#OneWeek100People – Day 04 – Subway Sketching!

Tomorrow is the official LAST DAY! of #OneWeek100People – but of course you can use the weekend to finish off.

How many of you are going to hit 100? Did you keep up with 20 a day? or maybe you plan to go out on the weekend and blast through 100 people in a single day!

It’s very possible you know! That’s only 3.5 hours of two minute sketches. So – if you’re behind – don’t worry! You can still catch up!

They don’t have to be fancy watercolor sketches. You could just do them with a brush marker, or a ballpoint even. These little ones are the kind of thing that will get you to 100 in a single day.

Whatever it takes to get the miles out of your pen. What my sketching buddy Liz Steel calls ‘The Hard Yards’ or Malcolm Gladwell’s ‘Ten Thousand Hours’ of practice. It all adds up – even the simplest doodles.

So how about some ‘quick tips’;

#1: You don’t have to finish the entire figure every time. Especially when two people are dressed the same-ish.

#2: Parents and children give you nice groupings. Fussing with kids’ jackets gives you a nice time window to sketch. Maybe watch the kid for a little while and pick the best pose. Or even draw a totally different kid if it makes the sketch work :) I stole this hat from a different boy!

#3: Have a mental list of what you’re after. For the people doing the Scavenger Hunt – I actually found someone reading a book! Not a phone, but a real book! I knew I would get at least one book-reader if I was out the entire day and when I saw her through the window of a passing train, I didn’t have to think ‘is this a good one?’ – it was on my list already!

#4 Exaggerate! It’s more fun if this lady’s bag is HUUUUGE!

#5 Finish even if it’s not working. I couldn’t remember how this guys legs looked, and the final result is kind of weird – but hey – finish the sketch anway!

#6 Look for different body shapes.

#6 It’s easier to draw a hat than a face. A hat is an instant character. People choose their hats carefully!

#7 If you see something more than once, it’s a good subject! These giant scarves are on-trend this year in Montreal. Once you notice something is in fashion, you see it everywhere. Grab these details and they make your sketches ‘of the moment’ and/or ‘of the place’.

Bonus Tip!: Eat more dessert. A sketching friend from Switzerland taught me that three stops for dessert can make your whole sketching day better. Every time I stop for a snack, I paint a few sketches. That way I don’t have a lot of drawings to paint when I get home. If I don’t get things finished the same day, I tend to never get back to them. So I think this is a good trick – plus – three desserts a day!

Ok – enough silliness – I hope you’re enjoying your #OneWeek100People. If you’ve done anything at all this week, please take a snapshot and post it with the hashtag. You might encourage someone to go out tomorrow and try to get their 100!

Thanks ~m :)