Nowadays, we have computers printers tablets digital cameras typefaces digital art brushes and creative software tools which help bring our imagination and design to life.
Technology has and will continue to change the way we create. Enabling us to experiment and explore an endless dynamic of visual effects and methods to create and communicate more complex concepts messages and achieve more sophistication in our design.
Today it is common for a designer to create work predominantly on computer creating logos, branding, magazine, layouts, infographics, D models, web design, social media and motion graphics to name a few.
For the next generation of designers and even existing designers today it may be natural to wonder about the usefulness and importance of traditional techniques.
As designers it will help us to think of drawing a serving two functions One to carefully construct and complete a piece of artwork.
If you want to draw hand lettering graphic novels, cartoons, character designs, portraiture and more illustration and art related work you would require a good level of drawing and rendering skill.
Function one: let's call this Drawing to Render Art.
The next function To think about a design idea and communicate it visually.
If you're conceptualizing design ideas perhaps for logo designs, magazine layouts, storyboards, web layouts or advertisement posters you will require a certain degree of skill in sketching and if you are presenting design direction for other creatives to follow you will require skill in scamping also referred to as drafting.
Function two: let's call this Drawing to Design.
So two functions there Drawing to Render Art and Drawing to Design.
As a designer it will help to think about drawing in that regard because as a designer you should only really be concerned with drawing to design.
What's the difference you may be wondering?
Well we will be covering that shortly In my experience a designer should have good skill in drawing to design but not necessarily a good skill at drawing to render art.
In the design industry today most designers will not be required to create finished pieces of artwork through drawing. But will always be required to come up with creative ideas and concepts for design
and will often express them through sketches and scamps.
Now in a professional environment like a design agency any design work with heavy illustrative execution would normally be tasked to an illustrator who specializes in drawing to render art.
If you're learning to become a designer I would say focus on drawing to design. If you can bring your thoughts and ideas from your mind and project them onto paper you can practice design. To sketch and think visually is the essence of design.
This is one of the most important and creative parts of the design process. In my experience sparks happen on the page!
During the sketching process Ideas are invented ideas! Ideas are crafted discovered and start to shape a direction concept or possible design solution.
You should only use the computer when you have an idea on the page. So the first type of drawing a
designer should be well practice at is sketching.
To be able to sketch will be able to communicate your ideas visually.
Sketching is a great method to render your imagination fast and bring your initial ideas out of your mind to rule out anything you feel may or may not work and to progress and evolve ideas.
So let's take a look at some examples.
First we have some rough sketches for some page layout ideas for a brochure looking at possible image and typesetting compositions.
Next we have some sketches for a logo type design exploring various routes and ideas.
Next we have another example for a logo mark design based on the DNA structure looking at how it may move grow and change to create multiple logo permutations to create a logo system.
Next another logo type design example exploring various routes and ideas and again design sketches for a logo mark exploring a variation of what appear to be map tag shapes.
Lastly we have sketches for a leaflet plan here we are looking at how the design will unfold with possible layout options.
So what we see in each example are rough ideas.
A designer will be thinking fast and trying to discover an experiment with possible design solutions before working up and developing ideas on the computer.
Each example may be rough but here you can clearly see what the designer is thinking. This is really the level at which you will be required to sketch.
To see some more examples of design sketches simply type 'Graphic Design Sketches' and 'Logo Design Sketches' into google images. There you can see lots more examples to get a better understanding on sketching for design.
So how do you get good at sketching?
Well if you don't feel confident sketching I would encourage you to practice and harness your technique.
If you can nurture your skill in sketching it's really going to help with your design process. Get a sketch pad or layout pad take it everywhere you go and sketch your thoughts and design ideas.
Practice drawing shapes grids layouts and typography, and soon you will be proficient in general shape and form sketching, which will help you sketch your rough designs.
Sketching is something you could be practicing all the time, and sketch as much as you can.
To sketch and develop your ideas use a graphic pencil range of markers thin medium and thick tipex and a range of colored markers.
Now depending on what type of ideas you're sketching be it for layout logos or patterns, use either a clear white graphic layout pad or a grid pad.
