Sketchbook habits

[Elena Marengoni]

Hi all! I have been struggling a lot with building a consistent sketching habit for a long time and I am finally trying to change that!
I love sketching and experimenting without the pressure of turning something into a finished product but in the past, I got too worried about "wasting time", which resulted in total self-sabotage. I am finally trying to change this narrative and remind myself that I can learn a lot from this practice. Also, I thought it would be interesting to dive into your habits when it comes to sketching! In particular, I am curious about the following aspects:

1. What do you use your sketchbook for? Do you use one/more than one at a time?
2. Do you have a specific theme for your sketchbook, or is it a mix of everything?
3. What size is your preferred sketchbook, and why?
4. Any tips that helped you evolve your sketchbook practice?

I'd love to hear from you and perhaps see a couple of photos of your sketchbook, if you feel like sharing them.

In the meantime, here are some photos of a journal I use for daily doodles. My sketchbooks are kind of divided by theme (besides the one you see here, one is about folklore and folktales, one is for textures and technique experiments, one is about natural subjects), mostly A5 size and regular paper, except for a fancier A4 sketchbook that I use when I feel like making a full page illustration on a random subject. My goal for this year is to loosen up, fine-tune my observation skills, and hopefully surprise myself. My biggest learning so far has been to just put down the pencil and draw whatever is in front of me at the moment: it has helped me greatly to overcome fear and feel more committed.

Can't wait to hear from you!
Elena

[Jeremy Ross]

Hi @Elena-Marengoni , I recently started a daily sketchbook practice since October last year and I’m currently on a 80 day streak! You can see my posts on X in my bio.

I highly recommend you follow Adam Ming on Substack. He has a Ten Minute Artists newsletter and shares a lot of tips on sketching daily.

Previously, I did all my sketching digitally; however, I prefer to sketch on paper and finish pieces digitally.

[marinasanc]

Hi @Elena-Marengoni, I loved the sketches of your cat (I also had some fun trying to revive my very basic knowledge of italian to get the meaning).
Last year I started to take a sketchbook with me to work as I had a lot of down time and wanted to go back to making art from imagination. I had a practice of making at least one small drawing every day. I tried to let my imagination wander and also to play with proportions and making scenes that were more conceptual and less literal.
I have posted some pages here: https://www.behance.net/gallery/172607063/April-June-2023-Sketchbook
(I tried posting a couple of images here but it didn't work)
I try to keep only one sketchbook at a time, but I have a separate one for drawing from life. I don't use it much though. I like to use a5 sketchbooks because they are easy to carry and it is not to small.

[von_Nimmermehr]

@Elena-Marengoni

Hey Elena,

I really can find myself in your words. 
I struggle a lot with keeping up with my sketchbook and it bothers me, because I find it really helpful in so many ways.
In the past I got so overwhelmed how others do crazy art in their sketchbook and I am not able to do anything at all, it made me feel so intimidated that I just stopped sketching at all, because I will not be good enough. 

I think social media is a big part of that bad mindset, not being good enough because every thing we do MUST be perfect.
It took me really a while to change my mindset about it. 

I really think that it got a bit out of hand though, when people have an urge to call their Sketchbook „ugly Sketchbook“ to allow themselfe to not make perfect art. I know it’s a way of coping, but I think it’s more important to go back to the roots! It’s called sketchbook for a reason.
A sketchbook is the place to make mistakes and to learn and try out new stuff, a place where you can do whatever you want without being judged. Its also our own fault, if we have the need to show off our sketchbook, mostly what I read about sketchbooks, that it is your privat place, your diary, your world, why would we show it to the world then anyway? I wouldn’t let people read my diary though. 

That’s being said, sometimes I decide too, to show what I have drawn and that’s okay for me. And if a page is way too ugly, I also cut it out XD but mostly I don’t, because everything we draw, will maybe help us in any way.

