How did you draw that?

[todd8137]

Hi all t he most common Qs I get is how did you draw that crater well for some one other than my self who,as,never attempted to,draw what they see on the moon here's a few random steps that should help if you cam draw this ,and keep the general idea in mind when moon crater drawing your good to go as they say

1,draw a basic cater shape

2,draw the outline around this for the shape you want

3, draw the basic crater shape features in around the edges the out side crater lines and a few on the inside

4,do a sit of light shading to give it a bit of depth

5, draw some features in and add the fine detail

Ok there you go now post me what you got it's basic but it works the rest is up to you it's easy you may say if you have never drawn a thing but give it a go

Pat

Ps klik on each pic to see them the right way up strange how they have gone in rotated ?

[Moonshane]

Great stuff !

I do similar with my solar sketches. I add a single tiny dot where each of the main features is and then start to fill out detail - usually from left to right (I am right handed) to reduce the risk of smudging my pen. I then add pencil smudges for the sunspots with a penumbra. I think building up drawings like this is a great way to achieve more depth too although be careful not to 'over egg the pudding'.

[todd8137]

May be you could post here with a step by step I would be interested here's some I did of the sun back in 2013 just of sun spots your right about over cooking tho you have to learn enough a enough ,and put the pad down

Pat

[Moonshane]

I love those close-up sketches - must try some of those. I'll try and do a write up next time I am sketching.

[todd8137]

Great look forward to it

Pat

[Mike73]

Well done Pat, I was going to do something similar but it looks like you have it covered.

[todd8137]

Hi Mike jump in there am sure your expertise far out ways mine and mines basic. Please still do hours maybe get it as a sticky

Pat

[todd8137]

No one have in a go come get your pencils out

Pat

[Qualia]

Well done Pat, I was going to do something similar but it looks like you have it covered.

That's no excuse, Mike and your insights would be a massive help, seriously

[todd8137]

@mike 73 still waiting hope you have some thing in the pipe line for,white pencils and charcoal , looking forward to,it

Pat

[Mike73]

@mike 73 still waiting hope you have some thing in the pipe line for,white pencils and charcoal , looking forward to,it

Pat

Just had a crazy week at work Pat but I'II try and add something this week.

[Pig]

I think it is great how all of you guys make it so simple yet so realistic   Drawing has never been my strong point I'm afraid.

[Qualia]

That's no excuse, Shaun. I'm no good, never really had a single lesson of art, but I don't think you need to be gifted to plot dots and smudge fuzzies. Seriously, I think it's more about training the eye and putting down what you see on paper, than producing works of art. If you can do that like Todd or Mike, then you're very fortunate indeed, it not, so be it. We're still learning to see more no matter how rough our sketches come out. With my preaching over, get to your pencil and notepad  

[todd8137]

Just had a crazy week at work Pat but I'II try and add something this week.

As and when mike. But am itching to get the contes out but need a bit of help pencils and white paper easy ,white pencils on black mag be a challenge to rise to

Pat

[todd8137]

I think it is great how all of you guys make it so simple yet so realistic   Drawing has never been my strong point I'm afraid.

Art there's no right or wrong so nothing is great and nothing is bad , so give it a blast start of with dso targets it's always a challenge to keep looking and drawing trying not to damage the night vision,but the moon for me it does not matter ,I can see what ya mean when ya say drawing is not my strong point ( I,would imagine if ya sit down for 10 minutes here and there ,you will be amazed how better and easier it gets), I must admit I got a few lessons of a art teacher ,what I found hard was trying to make some thing have depth ya no 3d looking I then thought no point, just draw what I see if it looks flat then that's it

Try putting a cup on a table shine a torch from one side or a lamp and draw the cup with it's shadow last of all have a go I spent over two and a half grand on a image rig to find 8 months down the line my images looked just like every one else's .and I gave it up and sold it all ,pens and pencils are pennies and are unique one offs I love the hard work imagers put in and take my hat of to them .

But a sketch melts me every time ,you can see each stroke of the persons pencil , how they shade ,how they built the sketch up it's amazing to me

Pat

[Mike73]

My thoughts on sketching have changed over the last six months I think....

This may sound very serious but its really not, my aim with my sketches is to basically make a detailed observation of what I see, learn a little about each object I sketch and record enough details (in the sketch and by written notes) so that in twenty years time I can read it back and fully understand each observation.

I think there are way too many details to be recorded in a sketch alone and the same with just making written notes.

If you go back to Pats 1st post, I would of stopped at sketch number 3 and jotted down the UT and then carried on adding all the detail closest to the Terminator (thats important because within 15 minutes that would all change). The next day I would use a program like Atlun to give me the exact colongitude, lunar phase and lunation of that UT. 

I could quite easily go back to the exact same crater a month later and it could look completely different but because I have detailed notes from the previous month I'II have something rock solid to compare it with.

Jupiter is also a good example, its a gas planets which means everything is changing, even the GRS doesnt stay in the same position but by recording each system of longitude with each sketch I'II know exactly what face of the planet I'm looking at in years to come and see how its changed.

I suppose this is all just a way for me to keep learning about what I see and to focus on astronomy, it may not be everyones cuppa tea but I'm enjoying it!

[todd8137]

Hi mike that's a good read and food for thought ,I keep notes on every viewing/drawing night my aim was just to show the very basic idea on how to draw a random crater more of a see it and have a go has the five steps are just a way to show people if they can follow the basic shape then maybe it may lead on to a real go, if it gets people thinking and talking about it it may spark some hidden talent in others onwards and up wards ,heres to many more scribbles

Pat

[Mike73]

Hi Pat

Yeah I guessed your sketches were just a simple break down of how its done, I was just trying to expand and tried to use them to explain how I go about my own lunar sketches.

The skies are clearing here and I'm off to my dark site for some galaxy sketching, happy days!!

[todd8137]

Lucky you am on the edge of the Peak District here and it's some good ole fashioned rain here happy hunting tonight

Pat

[Moonshane]

I am still waiting for an opportunity to create a step by step of how I sketch the sun and stars etc. I might have to make one up (or copy an old one) for effect.

[Qualia]

Look forward to that, Shane. It'll make for an interesting and insightful read.

Might be also nice if someone could show a dumbo like me how one goes about shading, creating those shadows the Moon conjures. With effort I can get to about picture 5 of Todd's example and then everything just falls apart

[Mike73]

Just keep at it Rob and practice in the daytime and you'll find you get little 'eureka!!!' moments as you make progress.

These are all my lunar sketches done at the EP to date. The ones at the bottom are my first attempts, they are pretty ropey at best but the ones closer to the top show a little improvement and its been that slow progression which has been fun. Yep I've had many times when I felt like pulling my hair out and nearly gave up but what is life without a challenge eh?

I tried lunar sketching with pencils and just really struggled which is why I use pastels, I also think white on black really helps to show depth in a picture. With pastels you build the sketch up so its kinda done in layers, so you put some pastel on then rub it in with your finger or a blending stump and repeat the process...

Another thing I've learnt is to sketch quick, you really need to do this otherwise the lunar surface changes and you start trying to make changes to compensate....Thats when it can really start to get a bit ugly! 

[todd8137]

I am still waiting for an opportunity to create a step by step of how I sketch the sun and stars etc. I might have to make one up (or copy an old one) for effect.

Do it from a old one

Pat