Sketchbook Tutorial: Why and How to Create a Sketch Thumbnail

Learn the basics tips to quickly create a thumbnail and why this is an important step in your painting with Alex Hillkurtz

A small, quick and simple preliminary sketch is an important part of any painting: it will help you find the shapes, lines, light and shade. A basic drawing will help identify the essential elements of what you are about to do.

Artist and illustrator Alex Hillkurtz, specialist in watercolor, tells us how to sketch in the video below with techniques he uses to achieve simple and efficient results without losing time.

Use a simple sketchbook

Buy yourself a simple sketchbook, preferably a small one, that will be your catalog of everything you sketch. Don’t worry about paper quality, brand, or price.

All you need is something to design things on rapidly and that can go with you everywhere. Simplicity is vital to save time.

Draw basic shapes

A sketch thumbnail will let you focus on simple shapes, in black and white, and give you a type of structure. Don’t worry about the details: stick with the elements that will give perspective. Let your pencil flow freely over the page.

Use graphite to define the shadows

Highlight the shadows gently with a graphite chalk, like a crayon. This is a simple way to add another layer of information to your sketch.

Use water to create effects

To create stronger and deeper shadows, wet your pencil with clean water. This will add more details and effects to the drawing. Again, don’t worry about definition too much. You’re looking for basic ideas.

Use a pens for darker lines

A wider-tipped pen will allow you to create darker, sharper lines.

Define the edges of your sketch

The final step is defining your borders like a picture frame. You can adjust them to emphasize a particular part of the painting.

The end result will be a sketch with essential information which will guide your painting and help you define which elements you want to present or not. A quick and efficient creative process.

If you enjoyed these tips, remember that you can learn an exclusive technique to combine ink and watercolor sketches to create beautiful in the course 'Architectural drawing with watercolor and ink', by Alex Hillkurtz.

You may also be interested in:

- Sketchbook Creation: Find Your Own Language, a course by Santiago Guevara
- The Art of Sketching: Transform Your Doodles into Art, a course by Mattias Adolfsson
- Watercolor Portrait Sketchbook, a course by Carlos Rodríguez Casado