Sketch (drawing)

A sketch (ultimately from Greek σχέδιος – schedios, "done extempore"[1][2][3]) is a rapidly executed freehand drawing that is not usually intended as a finished work.

The term is most often applied to graphic work executed in a dry medium such as silverpoint, graphite, pencil, charcoal or pastel.

It may be somewhat limited in effect, yet it conveys dimension, movement, structure and mood; it can also suggest texture to some extent.

Underdrawing is drawing underneath the final work, which may sometimes still be visible, or can be viewed by modern scientific methods such as X-rays.

Most visual artists use, to a greater or lesser degree, the sketch as a method of recording or working out ideas.

The sketchbooks of some individual artists have become very well known,[4] including those of Leonardo da Vinci and Edgar Degas which have become art objects in their own right, with many pages showing finished studies as well as sketches.