Creative Sketching Workshop: 21 Sketch Crawl Ideas and Exercises

by Pete Scully

Shake up your sketchbook! 12 celebrated urban sketchers lead you on a series of creative challenges and discoveries. Inspired by the sketch crawls that have been embraced by artists around the world, this book will breathe fresh air into your art life. Inside you'll find 20 slice-of-life workshops, presented by 12 accomplished artists. Each workshop is comprised of various challenges that ask you to slow down, look closer and explore the endless, often unexpected sketching opportunities in the world around you. These prompts will take you from bustling bars and crowed beaches to workplaces and deserted stadiums. You'll draw candid figures in motion and posed portraits of intriguing personalities you meet along the way. You'll be challenged to convey the sensory experience of a meal, the fleeting view through your passenger window and a day in the life of a child. Your subjects will range from popular landmarks and performing musicians to fire hydrants, shoes and sushi. You will never again be stuck for what to draw. Pages are richly illustrated with the contributing artists' sketches, showing how they interpreted the exercises. The experience is exalting, and the payoff is profound, including a greater sense of observation, more expressive mark-making and deeper connections with your subjects. Create sketchbooks alive with atmosphere, fond memories and beautiful, everyday stories--both great and small--told as only you can.

Genres: Art

176 pages, Paperback

First published September 28, 2015

Reviews

[Cameron Toney · Rating 4 out of 5]

What I really liked about this Urban Sketching guide is that it doesn't start with the basic "here are lessons in composition and color" that most art books start with. They are there! They are just at the back.
This is structured by a bunch of "lessons" or challenges- draw a crowd, draw a tall building, draw food, which will teach just as much as a lesson in drawing a sphere, and will be better for showing how to draw in an urban sketching way!
Really liked this!

[Oak]

I didn’t realize until I got this home from the library that I’ve tried to read it before. I’m sure it’s got good information, and it’s got great sketches, but I find the format overwhelming and distracting and so I gave up before I got much out of it.

[Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is by Pete Skully.

[Jan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent compilations of ideas and exercises from a variety of artists. The sketching guides are a great resources. Loved the contributing artists bios and website info, too.