1. I mostly tend to have multiple sketchbooks at a time. That’s mostly not helpful XD
   One I use for color pencils, one for Watercolor (or 3 for watercolor), one for carbon pencils and my daily also visual diary sketchbook where I also stick printed things like stickers or postcards into that I made.

2. I did’t want to make them specific but it happened.
   In one I draw cats with hats, another on is for colorful drawings of faces ans skulls. In the Charcoal sketchbook I practice figure drawings by minutes. Another one is for traveling and photos.

3. Mostly I prefer smaller sketchbooks A5 or smaller. But for charcoal I use the A3, because I think it helps, when I can make bigger movements with my arm. It loosens me up.

4. I read a book about . It’s from Felix Scheinberger and he is a big deal here in Germany, and got also translated in to other languages. I think I don’t need a book to open my own sketchbook and draw, but I kind of liked the input. dare to sketch & Urban Sketching

I try to fill one page a day, sometimes I just go to Pinterest and draw, the first picture I find appealing so I don’t have to figure out myself what to draw. It helps me a lot. 
Also it’s important to not being mean to myself if I couldn’t make it, because I have a lot to do. I will just try it the next day.
I read about, that it’s important to make a habit appealing, so my sketchbook is always on my desk or I have it with me, and also I have my pens right next to me, so I can just start whenever I want.

[von_Nimmermehr]

@von_Nimmermehr

[Tash]

@Elena-Marengoni

Ahhh! I love this question!

For me I would say that my sketchbook is the single most important part of my art practice, keeping a regular sketchbook has helped me draw consistently and reliably. Although I may not be making finished art in a sketchbook, it is my sketchbook that allows me to take my finished art to the next level.

I use multiple sketchbooks, and all of them have seperate and deliberate rolls.

I also used different size sketchbook depending on their focus, but I like my main sketchbook to be about 5.5"x 8.5" so it is easy to take around.

In terms of consistency I find it helpful to pair habits that I want to do, with habits I already do. For example I usually always sit in my living room and watch tv to wind down before bed. So keep my sketchbook in my living room and paired working in it with watching tv.

My most important sketchbook is my diary sketchbook. It is my non-negotiable, I
make an entry in this sketchbook every single day before bed.
The purpose of this sketchbook is to notice.
I write down the cliff notes of my day, interactions I had, little things people said to me and then I draw something related to my day, sometimes a still life of my messy house, sometimes a cool thing I saw out in the world or a portrait of a friend. It is very personal and it is just for me.
I have a philosophy that we find what we are looking for, and this sketchbook trains me to notice things in my day that are interesting and beautiful.

My second sketchbook is my planning sketchbook,
This is where I do thumbnails, rough sketches and plan colour pallets. I love this sketchbook because it helps me to jog ideas, and there is something so satisfying about flipping through them and seeing the raw work of all my finished artwork.

After that I have sketchbooks that study specific skills. I do give each of them a theme because I find that helps me generate more ideas and think creatively.

One is a black paper sketchbook whose purpose is to practice line quality, I titled it Cold, Dark, Deep, Wet. And I draw marine life in it, with a dip Pen in white ink.

Another one is a Film Studies sketchbook.
This one is based heavily on reference taken directly from film and tv, I use it to study and understand gesture, set design, lighting, shot framing and to study likeness.

One is my Feild trip sketchbook, this one is to help me practice observational drawing, it is to motivate me to leave studio and make art in the wild, to talk to people. Also to practice perspective drawing.

One is warm up sketchbook called Thumb Tiles, it's a randomised 20 minute prompt exercise, the rules are
To pick a colour at random, an animal at random, and then to give the animal an activity, then title the thumbnail in a way that furthers the narrative. The goal for this sketchbook is to help me think creatively on the spot, and work on my skills at storytelling.

Then I have one for coursework and taking notes.

