Why Dundee? Family, gentle reader, the best reason for doing anything. My grandfather Thomas Clark was born in Dundee and grew up there, until moving to London to look for work during the Great Depression of the 1930s. So, here's my reference photo:-
Have a good look at it. Don't let yourself be scared by the amount of detail there. Remember, I'm not going to try to sketch the big picture. See the scene as a collection of SMALL pictures because that's what I'm going to draw. Then they will make the big picture if I get it right.
So, where do you think I started? There's no large figure in a prominent position. Well, for me the focal point is the foregrounded tram below the centre of the picture. There's other places I might have chosen to start, but I go with what I feel that I really want to draw and in this picture I'm drawn to the tram. The tram is made up of mostly straight lines and angles. So which do you think will I start with?
It's mid afternoon and the light is streaming through the living room window. That's why there's that shadow across the top of the page. It doesn't both me because there's not much we will eventually draw in that corner, and even if there were it's going to be some time before we get there.
In the photo above I've started with the upper deck of the tram. The first line that I made was the top one, the roof line. Drawing diagonals and getting the angle right is harder than drawing vertical or horizontal lines so that's where I started. Second line was the line below the windows which was easier having the roof line to guide me. I didn't close off the ends yet, because I wanted to put the right umber of windows in and thought that I might have to extend the diagonals slightly. This wasn't necessary in the end.
As this next photo shows, I reigned myself in and imposed a little self discipline to finish the tram before starting anything else. One of the reasons why I chose to start with this tram was that I love trams, and I've sketched old double decker trams like this on many occasions. So I have confidence that I understand the anatomy of this kind of vehicle that I can render it well enough without having to take an age over it. I's position on the page now means I have a free choice whether to sketch the buildings above, to the left or to the right of the tram. Which way do you think I'll go?
I decided on the large building immediately behind the tram. It really dominates the middle of the picture. At the risk of sounding too up myself, I could feel that all the other buildings to the right and left would be defined by the way that they each related to this one in the centre.
A small tip - apologies if I'm teaching my grandmother to suck eggs here - with a building like this I ted to do one floor/stage at a time. I outline the frame, then put in the windows. If you get the spacing between the windows right it will be a huge help to you. So if you look at the three windows behind the tram, then look back to the original photo you'll see that the gap between windows in the photograph is wider than the gap in my sketch. However, the gaps between all three widows in the sketch are consistent with each other so that they LOOK right, even though they're not a perfectly accurate rendition of what it shows in the photo. These windows then will also be a useful guide to help sketch in the two courses of windows above.
You might also notice that I've put in some of the lamppost to the right. Large verticals like this give a handy reference point for sketching details of the buildings behind.
So you can see that I added the two sets of windows above. If you took a ruler to their horizontal and vertical edges you'd see that they don't quite line up perfectly. Well, this is because I was making a sketch and not a perfect architectural drawing. I've come close enough and that's all I need to do, because if I get close enough the the viewer's eye will do the rest.
With the windows in I have enough information to draw the roofline and the chimney. At this point I'd often move away from this building now, but I was trying to be a bit more disciplined than I had been with the previous sketch. I decided to finish the small picture of the side of the building which is why I also applied the brickwork and shading at this point. After I posted the completed dustman sketch on Facebook one of the comments was, and I quote "Holy cow! How long did that brickwork take, David?" Well, not long at all. I sketch in the horizontals without worrying too much about making them perfectly straight as long as they're roughly perpendicular to each other. Then I literally dash in the verticals between bricks - they didn't have to be anything like perfect because they were going to be shaded with hatching anyway. Remember - if you suggest, their eye will do the rest.
I decided I was going to draw the small pictures that would fill in the big picture on the left. I've put in the large chimney stack to the left. This in turn has enabled me to judge the roofline and guttering below. In turn this enabled me to judge where to place the windows beneath and to extend the left hand edge of the building to meet the roof of the tram. If you look at the chimney stack again you can see I've already drawn the horizontal lines of the brickwork. Look closely and you'll see that the spacing between them isn't perfect but it's good enough to fool the eye. Also I've added the spire rising just behind the chimney pots and the outline of the roof just to the left of it. his is the tallest point of any of the buildings in the original photo.
I have to apologise. I got so into the drawing at this point that I forgot to take another photograph for ages. So the next small picture was extending the outline of the side of the building behind and to the left of the huge chimney stack. Then it was the building underneath. Same process as before - roofline and guttering first. Top line of windows following the guttering next. Then next line of windows beneath. Then the details underneath that, down as far as the roof of the tram. Then the outline of the left hand side of the building. Next I followed the same process for the taller building immediately left, working downwards to the same point. Then the building to the left of that.
