About Thumbnail Sketches
Summary
TLDRIn this art tips video, Marty Owings explores the utility of thumbnail sketches, aiming to demystify their role in the creative process. He discusses their importance in refining compositions, layouts, and even tonal values and color schemes before committing to a finished piece. Marty shares his personal approach, emphasizing that while thumbnail sketches are not finished works, they are instrumental in avoiding mistakes and solidifying ideas. He demonstrates creating quick sketches and suggests using them to evolve into more detailed studies or paintings, appreciating their potential as standalone art forms.
Takeaways
- 🎨 Thumbnail sketches are a preliminary tool used by artists to plan compositions, layouts, tonal values, and colors for their artwork.
- 📏 Marty Owings uses boxes or rectangles to contain his thumbnail sketches, emphasizing the importance of a quick and basic approach.
- ✏️ The use of a soft lead pencil like the TK9400 fabric pastel pencil allows for easy sketching and minimal erasing.
- 💡 Thumbnail sketches are not finished works of art but serve as a part of the creative process leading to a final piece.
- 🚫 Marty clarifies that while thumbnail sketches can be beautiful, they are not the end goal but rather a stepping stone in the artistic process.
- 🖼️ Thumbnail sketches help artists determine whether to proceed with a painting or drawing, and they help eliminate mistakes in future works.
- 🖌️ Historically, master painters used thumbnail sketches as a part of a multi-step process before creating a finished oil painting.
- 🌟 There's a recognition that some thumbnail sketches can be so well-executed that they could be considered finished works of art.
- 🎨 Marty enjoys creating thumbnail sketches for their own sake, appreciating them as a form of art and a way to explore composition and color.
- ❄️ An example is given where Marty turns a simple sketch into a winter scene by adding paint, demonstrating how thumbnails can evolve.
Q & A
What is the main topic of Marty Owings' video?
-The main topic of Marty Owings' video is the utility and process of creating thumbnail sketches in art.
Why does Marty Owings suggest using thumbnail sketches?
-Marty Owings suggests using thumbnail sketches to help determine whether to proceed with a painting or drawing, to eliminate mistakes in future work, and to ensure correct composition, tonal value, and color.
What materials does Marty Owings typically use for thumbnail sketches?
-Marty Owings uses a TK9400 fabric pastel pencil with a 4B lead for thumbnail sketches, and he may also use a number 10 flat brush for adding basic colors.
What is Marty's opinion on the use of erasers in thumbnail sketches?
-Marty Owings hopes not to use an eraser for thumbnail sketches because they are meant to be basic, but he keeps one on hand just in case.
How does Marty define a thumbnail sketch?
-Marty defines a thumbnail sketch as a preliminary drawing used to plan the composition, layout, and sometimes tonal value and color of a piece of art, but not as a finished work of art.
What historical process does Marty mention in relation to thumbnail sketches?
-Marty mentions that in the olden days, a master painter might do a thumbnail sketch, then a watercolor study, an oil study, and finally their finished oil painting.
Can thumbnail sketches be considered finished works of art according to Marty?
-While Marty does not consider thumbnail sketches as finished works of art due to their intended use, he acknowledges that some thumbnail sketches can be so beautiful that they could be characterized as finished works.
What is Marty's personal practice with thumbnail sketches?
-Marty's personal practice is to use thumbnail sketches as a part of the evolution towards a finished work, not as the complete work itself, but he also enjoys them as a form of art in their own right.
How long does Marty typically spend on a thumbnail sketch?
-Marty typically spends a matter of minutes on a thumbnail sketch, aiming for quick composition and layout ideas rather than precision.
What does Marty suggest for viewers who are interested in learning more about thumbnail sketches?
-Marty encourages viewers to share how they use thumbnails or why they don't, and to drop a note in the comments section for further discussion.
Outlines
🎨 Introduction to Thumbnail Sketches
Marty Owings introduces the topic of thumbnail sketches, emphasizing their utility in the artistic process. He plans to discuss their importance in evolving better drawings and paintings. Marty shows some of the materials he might use, including a TK9400 fabric pastel pencil, and explains his approach to thumbnail sketches, which involves quick, rough sketches usually done without erasing. He clarifies that while thumbnail sketches can be works of art, he views them as part of the creative process leading to a finished piece, rather than the finished work itself. He uses them to determine if a painting or drawing is worth pursuing and to plan composition, layout, tonal value, and color.
🖌️ Expanding on Thumbnail Sketch Techniques
Marty continues by discussing how thumbnail sketches can be a valuable step in the artistic process, especially for those looking to refine their work. He mentions historical practices where artists would create a series of studies before a final painting. Marty then demonstrates how he might take a thumbnail sketch further by adding color, using it as a study for composition, layout, and color scheme. He transforms a simple sketch into a snowy scene, showing the potential of thumbnails to evolve. He concludes by inviting viewers to share their experiences with thumbnails and thanking a viewer for the suggestion to create this video. Marty wraps up by encouraging viewers to subscribe and engage with the content.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Thumbnail Sketches
💡Composition
💡Illustration
💡Evolution
💡Fine Art
💡Tonal Value
💡Color
💡Process
💡Reference
💡Sketchbooks
💡Precision
Highlights
Introduction to the utility of thumbnail sketches and their importance in the artistic process.
Thumbnail sketches help demystify the early stages of creating art.
The artist's personal process of using thumbnail sketches is discussed.
Thumbnail sketches are a tool for composition and layout planning.
Exploring tonal value and color within thumbnail sketches.
Thumbnail sketches are not finished works but part of the creative evolution.
The historical use of thumbnail sketches in fine art and other fields.
How thumbnail sketches assist in determining the direction of a painting or drawing.
