An illustrator’s sketchbook is where the creative magic starts. For me they are an essential playground where messy, badly-drawn, half-baked ideas some out into the world. Some go on to become a finished illustration (or layout for a design), some stay there on the page. My ideas take form better on paper than on a screen.
I aim to fill at least one sketchbook every month. This helps me get over my fear of ruining a page: my goal is to fill that book, not to create great art. Most months I go through two or three of my current favourite, Seawhite A3, plus a small stack of loose papers that I slip inside the covers.
Above: sketches done in coloured ink on paper, inspired by the Bayeuex Tapastry.
Above: pencil on paper, a sketch of a gardener (me) in their veggie patch. I am currently using this for a piece of work my garden series (below).
Above: ink on paper, variations on a theme. The idea for this came as I lay in bed listening to the rain watering my garden for me! You can see an early version in the middle there: the title page of my June sketchbook. Once the character is right, I use a lightbox to copy the right proportions and personality to the next version.
I think this idea has potential to become a good print, and I am also playing with the idea of doing a calender in this style. Perhaps it could have illustrations from the garden that reflect what is growing each month… October to February would be a bit dull though.
Above: quill and ink drawings from my sketchbook are on their way to becoming a little zine (booklet). There is something about putting things in book or magazine format that makes simple line drawings seem really special.
