Field ManualGuides for noticing, collecting and editing

Library

Every guide, by section

11 guides and field notes in 4 sections. Each section is numbered in the order it is meant to be read.

Observing

Learning to see an object, a surface or the light on it before you start making.

  1. A one-week drawing journal

    Ten minutes a day drawing the same object, for seven days, is the quickest way to learn to see it. The routine, the three things to note, and how to take the best drawing onto a print block.

    2 min read

  2. Reading hard and soft light outdoors

    How to tell whether light is hard or soft before you start drawing or photographing, and what each does to shape, texture and color.

    1 min read

  3. Working by lamplight at the end of the day

    When daylight goes, a desk lamp becomes the only light on your work. A short routine for placing it, checking color and knowing when to stop.

    1 min read

Collecting

Reference photographs, notebooks, tools and a library you can search.

  1. Build a reference library you can search in ten seconds

    One inbox, three folders, a naming rule and a weekly ten-minute review turn a pile of saved images into a reference you actually use.

    1 min read

  2. Photograph your tools as reference

    Tools and materials make good reference because they hold still. How to photograph a desk or a set of tools so the pictures are useful when you draw, repair or restock later.

    1 min read

  3. Keep field notes you can use a year later

    A field note is useful when a stranger could follow it. Four lines to write on the spot, and one to add at home.

    1 min read

Editing

Choosing, ordering and captioning what you made.

  1. Edit twelve frames into a sequence

    From a day of photographs to a sequence of twelve: see everything at once, make a fast first cut, choose an opening and pace the middle.

    1 min read

  2. Write captions that add information

    A caption should tell the reader something the picture cannot. A describe-then-delete method, with before and after examples.

    1 min read

Field notes

Short notes written on the spot.

  1. Checking tools laid out on the grass

    Laying every tool flat on the grass before a job takes two minutes and shows what a shed shelf hides.

    1 min read

  2. One signpost, three distances

    A trail signpost photographed from arm’s length, from a few steps back and from across the junction. Only one frame was useful as reference.

    1 min read

  3. Write the weather first

    A small habit: the first line of every field note is the weather, before anything else.

    1 min read