Should sketch practice be based on plaster? Do I have to go through this?

Plaster is just a way to practice sketching, and it can't be said that it is necessary.

The crux of the problem now is that you misunderstood the concept of "sketch".

To put it simply: sketch is to describe (or express) the imaginary body of the object you understand in the most direct way you think.

There are several key words that are important:

"The most direct way of painting": For example, you can choose pencils, charcoal pens, pens, ballpoint pens, brush pens and other tools to describe the objects you choose according to your own needs and conditions; You can choose to use a simple straight line, a simple curve, a black-and-white contrast, or a black-and-white straight curve to express the object you want; You can use three or two lines (or faces) or countless lines (or faces) to represent its objects; You can choose abstract, freehand brushwork, concrete, realistic and other ways to express and so on.

"Understood object": The performance process of sketch is a process of constantly analyzing, understanding and expressing the relationship between parts and the whole, parts and parts, size and distance, strength and reality, light and shade and illumination, texture and body feeling. And these relationships are advancing simultaneously. From the philosophical point of view, we should look for the contradictory and unified relationship between objects themselves or between objects. From the perspective of artistic creation, it is more important to create more harmonious beauty while discovering these beauties (of course, this is a matter of artistic creation, let's not talk about this).

"Fictitious form": No matter how realistic the image we describe is, it can only be a fictional physical feature, such as photography, which only frames the fleeting moment (the earth has been rotating and the light has been shifting ... it can be understood by the "relative" law of physics), so you must be clear about your desired effect or purpose before sketching the image. What kind of effect do you want to achieve, you must consider it clearly.

What's the use of sketching plaster? He can exercise your understanding of the proportion and structural space of objects, but these are the foundations. In the long run, we can't blindly pursue the accuracy and inaccuracy of form and the correctness and inaccuracy of proportion. In fact, absolute quasi-absolute correctness is impossible to achieve. Instead, it is necessary to pursue the feelings of the object being portrayed, to achieve the unity of mind and hand, and to create better works of art.

Nowadays, many so-called "artists" who graduated from "professional colleges" rely too much on the images they describe, thus virtually killing their creative ability. Besides drawing models all day, they can also draw models and create, which is impossible!

So it must be remembered that the meaning of sketch lies in understanding the object, not copying it. Plaster training is just a way!

Otherwise, art will be far away from you. Even if you have painted for several lifetimes, if you draw by train or ship, you will never succeed, because of improper methods, incorrect understanding and low concept!