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Before the era of photography, artists had to rely heavily on quick sketches to keep track of potential images for later works. Among the first masters of the quick sketch - called "croques" by the cognoscenti - was Leonardo da Vinci. Among those who used photographs to help their artistry were Norman Rockwell, Thomas Eakins, and Paul Gauguin

Despite ubiquity of cameras - literally in everyone's pocket - it can still be helpful to practice quick sketching. And sometimes a sketch is good enough that a more careful rendering wouldn't be any better. Sometimes the less you think about a drawing, the better it comes out.