This simple equipment works really well. It is relatively cheap and easy to replace. Once you feel an idea is working on paper as a possible design solution only then take it onto the computer.
Now there are many benefits why you should sketch your ideas before taking them on to the computer. Drawing to render a finished idea or created on computer may take hours whereas a quick sketch can take you minutes.
When working in teams sketches can become the discussion point when you have something visual and tangible in front of you it makes it easier to talk about that idea with others such as clients senior designers or creative directors.
To quote Paul Arden "Rough layouts sell the idea better than polished ones".
Every time at a meeting always sketch initial rough thoughts out and show clients or other designers. This helps engage them and see their reactions and get feedback.
Many times through this collaborative process creative solutions have been discovered.
As a designer myself that predominately works on computer I find sketching the most organic and fluid part of my thinking.
When I designed for anything before I jump onto the computer I usually start on paper thinking visually sketching up my ideas and exploring how they may or may not work. Ideas seem to flow much better sketching on paper than trying to build them from scratch on a computer.
So the next type of drawing a designer should be well practice that is scamping.
In the design industry scamping has quite a practical role. If I want to present initial design ideas at a meeting in a more clear fashion I will create what is called a scamp drawing also referred to as a draft.
Scamps are used in the industry to communicate specific design direction. A scamp can be a simple doodle or a more developed crafted drawing.
Because these drawings are used to give clear design direction they are typically more refined than the rough sketches.
These are often clear line drawings and can include color with markers. Depending on how much you want to communicate and to what detail you can draw your scamps accordingly.
These are also used to brief and give visual reference to other creative professionals such as web developers, D modelers, Illustrators, photographers , animators or art workers.
So let's take a look at some examples.
First we have a scamp suggesting the orientation and structure of a leaflet. Here we can see the direction for photography and composition.
Next is another leaflet example. Here we can see more clear direction for layouts of type and image.
Next is another scamp example suggesting the layout of a leaflet cover and page layouts.
Next is another scamp example suggesting the layout of a leaflet cover and page layouts.
Next is a scamp giving direction for a photo composition for an advert and to the right is the photo result taken from the scamp design.
Next is a scamp for a poster design suggesting product and design composition and type layout.
Next is a storyboard scamp for a short advert
Next is another scamp example for a leaflet layout design.
Finally we have a series of scamps suggesting design directions for a business card, a letterhead and brochure page layouts.
So here we have a range of scamps showcasing different styles techniques and approaches What they will all do is express clear specific design direction.
Compared to the rough sketches we can see more detail to communicate more direction here.
To see more examples of scamps simply type design scamps and advertising scamps into google images.
Here you can see lots more examples of how scamps are drawn and used in industry.
So how do you get good at drawing scamps?
Now unlike sketching you will require more skill and technique here. When it comes to drawing scamps you will want to take a little more time and focus on clarity.
A technique I used is draw and trace. First draw a design on layout paper using a pencil. This can be really rough like a sketch then draw over your pencil sketch with a fine marker with clear lines to
simplify your initial sketch.
Once complete rub the pencil away and highlight any focal points of your design with a bold marker to suggest hierarchy.
Remove any mistakes or errors with TipEx. If the result is still a little rough trace over the drawing until the end result is clear and precise.
With my line drawing I can then fill in with color using markers or scan my line drawing onto the computer clean up and add color using brushes in Photoshop
This technique works well but does take a little practice.
So skill in drawing for design will really benefit you in the industry at university or college you will always be encouraged to think about your design as sketches before jumping onto the computer to make the final result.
Clients love to see an idea come to life and employers really like to see how you can come
up with ideas.
It's great to have examples of this in your portfolio. This shows that you really think about your design.
To conclude Does the graphic designer need drawing skills?
The answer is: Every designer should have skill in sketching and scamping drawing for design but not necessarily skill in drawing to render art
So what are your thoughts? Do you agree with my conclusion? Do you think designers need drawing skills? or do you think we don't need any? Also what equipment do you use to do your drawing?
Be sure to share your thoughts and experiences in the comment section.
