Giraffe Freehand Sketch

A sketch is a quickly executed freehand drawing that is not usually intended to be a finished work. A sketch can serve several purposes: It can capture something the artist sees, it can capture or develop an idea for later use, or it can serve as a quick way to graphically represent an image, idea, or principle.

Sketches can be made in any drawing medium. The term is most commonly used for graphic work done in a dry medium such as silverpoint, graphite, pencil, charcoal, or pastel. It can also refer to drawings executed with pen and ink, digital input media such as a digital pen, ballpoint pen, marker, watercolor, and oil paint. The latter two are commonly referred to as "watercolor sketches" and "oil sketches." A sculptor may model three-dimensional sketches in clay, plasticine, or wax.