At this point I started to sketch and shade in the details of the shop front level to the left of the back of the tram. The awnings were a really helpful reference for this. As for the figures behind the tram, if you make just a couple of outlines of legs and leave a little negative space between bodies then your dark blobs really do begin to look like figures at a distance.
Can you have a look at the original photograph again? Did you notice the building which is face on to us to the left of what I've already drawn? If I was Mr. Self-Disciplined I would have sketched this building next. But I'm not, and I didn't. Constructing your drawing in this way as a series of small pictures means you can always leave one small picture, go and do another and then come back to it. I can't help following where the fancy takes me. What can I say, I'm doing this to have fun. So, the lamppost on the right kept catching my eye, and I thought it might be fun to complete it. This enticed me to draw in the roofline and guttering immediately to the right of the top of the lamp. Which led me to put in the top row of windows and that enabled me to work my way downwards, just as I had done on the left.
So basically, by this point the centre of the picture was complete, and the part the eye should be immediately drawn to was pleasing - well, to me it was. Out of interest as well, on the roof of the building on the left is a sign for Yellow Label Whisky. This was produced by the Dundee firm of John Robertson and Sons. I have Dundee based Robertson ancestors. Any relations? Who knows?
Having extended the building to its right hand edge, I then returned to the left. If you could have another look at the photo you'll see another tram in front of the building that is face on to us. I drew a horizontal sight line marking the top of one floor and the bottom of another and also one window as an anchor point for when I was ready to draw the rest of the building. Then to the tram. I made it the same way I made the first. It really isn't the best tram I've ever drawn - to be honest it looks more like a trolleybus than a tram. But then it's not at all unusual to have one small picture not come off quite the way you would have liked without it having any real detrimental effect on the big picture.
When you're doing a detailed drawing like this one which is going to take a few hours it can be helpful to have a break or two. I decided that I was going to extend the picture to the left as far as where I wanted the edge to be and then take a break for a bite to eat. I used the second tram to help me line up the third tram - which actually looks like a tram this time. I used the helpful window I drew previously to line up the rest of the windows on the side of the building behind, then followed the same procedure for the side of the building receding into the background to the left. Roof- guttering - top row of windows - next line of windows down. Again, not wanting to teach my grandmother how to suck eggs, but another small tip - as your line of buildings recede further into the background you can make the marks for features of buildings far less distinct. Suggest, suggest, let their eye do the rest.
Isn't this the same photograph as the previous one? Have a closer look. I've added a small cluster of figures walking in the road on the right and more importantly, the curb stretching round. This marks where I plan for the right hand edge of the picture to be.
Nearly there now. So I've sketched in most of the buildings to the right. I worked from right to left, one building at a time. Just the same as before I would start with the roof line, then do the top row of windows and work my way downwards. Working outwards I did need to remember that the buildings move closer to the foreground as they approach the right hand edge of this picture, so windows and other details need to be more distinct the closer they come to the edge.
And here's the finished picture. I finished the buildings on the right, but can you see what else I've done? The shadows on the road on the right. Also texture marks on the road surface.
So, I finished the picture before going out to a quiz in the pub at 7pm. That's just over four hours, but part of this time I took a break for dinner.
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So, I can summarise the useful things to remember from making this picture -
* Whatever the subject you're sketching, look at the big picture at the start and think about how much of it you're going to include, but then put it out of your mind. Try to see instead the small pictures its made up of. When you get a feeling for which small picture you want to begin with, then start.
*Certainly for the first small picture it's helpful to concentrate on finishing this one before you move on to another small picture. This gives you an anchor point, which helps you judge distances and angles for the other small pictures you're going to draw.
*Your viewers' eyes are going to be your accomplice. The marks you make on the page don't have to be perfect. They just have to be good enough for the eye to recognise and for the subconscious to join the dots.
* If you're drawing in perspective (oh no, perspective!) remember that as objects move away from the viewer the detail should be less distinct. Curiously the more indistinct you make the details, the more work the eye and the brain take on for you. Conversely, as objects move closer to the viewer the detail should be more distinct.
* Being self-critical is most helpful when in comes after you've finished. It's quite common to be unhappy with one of the small pictures you've drawn. Yet this very often does not spoil the big picture it contributes towards. Have faith.
