The Benefits of Starting a Sketchbook Practice
Keeping a sketchbook has countless benefits, and it is such a rewarding and enjoyable practice once you get in the habit of it. In this post, I’m going to go over the benefits of keeping a sketchbook and some ideas for what to create even if you aren’t sure what to draw!
Sketchbooks can seem intimidating for some people. Sometimes it feels like starting a sketchbook means you have to fill an entire book with original artwork or that every spread needs to be beautiful and perfect. But when you realize that sketchbooks are be a tool for growth, relaxation, and exploration, you’ll open up a whole new world of possibilities with your creativity!
As a professional illustrator, I’ve always kept a sketchbook, but you don’t have to be a professional artist to benefit from this practice. If you have a desire to express your creativity in any capacity, sketchbooking is for you!
Here are five of the benefits you’ll get from starting a sketchbook practice of your own!
1) Explore Your Creativity Without Judgment
The best part about a sketchbook is that you don’t have to show the art you create inside that sacred little book to ANYONE if you don’t want to. You’re free to follow your curiosity and create whatever you want. This allows you to get in touch with your creative spirit without limitations. And that’s why we all got started with creating art in the first place, isn’t it?
If you make something in your sketchbook that you don’t love, no worries! Your sketchbook is filled with so many more blank pages that you can use to start fresh! Plus, keeping it all in one book will give you the opportunity to see your progress. Follow what you’re curious about, and put it in your sketchbook. You may be pleasantly surprised by what you come up with!
2) Practice Your Art Skills
When I have paint left over after I’ve finished a project, one of my favorite ways to use it is to do painting drills in my sketchbook! This helps me practice brush control, discover different color combinations, and keep my painting muscle memory strong! No matter your level of experience, there is always room for practice. I’ve been a professional illustrator for 10 years, and I still find so much benefit in using my sketchbook for practicing my skills!
3) Master Copies
Master copies are a fantastic tool for finding your artistic style when you’re a new artist. A master copy is when you look at the work of an artist you admire and recreate it to learn how they did it, what decisions they made, and why you like the artwork. This is a great way to learn, but you never want to pass a master copy off as your own. Your sketchbook is a great place for creating this kind of work!
4) Boost Your Creativity
Creativity is like a muscle. The more you use it, the stronger it gets! Making art in your sketchbook regularly, even if it’s just for a few minutes a day, can help keep that muscle strong and actually boost your creativity over time! If I’m ever feeling like I’m in a creative rut, I always turn back to my sketchbook. I know that even if I’m just doodling in the pages, it will spark something in me that will get my creativity flowing again! Sometimes I’ll just start dropping into a state of flow by doodling patterns in my sketchbook, or making lists. It doesn’t always have to be drawing – it can be writing down lists of things you want to manifest, a place to brain dump everything on your mind, places you want to travel, creative projects you want to do, ideas for artwork you want to create, etc.!
5) Meditation and Relaxation
I am a big proponent of meditation, but if you’ve ever sat down to meditate and had a hard time with it, you’re not alone! In our crazy world, it can feel so hard to calm your anxious mind sometimes. Believe me, I’ve been there! But one thing that I love to do when I want to relax is to do a sketchbook meditation. The tactile action of putting something down on paper gives you just enough to focus on without being too overwhelming.
Put on some calming music, grab whatever art supplies you have lying around, and start creating simple, repetitive designs in your sketchbook. By focusing on a repetitive pattern, you can start to relax and release whatever’s not serving you. If you want some sketchbook meditation inspiration, you can use these designs in your own sketchbook!
I hope that this post inspires you to dive into your sketchbook and let your creativity run wild!
If you want a step-by-step guide to some of my favorite sketchbook exercises, check out my class Gouache for Beginners where you’ll learn the fundamentals of gouache painting through fun, relaxing, hands-on sketchbook painting drills.
