All about Sketching

Every person, that ever wanted to be good at drawing had to practice. But how does one practice? The answer is quite simple. You sketch. As often as you can, as much as you can. It does not matter if it is good. It should simply be a way for you to get out of your comfort zone, acquire new skills or to deepen those that you already have.

In my personal opinion, there are two types of sketchbooks. The first type is the sketchbook in which you really practice. This is the one where you draw thousands of hands, heads and feet. Most of them will probably not look too good, but that doesn’t matter. It’s a practice tool.

The second type of sketchbook is a masterpiece. A display of your best work. This is the one you take with you to gatherings to show around. You think every piece through before even starting it. Blank pages will be covered up with some sort of art. This one is more of a show-of- tool.

Of cause the description above is a bit over dramatic. Most sketchbooks fall somewhere in between these two types.   

The act of daily practice is very important to improve one’s skill. Still I know many people struggling with that. Myself included. The sketchbook that I am currently using is a little over two years old. If I’d have sketched every day, it would have probably been full around a year ago. But why do I find it so hard to draw every day? And how could that be changed?   

I think that, for me, there are many whys. The most prominent being:

-       I don’t know what to draw

-       I don’t have the motivation to draw

-       I don’t have the time to draw

-       It would not matter if I drew. I wouldn’t be getting better anyway

For all of these problems, there are solutions. Let’s tackle one at a time.

Inspiration

Sometimes inspiration hits you in the face. Inspiration doesn’t care whether you are driving, dancing or about to fall asleep. When inspiration hits you, it’s best to run for the nearest pen and paper and to jot down the idea before it leaves your system. Trust me you won’t remember that awesome Idea when you wake up.

If inspiration finds you that is great. But more often it does not find you. What you do then? You are already sitting at your desk, utensils ready but with a mind as blank as the paper before you? Here are some tips on what to do in that Situation.

1.     Just start with something that you are comfortable with. For me that are female faces. I cannot count the number of pretty girls faces that fill up my sketchbooks or the random pieces of paper with just an eye and hair on them. Once you have started, the ideas on how to develop what you are drawing, will start to drop in.

2.     Listen to some music and try to capture the feeling through colours and shapes.

3.     Do anatomical practice. It’s pain and a struggle, but will help you get better. Just do it from time to time.

4.     Social Media. Get your inspiration from someone else. This is the route that I usually take when I am uninspired. I follow a lot of different artist across different platforms. I will go on their accounts and look for ideas. By that I don’t mean stealing their stuff. Do never ever do that. But, you can look for inspiration. Most artist post about how they practice. Maybe one of their exercises is something you’d like to do today? My favourite account to get inspired by is: Minnie. She is a London based artist with a fantastic YouTube channel. She has produced a series called “30 ways to fill a sketchbook” (Link here). The content of that’s series is pretty self-explanatory. As you guessed: she shows 30 different exercises to fill up your sketchbook. All are very useful and fun.

5. Go to museums. 

6. Meet up with other artists. Inspire each other.

Motivation

Inspiration and motivation are like siblings. They usually despise each other, but occasionally they will work together. If you are simultaneously inspired and motivated, that’s perfect. Draw to your hearts content. We have already discussed what to do when you are motivated but not inspired. But how do you get motivated if you aren’t?

I personally think that you can’t force motivation. It’s that’s simple. But you can do something without being motivated. It might not make as much fun in the beginning, but you will at least draw. Here are a few tricks on how to start doing stuff:

1.     Set an alarm and start drawing as soon as you hear it.

2.     Create a routine. Draw right after breakfast. Or at lunch. Make a tea before you start. Starting will get easier once the routine is in your system. Your body will know what’s coming next and you won’t even think about wheatear you are motivated or not.    

Time

Here’s the thing with “I don’t have time”. You probably have time. You have been watching YouTube for the last hour. So, the time is there. It should be rephrased to: That’s not my priority right now. So if you really think, that you don’t have time to draw. Then maybe it’s time for some re-evaluation about your priorities. What are you doing instead of drawing? Is it more important to you? If the answer is yes, then that’s ok. But then your skills might not develop so fast. If the answer is no, well then, start drawing!

Personally I decided a few years ago, that drawing was always going to be a hobby for me. I don’t really like practicing the same thing every day, over and over again. Once I realized that, it was clear to me, that I would not practice every day, but I would practice if I felt like it. For me that’s ok.

Development

You will get better if you practice. Even if what you drew on that day was not as good as you expected, in the long run you will get better. Just take a look at something you drew a year ago. See a little difference? No. Fine, look back 5 years. Do you see it now? Leaning a skill takes a long time. With art it takes even longer because your personal style will change over time. Sometimes it important to remember what you have already accomplished.  

Now that we have covered the mental part of sketching. Let’s have a look at the physical part. What do you need to sketch? Long story short: paper and pen. Everything else is extra, but nice to have. Personal preference plays a huge role in this. You will have to experiment with different mediums and utensils to find out what you like and what you don’t like. Every artist has his own “sketching kit”. Here’s what mine looks like:

And last but not least, a look into my sketchbook. At the end of this post, there will be a whole filmed Sketchbook Tour. But for now, I’d like to show you my favourite artwork in the book:

This watercolour sketch was one of the first landscape/ architectural things I ever drew. I used a photo for reference. This was the drawing, that made me fall in love with watercolour.   

This is one of the many self portraits in my sketchbook (i do not look like that). I liked this very geometrical style I saw somewhere and decided to give it a try.  

(Medium: copic Multiliners) 

I started this one because I was visiting a very big city and got kind of overwhelmed. It turned into a mashup of every city I have ever been. 

(Medium: copic Multiliners)

Translation: I forgot, how much I loved reading

This was my fist attempt to handletter. I still like how it turned out. It took me very long to do this. This text started my love for handlettering. 

(Medium: copic Multiliners) 

This double page shows how much my personal style changes. I had a phase where I loved this very chaotic way of sketching.

(Medium: copic Multiliners, pencil, coloured pencils)  

This spread is another one of my favourites. I love how organic it feels. Unfortunately I can not remember what kind of music I was listening to while drawing it. But it must have been something very calm. 

(Medium: copic Multiliners, watercolour) 

This is my favourite handletteirng piece that I did so far. It is a quote from one of my favourite books, Rebel of the Sands. I think it shows how I have developed over time in this aspect of my art.

(Medium: copic Multiliners)

Here's the full tour:

I hope you liked these tipps and tricks. If you have any, let me know! I'd love to see your Sketchbooks!