The Sketchbook Paradox

The one thing you can do as artist to improve your art faster.

For a very long time, even after my career as an illustrator took off, I wasn't doing this one thing that will make anyone a better artist, and help you explore your style faster than anything else.

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The Sketchbook Paradox

New Video on my YouTube! And I think it’s my favorite one so far!

For a very long time, I hadn’t had a sketchbook and looking back, I think it was a big mistake!

The thing about sketchbooks is an interesting phenomenon. We tend to feel pressured into creating something incredible every time, we give ourselves no room for mistakes out of the fear of “destroying” a sketchbook page.  Meanwhile, the whole purpose of having a sketchbook is meant to get your creative juices flowing, test out new ideas, learn, practice and get better as you go. That's the sketchbook paradox!

This is what I talk about in my latest video. I share with you all some of my observations, little simple tricks to lose our fear of messing up a sketchbook and how to feel more inspired to keep one. It’s easy to forget that our sketchbooks are supposed to be imperfect, messy, experimental, when all we see online are perfectly curated sketchbook tours and beautifully edited sketchbook spreads. And while they can be very inspiring, mostly they tend to intimidate us, as they set the bar too high from the beginning. But, as with everything we see on social media, it’s important to remember that we always see the best side of it all...

I also tell you in the video how my favorite art professor, from when I was 19 years old, was chasing after me to see my sketchbook, and how I was avoiding keeping one at all costs.  

During the pandemic I retook regular sketchbooking – this helped me with anxiety and felt very satisfying and fulfilling. Being a full-time artist drawing digitally, switching to paper, pens and paints feels very refreshing and something I don’t want to give up ever again. After testing some sketchbooks out there, I've been faithfully using the ones from the same brand. Check them below, if you’re curious:

• My Sketching gear:

  • Graphite Pencils on Amazon: https://geni.us/1WhNY1

  • Colored Pencils on Amazon: https://geni.us/BZhDjct

  • Landscape Sketchbook on Amazon: https://geni.us/ZaXAZOy

  • Main Sketchbook on Amazon: https://geni.us/1kOajo

I honestly believe that getting an expensive sketchbook, especially if you have the fear of a blank page or recently are retaking sketch booking, isn’t the best idea. In fact getting yourself a cheap sketchbook can help eliminate the pressure of your sketches having to be "perfect". The sketchbooks I’m using are among the cheapest ones you can find in art stores in the city of Amsterdam, where I currently live.

Some extra piece of info for you, dear Creative Draft subscribers, is that yesterday I bought myself a scanner. So if you’re thinking about getting one, soon I’ll be sharing some thoughts after testing and using mine

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