Speed Sketching and Proportion: Shoes Drawing

Speed sketching and proportion

Speed sketching is one of the most fundamental skills that professional designers must possess. This is because designers aim to visualise their thoughts immediately on paper as they have to take into account their customer's feedback regardless of their nature. This feedback influences changes or improvements in a design.

One of the tasks we were given at the beginning of the course was to draw shoes we were wearing. We were all taken aback by this unexpected task. It might seem funny drawing shoes in an automotive design course. However, shoes are one of the closest form of transport to us.

On this task, we were asked to make multiple shoe drawings in limited times. The drawings had to be drawn with decent proportion. The shoes I used for the drawings were Lacoste and Timberland boots.

Attempt 1: 20 minutes

The first object I started with was my Lacoste shoe. I started with the side view from the top left and ended up with a birds eye view in the middle. Thanks to enough time, I was able to approach 4 different perspectives as well as details such as stitch, laces and logo on the side.

Attempt 2: 10 minutes

I was still able to approach different perspectives. However, I had not enough time to put details, and consequently focused on describing forms with section lines based on decent proportions.

Attempt 3: 5 minutes

At this point, I swapped my shoe with my friend’s timberland boots. 5 minutes wasn’t enough time to try any details, so I focused on proportion instead. After finishing the drawing, we swapped our drawings with other members and gave feedback.

<Feedback>

General statement: You gained great skill in proportions and your style suits the speed and simplistic and stylistic details.

1. The top line section must be brought round with less elongation.
2. This section should be brought up more and with a greater curve.
3. Need to bring out more.

Attempt 4: 2 minutes

This time, I tried the box technique for a proper structural manner. However, I still had not enough time to add details.

Attempt 5: 2 minutes

Same amount of time, but this time, I tried to sketch with different material; biro pen (BIC). One of the major characteristics of biro pen I found during this process was the thickness that biro produces is uniform. To make the line thicker, you need to continue making the layers of the same lines. I personally prefer to use prismacolour pencils for quick sketches as they are soft and easily controllable to produce thick lines.

Attempt 6: 1min

I tried to capture the basic structure and proportions using box technique again. However, completely failed to capture any details.

Attempt 7: 30 seconds

I used a much smaller scale which takes less time to draw structural lines. Structural points are evident but completely ignored details.

Attempt 8: 20 seconds

I used continuous lines to capture the outline of the shoe, hatching lines inside to make the basic silhouette.

Attempt 9: 10 seconds

I tried to capture the most basic character lines with continuous lines. However, I could not focus on either proportions or details.

In conclusion, through this activity, I discovered that time is a large factor towards the outcome of speed sketches. The less time I had for the sketches, the more things I had to sacrifice such as detail. At the same time, It made me focus more on capturing essential points in the design. I have gained the skills to priorities certain features over others.

Tips for speed sketching:

• Start with basic form and proportion of the object.
• Try to capture and priorities the most significant characteristics.
• Try various views to help understanding if you have enough time.