Any nature sketching enthusiasts out there?

these are beautiful!

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Not necessarily. Have you heard of “drawing on the right side of the brain”? The theory is that by drawing upside-down, you produce a more accurate drawing, because it forces you to focus on the actual lines you see and avoid unconscious interpretation.

I assume this is intended as an observation of Zalophus californianus. You could, however, split off the Phalacrocorax auritus into a separate observation.

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I love using colored pencils to create vibrant illustrations because they have drawing pencils’ ease of use and the pop of color paint and watercolor. Colored pencils are a fuss-free combo of both, so I can do sketching without having to set up paint palettes or multiple tins of water.

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webcam-image
Here’s a sketch I made of a painting my mom made.

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I was at a zoo and made a bunch of really fast, bad sketches, but when I got home I redid my favorites and they turned out really nice!

Is anyone into pixel art?

Bengal Monitor (Varanus bengalensis) (color palette was limited)

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Sulawesi Moon Moth (Actias isis), also with a limited palette.

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This one is gorgeous!

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nicely done!

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A watercolor sketch I did last fall. For decades I have been bringing my paint box, paper, and brushes into the field to sketch directly but lately I’ve been relying on photos due to age related issues. Still I hope to get out more this summer!

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Some of the things in my kit

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It’s great to read and see all this terrific drawing energy at work (and a lot of play, right?).

A lot of discussion about the limits of lugging drawing/painting supplies, and I can appreciate that. But there’s another emerging option that I’ve been tinkering with.

Digital art programs have been around for decades but the hardware has only recently become powerful and affordable enough to make it accessible for many.

I have a (used) Samsung Galaxy 4 (Android) tablet that I love for sketching. It also has a decent camera and I use it with my borescope camera project that I’m working on.

As for sketch software, I really love the simple elegance of Tayasui Sketches for speed and simple but lovely ‘live’ water colors. It has yet to support stylus tilt though, and because of that I really am keen on Concepts, which has some amazing sketching abilities which most people don’t realize as it’s touted more as a technical drawing app.

For real beautiful brushes though I would probably pick Infinite Painter. Just a fantastic ‘feel’ with that engine.

(All the apps mentioned are available on both Apple and Android, btw)

Back home if at least in a decent laptop, if you want to explore exceptional digital watercolour, try out Escape Motion’s Rebelle. Unbelievable physics action. They have poured a ton of energy into synthesizing the real thing.

Now you’ve got me inspired to start doing this again. I will be back with some nature study samples… soon?

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I enjoy sketching my sightings. Some sketches are fast, others take more time, but I have fun doing it. If I don’t put rules on myself, I am more apt to actually do it. Here are some of my pages. I used to use colored pencils, but find they break out in the field, so I’ve settled on different colored pens.

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Those are great! Beautiful, fresh – I wish I could see them in full detail and read everything you scribbled too! Drawings show something that very few photos can achieve – the genuine love and interest in the subject.

Thanks for that inspiring share.
May your pens never dry out on you.

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Thank you so much!!! I have such fun with it. I chose a blank journal that has very sturdy, almost fabric like paper and a leather cover, so this thing is going to last!

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I’ve decided to do some nature sketching in a way to get myself to notice things I didn’t notice before. I pick species that I have never seen or noticed before and describe them in the best way I can and with a lot of detail. Then I look up what they are later.

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For a while, I did that, too, but a little differently. I would pick a very common species that I had seen so many times that I was bored with it. By drawing it in detail, I would notice things about it that I hadn’t before, and it wouldn’t seem so boring then.

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This is why I like drawing friends and relatives.

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I came across something that might aid people.

I love watercolor, and was encouraged in school to use it as a quick way to capture color and light in the field, but always hated the puckered paper and didn’t want to carry a larger block to avoid it.

I was exploring uses for goache the other day (must’ve missed class that day) and it was suggested to use thin coats on one or two sides of sketch paper and use your watercolors on that. I haven’t tried it yet, I live in a small enough town that we don’t actually have an art supply, but as soon as Blick gets it to me, I’ll try it.

Additionally, they suggested adding pigment to goache and painting with that - might be a little more cumbersome, but…

Has anyone else tried these things?

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