You might’ve found yourself commission work for the first time (or even the hundredth time, congrats!).
Excited, you start sketching your idea. It’ll be perfect, your client will be super happy.
Then you hit roadblocks. That arm doesn’t look right. The colors don’t seem to pop. You start adjusting things on the fly, moving further and further away from your vision. Spending more and more hours just trying to make it look decent.
That was me when I started taking commissions. I often found myself spending hours in the ideation stage, trying to nail a sketch before showing it to the client for approval. I never went out of my comfort zone; I was afraid the client would turn my art down.
When I started taking commissions, I would spend hours perfecting the sketch before sending it for approval. Until I started thumbnail sketching Click To TweetWhile that fear never happened, I spent unneeded hours perfecting what shouldn’t be perfect.
If you want to draw without fear, to explore without filtering yourself, then say hello to your new secret weapon: thumbnail sketches.
What the heck is a thumbnail sketch?
Whenever you scroll YouTube, what gets you to click a video? Probably the thumbnail. Though tiny, there’s a lot of power in its simplicity.
Similarly, artists and designers use thumbnail sketches; quick, rapid drawings that convey an idea, rather than focus on details. Thumbnails are usually small drawings done in any medium and focus on planning and experimentation.
Why bother? By drawing small, you see the big picture.
When I first tried thumbnailing, I was very afraid. If I was already screwing up one drawing, why attempt to do more?
But thumbnails aren’t meant to be finished drawings. They become finished drawings as you pick what you like and remove what you dislike. It’s the crucial stage for exploring ideas and thinking about the composition, movement, and unity of the artwork.
The Benefits of Thumbnailing
Stay Quick and Loose
Imagine my surprise when I tracked my hours, only to find I was earning minimum wage.
I was spending way too much time perfecting my sketches. I would add details like textures and clothing, because I didn’t trust myself to do them perfectly without an underdrawing.
So, one day, I decided to ditch my usual A4 sketch. Instead, with paper and pencil, I drew some rectangles and started thumbnailing.
The more thumbnail sketches I did, the more I saved time. I could draw one in as little as 3-5 minutes and refine it if I wanted. If not, no problem! I’d just move on to the next three-minute thumbnail.
It was messy, it was rushed, but that’s the point! I wasn’t worried about perfecting it, so I loosened up and got comfortable exploring ideas.
Iterate Quickly and Impress Your Clients
In the Agile approach to management, you don’t bet everything on a big launch. Instead, you work in iterations, improving the product in small but quick increments.
Similarly, thumbnail sketches allow you to present your client with the essence of the artwork. Instead of trying to force your one sketch to become what they want, your client gets to mix and match from multiple thumbnails.
Even if these are super simple thumbnails, they get the point across. If your client asks for changes, thumbnails are so simplified that it takes no time to iterate and see how the new version looks.
Keep Track of the Big Picture
Art is incredibly complex. As artists, we have to balance fundamentals like color theory, gesture, anatomy, and dozens more.
If you ask me, it’s no wonder beginner artists (and experienced ones too!) get frustrated when something’s off. There are a million things that can go wrong.
Thumbnailing allows you to make sure those fundamentals are in place. After all, a thumbnail isn’t limited to drawing. It could be for exploring value or testing color palettes. It all depends on what you need.
Recently, I started doing color thumbnails. Whenever I finish lining, I’d shrink the canvas and start tinkering with shading.
Remember, thumbnails aren’t final. You can always change your decisions as you see how it looks later on. Don’t feel pressured to get it perfect in the beginning!
Thumbnail Examples from Art School
The practice of thumbnailing was really emphasized in art school. Our final drawings were done on A2 paper, we couldn’t just start right away. We had to figure out our composition and find references we wanted to work with.
The examples show how thumbnails aren’t limited to a specific size. You might thumb without a rectangle; others might draw an A5 thumbnail to allow for more detail. It all depends on your goal.
For the project, we started by taking reference photos.
Then we started thumbnail sketching. By drawing the photos, you remove detail and focus on composition and balance.
After all the prep, we were able to start on the final piece. Though it took a bit of time, thumbnailing meant the foundations of the artwork were there. Jumping straight into the final work would’ve been harder!
Conclusion
If you aren’t already, thumbnail sketching is a quick and easy way to improve your art and save time.
As you incorporate thumbnailing into your art process, you’ll find that your creativity flows. By drawing small and seeing the big picture, your art fundamentals will be in place and you won’t get frustrated later on.
How do you use thumbnailing in your own art? Let me know by commenting, or tagging me in your thumbnails!
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