Inside my sketchbook

I haven't posted in a while, I'm frantically trying to get my too complicated website finished in the next few days, but I thought I would take a break and post about something that is probably the single most important aspect of my work - my sketchbook.

All the art I create starts as a sketch in my humble, oh-so-low-tech sketchbook. No tricks here, just a pencil (I like mechanical ones) and my 5.5" x 8.5" 100 sheet Strathmore sketchbook. I like this size because it's easy for me to hold and not too intimidating. There is nothing more intimidating than a huge piece of blank paper! So I like this size, it's small, so it's easy to fill up and if I do a crappy sketch (most are), I can easily turn the page and never see it again! I never tear out pages though. I like to keep the sketchbook fat and I like to see how far I've come. Sometimes (rarely) I have bursts of relative genius (for me) and I like to have record of them. Then on an uninspired, uncreative day, I can look back for a little, much needed inspiration.

Like I said, everything I do starts as a sketch. I never go near the computer until it's time to render. My final drawings look very much like their pencil and paper parents.

Here are some peeks into my mind (scary!) and sketchbook:

Here is how the fairy queen from my collection "fanciful fairies" started out:

... and here is the final. You can see she looks exactly like her sketch.

Here is a page were I was having some fun creating some cupcakes for the "sweet treats" collection. I was most likely inspired (and most definitely) hungry for this one. I remember I cranked it out very quickly! There is some "bird garden" stuff as well.

Sometimes pages are very messy, like when I'm trying to design a composition. Lots of drawing over and erasing. If I hate it, I can just turn the page:

Here are some pages where I decided to just experiment with flowers and butterflies:

Here is a page where I was trying to work out my website:

So there it is! Nothing to it, just get a sketchbook and pencil and just draw..... anything! In a future post I'm planning on writing about ways to kick start ideas. Some fun techniques to get that right side of the brain working. I know you can't wait for that!

Thanks for reading, I hope it wasn't too painful!

Heather