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About SketchesThe first thing about sketches is that they are rapidly executed freehand drawings that are not intended as a finished work. They often consist of a multitude of overlapping lines. They usually serve to record ideas for later use quickly. They are inexpensive and allow the artist to try out different ideas before committing to an expensive and time consuming finished product. Sketching sharpens an artist's ability to focus and has often been a prescribed part of artistic development for student and professional alike. Dry media such as pencil or pastel are often preferred media of use due to time constraints. A quickly done watercolor study or even quickly modeled clay or soft wax can also be considered a 'sketch' in the broader sense of the term. The artists of the Renaissance made sketches using a silver stylus on specially prepared paper, known as silverpoint, since graphite pencils are a relatively new invention. This method often had results similar to a modern pencil sketch. Sometimes they would use charcoal, chalk, or pen & ink. Contrary to popular belief, artists often use erasers when drawing; the eraser may be used to remove rough construction lines, or to soften lines for visual effect. The most commonly used eraser for pencil drawing is the kneaded eraser, which has a soft sticky surface that enables the artist to lift the graphite or charcoal from the drawing surface without smudging. White plastic erasers can cleanly erase line work, but tend to smudge heavy shading. Some sketches, many done by famous artists, become art objects in their own right. The ability to quickly record impressions through sketching has found varied purposes in today's culture. Courtroom artists are usually sketchers. Sketches drawn to help authorities find or identify wanted people are called forensic sketches. Street performers in popular tourist areas often include artists who sketch portraits within minutes. A sketch method of reproducing photographs is done with a photographic enlarger in a dark room. The image is projected on to the paper where the sketch is to be done. All the light shades are penciled until the paper is all the same shade. One note about sketches it that all sketch drawings use similar techniques. However, with pencils and drawing sticks continuous variations in tone can be achieved. For best results the lines in a sketch are typically drawn to follow the contour curves of the surface, thus producing a depth effect. When drawing hair, the lines of the sketch follow the direction of the hair growth.
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