Hello peeps, if you're into sketching outdoors then knowing how to make an underdrawing to plan out your piece and get everything in place is quite useful :). Here's a step-by step of how to make one. I got this info from James Gurney's The Artist's Guide to Sketching. He did an episode in draftsmen podcast. I really liked it, and I learned a lot from hearing about James' journey, very interesting guy. If you wanna check it out here's the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xkn7VWdKZ8

Step 1: Quickly establish the big shapes. If you wanna end up with an accurate sketch, you have to get your placement right first.

Step 2: How to measure. Grab your pencil and stretch your arm completely. The tip of the pencil is one point of the line and your thumb is the other. Choose the length of something and measure it with your pencil. As long as you don't bend your arm you now have a standard reference to measure everything else. Now breathe in and feel like a Renaissance master. Measure, mark, repeat. Measure, mark, repeat. Do it until you feel your proportions are good enough.

Step 3: How to measure slopes. Grab your pencil horizontally with an overhead grip and pick a big sloping line in your subject. Judge its slope, compare it to other horizontal lines or verticals. It comes with practice.

Step 4: To make a perspective grid (if you need one). Draw the horizon line. When in doubt, stretch your arm and point straight forward; that's your horizon line. Grab the line that is tallest in your subject and represents the most important slope in that area (like the roof of a house, stuff like that). Extend that line across the page. Look for the most important line below the horizon and do the same. Now, draw a couple of lines parallel to the top line of the grid. Do the same for the area below the horizon line. Now you have a grid that should represent how your subject looks in perspective.

Step 5: Surprise! It's your good ol' friend constructional drawing! So yeah, you know the drill; transform your subject into the basic shapes.

Step 6: Look at your subject and start planning for more specific or detailed things. Make everything clear for yourself before you start rendering seriously.

The best way to know if you're finished with your under-drawing is to ask yourself: Am I still finding out anything new, or am I just going over old ground? Are there any major mistakes I won't be able to fix later on if I start rendering?

Good luck peeps, and keep your eyes open.