150. Leidseplein

a sneakyart drop from the heart of amsterdam.

Dear reader,

While the SneakyArt Post is on holiday break, I have for you a weekly SneakyArt Drop. In this week’s post, process pics from a long drawing at Leidseplein in the heart of Amsterdam.

SneakyArt is secretly drawn art of the world, seen in public places and drawn inside a sketchbook.

This year, I am giving away art for free to as many people as possible. To help me in this mission, consider becoming a SneakyArt Insider and supporting my independent work.

🖋 Straight to Ink

It was the best kind of day to walk. Glorious sunshine and the wind picking up speed. As I crossed Leidseplein, I regarded the facade of the American Hotel and, beside it, the International Theater building. As I noted the lines of old architecture, framed above by blue sky and below by the tree line, a train emerged from between the two buildings. At that moment, I knew this would be my spot.

SneakyArt is found art. It has to be believed to be seen.

SneakyArt of Leidseplein, Amsterdam.

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I am often asked about how I approach complex scenes directly with ink. So this time I decided to take some pics to explain the process.

One.

The page began from the left edge because the building had to be part of the scene. Some reasons:

• As the tallest structure on the page, it would be a reference to everything afterwards.

• It was crucial to give a sense of depth and emphasize my perspective.

Two.

With the visual reference in place, I moved to other structures. The line of trees helped ease into the facade of the American Hotel (and Hard Rock Cafe).

Three.

Here is a short guide to working out complex scenes with confidence -

• Pick a visual reference for all other elements. Draw it first.

• Seek anchors that will let you leap from one object to another. Above, I go from the leftmost building to the trees to the next building.

• Every object connects to the object before it. Perspective, scale, and composition are relational properties. The drawing, when finished, does not have to be accurate. It needs to be precise.

The difference is this:

Accuracy is how correct you are. Precision is how consistent you are.

Any artist seeking their own style must choose precision over accuracy.

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This is my longest drawing of the year. It took me ~2 hours! I recorded it also as a timelapse on my GoPro, to be shared soon with SneakyArt Insiders. To see it, become an Insider and support my work.

Drawing for work

This summer I have been drawing episode cover art for Amit Varma’s podcast The Seen and the Unseen. This podcast is my #1 resource to learn about India through the intersectional prisms of history, literature, politics, and economics.

This week’s episode was with Varun Grover, a poet, stand-up comic, and Bollywood lyricist.

Nishant Jain | SneakyArtist @SneakyArt

People have commented on this week's cover for The Seen and the Unseen (@amitvarma) and especially the painting on the wall. It was my tribute to the lovely movie Masaan (@ghaywan) and one of my favorite songs by @varungrover. 🙏

When I started drawing stick figure comics (in 2009), Varun was one of my first Facebook fans. Back then, it was my great ambition to be a political satirist, as both a cartoonist and scriptwriter. I wanted to be RK Laxman and Stephen Colbert rolled into one. And I wanted to emulate Varun’s path as a former engineer turned creative.

But life - and a lack of conviction - took me away from India, and towards higher education in the Netherlands. We stayed in touch and worked together on a YouTube show (for which I submitted scripts while completing my Master’s thesis). Since becoming a full-time creative myself, I have not had the chance to get in touch with him again. But I enjoy his work and continue to draw inspiration from a distance.

This cover, then, was special: a salute to an inspiring figure in my life.

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Intrepid readers will recall I appeared on The Seen and the Unseen podcast earlier this year. In Ep 260, Amit spoke with me about my life, the trajectory of my work, and my plans for the future. If curious, check out the link below.

Drawn during our recording in November 2021 (Mumbai).

In the first hour, I speak about growing up in Kolkata (India) and my evolving thought process around creativity and creative work.

Thank you, dear reader, for your time and attention. In the next post, a storytelling competition with several prizes! Stay tuned…