Wyna

Exercise 1.0 What sort of sketchbook should I use?

At the moment I have been working in the following sketchbooks:

  • Digital Sketchbook: I have three sketchbooks in Procreate where I explore digital sketching and hand lettering on my iPad.
  • Typography Sketchbook: This is an A4 hardcover sketchbook with cheap paper.  I paste in typography examples that I like, and make a note of the type family for when I want to use it in a project.  I also use this book to paste any hand lettering or anything related to lettering and typography.
  • A3 Moleskine Art Collection Sketchbook 165 gsm paper:  I like to work on a bigger scale.  This Moleskin sketchbook is ideal for pencil sketches because it is good quality paper.  The paper is smooth.  I also used it for ink work but soon realised that alcohol ink bleeds through the paper, so I purchased a multimedia sketchbook for my alcohol ink work. Moleskine sketchbooks are ideal for pencil, Indian Ink and even watercolours.
  • Moleskin Square Sketchbook Pad: This sketchbook pad has removable paper. I specifically used this sketchpad for fully rendered Inktober sketches. 
  • Moleskin Watercolour Sketchbooks: I use two watercolour sketchbooks for gouache and watercolours.  One is an A6 size, and the other is an A5 size.
  • Hahnemühle Nostalgie Sketchbook A5:  190g/m2 or 90lbs, 80 pages. Natural white sketch paper with fine grain.  This is one of my favourite sketchbooks but is more suitable for doing resolved artworks or pencil sketches.  Solid Indian Ink doesn’t bleed through the page, but alcohol ink does.
  • Strathmore Series 500 Mixed Media A5 Sketchbook: 100% Cotton Acid-Free Paper, 190lb (190g/m2).  This paper has more of a grain and I prefer this sketchbook for pencil sketches and inkwork with a brush, especially if you want the paper texture to show.  This sketchbook tolerates heavy ink work very well without bleeding through the page, but not alcohol ink.
  • Daler Rowney Ebony 150g/m2 (101 lbs) acid-free cartridge paper A5: This was my first sketchbook, and I used it for notes, watercolour, ink, pencil and collage.  It tolerated most mediums and I love the texture and colour of the paper.  This sketchbook wasn’t expensive and is ideal for exploration work without feeling like you’re “wasting” good paper.
  • Daler Rowney A6 Ivory Sketchbook: The 90gsm paper is very smooth and has an ivory colour.  Personally, I am not fond of an A6 sketchbook because I find it too small.
  • Spiral bound Pro-Art A5 Sketchbook: 110gsm. This sketchbook was used mainly for thumbnail drawings, notes, papercraft plans and pasting pieces of paper.
  • Moleskin Plain Art Collection 165gsm A5 Sketchbook: I can understand why so many people like this sketchbook.  It is a portable size and has an elastic to keep all the pages together.  It even has a pocket at the back.  The paper is smooth and thick, ideal for watercolour, ink, and mixed media.
  • Copic Paper Spiral Bound Sketchbook: 11.5cm x 11.5cm with paper for alcohol ink.  This paper is ideal, especially for blending the alcohol makers, but yet again, I find this size just too small for my liking.

I have used a sketchbook for drawing prompts such as Inktober, 100 Heads portraits challenge and OCA Illustration Random Friday drawing prompts.  These are all fully rendered illustrations and are kept together in a sketchbook.  A multimedia paper is the best for this sketchbook.

I then have a sketchbook for lettering and typography.  This should be a cheaper paper that I don’t feel precious about, as I will usually stick loose papers into this sketchbook or do my hand lettering on a loose paper and paste it into this book.

I am considering printing my digital sketchbook pages and pasting them into an analogue sketchbook.  There is something about paging through a sketchbook, and sometimes I feel digital work is less accessible than a regular sketchbook.

I would like to try making a sketchbook similar to Emma’s.  That way I can use different paper textures and sizes.  I can also be selective of what I think is constructive to my learning and progression and should be placed in my sketchbook.  When you have a pre-bound sketchbook, you are pretty much tied down to what you’ve done on your sketchbook page.  It is still important to include mistakes that are essential for your development as an Illustrator.

Figure 1 My sketchbooks
Figure 2 All my sketchbooks I am currently using

Making a ‘Foldy’ and a ‘Mini booklet.’

I will explore making a Mini Zine (Foldy) and a small booklet.  I was surprised by how easy it is to make your own sketchbook. 

Figure 3 Making a ‘Foldy’
Figure 4 Making a booklet

What I have learned so far

  • I will need four sketchbooks for my workflow.
  • Sketchbook 1: Keeping a record of my digital work. (A4 Spiral Bound)
  • Sketchbook 2: Typography and Hand lettering Sketchbook (A4 Sketchbook).
  • Sketchbook 3: Sketchbook for resolved and fully rendered artworks (A4 Sketchbook)
  • Sketchbook 4: Similar to Emma’s Sketchbook for keeping everything I am working on together.  This is a great way to keep everything in one place.
  • Making your own sketchbook means you can custom-make it precisely the way you like by using the paper you prefer and in any size you prefer. 
  • I can slot in tracing or protective paper when binding a book, for example, pastels and charcoal, which tends to be messy.
  • I can use a ‘rounded-corner die’ to finish off the corners of my sketchbook.
  • I can sand the edges of my sketchbook after cutting it.
  • I now know how to make a ‘foldy’ or ‘Mini Zine’ sketchbook and a booklet using a ‘saddle stitch’.

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