Sketchbook Design

 

My todays subject is: Sketchbook Design

 

Getting through my sketchbooks, preparing workshop stuff at the moment. I am thinking over what sketchbooks are all about and how they could be easily designed (besides the drawings themselves).

 

My sketchbooks mean a lot to me. They tell about my life. If the house would burn down, I would not save my artworks first, but I would try to grab some of my sketchbooks as they are so valuable to me.

The reportage of my life is in there, even if the sketches are not all finished and often done in a fast pace.

I photographed a few pagespreads of my many sketchbooks to show them as an example (see above). How to combine or work with those? I often use both sides of the booksheets which means I mostly paint the whole book.

The following tips might be helpful with your sketchbook design. If you have already done some drawing or painting, how to better combine a spread and to make the pages look even more unique:

1. Your drawings. For me the fun is to paint mainly in watercolour. I add pencil or ink if I am in the mood. My sketchbook mostly have a certain theme like: landscape, travel, country, region, floral, portrait etc.

 

2. Text / Calligraphy (description/historical content/names/...) Personally I do not write a lot, often just the name of the building or place and the date. I very much like "handlettering" but I seldomly do special calligraphy with ink.

3. I love stamps that is why I stamp a few of my sketchbook spreads when I get home. I began with that in childhood after having gotten a stamp set at the age of ten. My nowadays sets (see above) are not too different from the one I had earlier. Btw aren't we all loving stamps (especially those for sketchfests / -tours?!)

4. Colour indication. I very often indicate colours to have some sort of reference. As I paint nearly everything in colour on site this is just an information to my future self. These spreads can be used as a library to learn from and in my opinion it looks nice as well and shows somehow my working process and colour choice of the instant.

5. Signatures from friends. On meetings with sketcher friends I let them write their names and web address. This makes it easier for memorizing and contact. I like the different writings of each person.

6. Frames are also a good way to combine several paintings or drawings in a sketchbook. Open frames as well as overlapping ones make it even more interesting.

7. Maps are great to show, where you painted (this is one point I very seldomly do)

 

8. Collage papers like small business cards, part of napkins, entrance tickets etc...

These are things I very seldomly use, as I like my sketchbook more drawn or painted, but a mix of collage and drawings can be very interesting.

Please keep in mind that sketchbooks do not have to be perfect. They should be fun, relaxing and above all a good memory of time and place, that's all...

Have fun designing your own sketchbook...any questions?

Bitte an die deutschen Leser, bei Interesse am Artikel heute mal wieder ein Übersetzungstool zu verwenden. Danke.