couple of sketches.comments and critisism welcomed

[Craig H]

These are some of my first sketches.

I've done a few straight into my journal but, having seen how It's suposed to be done (the quality of sketches (well everything) on this site is superb, and I have a lot to try 'n' live up to)I decided to try and step up my game.

These were done last night under an orange and at times hazy, cloudy sky, and so I don't think they are as accurate as they could be.Stars were blinking in and out and I couldn't see them all , all the time.

If you want a more detailed ( and at times rambling ) account of my viewing last night check my blog.

Comments and feedback very welcome as I still have my sketching 'L' plates on, and want to get better (and more accurate!).

regards craig.

[Mick.G.]

I'm please'd to see your having a go Craig! Only whish I kept A few record's from the start.

Mick.G.

[Andrew]

Craig,

Your sketches are nice and precise + I like the colour. I have not tried sketching double stars - maybe I will have a go at it some time.

[Paul G. Abel]

Hi Craig,

I think its great you've started and you're on the right grounds! Love the white drawings on the black paper/card!!!

I personally never copy straight to my final logbooks. I have my observatory log book in which I record my raw observations and notes. I then use the drawings and notes from this book to make a final drawing. I find it easier to have a logbook for planets, moon, deepsky etc.

I congratulate you again on your scientific approach to observing- you are certain improve!

All best wishes,

-Paul.

[Craig H]

thanks for your kind words guys,

Andrew, yeah I figured this would be a relatively easy target to start on, plus I find that with these two I can sometimes split them and sometimes not, so figured it would be interesting to compare them over time. ( i.e a good test of my scope and my observing/ sketching skills ).

Paul, thats kinda what I've just started doing.That is to say I, now do my sketches on a little pad and overlay this onto my black card and mark the exact positions of the stars through the paper with a pencil( hope this makes sense).....for my planetary sketches, I mark all the banding as accurately as I can ( I don't worry too much about doing them in a circle I just sketch the proportions ect) then transpose this ( when I'm indoors .with colour ) onto a white disc ( which is stuck onto a piece of card like the ones above).....don't know if this is the method I'm gonna stick with though.... I think I'll start another log book for rough stuff, this sounds like a good idea....thanks guys

regards craig

[Talitha]

Sorry i missed this thread Craig, still haven't quite caught up with things (was offline the week of the 20th).

Nicely done! I really like how you included the satellite trails and increased the magnification... it makes your observation come alive. Btw, the separations between A/B and C/D are similar, but the northern-most B star is dimmer than A, which is why it looks smaller. That's the one which always gives me problems if the seeing's not good enough.

I don't quite understand how you transfer the original sketch onto the black card... do you press hard enough so the pencil leaves 'impressions' on the card and then draw the stars in? If so, it might become problematic when you move on to nebulae and galaxies.

Why do the sketch twice, though? It'd be easier to invert the original to a negative image via a photo program or scanner software. As a 'purist', i don't believe in electronic manipulation of eyepiece sketches, but i do allow myself that one, because for some reason, faint objects show up better on a negative image.. no idea why.

[michaelmorris]

Those are nice sketches. Well done.

I too use the positive (white on black card) approach to sketching. I'm probably making it very difficult for myself but, as I have all the artistic talent of a slug in a straight jacket, frankly it wouldn't make much difference what I did! I like sketching for making a quick record of an observation. If I want something accurate I'll image it.

The other reason I like sketching on black card is for sketching coloured doubles.

[Craig H]

Thank you kindly guys,

Talitha, yes thats correct, I push down through my note pad and mark the positions with a little indentation....I have been doin the same for DSO's... by markin the boundaries likewise, and then shading them as per my notes....

I never even thought of doing them on white paper and turning them "negative"....I'll give this a go I think, although I'm not sure if Iphoto does this kind of thing....I too try not mess with the sketch in any way,...maybe just a resize for Purposes of uploading to SGL.....The black card does feel so natural to use though, and like you say Michael It's also good for contrasting star colours......

My Planetary sketches I have to do twice as I can't tell which colour is which, under the red light. I therefore do my second coloured sketch when I come in for a warm! or after I've packed up....or sometimes the day after!

I'll keep plugging away at it, and I'll definately try your suggestions Talitha, the more I experiment and practice the better I'm getting , although I know I still have a long way to go before I'm completely happy with them....

Thanks again for your comments guys:)

kind regards craig