A sketch can be a basic illustration, without details.
Sketch is a word derived from a word of French origin. It is used to refer to a basic, rustic design , lacking precision and detail. It usually consists of an illustration , a diagram or a graph that is made by sight , without resorting to elements of geometric precision.
More specifically, we can determine that the word croquis comes from the French verb croquer . An 18th century word that has several meanings, although among the most important are “to crunch, to eat and to crack” . And it is that it was formed from the use of the onomatopoeia croc , which comes to express the dry sound that is made when biting or eating food.
For example: “Every time I arrive in a city I don't know, I sit in the street and make a sketch of what I see” , “A sketch that the Florentine painter made of the Ebro coast will be auctioned in London” , “The General ordered a sketch of the terrain to be made to determine the steps to follow” .
The sketch as a drawing
Despite this meaning of sketch, which is part of the dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) , the notion is also used to identify the image that is developed with drawing instruments or that involves the copy of a model . In this sense, the sketch can be very exact, since it arises from an object that is intended to be reproduced.
In both cases, we can establish the differences between a drawing that attempts to copy what is captured by the eye and a sketch. If we take the example of a street, the drawing will include the cars with their streetlights, windows and occupants; the traffic lights; the windows of the buildings open or closed; the pedestrians with their clothing, etc. The sketch, on the other hand, will take all these elements, but will not include the details. Thus the car will not have streetlights or occupants, the windows will all be closed and the people will all look the same.
In some cases, the sketch is a representative diagram.
Uses of this type of scheme
In this sense, it is common that, for example, we use the term sketch to refer to the drawing or diagram that someone makes for us when we try to find a street or address . Thus, they will basically represent the street and some building or monument that will serve as a reference when finding our destination.
It is also common that when two people have a minor traffic accident and both present the relevant documentation to avoid having to pay for the damages caused, they make requests in which they will draw a sketch that explains how the events occurred.
«El Croquis» magazine
In addition to all the above, we cannot ignore that sketch is also the word used to give title to a periodical publication, specifically a bi-monthly one, that revolves around the world of architecture.
“El Croquis” is more exactly the name of this aforementioned monographic magazine on the aforementioned field, which includes the signatures of great relevance in the sector, such as, for example, those of architects Richard Levene and Fernando Márquez Cecilia .