Keeping a Sketchbook
Do you often find yourself bored with nothing to do? If you do, consider this extra time a blessing. If you don’t, find some time you can give up. If you spend a couple hours a day watching television, free up one of those hours. If you have extra time in the morning that you spend sleeping in, wake up a little earlier. Just find an extra 15, 30, 60 minutes or so each day.
If you want to become a truly dedicated artist and really practice and hone your craft, you need to keep a sketchbook. A sketchbook does for the artist what a journal does for the writer.
What is a sketchbook?
A sketchbook is exactly what it sounds like. It is a book of sketches. It is a collection of your doodles and creative thoughts in picture form. It may include a drawing of that eccentric man that frequents the store you work at, some waves and splashes depicting the mood you are in, or the pages and pages of practice apple sketches you are trying to perfect for a larger piece.
How do you keep a sketchbook?
How you keep a sketchbook is entirely up to you, but to get you started, here are some ideas you can start with. Choose one, use them all, or add your own.
- Draw images or anything expressing your day or mood.
- Sketch the first thing that comes to your mind.
- Practice drawing anything you have difficulty drawing that you want to improve or something new you want to try.
- Draw in a series. For example, a different flower every day for a set amount of time.
- Draw whatever’s right in front of you at any given moment.
- Draw what interests, surprises, angers, enlightens, etc.
- Draw your fantasy house, car, etc.
Why should I keep a sketchbook?
By keeping a sketchbook that you use all the time, you are continuously practicing. The more you draw, the better you’ll be. If you draw a portrait of yourself a thousand times, can’t you expect the 1,000th to be much better than the first?
Keeping a sketchbook is the perfect way to keep you practicing art when you’re away from your art supplies, have an extra 5 minutes at work, or don’t feel like working on the same big project. Keep practicing and sketching and you will gain noticeable improvement in your artistic skills.
