Art Techniques | 1 January 2016Day Dreamers Guide To Cloud Sketching Share article facebook twitter google pinterest Remember when you were a child and would look up at the sky to see what shapes the clouds would make? From whales, to to buildings, to dinosaurs, with imagination…the possibilities are endless! Cloud Sketching shows you how to take these imaginings to another level and create beautiful drawings from the clouds you see. Just take a photo of the sky and let your imagination and creativity guide you! Here is a description of the process and the techniques involved in the art of shaping clouds. 1. PHOTOGRAPH SOME CLOUDS. I believe that the first thing that inspired me to do this was the shape of the clouds that I saw during my holidays in Mexico. It all started there. I didn’t go to Mexico with the idea of taking photographs of clouds, but as soon as I took the first picture of a cloud, I couldn’t stop; every time we were about to HIT the road, I had the camera ready, right next to me, just in case a cloud gave me an idea for an illustration. 2. CHOOSE A CLOUD AND PRINT IT. Once you’ve photographed a cloud that you like, you have to print it. The bigger you print it, the easier it will be to add some details that will help you give the illustration a personality and tell a story. I’m sure that some people would prefer to do everything digitally, but I’m the kind of guy who believes that nothing can beat a blank page and a pencil. 3. BEFORE DRAWING, LOOK FOR REFERENCES. Something that’s very helpful for me is to look for references before I start drawing. It doesn’t matter if what you’re planning to illustrate is a real, mythological, or fantastical creature; references will guide your imagination and your hand because things are easy to draw when you can look at something that is similar. Even if is just an eye or a finger, a reference can make a difference between just one more drawing and an eye-catching illustration that people won’t forget. 4. TURN YOUR CLOUD INTO AN ILLUSTRATION. When you’ve chosen a cloud, printed it, and looked for the references you need, there are two ways to shape your cloud and turn it into the idea you have in mind. 5. DIGITIZE YOUR SKETCH WITH THE PHOTOGRAPH OF YOUR CLOUD. I don’t scan every cloud sketch as soon as I finish it; I prefer to make as many illustrations as I feel like doing (there have been days I’ve made four of them in just a few hours) and then i stop drawing and go do something else. By doing that, I never reach the point that I get tired of doing cloud sketches, and, at the same time, I keep my mind thinking of the clouds’ shapes, which helps me come up with new ideas that I’ll use the next time I’ll sit down and start drawing. Once I have enough illustrations, I scan them all together in high resolution and then combine them with the original clouds using Photoshop. I don’t digitally change the original illustrations or the shape of clouds to make them fit; if I see that the combination of both cloud and illustration doesn’t work, I’ll do the necessary corrections on the original sketch and scan it again. If it still doesn’t work, I’ll start from scratch. The result has to be a new image where anyone is able to see the cloud and the illustration as a single thing. Buy from an Online Retailer US: “When I was a child, I was told that clouds’ shapes were created by expert balloon twister clowns who live in the sky, so that they can keep entertaining children.” – Martin Feijoo Look up at the clouds. What do you see? What do you sketch? As a child, you’d spend hours looking at the sky on a summer day, watching clouds pass, and identifying shapes, animals, scenes, and more. “That one looks like a dinosaur!” is just one of the ways that these muses in the sky can be perceived. With Cloud Sketch by Martin Fiejoo, it’s time to take what you see and use it to create wonderful, whimsical art right on the photographs. In Cloud Sketch, you’ll discover Martin’s general technique for drawing imaginative creations over photographs of clouds. Then, enjoy a selection of completed cloud sketches from Martin Feijoo, from his wildly popular art series Shaping Clouds. Take on the taks of finishing the included partial cloud sketches. Explore the freedom of a host of “blank” clouds for doodling your own designs. Finally, you’ll find blank journal pages where you can add in images of clouds from your own life on which to sketch. Share article facebook twitter google pinterest If you have any comments on this article please contact us or get in touch via social media.
