Why would I need to try drawing Table Mountain?
What can you learn from drawing spectacular things?
If you are ever tempted to keep a sketch journal or a cartoon diary, as I am, you will need to start drawing the things that appear in your daily life. What better place to start than the iconic sights of your town or city: the views, monuments and buildings that set your little corner of the earth apart from any other?
Drawing Table Mountain
Here are a few principles to remember when it comes to drawing any icon:
1. Use a reference
2. Consider low-down positioning
3. Simplify the contours
4. Your character is still the star
Using a Photo Reference
It well-nigh impossible to remember all the details and to draw something accurately from memory, even if you have lived at the foot of it for a couple of decades. When it comes to drawing table Mountain, I still need a reference and I highly recommend you use one for whatever you want to draw too. References make for better end products, and bitter end products make for happier cartoonists :).
Down-and-Dirty Positioning
The best photographs are often taken by getting your knees muddy, because you can fill the frame and get an engaged, dramatic perspective on your subject. In a similar way, the best pictures are often drawn from the same viewpoint. When you are looking for a reference, look for the most dramatic viewpoint you can find.
Simplifying the Contours (and not just for drawing Table Mountain)
It’s not necessarily to capture every small detail of whatever it is you’re drawing. Putting the basic proportions down on paper is the first step, and the most important. As long as you have the icon outlined against the skyline, the horizon line in place and something in the foreground, you’re good to go.
Make your character The Star ?!
Except in very rare cases, you want to keep your character as the most dramatic part of your composition. This will generally be done by making it upfront and personal and preferably interacting with your icon in some (humorous) way. Be imaginative: as we say on Da Vinci, “This is Cartoonland remember? Anything goes, even if it wouldn’t work in real life ?”.
Next Step?
Choose your local iconic landmark to cartoon and use my 4 pointers to compose your scene.
If you keep a travel sketch journal or are into urban sketching, be sure to take a look at this post, too:
Sketch Journal Ideas — Drawing Niagara Falls