Sketchbook Chat.
How I ditched my fancy Moleskin sketchbook
Hello! I’m back from my holiday and I had a great time seeing family and friends again in Hong Kong. The above photos are the sketchbook pages I create during my trip to Hong Kong and Japan in early November. I love looking back to my life drawings because they are all my memories and moments that I wanted to capture. So, let’s talk about sketchbook.
I first started my creative practice with digital materials. I started from Canva. Yes, really. I created some images by inserting some default images on the website and typing out affirmative quotes underneath. I tried some other drawing apps too until I found the love of my life that time - Procreate. But I was in a rut after I have been drawing on the screen for 5 years. I decided to try drawing on my sketchbook using traditional materials.
I hated all things I drew on my sketchbook. It was hard to go from digital to traditional materials as there is no “undo” button on the paper. You cannot just drag things around. Everything looks messy and imperfect (I don’t think like that now. I think some of the “ugly drawings” are cool now!) Long story short, I was not happy with my work so I hid my sketchbook under my bed for few months and went back to Procreate.
Few months later, I took the Picture Book Course created by The Good Ship Illustration (I tried a few picture book courses and this is the BEST so far! I cannot recommend enough) and Helen
from the course mentioned she always go back to her sketchbook and draw from life when she feels uninspired on her creative journey. I took her advice and took out my sketchbook again. But this time, I did things differently…Time-lapse of my recent sketchbook
Ditch the fancy Moleskin - I spent hours searching for “the best sketchbook” and I got one from Moleskin and one from Midori (Japanese brand). Guess what? I ended up not even dare to put a single stroke on them. Eventually I managed to force myself to draw on them, but everything looks quite tight to me. I was too precious about my expensive sketchbooks. I am now using sketchbook from Amazon Basic ( It costs 3p per page!) or sometimes, office printing paper, cereal boxes, back of the receipts. [ Weirdo alert: I am obsessed with the sound and texture of flipping buckled paper. So I am very happy with sketchbook with thin paper. This may not apply to everyone but I am sure there are a lot of mixed media or watercolour sketchbooks out there with affordable price.]
Limit the materials - I used to bring the whole set of watercolour paint and 48 colour pencils for life drawing. I always feel overwhelmed when there are heaps of choices. Limiting my materials allows me to focus on the things I draw instead of the materials I use. Brush pen (filled with ink wash) and graphite pencil are my recent favourites.
Change the wallpaper on the phone - I made myself a new wallpaper to remind myself to draw whenever I want to scroll through social media. I then realised how much time I have spent all these years on instagram, comparing myself with others. I almost filled half of the sketchbook in 2 months (as shown in the time-lapse video above). Although there are a lot of unfinished sketches and limbs everywhere (people walked very fast these days!), I think quantity over quality when you are trying to find your creative voice. Just draw as many as you can.
To be honest, I am not confident enough to use traditional materials as my final artwork. Yet, my sketchbook is just a relax place for me to play, explore, get inspired and build my visual library in my brain. Just to let you know, I still love Procreate and I feel very comfortable and happy drawing digitally. But as a creative, when you no longer feel excited with your regular practice, it is time for you to try something new.
Get comfortable with being uncomfortable.
- Jillian Michaels
Warning - There are 50% possibility the new methods or materials you try wont work. But the process of trying unpredictable things, the excitement and uncomfortableness of trying new things are way more satisfying than the result itself. I am not a professor and these are just my personal experiences. Remember, everyone is different so what works for me might not works for you. But I can guarantee, if you are willing to try and challenge yourself, and you feel uncomfortable, you are on the right path.
