How I Sketch - Sometimes

Amy asked me for more information about my sketch process, specifically. . .

...how do you transform your sketches into something so neat? Is it a particular computer program? I'm trying to do it in Photoshop and can't tell if I don't know enough to do it, or if I'm trying to use the wrong tool for the job.

It's a good question - and one that I didn't want to just answer in the comments. I wanted visual aids! So here's a bit about how I sketch - most of the time. I start with a soft pencil. I really like Ticonderoga pencils. I'm also a big eraser - and I like those white plastic ones - they don't tear up the paper at all. My other tool is a fine point Sharpie - but I'll get to that in a minute.

If I'm drawing something I've never drawn before I'll usually start with a Google image search to really look at the thing. I've done this for all of the animals in my Heifer patterns and I also did it for a series of robot patterns. That's what I'm going to show you here.

I looked at lots and lots of photos of tin robot toys and then I started sketching. I filled up several pages with rough sketches - just trying to capture a variety of components. What kinds of hands, heads, feet, bodies, antennae, etc. can robots have? I sketch pretty light because I like to be able to erase. I had to darken these pictures up a bit so you could see what I drew.

After I get a bunch of ideas on paper I start looking back at some of them. I combined parts of some robots with parts of others and start refining my ideas.

I had the idea right from the beginning that this robot would be pulling something. He looks pretty grumpy here - but I liked the idea and played with it some more.

This version looks a little more like a robot and less like a trash can. :-)

And here's the final version. (You can buy the pattern here. And the actual stitched sample here.) He got the riveted neck from the second sketch, and the caterpillar tread of the first version, with a stem up the middle to make room for the treads. He got a hint of the first version's mouth, and neither of the first two antennae - he got a beanie propeller instead. And I went back to the skinny arm with the claw hand.

When I finally have a sketch I'm happy with, I trace over it with my fine-tipped Sharpie and then erase all my pencil lines. Then I scan it into the computer.

I use GIMP - not Photoshop. It's free and Photoshop costs a small fortune. The manipulation I do in the computer is pretty minimal. I try to do my final drawing the size I want the embroidery to be, but I might resize it a tiny bit with the computer. I also use the computer to flip the image for easy tracing, in case you want to use transfer pens or pencils with it. I know a lot of people use Illustrator to redraw their sketches in the computer, but I've never gotten around to learning how to do that. It suits me fine for everything to have a hand-drawn look.

So that's it! VERY low-tech. Does anyone else have any questions? Fire away!

Best,
Wendi