For my speed drawings, I chose to spend the day in the centre of Worcester walking with my sketchbook and capturing people as they walked by. I began in a cafe and sat by the window to try to get to grips with what medium I would use and get into the habit of drawing people quickly. I then walked to the Cathedral, the bridge, and the public park by the river.
(1)
Byro pen.
Couple walking out of cafe.
As you can see, my first attempt at capturing moving people is very bare, only drawing their core movement.
(2)
Byro pen.
People I saw walking from the window view.
For my second attempt, I took a few moments to create the environment and then added people as they walked by, this technique was what I used at the zoo when drawing the penguin enclosure, but here I don't feel I created the sense of movement I wanted.
(3)
Fine Liner.
Woman walking.
Here is my first fine-liner drawing, I found fine-liner to be the best medium to speed draw with because it created dark lines and was easy to use. Unlike pencil, it doesn't want for shading so much and so gave me the freedom to focus only on the essence of the figure.
(4)
Fine-liner
An elderly lady walking, drawn from the window of a cafe.
(5)
Fine-Liner
Man on the phone, drawn from the window of a cafe.
(6)
Fine-liner
Couple having coffee.
I could take my time (to a point) with this piece as the subjects were sat down and in no rush to move. I like this piece as I had time to add the environment which completes it.
(7)
Grey Marker Pen.
Lady carrying shopping.
(8)
Grey Marker Pen.
Man on the phone.
I wasn't happy with this piece as my grey marker pen started running out of ink but I couldn't stop drawing as he was moving, It made the piece look messy.
(9)
Black Marker Pen
Lady walking.
I'm not a fan of the black marker, it doesn't look as good as the fine liner, I don't dislike this piece but feel it would have been better with a thinner pen.
(10)
3B Pencil
Person Walking.
Pencil did not create the effect I wanted, it looks too faint and so after a few experiments I went back to fine-liner and stayed with it.
(11)
3B Pencil
Lady working in cafe.
This was another piece I could take a little more time with as the lady was doing work and was staying in the same place, though I still tried to capture her quickly to stay true to the exercise.
(12)
3B Pencil
Lady with hat and backpack.
I really like this piece simply because the subject has character. Even if she is just a simple line drawing, the hat and backpack make her look cute. It is a ten-second sketch with a story.
(13)
Fine-liner
Two women looking at phone.
This was difficult as I was drawing two people quickly, again I like how it has a story. The women looked lost as if they were trying to find out where to go, I believe this comes across in the drawing.
(14)
Fine-liner
Friends at lunch.
Here are two more people that sat in front of me in the cafe. I tried to focus on them and only do a small outline for the environment. I think that environment is important in drawing as it creates context.
(15)
Bold Fine-liner
Girl looking at phone.
(16)
Bold Fine-liner
Man coming towards cafe.
I really like this piece. Even if the man's face doesn't look realistic, it has character. Something I learned throughout this exercise was how much personality accessoriesies give a person. I found I liked the drawings of people with glasses, hats, phones, more than the people just walking.
(17)
Fine-Liner (0.1)
Man holding toddler on shoulders.
(18)
Fine-Liner (0.1)
Man walking big dog.
(19)
Fine-Liner (0.1)
Lady helping man with walking stick.
Here I tried a technique to make some parts of the drawing more prominent than the others to convey the story. I have done that by making the figures faint but the walking stick bold so you can see the subject on the right is helping the one on the left. I believe this comes across and will be using the technique again.
(20)
Fine-Liner (0.1)
Lady on mobility scooter.
I'm not really fond of this piece simply because without a description you wouldn't know what you were looking at.
(21)
Fine-liner
2 minutes silence.
By this point, I had ventured from the cafe where I had done the majority of my drawings and into Worcester. I left at around 11:00am and so on my way to the Cathedral everybody was observing the two-minute silence for remembrance day. I joined in with the group of people across the road from the Cathedral, by the Edward Elgar statue pictured, and observed the silence with them. Then when it was over, I got out my sketchpad and drew the people as they all went their separate ways.
I feel lucky to have captured this moment of strangers coming together and sharing in an experience.
(22)
Fine-liner
Man looking over the river.
I drew this while sat on a bench behind the Cathedral. Luckily the man I chose to draw stood in the same spot for at least five minutes. He kept moving his position slightly but I was able to mold my drawing as he did. This is one of my favourite pieces.
(23)
Fine-liner
Couple looking at a view.
This was also drawn behind the Cathedral while I sat on the steps. The couple sat for a while and I drew them until they got up. It took roughly five minutes and I'm pleased with the level of detail I got in that time. This is another piece where I feel I have captured a feeling and a moment and so I'm really pleased with it.
(24)
Fine-liner
Pigeon
(25)
Fine-liner
Lastly, I sat by the bridge and drew the environment, adding people as they walked by. I added a couple walking and a lady jogging. I really like this piece as I feel like by this point I had got to grips with speed drawing and creating movement and it shows in what I've done.
Overall I had a lot of fun doing this exercise. I spent a long time walking through Worcester and thinking about where and what I wanted to draw. I found out what medium I like working with when speed drawing (fine-liner), what kind of subjects I like drawing, and that each piece has a story to it. In future I would spend more time outside rather than in the cafe as I found the pieces I did in the city a lot more interesting and whole.
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