1. English Essay
Sketching is one of the hobbies that lasted permanently in my life throughout. I used to
love to watch television, or sing out loud in my bedroom, but sketching and drawing has
triumphed all of those. It is one effective hobby that keeps me occupied. Sketching is a
simply or hastily drawing or painting, a preliminary one, giving essential features without
the details. Sketching is essential for an architect, because it is used as a medium to
communicate and share ideas to their clients or colleague. In my course, Foundation in
Natural and built environment, sketching is needed for some assignments. Even though
I have spent my past time sketching and drawing, I am not really good at it. However, I
am given a task to sketch an attractive art. To be specific kitchen utensil. Hence, I will
share with you my process in sketching an attractive art.
The kitchen utensil which I have chosen is a butcher knife. The butcher knife is sharp
and is gray in colour, it also have a wooden grip. When it is dropped on the floor it
produces a loud "clang" sound. Besides that, the butcher knife is heavy and hard.
Butcher knife is used primarily for butchering or dressing of animal carcases. There are
a few knives that are similar to the butcher knife, which is the carving knife and a
cleaver. During the late 18th century to mid-1840s, the butcher knife was a key tool for
mountain men because it was simple,useful and cheap. I choose this knife because it
brings back memories of my childhood. It was when my maid used that butcher knife to
kill my pet Koko, a chicken and she cooked it for dinner. I remember how terrible I felt
eating it without knowing it was my own pet.
Before I start my sketch, I have to prepare the drawing tools that is needed for my
sketch. The materials that I have prepared are H,2B,3B,4B and 6B pencils, sketchbook,
kneaded eraser and a regular eraser. The "H" pencil indicates the hardness of the
pencil and the "B" pencil indicates the blackness of a pencil's mark. On the other hand,
the difference between a kneaded eraser and a regular eraser is that kneaded eraser is
pliable, so they can take many shapes to meet your needs as an artist. Furthermore,
kneaded erasers are great for lifting highlights from charcoal and graphite pencil. A
regular eraser is good for erasing mistakes. I decided to sketch my butcher knife on my
study table. I had to clean my workspace before I begin sketching because it is in a
mess. This is because, I am easily distracted by the things around me. Now that I have
a peace of mind, I can start examining the butcher knife from different angles before I
start my sketch.

2. Firstly, I started off with H pencil to sketch the shape of the butcher knife because it is
lighter shade. It was not easy when it comes to using the H pencil because it may
create dents in your paper. I did make some mistakes when I was sketching the shape
of the butcher knife but I manage to erase it using the regular eraser. Then, I used the
2B and 3B pencils to create a darker outline for my sketch. After outlining the sketch, I
used 4B and 6B pencils to shade the sketch. Darker shade pencils is used for deep
shadows and bold, dark lines. I used contour lines to sketch the butcher knife to give
shape and volume to my art. Creating a contour line sketch can greatly aid and enhance
your definitive work by planning the direction of your pencil strokes. However, while
contouring the butcher knife, I noticed that the shade of pencil I used for the shading
was too dark. Thus, I used the kneaded eraser and dab it on the sketch to lighten the
shade of the butcher knife.
Finally, I manage to complete my sketch in about an hour . I believe I can finish this
sketch earlier if I had not take such a long time finding for a suitable pencil shade. I am
quite satisfied with the outcome of my sketch. I would say sketching an attractive art is
not an easy task that could be done in the blink of an eye. I also began to appreciate
every artist's artwork because I believe they had to go through many hard work and
obstacles to get it done. I would definitely do it again because the process of this sketch
makes me feel relaxed and I am able to sharpen my sketching skills which will help me
in future as an architect.