Hey everyone. I filled my sketchbook.
I thought I would do a video telling you ten ways that I filled it.
Soon, I will be doing a sketchbook tour, so check back on my channel in a week or two, if you want to see that.
This sketchbook took me 45 days to fill,
I started it on October 4th and today is November 17th.
I was finishing my final pages this morning.
I want to tell you ten ways that really worked for me, and hopefully they work for you, too.
I'm gonna show you a couple things that I did in this sketchbook, during my journey.
You can just sit back and relax and enjoy it, and I'm gonna tell you the ten ways I filled my sketchbook.
The first thing I did was, I had a purpose for my sketchbook.
This is probably the most important point for me because
I feel like the tone I set for my sketchbook determines how much I actually want to use it.
this time around I decided, you know what, my purpose is just to make a happy place.
This is a place for me to escape and just be happy.
With that, I felt like I zoomed through my sketchbook.
It was so easy to fill it because my expectations weren't insane.
It was just a fun place.
When I did that, it was just easier to do everything else.
That brings me to my second point.
I decided to set goals for my sketchbook.
Since I wanted this to be a happy, fun place, I decided not to set too high of goals.
Not to expect too much out of this particular sketchbook
because the point of this isn't too Insanely push myself or anything.
It's more to have fun and make this my little diary kind of thing.
The goals that I did set, were written in my sketchbook because I did want to at least
hold myself accountable to an extent.
The third thing I did, you can pretty much guess, but I practiced my goals.
My goals were to draw hands and practice anatomy more.
It was so fulfilling to do that in this sketchbook
because as I said it was a place to make me happy,
I felt like the expectations of everybody around me were kind of just gone.
I could do what I wanted, if I drew a bad hand,
so be it. It was okay.
It made carrying out my goals so much more fun,
because of the purpose that I set for the sketchbook.
I didn't care if I improved or not.
I just wanted to have fun. So my goals were really fun, and I don't know.
Practicing hands for me in the past has always been intimidating,
but this time around it was so fun.
I'm really glad for the whole setting a purpose thing.
I felt like it really set the tone for every other reason why I filled my sketchbook.
Which brings me to my fourth point.
When you use your sketchbook, use your favorite sketchbook medium,
it doesn't have to just be pencil all the time.
It doesn't have to be...
I don't know just
Whatever everybody else is using, so you feel like you have to use it. Just use what makes you happy.
For me, that's watercolor and gouache. I used that a lot.
I practice with textures, layering paper, washi tape stuff like that too,
but for the most part I stuck with watercolor and gouache
because that's just, that's what I like.
The fifth way that I filled my sketchbook,
I feel is so important for me, and I hope that you find this one helpful especially,
I Ignored society's expectations of what a sketchbook should be
and I decided, you know what, this is my place to express myself
and I'm gonna take advantage of that.
I feel like everybody always says that you should never have fully developed pieces of artwork
in your sketchbook because it's more to develop your ideas and I disagree with that,
I feel like your sketchbook is your place ,you can do what you want with it.
sometimes I feel like there's this pressure to just develop ideas and draw a little thumbnail sketches.
Shame on you for doing a whole piece in your sketchbook.
I always feel self-conscious of that.
Especially when I share my stuff on YouTube because people always chew out in the comments over it.
I thought to myself, you know what, this is where I express myself, and I think that's OK.
That's completely OK, and I'm usually using my sketchbook when I'm on the go anyway.
So like it's kind of hard to do a whole piece on the go. I don't know.
I just had fun with it and ignored whatever other people are gonna say about how I decide to use my sketchbook.
I mean, I'll take the criticism. It's okay, but my thoughts on potential criticism shouldn't shape how I do my art
I shouldn't do art a certain way just because I'm afraid of what people will say.
That was a stress reliever. It made me so happy to set that aside.
Huh! Yes.
The sixth thing I did to fill my sketchbook was so helpful. If I didn't know what I wanted to draw or paint,
it was usually because I knew I just wanted to move my hands and
I'm one of those people that's constantly fiddling with something. If there's a pen nearby. It's in my hand.
I'm clicking it, stuff like that. So if I didn't know what I wanted to draw,
I pretty much just laid down color on the pages and
created simple patterns, drew leaves, made Zentangles, or just weird splotches of color.
Sometimes I just cut up pieces of washi tape and stuck them in my sketchbook
or stuff like that because it kept me busy and
it made me happy, because I had no idea of what I wanted to make,
but I felt like I was still creating something and it gave me fulfilment
The seventh thing I did in my sketchbook to fill it was,
I taped some of my old artwork, little prints and stickers stickers inside of the sketchbook for inspiration.
Sometimes there's pieces of artwork that I've made in the past that, every time I look at them,
It makes me want to do art for some reason. It's just really inspiring.
So there are a couple of those pieces that I created stickers with
or made prints with and I decided to put them in my sketchbook,
because I liked the feeling that it gave me. It made me happy. It made me want to keep on drawing
and I felt like it was just a nice way to lift my mood and make it a happier place.
So, that's what I did.
Then to fill my sketchbook even more, this is what I recommend to you guys for sure,
is take your sketchbook with you places. I'm always just sliding mine into my purse and just taking it with me to cafes.
My husband is in medical school so when he's studying. I'll just be doodling.
Usually I try to doodle random people in the coffee shops, but they always seem to catch me.
I'm an awkward person, and then they usually get up and leave. I don't know if it's because of me or just the timing.
It's okay, anyway, take your sketchbook places.
When I go on trips I also take it with me and just draw what I see. It is so fun.
I feel like that's when I do most of my art
and I think it's because I change up my environment.
I'm already out of my comfort zone, so why not?
The next thing I did was I sat my sketchbook in obvious places around my house.
If I knew I was going to be in my living room that night,
I would sit it on the coffee table. If I knew I was gonna be in my art studio,
Boom, it would be on my desk. That kind of stuff really helps because it's a constant reminder,
Every time you see it out of the corner of your eye like hey, I'm right here.
You can still draw on me and it's okay
I felt like that was a very helpful one and kind of convicting at times. I don't know.
The tenth and final way that I filled my sketchbook is
I decided that I wanted to make this something that I would want to look through later on.
I like things that are bright and happy,
which goes back to number one and brings everything full circle and it fit my purpose,
So I wanted this to be a happy place,
I wanted to look through something bright and happy
and it made me really think about the purpose of my sketchbook.
Your sketchbook can have whatever purpose you want. Say you just want it to be to develop ideas or
Maybe you only want to draw portraits in that sketchbook or abstract stuff.
Whatever it is. It's it's completely okay and
There's nothing wrong with that, and I hope that when you finish your sketchbook,
It's something you want to look through,
something that you're proud of.
Anyway, I hope these tips help, and I hope they inspire you to create art.
I hope that you don't feel bound by rules or expectations of other people
You can just feel happy and make it your own special place,
because I feel like that's so important. Anyway the tour will be coming soon.
Thank you so much for watching. I hope you have a really good day guys.
Bye.