Doodles on the box for exhibtion.

Sketchjam! In this activity we got to experience a very different approach in generating ideas. We were split into groups of 5/6 and one of us had to say a word. We then drew what would represent the word best and passed the paper to the next person and the process was repeated, but under one condition: we had to connect the drawings. It's an effective way in making us think and because we each think differently there are a myriad of possibilities in conjuring up ideas.

Saturday's urban sketch at Chorlton Arts Festival. Love the sun (minus the wind), the crowd, lively music, and the beautiful sparkling tint that warms the air.

We joined the Manchester Urban Sketchers on the third day at the Whitworth Art Gallery and got to know some useful tips in urban sketching. We mingled with them and I found myself learning quicker by getting to know how the more experienced sketchers sketch.

I wanted to capture the sense of the space and tried out the distorted perspective composition in one of my sketches.

On the second day we set off to sketch at more crowded places: Piccadilly gardens and the market street. Before starting we were taught using different composition (1-point, 2-point and 3-point perspectives) and medium to start developing our own style. It was in this session that I learnt about distorted perspective and it seemed really interesting. We did some 1-minute lightning sketches in which we had to pick a subject and draw a simple line drawing to represent, all within 1 minute!

I chose a different medium in sketching this day and I'm happy with how effective watercolours are in making my drawings look better.

On the first day we were given a brief on the Sketch Fest event (the aim of the project and the plans for the following two weeks) and some basics in sketching: line, shape, shade and perspective. We then had a quick sketching activity in which we had to draw a person's face without looking at the paper. Hakym explained that the purpose of this activity is to train our hand-eye coordination, which is important in urban sketching because it's about capturing the essence of the scene truthfully. It isn't about getting perfect lines or a perfect drawing; it's to draw what we see, not what we think we see.

In the afternoon we had our sketch exercise at the central library, the townhall extension, and Albert square. I find it difficult to plan the composition of my drawings within such short time frame but still I decided to just sketch without thinking too much. I think that's when the fun starts!