My Moo cards are printed and ready for Amsterdam! |
A tradition at the annual international Urban Sketchers Symposium is to exchange small cards with other sketchers. Like business
cards, they usually include contact information on one side and a sketch on the
other – a fun and easy way to remember people we meet and to stay in touch with
them. When I get home from the symposium, I tape all the cards I’ve collected
into my sketchbook, and they are among my most cherished souvenirs as I think
about the many sketchers I met. I’m looking forward to doing it again later
this month in Amsterdam.
I used to print my own at home, but I got tired of all the
cutting, so I’ve been ordering cards and stickers from Moo the past few
years. Since the materials are digitally printed, a batch of cards costs the
same, whether you choose to print the same image on all cards or a different
image on each. The online tool for setting them up is easy to use; the hard
part, for me, is selecting the images.
This sketch tells a story about the place where I live, but at this size, I can't even see what it shows. |
Considering that I sketch every day, you’d think I’d have plenty
to choose from, but that’s not the case. What I’ve learned from printing these
tiny cards is that a sketch that looks OK in its original 6-by-9-inch size
doesn’t always look as good when it’s reduced to 2-by-3 inches. All the details
I was so pleased with in the full-size sketch are barely visible. High contrast and strong
values are even more important in a small format. If I had a mediocre
composition in my sketchbook, you can bet it doesn’t improve when the image has
been shrunken down to a card.
At the same time that I’m choosing images that might reproduce
well in a small format, I’m also thinking about subject matter. Since I know I
will be giving the cards to international friends who may not be familiar with my
home, I try to select images that might give them a sense of “the place where I
live” (to paraphrase the manifesto). You see? It’s a tall order.
Choosing images for my Moo cards is a humbling experience. I
flip through the digital scans on my hard drive by viewing thumbnails at about 2-by-3
inches, and I’m lucky if I can find even a dozen that pass the Business Card
Test. It has become an effective way to set an ongoing goal for myself: Make a 6-by-9-inch
sketch that will still look good when it’s 2 by 3.
Good lesson on how much values impact the sketch!
ReplyDeleteYes, I thought so, too!
DeleteThis are lovely. If only I was going to Amsterdam . . . Have a great time. There will be Yorkshire Urban sketchers there. Just not this one :)
ReplyDeleteI wish you were going, too! Will look for the Yorkshire sketchers!
DeleteThis is definitely food for thought, Tina. My biggest sketching problem is too much concentration on details and not enough on shapes and contrast. Your 2x3 test might just get my brain thinking right about such things. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteGlad it was helpful!
DeleteHere's an idea (too late for this year, but maybe next). Print cards with your contact info on one side, but leave the back blank. Then take them with you when you go to coffee shops, around the neighborhood, Seattle tourist spots, etc and sketch tiny scenes directly onto the back of the card with a fine-tip permanent ink pen (like a Micron). I did this for the Chicago USK workshop and it was so much fun. Each one was unique; some were not the greatest, but it was a great memento of me and my town.
ReplyDeleteTerrific idea!
Delete