Eliminating mistakes in future work through thumbnail sketching.
The optional nature of thumbnail sketches for artists.
The transformative journey from a thumbnail sketch to a finished oil painting.
Appreciation for thumbnail sketches as art forms in themselves.
The practicality of thumbnail sketches for quick composition and color decisions.
The artist's enjoyment in creating thumbnail sketches for their own sake.
The potential of thumbnail sketches to evolve into more detailed studies.
The artist's practice of using thumbnails as a stepping stone to finished works.
Invitation for viewers to share their experiences and opinions on thumbnail sketches.
Transcripts
hi there i'm marty owings and welcome to
this week's art tips
today i want to take a look at thumbnail
sketches i want to talk a little bit
about the utility of thumbnail sketches
maybe unlock some of the secrets and
demystify
thumbnail sketches a little bit for you
and just talk about how i use them in my
process
and what i look for and why they're
important
in the evolution of better
drawings and paintings this is some of
the gear i'll use today i may may not
use all of it but i've got it on hand
anyway
this is a quick look at some of the
thumbnail sketches i'll do today now i'm
going to
just sketch out six quick boxes i like
boxes rectangles anything like that
that can contain my thumbnail i dropped
an eraser there
i hope not to use it because thumbnail
sketches really are
just basic but i keep an eraser on hand
just in case
i'm going to sharpen up this tk9400
fabric pastel pencil
with a i think it's got like a 4b
lead in it so it's pretty soft and i'm
going to take most of
what i do for these thumbnail sketches
today right out of my head
i may use a little bit of reference from
the
internet but i'm just really trying to
pull this stuff
out of my head and get it on paper what
is a thumbnail sketch and why are they
why do they exist well i don't know the
whole entire history
of thumbnail sketches but i know they're
used a lot in illustration
um and in advertising and in different
forms of art
and in the regular process of fine art
just to get
a better idea of your
composition the layout
you could even go into tonal value and
color in a thumbnail sketch
you can do a lot with a thumbnail sketch
but what a thumbnail sketch
isn't and this is just my opinion it
really isn't a finished work
now a thumbnail sketch can be a work of
art that's for sure
and i certainly enjoy looking at
people's thumbnail sketches
and and when i see them in sketchbooks
i'm always fascinated by it
but i'm more around the process than
anything else and so
thumbnail sketches to me aren't finished
work they're
a part of the evolution in a finished
work
and i'll tell you why i use thumbnail
sketches basically thumbnail sketches
help me determine whether or not i want
to actually do
a certain painting or drawing and they
help me eliminate
mistakes in that future work that i
might do
because i took the time to lay the work
out in a thumbnail
now certainly not everyone needs to do
thumbnail drawings obviously they're not
for everybody but
for somebody who kind of wants to
advance their work a little bit and see
through some of their mistakes
and make sure that their composition is
correct and even get down to tonal value
and color
this can be a really good step i guess
in the olden days of your
a a pen a painter a master painter might
do a thumbnail sketch then a watercolor
study
then an oil study and then do their
finished oil painting
but really i think thumbnail sketches
as an art form in themselves is is just
great i have no argument with that
i don't call it a finished work
obviously but
there sometimes people do thumbnail
sketches that are so beautiful
that they certainly could be
characterized as finished work i try not
to make
uh that judgment even though i said
earlier that thumbnails
really aren't finished works of art just
because of that's how that's not how
they're used
but can they end up that way certainly i
don't dispute that
and i even enjoy it myself so here you
can see a number of these thumbnail
sketches
i've just enjoyed doing this but i get
an idea of of where i want to put things
in another painting
and this particular uh thumbnail sketch
the last one
has really what i think is kind of a
nice composition
with that nice cool interesting tree off
to the right and the farmhouse in the
background
and so this one i might want to take a
step further add a little paint to
get an idea of color and maybe take this
thumbnail sketch to the next level at
some point
but the whole idea is to get through
this sketch in a maybe a matter of
minutes really rather than
you know a half hour or something we're
talking about minutes
so here i'm going to take some of the
paint and i'm just going to block in
some basic colors this is a number 10
flat
on a really small thumbnail sketch so
i'm not looking for precision here
or anything like that just blocking and
there's a little yellow sky
and even when i did that i thought to
myself i want to make this a winter
scene
so i took some white casing paint
and and kind of you know brightened up
that snow
in the foreground there and then i'll
add this shadow and blue
for the tree but it's kind of turned
into a nice little
snowy scene and i kind of like that i
think that's
if i was going to take this painting to
the next level or this thumbnail
and do another work another uh study
with it and then maybe a finished work
this gives me an idea of layout and
color and composition
and all that stuff so you can go a long
way in a thumbnail
and again this is my opinion this is my
practice
other people's opinions or practice with
thumbnails may differ
but i've been having a lot of fun with
thumbnails lately just in
by themselves not as a finished work not
as the complete work
but maybe as a work of art in in and of
itself you know something to look at
um it's fun i like looking at people's
sketchbooks
and seeing thumbnail sketches in because
i get an idea of what their process was
and here i'm just going to hand freehand
some squares around here
just to add a little bit of definition
and then we'll wrap this up
and that's that's thumbnails in a
nutshell thumbnail nutshell yeah that's
that's about it
and um you know i i'd love to hear how
you use thumbnails if you do
uh and and if you don't why don't you
uh drop me a note down in the comments
section i'd
i'd love to hear and thanks to a viewer
who suggested
i do a video on thumbnails i really
appreciate it and
and so here it is by request and uh
i hope we've unlocked a little bit of
the secrets of thumbnails here
don't forget to subscribe hit the like
button it feels good to hit the thumbs
up thanks for watching this has been
marty for owingsart.com
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