速写，指快速绘画。大部份的速写都是快速的素描，仅勾勒出轮廓，形体，而不加绘肌理，光影的细节。对于学习艺术的入门者来说，速写是大量练习的技巧，也是观察和美感培养的日记。对于设计师来说，速写更是记录与说明创意的重要表达工具。

人物速写是观光区常见的职业之一，以麦克笔勾勒观光客的轮廓，加上幽默的图案，并在15到30分钟内完成，这就是人物速写。

虽然我们在博物馆看到艺术大师的速写多半是单色，使用钢笔、铅笔或炭笔等所画出的作品。事实上也有很多速写是用色块来表现的。

Croquis drawing is quick and sketchy drawing of a live model. Croquis drawings are usually made in a few minutes, after which the model changes pose or leaves and another croquis is drawn.

The short duration of the pose benefits models because they do not need to keep still for a long time; this also benefits the artists because it helps them concentrate on the essential elements of the pose, or the most important parts of the drawing. An artist does not have time to draw all the details, so they learn to concentrate on the important elements. Croquis is also a good method of drawing subjects that generally do not stand still and pose, such as insects,animals, and children.