve that result. Henceforth, I
highly advise that you should practice during your spare time.

7. Reference
1. Kajsa.mc, Dvortygirl, et al, http://www.wikihow.com/Sketch
2. Woods.J, Draw and sketch buildings : sketch with confidence in 6 steps or less. call
number 743.84WOO, Singapore: page one,c2002
3. Anonymous, http://www.beginningartist.com/measure-like-artist-drawing-lesson.html