Does anyone have a habit of buying sketchbooks but never actually use them?
Or, you already have a sketchbook but never be able to fill up the whole sketchbook?
In this video, I’ll give you guys some tips for filling up your sketchbook.
We all have experienced this before where we keep buying new sketchbooks over and over
but never actually being able to fill them up.
You might be seeking ways to solve this habit.
Including myself, I used to do this habit as well. I kept buying new sketchbooks to the point that I possibly could become a seller.
However, recently I broke that habit and was able to fill up not one but two sketchbooks.
I have sketchbook tour videos, feel free to watch them if you like to see.
So in this video I want to share some tips to you guys
on how I've been able to keep up and actually fill up my sketchbooks.
First thing first, whenever I start a new sketchbook I alway set up a goal for my sketchbook.
I recommend keeping the goal very simple and not limiting yourself too much.
It’s definitely a plus if your goal has something to do with improving your art skill.
For example: you want to practice drawing with pens, want to practice using watercolor,
or want to practice on human anatomy.
The goal doesn’t have to be too focused on one certain thing.
It can be just some simple rule for you to follow.
For example: spending at least 10 minutes on the drawing.
As I said, the key is to make the goal very non-specific and simple.
I’ll show you some examples.
I have 2 sketchbooks already filled up and this is the first one.
The goal I have for this sketchbook is using only pens for drawing.
Well, I’m not too strict with the rules that much but I mainly used pens for most of the drawings in this book.
The reason I want to practice using pens for the drawings is
because I want to build up my confidence in my lineart.
At that time, I felt like whenever I used something that can be erased like a pencil.
I tend to erase it a lot because I focus too much on trying to make my drawings look perfect.
At that time I had a habit of perfecting my drawings which made me draw really slow.
So I thought to myself I can’t keep erasing everytime I draw like this.
In order to get rid of that habit, I tamed myself to draw with pens in this sketchbook.
So the sketchbook has a lot of drawings created with black ball point pen.
(Long story short) I mean at that time the set up I came up with worked wonders for me
because I mostly draw digitally on an iPad or my computer.
I actually don’t really have a lot of traditional art mediums to work with.
I mostly have pens in various colors.
So by just having a pen around me, I can just pick up a pen and start drawing.
Yup, Did I talk for too long? Lol
This is just the first example.
Moving on to the next example, which in this case is about my second sketchbook.
I just posted a sketchbook tour of this book. You can watch the video if you want.
Actually, let me side track a little bit.
I actually want to re-shoot this sketchbook tour video
because I feel that the previous one has poor footage quality.
But let's discuss that in another time, let’s come back to our topic.
About this sketchbook, after I gained some confidence from my last sketchbook,
I wanted to experiment and improve my skill in picking and painting with various colors.
So my goal for this sketchbook is about using various colors.
I tried to make every page colorful as much as I could.
If you watched the tour of this sketchbook, which is alright if you haven’t because
I am probably going to re-shoot it anyway.
But If you already watched it, you’ll notice that It’s very colorful.
I think the pros for setting up a goal for your sketchbook is;
you have a direction for you and your sketchbook.
It's almost like you have a theme for your sketchbook without trying too hard to keep up with it.
And that’s pretty much it for my first tip.
Coming up with the second tip for you guys.
I would recommend picking the right sketchbook for the right purpose or in this case your goal.
If we’re going to wear a swimsuit, we’ll wear it at the swimming pool or at the beach,
because that’s where the swimsuit is supposed to be worn, right?
Same rule applies to picking a sketchbook.
You should pick the right kind of sketchbook that suits your goal.
Wow, why do I sound so serious? Lol.
Let me give you some examples; if you want to mainly use pens for drawings just like I’ve done before.
Then you don’t really need paper with tons of grams.
A cheap, even A4 paper works well with pens.
If you want to practice watercolor, then you’ll need paper that is designed to be used with watercolor.
If you’re serious about practicing watercolor.
That’s some examples.
The pros for choosing the right kind of paper are, for example, if you love to hord on tons for sketchbooks.
Then you’ll be able to pick the right sketchbook from your massive collection.
This is my goal and so this sketchbook should probably fit well with my goal, something like that.
On the other hand, if you’re looking for a new sketchbook but don’t know which one to get.
By setting up your goal, you’ll have a rough idea on what sketchbook to get and maybe the price of the sketchbook as well.
It should be easier to shop for your next sketchbook.
My third tip is to start from a small sketchbook.
However, this tip isn’t super important though.
Don’t really have to follow this one, if it doesn’t suit you.
The reason why I recommended starting from a smaller or thinner sketchbook is because
you’ll be able to finish the sketchbook very fast. It’ll give you more encouragement.
For my first sketchbook, this one isn’t too thin.
I probably would say it’s an A5 size.
I did feel I filled up this book quite fast
which gave me encouragement to go for a bigger size sketchbook for my second one.
But as I said, this tip isn’t that important.
If you love to work on a large scale, then please use bigger paper or a sketchbook.
The fourth tip and this is the last one already.
Please, don’t compare your sketchbook with other’s sketchbooks, ok?
Well, I know that most of us have experienced this moment before.
We tend to compare our work with other people's work.
Some people might compare their work to the point that they feel dis-encourage to draw.
And this is why I recommended my first tip for you is to have a goal.
Imagine you have your goal about improving your anatomy skill.
Then you meet with someone with incredible landscape painting.
You are probably really impressed by his/her work.
However, since you already know what your goal is, which is practice on anatomy, right?
Then your sketchbook shouldn’t have that much landscape drawing anyway
because you’re very much focused with your goal which is practice and improve drawing anatomy.
By focusing on your goal, it will..
Well it probably won’t completely go away.
But it should break the bad habit of comparing your work with others.
And hopefully by seeking to see other artists, beautiful art will instead give you more inspiration.
Alright, and that’s all of my advice I have for you today.
Feel free to take some of this advice and adjust them to suit your needs.
Please let me know if you think these tips will work or not work for you by commenting under this video.
I actually want to know as well if these tips will work with others because it works very well for me.
Also I actually have more tips for sketchbooks.
For example; how to fill up your sketchbook fast and make it look pretty.
But I think this video is quite long already.
So I’ll share some more tips with you guys next time.
Last one but not least, making art should make you happy instead of stressing out.
It’s ok if at the end you aren’t able to fill up the whole sketchbook. It’s not the end of the world.
It’s more important to enjoy drawing rather than filling up the sketchbook!
Alright, If you guys find this video helpful please give it a like and share.
I’ll see you guys in my next video. Byeeee