The Minimalist Realism sketch technique is a 4-step process of breaking down complexity of shapes, color, and lighting into manageable parts. In this tutorial you will learn about each step:

  • Step 1: breaking down the different planes of the image or scene
  • Step 2: identifying the plane and the shape you are going to paint, starting with the furthest plane
  • Step 3: identifying the average color value of the shape
  • Step 4: identifying the shadows, highlights, and transitions of the shape

Then you would move on to the next shape in the 2nd furthest plane and repeat steps 2-4, and so on. This technique is more organized than the free sketching techniques in Class 2, but the 4-step process is aimed to make things simple so you can learn how to sketch realism in the minimalist way.

Download the reference image (JPG, 680 KB)

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