Starting out...total newbie!

[AstroStokie]

Hi all. 

I figured that as I’m not going to be affording any imaging gear for a while, I’d like to give sketching a go. I know they’re two completely different disciplines, but I’ve no idea where to start, especially with equipment. If anyone can give advice about type of paper/pencils etc, that would be great. 

Thanks in advance. 

[mark81]

I started sketching a few months back and haven't gone down the road of processing the sketches and all the other things you can do to them, but have stuck to some basic black card, or thick black paper and a white gel ink pen. For 24 sheets and the pen and a white pencil, I spent about £10.  

I know others on here have had great success with sketches and some really are amazing so I guess they will pass over a few of their secrets.  

This was my latest one - it's not amazing by any means but when you have a nice bunch of them in a folder they really look quite good..

Look forward to seeing your first sketch

 

[AstroStokie]

Thanks, Mark. So you’d suggest a gel pen over a pencil then? How do you go about smudging and that kind of thing? And I’m guessing you just draw your own circles? ?‍♂️

Sketch looks good...just the kind of thing I had in mind! ??

[mark81]

4 hours ago, AstroStokie said:

Thanks, Mark. So you’d suggest a gel pen over a pencil then? How do you go about smudging and that kind of thing? And I’m guessing you just draw your own circles? ?‍♂️

Sketch looks good...just the kind of thing I had in mind! ??

Gel pens are a good place to start - although they do get a little gummed up every couple of stars you sketch in, so you will need to give them a wipe down and you'll need to hold them at different angles to get the stars brightness right..  I do use a white pencil for any faint fuzzies which you must keep nice and sharp.  Also, if you are drawing a nebula or faint fuzzie patch which includes stars, I would pen in the stars first and then add the pencil detail when it's dry...

Hope that all makes sense..

[AstroStokie]

Thank you! ??

[mariosi]

Hello,

I'm using black pencils,small paint brushes, blending stump,on white paper(printer A4). Scanning and inverting the image to become black. Photoshop on PC +- contrast/brightness etc. 

And....

 

 

[AstroStokie]

Thanks, mariosi. That all sounds a bit technical! Love the end result though (and your horse head...hope to see that one day?)

The videos are really helpful too ??

[mikeDnight]

I'd suggest you buy two sketch pads, one for rough sketching at the telescope and the second for the cleaned up drawings. When sketching at the telescope its very easy to make mistakes, crossing things out and scribbling notes along side the sketch. Making a cleaned up drawing soon after the end of the observing session means everything is still fresh in your mind. You'll soon learn to interpret your nocturnal scribblings and translate them into the lifelike eyepiece view.

All you'll need are a basic set of graphic pencils,  a putty rubber, a blending stump which is really nothing more than a paper stick designed for fine smudging, cotton ear buds also for soft blending and a pencil sharpener.

Start by choosing a simple target such as a craterlet, nebula or star cluster. You'll immediately find that even the simplest target is far more detailed and complex that first meets the eye. But don't be put off, as even making rough sketches greatly increases your skill as a visual observer. You'll begin to see intricate and subtle detail that can be easily missed by the casual observer.

You can also sketch nebulae, star clusters and galaxies in negative using graphite pencils, then image the sketch and convert it into negative to give it a real life view as in the sketch below.

 

 

[AstroStokie]

Thanks Mike. 

Heading to the shops sometime this week and now have quite a shopping list! 

Was going to have a go at copying some sketches first to get some techniques under my belt. ??

[Wiu-Wiu]

@mariosi that is one great Horsehead Nebula  

@mikeDnight I adore the level of care you give your sketches! 

 

As far as I can add to the great pointers above: practice! Just doodle up some fantasy galaxies, comets, star clusters and nebulae! You’ll develop your own skills and techniques to get what you observe on paper just the way you want to. 

I also make 2; one at the eyepiece, and one “clean”, which I then scan and process to a digital one.