A sketch is usually an illustration that serves as a draft or outline.
Derived from the Italian term bozzetto , the concept of sketch refers to the scheme or project that serves as an outline for any work. It is a guide that allows you to put down and display a general idea on paper before getting to the work that will yield a final result.
Generally, a sketch (defined as layout in English) is a schematic illustration that lacks details and, in most cases, has no endings. Its objective is to symbolize ideas , thoughts or concepts, without worrying about aesthetics. For this reason, it is generally done on any type of sheet and without the need for auxiliary drawing instruments.
What is a sketch
In this sense, we can state that usually when we talk about a sketch we are referring to a drawing that is made in pencil, on paper, freehand and without going into any type of details, it is simply about basic ideas to undertake the subsequent work. definitive.
Thus, in this way, we find graphic documents of this type in fields such as, for example, fashion. And it is common for designers and couturiers to capture in advance the ideas that arise and then undertake, in a much more exhaustive and complex way, the set of their garments that will make up the models of their new collections.
We can also emphasize that in the world of comics it is also common for artists, once they receive the story scripts , to be in charge of carrying out these sketches to establish the best way to represent the episodes told in the comics. plots.
It is common for architecture, sculpture and other sciences and disciplines to use sketches.
The concept in architecture and art
The sketches can be considered as a previous study of other types of work. For example: a drawing can constitute the first step of a work of architecture or a sculpture.
In the field of painting, a sketch can mark the beginning of the making of a mural. On the other hand, a sketch can be transformed into a drawing with a higher degree of elaboration that reproduces shapes from nature or is inspired by a work of art, with the intention of facilitating the study of its composition and structure.
Sketches of famous authors
Fortunately today we have the opportunity to enjoy sketches by some of the most important pictorial authors in history through exhibitions in different museums around the world. This would be the case, for example, of Leonardo da Vinci or Francisco de Goya.
In the case of this last Spanish painter, sketches of frescoes such as The Miracle of San Antonio de Padua , which he made for the Ermita de San Antonio in Madrid, or paintings such as Santa Justa and Santa Rufina , have been preserved to this day.
Classification according to type
There are three main types of sketches: the rough , the comprehensive and the dummy .
The rough sketch represents the representation on paper of a first idea, devoid of details and technical content. The comprehensive sketch includes certain adjustments to said idea, in order to improve its quality and make it more understandable. For this, various technical tools are used. Finally, the dummy sketch is characterized by having a high degree of precision and quality in all the visual effects that will be used for the final work.
It should be noted that a sketch can also be a draft of a written document , with single words or phrases that, later, will make it possible to constitute a developed text.