This is such an important message! We hear so many young artists who feel pressured to make all their work public, as a result of "sketchbook tours" that look impossibly perfect and composed. We think a real, working artist's sketchbook can and should be a closed rehearsal space, and maybe a little bit of a mad scientist's laboratory too! Artists who never allow themselves to make something awkward or "ugly" aren't pushing past the limits of their abilities, and that's too bad, because exceeding your ability is how you'll increase your ability. Thanks for sharing this!
i've found the same thing! i was so afraid i'd let myself make "bad" art if i stopped trying to make it perfect (when really it doesn't matter if it's "bad" anyway!!!), but eventually i stopped caring and let myself make messy and imperfect art. it's so much more fun now.
Thats a problem i had with sketchbook tours…compared to mine they were so dense and aesthetic?? i just leave some pages empty and then draw on the next one😅
few months ago i started watching one sketchbook tour and absolutely fell in love with how this person did their art that i got REALLY inspired. but then i started a slight obsession and couldn’t stop watching sketchbook tours which became more depressing as i kept seeing more and more “perfectly filled” sketchbooks. so while it’s good to get some inspiration from online, it’s best not to overdo it.
So true, there's more than 7 people have been told me "your sketchbook shouldn't be for aesthetic, but messier, because is place for you to learn, enjoying drawing whatever you want" and it's true sketchbook is for me to scribble and draw everything i like
Heck yes!! I figure, if it happens to turn out aesthetic, that’s okay, but that definitely should not be the priority…the priority is to enjoy the process…keep on scribbling! ☺💖
@@leannedelux yes yes :)) i mean that too, is ok to make your sketchbook aesthetic but yeah it shouldn't be the priority, to be able enjoying thing we love is what make drawing so meaningful especially for me ❤️ i will thanks!!
I've discovered that buying a "sketchpad" instead of a "sketchbook" allows me to be more messy and actually PRACTICE. Ive filled one almost completely within a couple months, compared to sketchbooks ive had for years and never finished one once!! With a sketchpad you can always just tear pages out if you hate them. You can't really do that with a nice expensive bound sketchbook, you feel so much pressure to not mess up in those.
I love seeing messy sketchbooks like yours because to me that’s an aesthetic that is so satisfying and refreshing because then you get to see artist like yourself growing and building their art style to be something more than just pleasing to others eyes it’s about improving and making your art beautiful for yourself that you are proud to show no matter what people say whether people hate your art style or not art is meant for you and meant to glorify God‘s creation to be honest!
Depending on how "aesthetic" you want your sketchbook to be: If you have a bound sketchbook and you messed up its easy to just cover it up with another piece of work that you can paste in or otherwise. Of course, to some people this would "ruin" the sketchbook but to others, that *makes up* their whole aesthetic!
My partner needs to hear this so bad!! They haven’t used any of the sketchbooks they’ve gotten for themselves because they “want them to look pretty”, and are afraid they can’t live up to that, so they just don’t try. I’ve been trying to tell them, don’t be afraid to be messy! Try to let go a little, and you’ll be surprised at what you can do! It’s okay to make “ugly” art, it all helps you grow and improve, AND allowing yourself to be messy helps you enjoy the process so much more!
HECK YES! You are so right. Please be sure they give this a listen then if they haven't already!!! 😆💕 And absolutely, we have to make the "ugly" stuff to get to where we want to be! I know it can be easier said than done, though. I hope this video helps!
UA-cam really screamed "FOR YOU" by recommending me this video and honestly I really needed it. I just finished my exams and now I'm ready to get back into my hobbies. I've always been a perfectionist but listening to your words and watching your video just made me realise that now that I have some free time I can do LITERALLY DO ANYTHING I WANT with my sketchbook cuz in the end it's my book filled with what im thinking off so it should have the same look as my head. INPUT = OUTPUT I guess lol seriously thank you for this tho!
Thank you so much for the sweet comment, I'm so happy this could be helpful for you! I often still forget I can do anything I want in my sketchbook...and it's definitely so freeing every time I remember!! 😅
I think sometimes that the formality of a sketchbook in general can stop people up. As a kid, I drew on loose sheets of copy paper in a clip board, there was not permanence, no consideration for how many pages I had left, or if Id rip it out if I really hated it. Sketchbooks were always more expensive, had a finite amount of pages, etc. Then I moved to digital where every image is pretty much its own thing, a single document can be like a sketchbook. ZERO permanence if I didn't want it to be that way. That let me experiment and practice so freely that I really think it helped me improve so much. No concern over "running out" or "ruining" or "wasting" anything. But yeah, wonderful video! Side note those calarts accepted "setchbook" videos are so stressful lol. Im so happy for the people who got accepted but also, thats not a normal sketchbook, and I feel like thats something we need to keep in mind before we put those kind of expectations on ourselves.
OMG You are so right!!!! It's funny, because this was actually something I just started thinking about today....the whole formality of it. Especially if you have a fancy hard-bound cover sketchbook with "nice" paper...that can be intimidating in itself, other artists aside. Drawing on loose paper is an excellent idea. Thank you so much for the thoughtful comment (and compliment!) I appreciate it so much!
