My perception of a sketchbook.

Isabelle Arsenault (born 1978) is a Canadian award-winning illustrator best known for her elaborate yet simplified artwork in children’s literature. Isabelle Arsenault explains why she keeps a sketchbook “…it is important to maintain some form of practice outside of work, in a sketchbook, for example, to exercise what I have learned and explore new avenues.  It’s like training between marathons.  If you’re not in good shape, it becomes much more difficult to perform.” (Salisbury, 2022)

Arsenault’s statement resonates with me and encapsulates exactly why it is important to keep a sketchbook.  A sketchbook is not the same for everybody, and there is no right or wrong relationship with your sketchbook, but I especially like that she keeps a sketchbook outside work, or in my case, outside university work.  Her analogy of ‘it’s like training between marathons’ is very true and struck a chord with me.   I enjoyed reading other perspectives and views on sketchbooks.  We all have different personalities, so we all will have different sketchbooks.  I identified key points to incorporate into my sketchbook workflow by researching other artists’ sketchbooks in the previous task, brainstorming using a spider diagram and reflecting on other artists’ views.  

1.     A sketchbook should be where you feel free to make bad and ugly drawings.

Martin Salisbury, a Professor of Illustration at the Cambridge School of Art, designed the renowned MA Children’s Book Illustration program.  Salisbury says that hesitancy and constant reassessment of the lines you draw speak of the sense of inquiry that is so important when learning to draw. (Salisbury, 2022)

Salisbury’s views make sense to me; you never stop learning to draw.  Your sketchbook should be a place with no constraints and the liberty to expose your mistakes.  Showing scrutiny and reassessment of lines when drawing is an interesting observation when looking back in your sketchbook and learning from yourself.  Instead of erasing the ‘wrong’ line, you could leave the line as is and draw the correct line in the correct place.  

2.    Being precious about your sketchbook

On Instagram you see artists paging through their sketchbooks, and every page is a beautiful artwork. I don’t think anything is wrong with that, and a separate sketchbook for this specific purpose could be lovely. Still, I believe it is essential to have a sketchbook where you can collect information, engage with an object or scenery through observational drawing, capture inspiration through quick sketches and try out new ideas.   When you have a new sketchbook with a hardcover and thick, good-quality paper, it can be tempting to feel like you need to create a beautiful, finished sketch on every page. However, I found a solution to this problem by binding my own sketchbook using a variety of different papers – including less expensive paper, good quality watercolour paper, mixed media paper, regular Bristol, cartridge paper, cheap paper, and high-quality marker paper. I used recycled cardboard for the cover and stitched it together using the saddle stitch method. Now, I can use whichever paper suits my needs for each sketch in my book.

3.     Challenge yourself

Sometimes I struggle with my sketchbook, but this is how it should be. My sketchbook is similar to playing a musical instrument and learning to play a new piece of music.  You can either stick to the music pieces you already know or learn to play a new, more challenging work.    My sketchbook should be a non-comfort zone, and although I also draw for pure enjoyment, it is important to challenge yourself to grow as an artist.  The best experiences in my sketchbook usually have a purpose behind them, such as trying a new technique or drawing something I haven’t drawn before.

4.     Further reflection and brainstorming

Figure 4 shows the spider diagram I used to reflect on what I want my relationship with my sketchbook to be.  My sketchbook is an extension of myself.  Reading through the blue notes of my course material, the following statements resonate with me.  

• My sketchbook is a personal thinking instrument.
• It’s a snapshot of my creative journey.
• I refer back to regularly.
• My sketchbook is an insight into who I am by showing what I care about.
• It is a cumulative record of who I am and my feelings or thoughts.
• I use it to organise my thoughts and develop my ideas.
• If you don’t like the constraints of a book, you could work on loose paper and bind the sketchbook when you have enough pages to do so.

5.     What do my present sketchbooks look like?

I have many sketchbooks at the moment—one for each kind of paper or size I prefer.  My current sketchbooks work for me, but I can optimise them for my creative process.  The video below is a quick look at sketchbooks in their raw and present state.  The first sketchbook in the video is a digital sketchbook.  I printed out my digital work and bound it into a book using saddle stitch and clipping the corners.  This is only a fraction of my digital work.  In the future, I would like to start a habit of keeping a record of my digital work on paper.   There is a square sketchbook in the video I used for Inktober with resolved illustrations, but the rest of the sketchbooks are all ideas, concepts, hand lettering and drawing practice.

6.     What would I like my sketchbook to be?

I want my sketchbooks to be a ‘timeline’ and a story of my creative journey and my development as an illustrator or designer.  For this reason, I really like the way Dr Emma Powell uses her sketchbook, which contains everything she has worked on for six months at a time.   I prefer this method to many smaller books, except when I travel, a smaller sketchbook with a hardcover is ideal.  The hardcover is ideal to push against while drawing.  I discovered this when I tried out my self-made, new soft-cover saddle stitch sketchbook.  I like the freedom of loose paper and am less fond of the constraints of a book.  The paper can be bounded or slotted into a book. The scale I work at should rather be larger than small.  I like getting my elbow into the drawing and using free-flowing movements with my arms and hands.    I also want to record all my digital sketches by making a printed version of my digital work that I can page through. 

My overall reflection on my relationship with my sketchbook

• “…it is important to maintain some form of practice outside of work, in a sketchbook for example, to exercise what I have learned and explore new avenues.  It’s like training between marathons.  If you’re not in good shape, it becomes much more difficult to perform.” ~ Isabelle Arsenault
• A sketchbook should be a place where it’s okay to make bad and ugly drawings.
• It is important to have a sketchbook where you can collect information, engage with an object or scenery through observational drawing, capture inspiration through quick drawings and try out new ideas instead of a beautiful, finished sketch on every page.
• I see my sketchbook like playing a musical instrument.  You can either repeatedly play the music pieces you already know or learn to play new, more challenging pieces.  In other words: Challenge yourself!
• I am happy with my present sketchbook stack but would like to explore the sketchbook practice that Dr Emma Powell uses.
• My travel sketchbook will remain the same: an A5 hardcover sketchbook and a travel pouch with mixed media art supplies.

Works Cited

Salisbury, M. (2022). Drawing for Illustration. London: Thames & Hudson Ltd.