Learn the key skills and techniques for sketching and gain a unique look at some of Britain's most prominent artists. This practical workshop will take place in the Tate Britain Collection where you will work directly in front of artworks. Over the course of the workshop, you will build up the introductory skills and techniques needed to get you started making your own masterpieces.
Examples of Technique: hatching, crosshatching, blending, stippling, circling, shading, scaling and washing.
The sketching session includes materials to take home with you, including a Winsor & Newton: Drawing Set, which contains a set of Graphite Pencils and a set of Coloured Pencils produced in collaboration with Tate.
(10 mins) A brief introduction to Tate, an introduction to the workshop and what it will entail.
(15 mins) Warm up in looking - introduction to what is sketching – Blind contour drawing. Using the works of sculpture in the collection as a starting point we will learn how to sketch by looking with a brief introduction to proportions.
(15 mins) Part one – Introduction to the tools: What is the difference between a HB pencil and a 6B pencil? Going through your sketching set all you questions will be answered and learning by example you will be shown how you can use each tool.
(20 minutes) Part Two – Techniques: You will learn all the key techniques of sketching such as hatching, crosshatching, blending stippling, and circling. You will explore each technique through a series of quick sketching exercises.
(10 minutes) Part Three - Skill setting: how and when do you use your newly acquired drawing techniques? Looking at examples in the collection we will explore how and when you to use your new techniques and how they might be adapted for a particular context. For example, when might I use hatching and when might it be good to crosshatch?
(30 minutes) Case Studies and introduction to shading : using a sculpture in the collection as a reference point you will use your newly acquired skills and techniques to make a long sketch including a detail, with individual tips on shading and any questions that you might have during the process.
(30 mins) Break.
(15 mins) Part one – Introduction to the tools and colour: What is a colour wheel? How do certain colours work alongside each other? Going through your sketching set all you questions will be answered and learning by example you will be shown how you can use each pencil in the set.
(20 minutes) Part Two – Techniques: You will learn all the key techniques of sketching with colour pencils such as hatching, crosshatching, burnishing, scrapping and many more. You will explore each technique through a series of quick sketching exercises.
(10 minutes) Part Three - Skill setting: how and when do you use your new techniques? Looking at examples in the collection we will explore how and when you to use your new techniques and how they might be adapted for a particular context. For example, how to mix your colours to create depth and perspective.
(25 minutes) Case Studies and introduction to light and darkness with colour pencils: using a sculpture in the collection as a reference point you will use your newly acquired skills and techniques to make a long sketch including a detail. Individual tips and any questions that you might have during the process will be answered.
(10 minutes) Finishing remarks and questions.
Tate Britain's step-free entrance is on Atterbury Street. It has automatic sliding doors and there is a ramp down to the entrance with central handrails.
There is a lift between the Lower and Main floors. Alternatively you can take the stairs.
- Accessible and standard toilets are located on the Lower floor.
- A Changing Places toilet is not currently available.
- Ear defenders can be borrowed from the ticket desk on the Lower floor.
To help plan your visit to Tate Britain, have a look at our visual story. It includes photographs and information about what you can expect from a visit to the gallery.
For more information before your visit:
- Email hello@tate.org.uk
- Call +44 (0)20 7887 8888 (daily 10.00–17.00)
