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Sketching tips


Mr Flibble

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With a bit of luck I will complete the Messier list next spring when I work through the Virgo galaxies. I'm already giving serious thought to my next astronomical adventure and I'm drawn to the idea of sketching (please excuse the pun). I've always loved drawing and painting but unfortunately due to work and the rigours of everyday life I've not touched a piece of drawing paper for years, in fact not since I finished my school years. So what better way to revive my interest in art than to pair it with my hobby of astronomy.

I'm currently reading my way through the useful links posted above in the pinned Sketching Links and Sources thread (thanks for posting!) and I'm drawn to the Mellish technique. A few thoughts have crossed my mind......

(i) Does anyone use the Mellish technique and if so how does it compare to a conventional drawing in terms of ease, creating detail, etc?

(ii) How do you manage to draw effectively whilst enduring the harsh cold weather? I would guess that any numbing of the fingers/hands will have a detrimental effect.

(iii) How long do you take on average per drawing? (I realise this will depend on the type of object, i.e. a neb will probably take longer than an open cluster. I was always a slow drawer so I'm thinking my first few sketches will take a long time.

(iv) Any recommendations from where to obtain suitable art materials?

(v) How do you maintain the light source when sketching? Do you use a headlight or a light clamped onto a sketching board?

(vi) Any tips to get going on my first sketch? :-)

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Hi David

I've found the Mellish technique works really well for adding detail to galaxies and nebula, when I started sketching with my old 200P galaxies were just a faint smudge so I could get away with using graphite pencils and just smudging it with my finger. Moving up to 12" aperture actually showed detail and I wanted to record that in the easiest way so those pencils were replaced by pastels which you can rub on a piece of sandpaper then use something to brush that dust on which gives you more control (in theory! :)).

I'd say the Mellish technique is a little more time consuming and can also be frustrating at times, pastel pencils can be a pain as they are quite soft and tend to break when sharpening, you also have more brushes etc which you can guarantee you'll drop and have to hunt around for in the dark!!

Sketching onto black paper is good though, I really like going to the darkest sites possible and even a red light onto white paper seems too bright for me, the black paper doesn't reflect any light back at you so you can get away with using a brighter light. I use a Kindle reader light wrapped in red acetate which just clips onto the sketch pad.

Funnily enough I don't really get cold hands, I find if I just keep my head and body warm really warm I'm ok. I've got fingerless gloves but rarely use them and find the only times they come in handy is when there is a really cold wind.

The drawings don't take that long to do so maybe 20 minutes at most, sketching is really all about observing and I figure that as long as I'm looking through the EP more than looking at the sketch pad then I'm doing the right thing. In total each sketch/observation takes between 45 minutes to 1 1/2 hours it just depends how interesting the object I'm viewing is. I never rush, sketching is way to relaxing to rush it!

The first pic below shows what I use now but probably half of that is for lunar sketching which you won't need for DSO's but these are the sort of things you'll need to get - 

Conte Pastel

Conte pastel drawing pencils

White ink pen

Brushes ( I use 10mm/6mm/4mm )

Cotton wool buds

Rubber

Pencil sharpener ( Save yourself a lot of frustration and get a Dahle 155 like in the pic, everything else I've tried just doesn't work! )

Sandpaper

I just google art supplies and go for the cheapest option after delivery.

I'd try an open cluster first and just use a normal graphite pencil on white paper just in case you find sketching isn't for you. 

Hope that helps a little. :)

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Thanks Mike that's some really great advice. I'll definitely do what you suggest and try some regular sketching first to see how I get on before deciding whether to invest in specific materials. I'll have a couple of sessions in the back garden first, which isn't ideal due to the light pollution, but it will be good enough for some bright clusters and it'll let me get myself organised and familiar with the set-up before venturing out to my dark sky site if I decide to carry on with it. Neat idea with those Kindle lights, pretty reasonable pricewise as well so I might drop a few hints to the family with xmas just around the corner :grin: The funny thing is I'm not concerned at all about how poor or how well my first sketch turns out because I'm just looking forward to getting back into drawing again :grin:

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  • 2 weeks later...

Have a look at some of the images on here - Mike's sketch the messiers project is what gave me the inspiration and methods to get started - thanks Mike :smiley:

My sketches may take a long time if I'm sketching the Moon for instance - then I would sit down with the sketchbook; if it's the Moon I might even use a white light on the book. Usually,  I clip a red bike light to my coat so it's shining onto the book. Other times I sketch quickly to record star patterns and rough shapes so I can look up objects when I get back home - identified the Omega/swan nebula in this way.

Either way, I find sketching very useful to help me focus on an object and draw out more detail - it has really helped my observing.

I do like sketching white on black - I can't get my head around colour inverting!  A few sheets of black paper and a white gel pen would get you started on open clusters for minimal expense.  I love pastel pencils though - art supplies shops sell these individually.

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I feel there's no correct way for enjoying a stargazing session. Some nights it's a good idea to just run around the heavens in marathon style, other times to pick an object and tweak as much as you can from it until boredom sets in for you; there is no right or wrong way. Most of what I write here is already in other threads, will already be known but I think it's worth going through again.