I obviously don't contribute to all sketchbooks every single day, but having my diary sketchbook to anchor my habit, and then other auxiliary sketchbook that have specific purposes really help me to build and sharpen skill. For me there is nothing worse than having a great idea but not having the skill to execute the idea. Working every day gives me a lot of confidence in my ability, it gives me tangible proof of improvement. Put together it gives me trust in myself that I am not only capable, but enjoy learning things that I am not good at.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/HQbhuSSMnfqwM6R36

https://photos.app.goo.gl/PkfVMsQ1bEHv7bHZ7

https://photos.app.goo.gl/X2HLmhbBn71MMUzKA

https://photos.app.goo.gl/ghRDpkc3bi1tGW8P6

https://photos.app.goo.gl/5MgJSTuiToPN7BZNA

https://photos.app.goo.gl/rGYZN7GgxZJQod1D7

[willicreate]

@Elena-Marengoni Revamping the sketchbook habit is on my list of New Years Resolutions. Nice to see someone else is pondering similar ideas.

1. What do you use your sketchbook for? Do you use one/more than one at a time?
2. Do you have a specific theme for your sketchbook, or is it a mix of everything?

My sketchbooks are utilitarian; its an assortment of thumbnails, studies, final sketches, etc. I would like to experiment with journals dedicated to a single project. Having notes scattered between other works can be distracting.

This year I started to work on multiple books; one for studies, second for sketching known figures (a safe place to make mistakes), and third for brainstorming.

3. What size is your preferred sketchbook, and why?

My preferred size is 9x12 because it is slightly bigger than letter/A4 size, which gives me a false sense of more workspace. It allows me to fill many thumbnails and drawings onto one page, which I can better compare compositions and ideas.

A 160g weight allows me to draw on both sides of the paper and scan folios without worry of drawings showing through.

While it’s not travel friendly, I’ve grown used to carrying it.

4. Any tips that helped you evolve your sketchbook practice?

I’m trying to figure this out myself. This year I’ve pledged to instead of picking up the graphite, I’ll sketch with a color medium like Prismacolor’s Verithin pencils or ball point pen. It’s the same effort, but more appealing.

[Jeremy Ross]

Hi @Elena-Marengoni

I also posted an article on my Substack with similar theme on sketchbooks with a new year twist.

https://jeremyrayross.substack.com/p/new-year-same-you

I have 2 different size sketchbooks:

• 4x6 inches (50 sheets)
• 10x10 inches (80 sheets) 250gsm

I love the small sketchbook for quick drawings which fill the page easily.

I love the large sketchbook for practice and experimenting.

Cheers!

[skeletortoise]

@Elena-Marengoni I really like your sketches - very loose and expressive!

1. What do you use your sketchbook for? Do you use one/more than one at a time?

I used to be so good about finishing a sketchbook before starting another, but recently, I just sort of dive into whatever I'm feeling like at the moment. I tend to use my sketchbooks to work out ideas for illustrations and also to doodle whatever I feel like. I particularly like going on Pinterest and drawing a few things from reference with no particular aim because I think it's fun.

2. Do you have a specific theme for your sketchbook, or is it a mix of everything?

Mine tend to be a mix of everything! I used to try and keep separate sketchbooks for different things, but I always ended up neglecting one in favor of another and then feeling like I could never finish that book because I wasn't into that subject anymore.

3. What size is your preferred sketchbook, and why?

Gotta be a 8x10 - 9x12 size for me, though sometimes I like larger. I just really love to cram as much onto a page as possible and I like the freedom of having room to put more. I've used the smaller ones before but I have felt kind of cramped by them in the past.

4. Any tips that helped you evolve your sketchbook practice?

Lee White's idea of "thinkings" vs "drawings" has helped take some of the pressure off for sure. I still get stuck in the "my sketchbook has to be pretty" mindset sometimes, but I find I'm way more loose and less stressed when I just let the drawings be "bad" and just use it as a space to experiment, figure things out, and have fun!

One thing I'd like to do going forward though is date the pages because right now I'm keeping a soft bound bristol sketchbook so the pages come out easily and fall out of order. Plus, it's neat to see what you were thinking when.
I'm also looking to build a visual journaling habit this year!