Waxing Gibbous Moon - 1st June 2009

I enjoyed looking at the Moon over the last few nights.
This evening I decided to try and sketch it.
As I expected, it was quite difficult.
Very time consuming. Most difficult sketch I have ever done.
Trying to draw everything relative to each other accuratley was difficult.
So many shades of grey!
I would appreciate any suggestions anyone might have.



Michael.

Hi Mike,
I've taken a long look at your sketch.

the whole Moon is a difficult object to sketch.
I've been messing around with sketching some myself
(I must post up a few but my scanner is dead)
and I've been trying to work up to it.
It's a fine sketch, placement of objects or details is
tough and probably the toughest thing in sketching.
Essentially you are sketching a 'portrait' of the Moon
as you would say a human face...
There is litte difference except one is animate and the other not.
In fact I would go so far as to say it is a tougher task to accuratly
sketch the Moon as there is simply so much detail in it.
I guess what I am saying is its good practice to start with a
smaller specific areas and build up to a larger image.
Maybe you want to sketch the Moon to show a particular phase.
Use that night to only sketch the details along the terminator.
then work 'back' if you will, the following nights to get the rest of the
detail.
I suppose it could take as long as it takes to time it and get all
the detail or look you want.
Thats how I was thinking of approaching it anyway.
Other than that,
sketching a closer scene like a familliar crater or region is always
good practice.
(same way a portrait artist will do 'thumbnail' sketches of his subjects
eyes, nose, lips, ears, side profiles etc before a full attempt
so as to 'get familiar' with the subjects features)

Ive also tried pencil sketches of the whole Moon and found
that the materials dont lend to the object
(for me anyway)
Charcol or Black Grey and white Contes are more forgiving
(less technical looking?) and can be either used to fill
a large dark area pure black , or on edge for a sharper line.
I'd also maybe suggest to really play with light and dark in the sketch.
For example - the line you used there to mark out the edge of the lit side.
Try not using a line next time,
use a very light H pencil to gently mark as a guide the boundary
then use a heavy B pencil or pure black conte to shade back and outwards
from the guide line,
same for the Terminator side. Be sure that if you are '
filling' and area that the dark colour is darker or at least not lighter
than the shadow areas in the moon such as the shadows cast by crators.
This will give the drawing a more 3D and natural look.

I'm no expert on astronomical sketching but I do have experience
with fine art so thats where I'm getting all this from..
I'm sure Dee will set you right if I'm taliking out of my hat.
:silly:

Sketching the moon is a challenge,especially for full phase drawings.
Like everything in life ,practice and familiarity brings improvement.
Learning to draw while learning how to tackle the moon is a big task, but nobody
could choose a better target to get into either discipline.

Not sure what size your moon drawing is? my first ones were small
about 50 mm in diameter. I was drawing almost exactly the size it appeared in the objective.
A 70 mm GoTo at the time. Bringing it larger helps ye get in more defined detail.
I think the first thing ye have to do really is to look at it for a long while before sketching.

If you are using pencil , choose a range of weights so you have options of very soft like 6B for really dark shadows and very fine like 2H for light lines and sharp edges.

Sit yourself in the most comfortable position possible , this is important ,as all your concentration needs to be on the subject and not on yourself.

Cast your eye around every mare edge , take a close look, pull back and look at the mare shape as a whole. Just look at the shapes presented by the darker maria, this will help to start the drawing.

When you begin to draw be loose in your use of your hand and pencil , not tight.
Draw Crisium , look at how close it it to the limb , look at how close it is to the nearest other mare, look how close it is to the nearest large crater. Constantly look at the section you are drawing in relation to things close by. This helps keep things in proportion.

Balance out your drawing, look for features that give shape to the moon ,like Tycho.
Draw Tycho and its ray system, look at the shape of the rays and where the go too.

Look at all the small craters that puncture the rays , look at where they all land in relation to each other , watch the features on either side of the rays.

Work on a feature in each section of the lunar disc at the same time, start and do a bit here and a bit there so you do not end up with an unbalanced drawing. This also helps keep things in correct proportion to each other.

Give emphasis to shadows , they are the key to lunar sketching. Drawing a well formed ,well defined shadow gives the positive impression of the target mountain or crater shape automatically.

That's all for now , hope it is of some use

Dee

Deirdre Kelleghan
Outreach Coordinator IFAS
www.irishastronomy.org/
www.deirdrekelleghan.com/
twitter.com/skysketcher

Thanks Dee and Frank for the constructive feedback.

Michael.