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How to start a sketchbook
A calm, step by step guide for when you want to draw more but the blank page feels like a lot.
The short answer
Choose a sketchbook you are not afraid of, use one or two tools, and make the first page messy on purpose. Then draw something small, often. That is all it takes to begin.
1
Choose a sketchbook you are not afraid of
Cheap and friendly beats beautiful and precious.
If a sketchbook feels too nice to use, it stays on the shelf. Pick one in a size you can finish a page of in ten minutes.
Wondering about paper weight? Here is which sketchbook paper suits mixed media.
On this page
2
Start with one or two tools
A pencil and a pen are plenty. You can add colour pencils or watercolours once drawing feels easy, and not before.
3
Make the first page a messy one
Scribble. Test your pens. Write the date and how you feel. Getting the first page out of the way takes the pressure off every page after it. If you worry about spoiling the book, read what to do when you are afraid of ruining it.
4
Decide what to draw
Start with what is in front of you: a mug, your shoes, a houseplant. When you want more, there are plenty of sketchbook ideas and prompts.
Try this today
Set a timer for ten minutes. Draw the three nearest objects, small, on one page.
No rubbing out.
5
Keep it small and regular
Ten minutes a day does more than one long session a month. Leave the sketchbook open somewhere you will see it. For more, see how to build a drawing habit.
Questions people ask
Keep going
Ideas and Prompts
Never stare at a blank page again
Choosing Materials
What to buy and what to leave on the shop shelf.
Build a drawing Habit
Makings sketching part of an ordinary week.
I am Irene, artist and teacher in Cambridgeshire. I left a career in law to draw for a living, and I still feel a flutter at the first page of every new sketchbook.
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