All in Drawing Tips

Why I Love Changing Sketchbook Formats

If you’re curious about trying a different sketchbook format, or experimenting with limited tools, you'll enjoy this sketchbook tour. And I hope you'll try something new too!

Let's flip through the pages I filled: urban sketches of a snowy city, experiments with negative space and foreshortening. Quick café drawings, experiments with water‑soluble ink, brush pen and watercolors. Plus the wonderfully messy process behind some favorite spreads.

How Light and Shadow Change Your Drawing

Learn how light and shadow can add depth and drama to your drawings. In this video I explore how changing the direction of light affects shadows, highlights, and color. You will get an easy sketchbook exercise using a simple household object to train your eye and build confidence when drawing from observation. It’ll be fun!

Sketchbook Pages From Daily Life

Sketchbook flip through filled in October and November 2025, showing the seasonal shift from outdoor to indoor drawing. I share pages with washes, negative space, limited tools, café sketches, people, nature, and everyday moments, plus practical sketchbook tips and inspiration to keep your drawing practice going.

Sketching a Tropical Beach

I filmed a beach drawing session in Thailand where I sketched the view with a brush pen, added quick figures and palm trees, then used wax crayons, watercolor, and colored pencils for texture and depth. A relaxed urban sketching moment and a free peek of my Patreon style content.

People Sketching on the Go

On the go sketching is a great way to capture real life moments. I draw people in busy places using a watercolor pencil for fast lines and quick shading. It keeps my sketches loose, lively and full of energy. Try people drawing to bring more movement into your sketchbook!

Urban Sketching in Paris

Sketching a metro entrance on location and starting with loose color to beat the blank page. I share tips for drawing people, proportions, decision making, and drawing lettering by observing shapes. A look at playful urban sketching and letting the sketchbook surprise you.

How I Fill My Travel Sketchbooks

Sketchbook Tour from my Spain trip with The Blue Walk. I flip through my A4 Hahnemühle Nostalgie sketchbook filled with Barcelona and Costa Brava drawings, playful techniques, people sketches and travel memories. Inspiration to draw more wherever you are.

How I Choose My Palette

In this Draw Tip Tuesday I show the colors I use most (watercolors, colored pencils, crayons, gouache) and why you do not need to buy the same colors.
I explain how you decide on YOUR colors, how a simple limited palette can boost creativity and why keeping your sketch kit light helps you draw more.

Urban Sketching with Just 3 Colors

In today's Draw Tip Tuesday I take you sketching on location with just a few simple tools. Limiting materials helps keep your drawing playful, loose, and alive. I start with messy marks in color, layer shapes, and then add pen lines to bring clarity and energy. Along the way I share pro tips for drawing in public, for staying mindful of your stuff, and for trusting your inner artist. It is not about perfection but about capturing the moment in your own way. Materials: Strathmore Mixed Media sketchbook, Neocolor crayons, fountain pen, water brush.

Quick Café Sketch in 5 Minutes

In this Draw Tip Tuesday I show you how I sketch people quickly and loosely using a water-soluble pencil and a simple waterbrush. You can capture the energy of a barista with confident lines, light washes, and simplified shapes. This is about drawing with ease, focusing on movement and light instead of details, and embracing the wonkiness.

Just a few quick marks are enough to tell the story and bring your sketchbook pages to life.

4 Self Portraits in 10 Minutes

In this Draw Tip Tuesday video, I share a quick and fun self portrait exercise you can do in under 10 minutes. Using a mirror and a timer, I draw my face 4 times, each with fewer lines than the last. This simple practice helps you focus on what really matters in a drawing, sharpen your observation skills, and discover how much you can simplify while still showing expression and resemblance. I also talk about why self portraits are a great subject for building your drawing habit.

How to See Like an Artist

In this Draw Tip Tuesday, I explore how to use negative shapes in urban sketching to make a scene come to life. Starting with the space around a building, I block in trees and foliage first, letting the building appear by what I do not draw. I share tips on mark making, layering, and using selective color to create depth and contrast. This approach trains your eyes to see differently and adds a fresh twist to your sketches, whether you work from a photo or on location.