These are great! In 2020, I went all in on writing long hand and letting my mistake-ridden drawings live their free lives out in the world. I even did the inks for my upcoming graphic novels with a dip pen!
I’ve thought about trying to go traditional with my pages but usually stay digital because it’s faster. But it must be nice to have all those original pages of art to look at later.
My studio is littered with paper now! And oh yeah--I've landed on doing digital sketches (because it's so much faster) and then hand drawing pencils/doing traditional inks before digital color. My lines are VERY wonky so I can get away with a lot of mistakes, but they're really messy.
Thank you so much for the peek into your sketchbooks, James! Love this post. Also, the "I'm not dead" speech bubble coming from the flat chipmunk made me laugh. :-D
p.s. What kind of grey marker do you use, James? Apologies if I missed seeing this in your post. I know there are many out there, but I'm worried about them leaking through sketchbook paper so am curious about what you use.
Looking through my art supplies, I just discovered that I already have a grey marker: a COPIC that was handed out ages ago at an SCBWI Illustrator Intensive gathering years ago! Soaks through cheap paper, though.
I do the same thing, James. I LOVE sketchbooks. About a hundred years ago now I had an everyday sketchbook habit and filled about 10 books in a year. I gathered all of my favorite sketches and self published a book of them, which was funded on Kickstarter. I miss that, but I'm not sure why I can't find time to do it anymore. (Though I guess back then I didn't have many projects, either.) Where's the happy medium!!?
Yep. It always seems to be feast or famine when it comes to time. Either I’m super busy and have no time or I’ve got nothing and have all the time in the world, but don’t feel like doing anything because I’m depressed about not having any projects.
DON'T share on instagram!? But it will be like it never happened! No, I kid. I am super guilty of feeding the insta machine. Thank you for the reminder to keep some things special for me :)
It’s actually hard for me to not post stuff. But I guess that shows what type of hold social media has over our lives. They’ve trained us to need those likes. Validation is nice. But it can also be addictive I suppose.
Thanks. Yeah I want to do more sketching while I’m out and about too. The world is filled with interesting people waiting to be immortalized in sketch.
These are great! In 2020, I went all in on writing long hand and letting my mistake-ridden drawings live their free lives out in the world. I even did the inks for my upcoming graphic novels with a dip pen!
I’ve thought about trying to go traditional with my pages but usually stay digital because it’s faster. But it must be nice to have all those original pages of art to look at later.
My studio is littered with paper now! And oh yeah--I've landed on doing digital sketches (because it's so much faster) and then hand drawing pencils/doing traditional inks before digital color. My lines are VERY wonky so I can get away with a lot of mistakes, but they're really messy.
I'm a big fan of WONKY lines. It gives the drawings life!
Thank you so much for the peek into your sketchbooks, James! Love this post. Also, the "I'm not dead" speech bubble coming from the flat chipmunk made me laugh. :-D
Glad you enjoyed it. I was genuinely worried when I saw that poor chipmunk thinking it was dying or dead. So it made me very happy when it ran away.
p.s. What kind of grey marker do you use, James? Apologies if I missed seeing this in your post. I know there are many out there, but I'm worried about them leaking through sketchbook paper so am curious about what you use.
The grey marker I’m using is from the cheap marker packs they sell at Michael’s Craft Stores made by Artist’s Loft.
Looking through my art supplies, I just discovered that I already have a grey marker: a COPIC that was handed out ages ago at an SCBWI Illustrator Intensive gathering years ago! Soaks through cheap paper, though.
Hey, and it still works! I've never used it for anything, but you've inspired me to try. :-)
My older son has a bunch of copic markers. He loves them. But they probably work best on a thicker paper that won’t deep through. Good luck.
Hm....good point. I'm going to look for your cheap marker pack. :-)
I do the same thing, James. I LOVE sketchbooks. About a hundred years ago now I had an everyday sketchbook habit and filled about 10 books in a year. I gathered all of my favorite sketches and self published a book of them, which was funded on Kickstarter. I miss that, but I'm not sure why I can't find time to do it anymore. (Though I guess back then I didn't have many projects, either.) Where's the happy medium!!?
Yep. It always seems to be feast or famine when it comes to time. Either I’m super busy and have no time or I’ve got nothing and have all the time in the world, but don’t feel like doing anything because I’m depressed about not having any projects.
Yeeeup!
DON'T share on instagram!? But it will be like it never happened! No, I kid. I am super guilty of feeding the insta machine. Thank you for the reminder to keep some things special for me :)
It’s actually hard for me to not post stuff. But I guess that shows what type of hold social media has over our lives. They’ve trained us to need those likes. Validation is nice. But it can also be addictive I suppose.
This is wonderful to see! Thanks for showing it!
Thanks. Yeah I want to do more sketching while I’m out and about too. The world is filled with interesting people waiting to be immortalized in sketch.