How To Know When Your Sketch Is Complete (7 Points To Consider)

Hello Everyone,

I have a question for you, ‘how do you know when your sketch is complete’?  This is the question that I have been asking myself this week.

Some of my latest sketches have taken me 2-3 days to complete and I have been building and layering them up using just one coloured pencil.  I wanted to create a monochrome look with them and have selected a different colour per sketch.

Layer And Build

As I have progressed with each one I have found that I wanted to put more and more into each one.  I did not really have an idea of what I expected or wanted the finished sketch to be but I have known intuitively to build up on each one with layers to create more depth and contrast.  But where do you draw the line and stop?

I especially find this difficult to answer as I am still learning and not sure what type of art I want to do specifically, hyper realistic, impressionistic, cartoon, character or manga styles.  I can swing from one to the other depending on my mood. On reflection I seem to consisetent with something in between realistic and character based. Maybe that’s my style?  A topic for another day.

.         

Points To Consider

I have considered the following points when thinking if something is finished or not.

• Could I improve definition any further?
• Could I build anymore contast in the light and shadows?
• Shall I add more tone overall?
• Should I add a background?
• Do I want this to be more realistic or not?
• How does if feel? (A weird one I know but try it)
• AM I HAPPY WITH IT?

The last point is the one that is the final decider for me and when I determine if a piece is finished, reason being you can just keep going and then ruin something if your not careful!

I hope these tips are helpful if you struggle with this question on deciding if your artwork is complete.

To see my sketches for the week see my Instagram page @zoebadgerart.

Happy sketching

Zoë