One of the best parts of a shared sketching experience is hearing what everyone figured out along the way. Sometimes it’s about colour – finding that perfect grey or swapping out colours that don’t work for us. Sometimes it’s about timing – learning when to stop before it gets overworked. And sometimes it’s just the relief of knowing someone else struggled with ivy too.
At the end of our four-week sketching experience, we gathered for a celebration session – a relaxed, supportive event where nobody had to draw, but students had the chance to share. It was our version of a sketchbook throwdown, where students talked through their favourite sketches, reflected on what they’d learned, and bravely opened up about the wobbly bits as well as the wins.
Over four weeks, we didn’t just make progress on paper. We picked up ideas, shortcuts, and ways of working that actually felt useful. The tips shared in that final session weren’t polished or rehearsed – they were real, practical, and learned through genuine trial and error.
This post is a celebration of all that. A collection of honest insights from students who picked up their pens, turned up each week, and noticed their own progress – one week at a time. Here are their top tips:
Do Less Than You Think
Suzanne nailed it with a reminder that stuck with everyone: do less than you think. Add just enough ink, tone or colour to suggest something. You can always build it up. Taking this advice on board, several students said they started seeing their work with “fresher eyes” and felt less pressure to cover every inch of the paper.
Simon echoed this with a simple rule: don’t fill the page. He showed how leaving space – especially in the sky and around the hedges can give the sketch breathing room. Lydia’s version took that even further. Her sketch was deliberately minimal, with a clean wintery feel that made her muted palette stand out.
Bruce added a compositional angle, reminding us that too many branches can make a sketch feel top-heavy. Leaving gaps, especially in treetops, created space for the sky to come through.
And just in case you need a mental image: think of your sketch like a good soup. You want enough ingredients to taste it – but if you chuck in everything from the fridge, it just turns into a brownish mush.
Swatching First, Painting Second: Why Testing Your Colours Matters
One of the smartest habits to come out of the course was swatching – and not just for show. Suzanne encouraged everyone to take a bit of time before starting to test their existing colours. Could you mix that grey yourself before buying another tube? Could that soft green be built from what’s already on your palette? Bruce found that making a dedicated swatch sheet helped him figure out which colour combinations would give him the right greens and greys before he put brush to paper – saving time and avoiding frustration mid-sketch.
Carmen also discovered how colour choices early on can affect the whole sketch. She found that if you go in too dark with the watercolour too soon, you leave yourself less flexibility for adding pen detail later. That balance – between colour, tone, and timing – made a big difference.
Get to Know Your Tools: Pens, Paper and Prep
Once you’ve sorted your palette, it’s worth turning your attention to the rest of your materials. Several students found that the sketching process became smoother simply by understanding how their tools behaved – before jumping into the artwork itself.
Suzanne shared a valuable habit: test your pens on scrap paper first. Just because it says waterproof on the label doesn’t mean it’ll hold up under a juicy watercolour wash. A quick scribble and swipe test can save you from smudges and unwanted surprises.
She also reminded the group that paper texture matters. Smoother paper makes it easier to draw clean lines with fineliners or brush pens, while rougher textures absorb pigment differently and may dull your colours. A few sketchers mentioned they now always do a quick materials test on the back of the page or on a corner of their pad before starting properly.
Lauren offered a tip for those working larger – like A2 or even A3 sizes. Use thicker pens for bigger work. Fine liners can easily get lost on large pages, and all that careful detail might not stand out once colour is added. Bolder tools give your lines the strength they need to anchor the sketch.
And while we recommend certain materials for ease and consistency, it’s not a fixed list. Use the materials you feel comfortable with. If you don’t have access to cold-press paper, hot-press is absolutely fine — especially if it’s what you’re used to. The best results often come when you’re working with tools that feel familiar in your hand, not ones that tick a box on a supply list.
Managing Detail: How to Know When Enough is Enough
One of the most shared lessons across the group was about how much detail to include – and when. Ian’s advice to hold off on the ivy came up repeatedly. It’s tempting to scribble shapes in early, but many found it better to wait – letting the main structure settle first, and saving the fine touches for the final stage.
Amy discovered that hinting at detail often works better than spelling everything out. A few dots can suggest stones or leaves more effectively than carefully drawing each one. One of her favourite discoveries was what she called “drawing ivy without drawing ivy” – building the form by sketching the black gaps between leaves, not the outlines themselves. Ian pointed out how this technique works just as well for cobbles, rooftops, and other repetitive textures.
Bruce’s takeaway was about balance – not just in colour, but in detail too. It’s easy to overwork branches and clutter the page. Learning when to stop was a quiet but powerful shift for many sketchers. Carmen agreed, adding that drawing negative space, like leaving gaps for branches, took practice but had a big impact on the final result.
She also shared how experimenting with hatching techniques helped her build texture, even if it felt a bit awkward at first. Katerina, who teaches art herself, reminded everyone to slow down their linework. Being deliberate – not rushing outlines – gave her sketches more clarity and confidence.
As Amy summed up: “You don’t have to draw every stone to suggest a path.” A lighter touch, a broken line, a few marks in the right place – often, that’s all you need to let your sketch breathe.
Community Accelerates Learning
Carmen said it plainly: having a set structure helped her stay accountable. She got the work done because she knew there’d be a session to show up for. Lydia said the same thing in her own way — seeing others’ work gave her ideas and reminded her she’s not doing this in isolation.
Lauren described the comment threads as being just as valuable as the lesson itself. When she posted her sketch and saw how others interpreted the same scene, it reinforced a truth: there’s no single outcome. There’s just your version. Then another. And another after that.
Simon said he still learns from seeing how others approach the same reference. That mix of fresh perspective and familiar struggle is what makes this kind of learning so rich.
Embrace the Process
Lydia brought something honest and refreshing: she didn’t finish her sketch. She wasn’t sure if she would. But the incomplete state of it still communicated a mood. Ian even said it held up on its own, like a coloured pre-sketch. It had that quiet confidence that comes from not forcing a scene to be more than it is.
Amy reflected on this too. She said doing a second version of each scene helped her apply the learning more independently. The first followed Ian’s demo. The second gave her a chance to interpret the reference photo in her own way. Lauren made a similar point – seeing many interpretations in the community gallery helped prove there’s no “right way” to do it.
That’s progress you can feel. And it’s not about technical skill – it’s about building trust in your own decisions. If your sketch looks odd halfway through, it’s probably right on track. As Katerina said, “some sketches just look confusing in the middle stage – it’s the detail that brings it together.”
Final Thoughts: Sketching as a Shared Practice
What ties all these tips together isn’t style or technique – it’s honesty. Students weren’t afraid to admit what felt hard. They didn’t pretend their sketches came out perfect first time. Instead, they shared the moments that made something click: the swatch that saved a muddy mix, the decision to leave a branch out, the courage to stop before overworking the tone.
This is what enhanced learning looks like in practice. It’s not always tidy. But it’s genuine, and generous. If you’re learning how to sketch – whether it’s your second month or your second decade – know that every hesitant mark is part of the journey. And if you’re ever unsure whether something is “good enough,” just ask yourself: does it feel honest?
That’s usually the best sign that you’re making progress.
Ready to learn more?
Our Summer 2025 Four-Week Sketching Experience may have wrapped up, but there’s still plenty to explore in the Urban Sketch PLUS members’ area before the next one begins. Whether you’re working on linework, tone, colour, or composition, you’ll find a workshop, webinar, or training session to help you keep moving forward – at your own pace, in your own way. And if you’re craving that live energy again, keep an eye out for upcoming sketch workshops where you can join in real-time, sketch alongside others, and keep that creative momentum going.
