Steps to a Sketch

As I mentioned two days ago I’ve been wanting to change up the way I sketch. Try watercolors and new sketching ideas, etc. When I finally stopped worrying about how to integrate it into my notebook system (post coming soon about this) I went and bought paper that was recommended to me by Junelle.

I bought a block, cut one sheet to fit in my notebook and I was ready to get started. I didn’t have a list of ideas but I did have one. The sentence that came to me was “She loved the click-clack sound her heels made as they hit the marble.” so I knew I wanted to sketch heels.

I googled for the word “heels” and clicked to have it show image results. One of the images I found was this one”

Almost exactly what I had in mind. So I first sketched it using a mechanical pencil:

Then I went over them with a pen. I used the Pitt Artist Pens at XS size. They are water-resistent so I knew they wouldn’t smudge with the watercolors. I didn’t erase the pencil lines underneath.

then I started to color. I did the lighter colors first.

Then I added the black and left some white space where the seams of the shoes touch each other. I also added some shading below just like in the original photo.

Here’s a straight-on look.

Lastly, I stamped a journaling stamp and added the sentence that inspired the sketch as well as a few others. And, finally, I put the date on the bottom left. As you can see, I messed up and put month 11, I’ve since corrected that.)

And there we go. I taped the paper into my notebook and my little sketch was done. The whole thing probably took about 30 minutes. Give or take.

I’ve since done four more sketches using this system. I try to think of my idea the night before and if possible also find an image. Some days turn out better than others of course but I like learning something new. I like figuring out how to mix my paints. I don’t know anything about watercolors. I bought a few books and signed up for a class and I have a lot to learn but for now, I am just playing and focusing on enjoying that.