Sketchbook Tour + 5 Tips to Loosen Up
For today's Draw Tip Tuesday, I am flipping through My Sketchbook.
This sketchbook has been places and brings back memories.
In between the travels and adventures, there's a lot of everyday sketching too. I did some non-dominant hand drawing to warm up before leading a live session, which turned out to be a great way to loosen up and take the pressure off. I also played around with combining watercolors and crayons, alongside one of my forever go-tos, ink.
There's a rainy day sketch where I talk about how I avoided feeling overwhelmed (watch the process video of that one here), a page I didn't love at first but grew into after revisiting it (watch the process video of that one here, and a drawing made in a Parisien park, which makes me happy (watch the process video of that one here).
Other pages contain small moments, a wonky croissant, people-watching at a train station, a playful selfie... Some sketches came together in a rushed few minutes, others in a slow, flowing afternoon. That's what keeping a sketchbook practice brings us!
At the end of the video I share five takeaways from this particular sketchbook that might help with your own:
Try non-dominant hand drawing as a warm up before a big session. Loosens you up and takes the pressure off.
Do quick practice sketches. They're often more fun and spontaneous than the "final" piece.
If a page doesn't feel right at first, let it sit. You might love it later.
Cafes, train stations, and public transport are perfect for people watching and sketching. Waiting time is drawing time.
Sketching can be just play. Draw a selfie in a spoon reflection and you'll see!
Sketchbook shown: Hahnemühle Watercolor book 19.5x19.5cm
