#OneWeek100People 2022 : All Posts Collected

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BONUS SKETCH : Video sketch of @Pinset_Tailoring

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It’s the morning of day one and I’m imagining people all over the world packing their sketching gear and heading out with their sketch-buddies! I hope you guys are going to be able to get back out there and have a great time. But if not – here’s a sketch from Instagram :)

Please enjoy this video version. This is my first test of Vertical Video – it’s my understanding that if you view this on phone it will appear correctly – well – vertical.

This one was done on Saturday night, warming up for the big event.

I’ve sketched @Pinsent_Tailoring before – he was one of my IG portraits from last year’s #OneWeek100People. I’m a huge fan of his work. I enjoy his combination of historical references and an operatic sense of taste.

I don’t know if it’s good to admit this, but Instagram is a huge part of my life now. It’s not just the pandemic, and it’s not just a social media thing. It’s new kind of window on the world. It’s been giving me a tremendous amount of artistic inspiration.

So, no matter if you’re heading out to sketch on the street, or, if you’ll be staying in and drawing from reference – here’s to a great #OneWeek100People. See you on the hashtag, or in the Facebook Group.

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DAY ZERO : Warmup sketches and a quick video!

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Hey everyone! Are you getting ready? This Monday is the official Day One of #OneWeek100People for 2022!

I hope you’re inspired to go out sketching :)

Maybe on the street, or maybe you’ll meet some friends for life drawing class? That’s what I’m doing tomorrow – a fun evening workshop right before the week officially starts. If I get anything good I’ll post them later in the week.

But of course, it’s perfectly ok if you’re sketching from photos or video. I know that everyone is not able to go back into the world yet. But – just me personally – I’ve crossed a kind of threshold.

Of course the pandemic isn’t over everywhere, (just recently been reading about Hong Kong), and – with the end of masking requirements in a lot of areas – plus probably a diaspora from the war in Europe, I expect we’ll get another wave.

But! I’m trying not to talk about negative things. Right now I find myself willing to consider more managed risk. I’m quadruple vaxxed myself. I ended up getting offered an extra shot, so I took it. And I plan to keep masking and social distancing for the foreseeable future. So – considering these measures, I’ve decided to go back to public life.

I’ve returned to life drawing classes (and writing groups) – and that means I’m taking the subway again! Which also means – I was able to make this little video for you.

My only goal here is to show how you can take a VERY SIMPLE sketch – the kind of incredibly basic line drawing anyone can do in 10-30 seconds – and then improve that drawing later – to the point where it’s unrecognizable. (For the better I hope! hah!)

You might choose to doodle on location, then stop at a café and visit with friends while you color.

Or you might take snapshots with your phone, and draw from those later? That’s what I did for the video, because, well that’s the only way I can capture it for you.

Or, you might just fill a sketchbook with visual notes and then only finish the very best ones? Or even re-draw them from your own sketches? There’s a lot of ways to do it.

Any way you want to approach it – the simple gesture isn’t really the end-goal. It’s a stepping stone. You can just use it to improve your skills, or – you can literally improve the best of your gestures like I’ve done here.

So, hope you enjoy this quick bit of inspiration – and we’ll see you on Monday March 7th for #OneWeek100People!!

Thanks! ~marc

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DAY TWO : The Moving Crew

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Here’s another little film for Day Two of #OneWeek100People!

There’s a few neat things I want to show here. The most important is – to be ready to sketch at any time! But also – be on the lookout for things you’ve never drawn before!

It’s very easy to get set in your ways. To end up with an entire book full of ‘people reading on their phones’ or ‘my husband on the couch watching netflix’ because – those are the easy sketches to get.

They’re the ones where the people hold still for you. And – the ones you can get at any time of the day or night.

So when I saw this moving van pull up – I knew I had to sketch these guys – even if the subject is stupid – there’s nothing really all that interesting about guys carrying boxes! BUT – they did give me some postures that I’ve never drawn before.

It’s wild that in 20 years of life drawing class, nobody ever did a session with the model carrying boxes. I suppose that’s too much work for the poor model. But – it gives you weight-bearing poses you really can’t get any other way.

There’s also another neat thing going on – I wanted to put these guys into a kind of composite sketch – so – I went back and drew their van. It doesn’t have to be a great drawing. Just a doodle at the correct scale, (I used two sheets because the van was too large – plus a little scrap for the next car on the street) all so I could put all the figures on top and see how it looked.

Just a little game for myself – so I could see the figures in context.

In this case I took phone snapshots of my best figures, and collaged them in Procreate on the iPad.

It’s the kind of thing I do for fun, but it’s also the way you might do an illustration for some kind of reportage project. Grab all the figures as gestures – and then collage them later into a background that makes a ‘finished piece’ out of it. That’s just one way to make it easier to get people ‘in the moment’.

So I hope you enjoyed watching The Moving Crew – and – I hope you’ll be inspired to find something this week that you’ve never drawn before.

Thanks to everyone posting their #OneWeek100People! I’m going to head over to our Facebook group and see what you guys are up too.

Thanks ~marc

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DAY THREE : Part one: The Dog Walker

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Please enjoy a bonus video! The Dog Walker :)

This is a watercolor silhouette sketch, done from a cellphone photo snapped out my living room window. This dog is one of our new neighbors I think. They sometimes go by around dinner time, so my looking out the window and their walk seems to line up.

The goal for this video is HOW LITTLE YOU NEED in a silhouette sketch. Just the shape – filled with any random color – and then you can go back with shadows on top.

As we head in to Day Three of #OneWeek100People, I hope you’ve been getting your 20 people a day? I expect I’m probably behind! But it doesn’t matter if you ‘win’ the marathon – the point is just to be doing something every day and sharing with the rest of us! It’s the team spirit that keeps us all motivated.

So – I’m heading over to the Facebook group to see what you guys have been sketching.

See you there!

~Marc

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DAY THREE : Part Two : High Vis Jackets

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Please enjoy a #OneWeek100People video-sketch of some working men in high visibility winter parkas.

This was painted from a shot out the car window, driving home one February afternoon. Typical street-activity in Montreal at this time of year. Fresh potholes every spring!

I quite enjoy how abstract a figure can be and still look real. (Well, it does to me anyway :) I’m trying for an effect here. An everyday image caught at the traffic light, – seen out of the corner of your eye on your drive home from work.

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DAY FOUR : Subway Sketching

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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 :)

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DAY FIVE : Spicy Ramen!

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Here’s a silly self portrait of me at our local noodle house Kinton Ramen.

It’s probably my favorite self-portrait so far. Even if it doesn’t look very much like me :) I think it looks a bit like my grandfather though.

During the pandemic I started cutting my own hair. My grandmother cut his once a month, with him sitting, leaning over the kitchen sink. Same sink for the cooking, the dishes, and the portable washing machine.

I’m starting to like my hair standing up like this. I think I look more Asian.

Here’s an little comparison. The watercolor portrait on 90lb Strathmore Aquarius (above), painted at home, taking my time – versus a sketchbook page (below) from the same day. (I painted one on the spot and one at home.)

The type of paper makes a huge difference. On the sized (water-resistant) sketchbook paper, (below) brushstrokes are more ‘edgy’ with sharp transitions and distinct edges. I like both looks for different reasons!

Ok! Sadly, that’s the end of my #OneWeek100People for 2022 – but you guys can take the weekend if you want to keep pushing for your 100! I’ll be on the Facebook group commenting on your posts. If you did a project this year that you’re proud of, please post and share!

Take care and see you soon.

~Marc