How to Fill a Sketchbook

I finally figured out how to fill a sketchbook. PICK A TINY ONE! Join me for part 1 of a tiny sketchbook tour.

The title for this week’s newsletter is a little tongue in cheek because I don’t think I’ve ever filled an entire sketchbook before! Not a “nice” one anyway. I have filled a ton of crappy notebooks, but sketchbooks? Those are special (at least, this is what I tell myself). And since they are special, I find it difficult to commit to one sketchbook and keep it special until the end. I then get sidetracked by newer, sexier sketchbooks that I haven’t ruined with un-special pages or self-imposed rules that I no longer want to follow. As a result, I have a pile of partially filled sketchbooks! Which is fine, really. I’m not really trying to “achieve” anything with my sketchbooks, but there is something satisfying about finishing something, even if it is a really, really small thing—like a tiny 3” x 2.5” matchbook-style sketchbook with 35 crisp white pages in it that felt special to use.

I’m going to break up this sketchbook tour into 3 parts, because 35 images was quite overwhelming for one post! And this tiny sketchbook happens to embody the three stages I tend to feel for most projects.

Stage 1: The beginning! This initial spark is my favorite part because I’m so excited about all the possibilities! The ideas are flowing! I bask in the brainstorming and positive energy.

Stage 2: The soggy middle. This is where I realize, “Crap. This is going to take longer than I thought. I’m running out of ideas. Are these ideas even any good? Why am I spending time on this in the first place?!” This is generally where I consider totally changing course or abandoning the project all together. We’ll talk about this more next week!

Stage 3: The final lap! Sometimes the last couple finishing touches are painful, but other times they are victorious and joyful! Either way, at the end I’m usually thinking, “Woo hoo! I actually finished a thing! Parts of it are great and parts of it are just ok, but it is DONE.”

Before I dive into part 1 of the tour, it’s worth noting that I’m sharing a FREE printable download with ALL subscribers today! So please scroll to the very bottom to download your free art print!

I shared page one in last week’s newsletter about Art-o-mat machines! This lovely little sketchbook was created by Tall Hill Upcycled, and I purchased it from an Art-o-mat vending machine located in The Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas.

The first page was inspired by a minimalist abstract piece of art in this shape, and I thought, “That’s cool. I’ll use that shape as a starting point.” Somehow it turned into this tiny landscape.

I don’t usually draw landscapes. I tend to draw characters and objects, so this was a nice change of pace for me. I also liked how it was a contained piece vs. going to the edges of the page. So, I decided it would be a fun challenge to fill each page with a landscape-ish type drawing encapsulated in some kind of shape. Landscape shapes, you could call them, I guess? Or landshapes…? Hmmm…that doesn’t sound very cool… any better ideas for what to call these? Let me know in the comments below!

I have plans brewing to turn some of these drawings into t-shirt designs. So more on that in the future. For now, I’d like to share the Northern Lights drawing as a downloadable art print! I did a little digital clean-up and added some words. The finished print is 6” square and looks like this:

Simply hit the button below to download and print! There are two versions: a 6”x6” jpg and a letter-size PDF with the 6”x6” print centered so you can trim to your desired size. Depending on the printer situation you have, one might be easier to use than the other! Please note that this is copyrighted work that is for personal use only and is not eligible for resale. Please print it for yourself and share with your friends!

Thanks for reading!

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Next week, I’ll share part 2 of the sketchbook tour and write more about the “soggy middle” stage that tends to happen in creative projects.