Vigorous Sketches as References

Hi, Friends, did you enjoy a weekend?
I've been working on the projects. One is at the stage of "character design." So, I have a brain storm for 24 hours per day.  Illustration is very a demanding work, but very much fun. I enjoy sketching between the projects and fine art work.  

"Capture subjects with simple, only necessary lines in vivid colours" is my style.  I seek a "lively and vigorous" outcome in work. 

My sketches are important inspirations and precious references for any work that includes character design. I can use photos, but I dare not to do it. I train my eyes and trust in them. Michelangelo did not have a camera, but created brilliant drawings with his eyes. 

Above, I played up the lady's widely opened moth and the colour of cheeks --- worked out to depict her emotions. I mixed a blue and burnt sienna for her jacket -- interesting washes came out.   
In my sketches, factual accuracy is not weighed. Think of a caricature. It's not physically meticulous, yet it tells who's who very well. Mood, emotions and personalities are more concerns.

My process is below. A case study is the event. I was invited and enjoyed the stage.

1) Check setting. Decide composition.  
Examine a stage, a ceiling, lights and seats in a theature = check value as a "whole."   

2) Set a focus. Simplify the whole. Not get lost in detail. 

Below, a camera man is the interest. 

3) Draw, paint quickly.    
Before subjects will be gone!!

French Ultramarine worked well.  Colour experiments are great fun.

Another sketch, an executive at a conference.  
Well ... no, joke, Friends! The agenda was on the hardship of writers' ( and illustrators' ) life. I'm happy to die in a gutter?!
Technically, I often sketch a person from different angles on the same paper to understand a figure in 3D. It helps me find the most impressive or dramatic angle for a portrait. Nice and fun.  

In sketching, quick watercolour gives me many advantages. First, briskness often comes up. Second, it's very appropriate to enjoy wet-in-wet or washes in sketches. As far as I know, all watercolourists, who create beautiful washes, make a painting in short time = Before paper gets dry too much, add another colour. Third, dynamic brush strokes make interesting textures. I always try to keep liveliness in studio work, too. 

However, an option of techniques depends on an artist's personality and what expects in outcomes. "Work on your style," is the best way.

Anyway, Friends, Happy Painting!! 
Enjoy sketching!

Vigorous Sketches as References