Can you sketch on canvas

The preliminary drawing you make on your canvas should always just be a basic and general guideline. Now that you know how to sketch out a landscape painting I will now show you how to sketch out a figure. The principles remain the same in that you are not going after creating a perfect drawing — rather just trying to capture the basic architecture of what you are painting.

When sketching out a figure I first start at the top portion of the subject which usually is the head. Like in the landscape painting sketch, I use a small amount of my mix of burnt umber and ultramarine blue to sketch out my painting. I mentioned numerous times that this painting sketch is not meant to be an exact drawing of the subject — rather it serves as a general architecture of what you will paint.

However, when it comes to angles it is important to work on capturing accurate directions of angles. For example, in the image above notice how I capture the precise angles of the hat. Having accurate angles helps you in the long run as you will at least know what direction your angles need to be at. You might need to slightly adjust or fine tune some angles — but you will have the bulk of the job done!

Here I paint the face, hair and upper body of the figure. As you can see, I only go after the big general shapes. I do not at this point paint the details of the eyes or mouth. Rather, I look for the shape that the profile of the face creates and pay attention to the large ridge created by the eye brows.

I also look at the shape of the upper body and paint the profile of the arm. Never get caught up in details when creating your painting sketch — just focus on the big picture! When sketching out a figure it is also important to paint the clothing. For example, in the image above I paint the shape of the shawl that is draped over the figure.

Now it is time to finish up the painting sketch. I put in a bowl that the figure is holding. Then I marked out any other basic shapes such as the drapery beneath the bowl. Another important thing worth noting is that you can pay attention to value when creating these painting sketches. Notice how some of the lines are darker while others are lighter. The darker lines signify areas that are darker in value. So, you can make value notations even when sketching out your painting!

The beginning of a painting is crucial as it affects how a painting turns out in the end. Put these lessons to practice and start your painting by sketching it out on canvas first. Leave a comment in the section below and let me know how your painting sketch goes! Want to remember this? Art Studio Life exists for you to be able to stay inspired, learn, and improve your skills. Subscribe to Art Studio Life and get my free color mixing guide! I love Art and would to do oil painting but subscribe you for oil painting affects me even with the window open and I do it in my bedroom in the Nursing home.

Hello Bernadette! Sorry to hear that oil painting affects you even with the window open. A good alternative is to use water soluble oil paints — they can be great to use. Also, acrylic paints can be a good substitute! Thank you It was verry amazing and the way to explain is understood and helpfully Bless you. Thank you! You just solved a problem for me.

I am planning a painting involving mountain landscape with portraiture. No more thumbnail sketches for me. It is so much more meaningful to work right on the canvas. I am happy to hear that! Yes, it is really wonderful to just get started right away on the canvas.

I want to paint some miners with their yellow overalls in a very dark mine copying a painting by Sam Nhlengetwa, a South African artist. I often use a grid to help me enlarge drawings on to canvas as shown in the photo above. The grid helps you to get the shapes in the right locations and in the right proportions.

I may write a post that explains this process in detail. One trick that I use is to draw the grid with a regular pencil and then use a white watercolor pencil to sketch the image. This allows me to wipe the watercolor pencil away with a wet rag without erasing the grid. You can draw without worrying about making mistakes because you can just wipe them off with a wet rag and start over. This is useful for quickly blocking in the basic shapes and for working out the proportions.

Thank thou so much for this post. I am just getting back into painting. Apparently, I seem to have forgotten more than I ever learned! Again, I am still not sure, but will re-read your post. Many thanks. Hi Martha, I would try sketching lightly with a pencil that has hard graphite such as a 4H or 6H. The acrylic paint should cover the drawing, especially if you use opaque colors.

You can also try drawing with a gray watercolor pencil. Plus the gray will show up on both white and black canvases. I hope this helps! PS- I love the Finger Lakes region! I try to visit at least once each summer. Thank you so much for post, This is the first time I read such type of blogs, Its really useful for the users. Keep updated This type of blogs provide information to the users..

You must be logged in to post a comment. Table of Contents. I tested each pencil on a primed canvas by erasing and smudging each line. Also, I applied a diluted layer of matte medium over it as a fixative. I left the pencil lines untouched in the final column on the right. I use a white watercolor pencil to create the sketch for this sunflower painting. A graphite pencil was used to draw the grid. Pages: 1 2. Leave a Comment Cancel reply You must be logged in to post a comment.

Ideally, you want to prepare your canvas for painting with gesso before making your first mark on it. Paint used after primed canvas will not soak in, which could potentially disrupt the painting and make the process difficult. There are a few options to seal pencil drawings such as diluted gesso, Spectrifix, Krylon Fixative Aerosol, and other fixative sprays that contain shellack.

Ultimately, this is up to you! You can choose to erase the lines as you go and not have to worry about your sketch lines. This is very common in painting, and many artists choose this route, especially with complicated pictures requiring many details.

A second option is to use a light pencil to begin with — resulting in lighter sketch marks on the canvas that requires little to no tapping with a kneaded eraser. NOTE: Most of the time, choosing a lighter graphite or charcoal pencil will be the most efficient tool time and energy-wise, especially with very detailed and ornate sketches!

You can use Sharpie marker on canvas.