Dark Skies

Whenever possible try getting yourself out to a Dark Site. If this isn't possible, no worries but you will be robbing yourself of detail that might have been possible. However, observing in light polluted areas can be extremely useful and shouldn't be used as an excuse not to sketch. Not only do you continue to hone your star-hoping skills but you can still make great sketches and jot down features you have seen and later compare them with your dark site ones. This is an interesting project in itself, for you'll see the effects LP has on your eye and the given object. Needless to say, not all celestial objects are adversely affected by light pollution and you can view planets, the Moon and Sun, for example, without any detrimental affect. Indeed, light pollution could even make observing brighter planets easier, for there may be less glare to contend with.

Space Tourist Vs Space Visitor

When approaching a sketch it is better to be a visitor, rather than a tourist. Many people will go to a museum, for example, and will rush all the paintings, but at the end of the day they only remember one or two of them at best and not that well either and the same analogy can be used when it comes to stargazing.

Sure, there is no right way to plan our sessions and the following procedure is certainly not one I'd recommend all the time, but I do think it is important to slow down from time to time. I appreciate that this slowing-down exercise can be frustrating at times. In my case, a three hour dark site session involves an operation of about 6 to 7 hours. After all that preparation, packing gear, travelling, setting up and so on, when I get out to the dark site my first instinct is to start buzzing all over the skies, but if a sketch is planned or you really want to get down to details, depending on what is being viewed, at sometime or other you will need to give yourself time. 

Visual Astronomy: Locating & Observing

There are two essential features to visual astronomy. The first is to find the object and the second is to observe it. The former process invoves star-hopping and reading star maps, the latter requires you to slow down and to engage yourself with the complexity and beauty of what is being observed. It's been said many times but anything glanced at will always look like a featureless something or other: an egg, a city wall, a cloudless sky or a dentist's tiled floor. But the trick is to go beyond this style of looking and practice picking out features and textures.

Question Time

I find the best way of observing an object is to place it in a low power EP and to begin asking some basic questions about it. These questions could include stuff like:

  • What am I looking at?
  • What have I read or seen of this object that can inform my observation?
  • What shape does it seem to have?
  • How many stars can I see in my field of view? What colour are they? Are there differing intensities of brightness between them?
  • Can any of these stars be tweaked out as doubles? Can I quickly guess a rough positional angle for them? A separation in arc seconds?
  • How does the object's appearance change as I flip from direct to averted vision and back again?
  • Can any stars be resolved in the object itself (if a glob, for example), and are they across the entire surface, only at the edges, or none at all?
  • Are there any stars in the line of sight that appear as if they are part of the object? (Local stars 'within' galaxies, or appearing as moons on planets)
  • When I move away from the eyepiece to relax my eye, what can I recall about this object that can inform me further? Was there anything distinct about it that struck my eye or memory.

I'll then up the magnification again, to something around 80x to 90x. And ask a few more questions. Stuff like:

  • How has the image changed?
  • How many stars have now been cut away?
  • Has anything in the image become dimmer or lighter?
  • Has the object itself changed in any fashion?
  • Are there any new patterns, shapes or colours to be seen within it?
  • Are given areas of my new field of view more pronounced than others?
  • If I close and relax my eye away from the eyepiece can I picture the object there 'within'?

I'll then up the magnification to the optimum power, that which gives the sharpest and clearest image at the highest magnification possible and go through the same questions as above. In all cases the trick is to be asking yourself questions about the object - not simply to sketch it! - to not only appreciate the subtle detail and complexity therein but also to have a general picture of how the object is framed within your eyepieces and mind.

Filters

Some people love them, others not nearly so much but if you are going to use a filter, you should go through the same questioning process as above. The object will look different and you may prefer the look with or without but it's nice to understand why this is so and to appreciate any improvements in the image but also any detrimental affects a filter may have.

Long Winded?

Now, all this may look a little long winded and perhaps it is, but I feel it'll pay out dividends. With practice, depending on the complexity of the object, such an interrogation shouldn't take more that 5 to 15 minutes or so. The questioning process can be exhausting, so I usually dedicate it to one or two objects at most and not on every session I make. It is also extremely important to have sessions where we just sit back and drink in the beauty around us without eyepiece and telescope and without thought or mind, or to plan other projects like splitting doubles, completing lists, and so on.

Sketching

If you are going to sketch you are now armed with a better understanding and visual appreciation of the given celestial object. With the questioning over, when you feel you are ready, pick up the given drawing instruments you prefer and begin to sketch what you are looking at. Draw yourself a decent sized cirlce and start by drawing the field stars paying attention to their spacing relative to each other and their relative brightness. It isn't always necessary to draw all of the stars you see but the ones you do ought to serve as a guide for the sketch of the object itself.

Sketching is an iterative, mechanical process: you look through the eyepiece, you sketch a little something, you compare, you look again, sketch a little more, compare, and on and on you go. If you find you are getting bored, relax, take a little break, and when you are ready, return again.

Contrary to what other folk may happen to think, I feel the point of sketching is not to create some beautiful rendering of the object itself, but rather to train your eye to see better. This attitude not only augments your stargzing skills but gives stargazing and sketching a more egalitarian footing, for by implication it means everyone can and ought to sketch and that the only reason they don't is due to sheer exhaustion or laziness.

You keep going back and forth from eyepiece to paper until you feel you have either had enough for the night or that your drawing contains most of the details you have seen. Whatever the tools or techniques used, when sketching be sure to use a green or red light and try to be as comfortable as possible.

I hope this post helps in some manner :icon_salut:

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