What’s the Difference Between a Sketch and a Study?

 

5/14/22 Green Lake

In one of the first videos I viewed in Ian Roberts’ enormous collection of tutorials, he explains the difference between a thumbnail and a sketch. A thumbnail is a small, rough “roadmap” to quickly crop the composition’s shape and identify the value masses in preparation for a painting, especially when working plein air. If one has time in the studio, a thumbnail could be further developed into a more refined sketch to understand more about how elements overlap, develop tonal subtleties and otherwise hone the composition (Roberts has posted 30 days’ worth of these types of sketches on Instagram). By resolving potential issues with a thumbnail or sketch before putting brush to canvas, the painting is more likely to be successful.

Although I’m enjoying exploring small studies (my generic term for scribbles in my sketchbook that aren’t “real” sketches) according to Roberts’ composition principles, my “studies” often morph into “real” sketches. I forget that I’m supposed to be learning from the study and not just having fun making a sketch. This might be partly because I know that my final outcome will not be an oil painting, so my range from rough to finished is not as wide as it would be for a painter. But maybe it’s mostly the element of intention: I start to have fun and forget the intention to study.

5/25/22 Roosevelt neighborhood

It happened one morning on my way home from errands. With frozen foods in the car, I didn’t have much time, but I knew I could easily make a thumbnail or two. I saw some interesting shadows next to a construction-area fence (at left). Somewhere along the way, I got interested in the details, and it was no longer a study. I had fun, so it’s not a problem, but its purpose was lost. (I was still quick – my frozen foods didn’t thaw!)

There’s also the element of expectation. A sketcher I follow was complaining that, compared to sketches she consciously plans to make, she often prefers the casual, spontaneous sketches she dashes off while waiting for something to happen. I related to her comment immediately, though in a slightly different way: I often prefer my studies to whatever “real” sketches that the studies were supposed to prepare me for. I have no expectations for the studies, and they often come off as simple, direct and fresh – which is all I want from a “real” sketch!

A good example happened at Green Lake recently (top of post). Enjoying al fresco coffee with Greg, I spotted a scene down the street that I wanted to sketch, but I didn’t want to take a half hour to make it. I promised I would take no more than five minutes (he knows I’m good for it). It was an ideal situation for a thumbnail (by Roberts’ definition): I saw an interesting composition that I could explore quickly by noting the values (I used yellow and blue, but they were more for values than color). If I wanted to, I could come back later to make a larger sketch in full color. When I finished in the promised five minutes, I liked this little study dashed off in my Field Notes as much as any “real” sketch I might have made of the same scene. It captured the moment, and it feels complete. Is it a study? Or is it a sketch?

Not that I care about the labels used, but I do care about my intention. If I intend to practice deliberately and learn from it, I don’t want to go on autopilot and just do my usual thing. In this case, it was the best of all worlds: I made a quick notation of values that ended up being a fresh, complete sketch – and I like the results.

5/25/22 Maple Leaf neighborhood

And sometimes this happens: I was out walking in the ‘hood one beautiful day, making compositional studies. Early afternoon, the sun nearly directly overhead, I spotted a traffic circle tree with a fringe of backlighting. I thought about making a study, but I love that type of lighting too much, and I didn’t want to kill the freshness by making a study first. I went straight in with a “real” sketch (at right). When I was done, I drew a box around it – a retroactive study! 😉 But as soon as I did, I realized I had put the tree smack-dab in the center – an issue I would have spotted if I’d made a thumbnail first! I cropped it digitally later (below) to show what that thumbnail should have taught me.

Cropped to improve the composition