- What is a sketch?
- Characteristics of a sketch
- What is a sketch for?
- How to make a sketch?
- Sketch examples
- Sketch and sketch
We explain what a sketch is, its characteristics, function, how to do it and various examples. Also, differences with a sketch.
What is a sketch?
In architecture And in the visual arts, a sketch (term inherited from the onomatopoeia french croquer, "do croc”) Is a simplified, small and fast image, which is produced without striving for large precision margins and without using instruments. It is not exactly a synonymous term for sketch, but it presents numerous coincidences with this one.
Sketches usually consist of quick representations of observed real objects, or of notions that are kept in mind, but have the value of a more or less coarse approximation. In its making, more lines than the definitive ones are usually used, with loose and quick strokes, since its purpose is to find the main forms of the drawing or the plane.
The sketch technique is very common in the world of architecture, the design graphic or visual arts. In some cases it may even have artistic value in itself, as in the case of studies or sketches by great artists and designers.
Characteristics of a sketch
Broadly speaking, every sketch is characterized by the following:
- It is a draft, an advance or a previous version, never final.
- It is done freehand, that is, without tools, generally with rapid and irregular strokes.
- Pencil (graphite) and eraser are usually used, although the use of inks is not so unusual.
- Along with the lines are added amendments, annotations, details and all kinds of necessary indications, which will not be in the final version.
What is a sketch for?
The sketch is, fundamentally, a preview of the work to come, an essay or a practice, which allows us to contemplate roughly what the project will consist of. draft already finished. That is why it is common for general sketches to be made with specific details, as a form of preparation or previous step to the design of an architectural plan, an artistic project, or the design of an industrial piece.
At the same time, certain sketches can be used for educational purposes, such as the world map sketches that are provided to students at school to recognize countries, continents and learn the geography. In that case, the sketch works as a previous step to the school exercise carried out, and it is about massive reproductions but lacking in detail, on a white sheet.
How to make a sketch?
To make a sketch, the main thing is to observe in as much detail as possible the object to be represented, or the mental image that we want to capture out of nowhere.
It is valid to take notes and annotations, so as not to depend entirely on the memory, but it is essential to set the perspective and the level of detail that is pursued from the beginning, moving away and approaching the object, for example. Obviously, the sketch of an architectural plan is not the same as the sketch of a minimal piece of machinery.
Then the outer lines of the object should be traced, keeping a proportionate relationship with each other, noting its essential elements and leaving the details for later. To preserve the proportion, it is valid to take into account surrounding objects or one's own point of view.
If more information is required, the individual details are then chosen and represented, either on the same sheet, or on separate sheets, as in a gallery of elements. The important thing is not the amount of drawings made, but the grip of the reality that is achieved.
Throughout the process, annotations, suggestions, warnings and measurements which will then allow us to make the final version with more confidence. It is not convenient to leave it until last, since we tend to forget and focus on other details, and ultimately the sketch should serve as a guide or base plan to produce an original.
Sketch examples
Some examples of sketches are as follows:
Sketch of the facade of a house. Sketch of a topographic plan. Sketch of a chair.Sketch and sketch
A sketch and a sketch, speaking in more technical terms, are not the same, although in both cases it is a step prior to the final work.
The difference is that the sketch is a freer, more informal, often crude representation of what is desired; while the sketch usually includes annotations, measurements and details readable only by a person skilled in the art. That is, a sketch would be something like a professional sketch.