@@leannedelux Aw no problem! The permanence of sketchbooks is something thats intimidated me like, forever, so I wouldnt be surprised if lots of other people feel that way.
i used to draw on the margins of all of my books and notebooks haha. and those art school accepted sketchbooks are sort of a portfolio to get admission. so they're required a certain quality or look for sure. which is a completely different purpose than regular practice sketchbooks.
this is why the only sketchbooks ive really used (and journals for that matter) are those cheap composition notebooks you use for school. the nicer a sketchbook or journal looks on the outside, the more pressure i feel to make the inside look all nice and pretty. i have so many beautiful journals that are completely empty and gathering dust, but the one i actually use has duct tape all over it because the cover started peeling off lol
I've noticed some people try to make their sketchbooks super neat, but it's not actually THEM. Different artists have different personalities, some people are messy and some people are crazy organised (like me for instance), and our personalities should be reflected in our art.
Its crazy how many people forget the "sketch" part of sketchbook. Literally every sketchbook ive ever owned has lazy doodles, messy sketches, and so much "bad" art and color swatches lol. Not everything an artist draws has to be a masterpiece, and I cant imagine limiting myself to that much perfectionism, let alone to an *entire* sketchbook?? Ive seen this problem especially on TikTok, and I hate the performity of it. Making bad art is part of being an artist, not everything has to be a pleasing aesthetic to post online.
something i tell myself all the time is that "i was not made to create art just to post it online. humans were not made to share their entire lives and everything they make online". at the beginning of the year, i got a leuchtturm sketchbook - nice yellow hardcover, nice paper and let me tell you i had the HARDEST time actually putting anything in it, let alone allowing myself to be messy in it and not have fully completed pieces. growing up on social media with an intense desire for attention and validation, i would combine my desire to be seen with my desire to create and let me tell you that it was HELL. its straight up only within these past three years that ive been able to sit down with myself, get some therapy, and figure out what was causing that (among other things) like im a very messy artist and using any type of "nice" and "put together" sketchbooks are stifling, because i automatically set such high expectations for what it should look like and how i should be using it. i honestly dont even like the word "sketchbook" because it feels so finalized and unattainable for me. i enjoy drawing and coloring on pieces of colored paper, and then taping them into whatever thing im working out of at the time :-) like i barely use social media now due to my severly unhealthy attachment to it growing up (combining need for attention with the desire to create, you know how it goes) but yeah like. awesome message from this video, it really resonated with me, thank you for saying what youve said here :-)
Thank you so much for sharing this!! I really appreciate it….I’m so glad to know you’ve been able to work on things, and figure out what works for YOU! I hope you’ll keep creating in a way that helps you thrive!
YES. Ive always hated making ""aesthetic"" sketchbooks. Like I get why people like them but it just does not work for me lol one time my art teacher made me organize my notes like this and I was LIVID. I end up focusing so much on how the notes LOOK that i forget to pay attention to the ACTUAL NOTES. I just write/draw whatever makes more sense to me, and it usually looks better than if i actually tried lol
My Art teacher in high school was the worst he forced us to draw the same sketch so many times because he said everyone was always horrible at it ... meanwhile he would sit on the chair talking about how is great grand dad made a deal with the government to get some products in our state ... and then he started saying the mayonnaise brand a lot of us use secretly has poison in it and is a product from our enemies back when there was war .. bro I been using that mayonnaise for 20 years it's completely fine my art teacher was absolutely insane it was like going to a history class where nothing was factual and everything was his crazy theories .. literally he rarely spoke about art .. I was obviously rebellious cuz I got tired of him and drew whatever I felt like ... and he absolutely hated me .. like he said I was the WORST student he ever had .. he said I was worse then the ones skipping his class cuz I dare to disrespect him beacuse I choose freedom and draw as I wished . he was so determined to fail me complelty like he was just absolutely turning into a volcano . I was thrown out class many times yeh my worst grade in school was art , all my other grades were perfect A's with a few B's . and then my art grade just the worst I was very proud of it tho he was a horrible teacher not doing his job right I'll also not do my job right I'll do as I wish ... honestly he admitted to my classmate that my drawings were good but he was so salty to accept it and never told me that .. my classmate snitched and told me but I pretended I didn't know..
Thank you, i needed to hear that. Like really. It's bean like a year than i haven't done a messy sketch on a sketchbook ! Because of all the impossibly perfect sketchbook tours, so aesthetic and pretty and thought off. Toxic perfectionism is such an issue in the art community, I have a lot of friend that even get mad at the idea of doing something sketchy and ugly. Thank you to say that, it's okay and important to have a place were we can do mistakes freely, that we don't have to show to everybody !!
Thank YOU for taking the time to leave this comment! Truly, I cannot tell you how much it means to me that this video was helpful for you. I hope you'll make lots of sketches very soon!!! ❤️ Do not let limiting ideas keep you from making the art you NEED to make!
Every time I get a new sketchbook, they all become "dedicated" to one thing. This means all my sketchbooks are empty, save for the first few pages of whatever thing I tried to dedicate them to. I'm about to take one and literally start scribbling in the pages to make it less valuable and precious to me. Sort of related, clean pages are very daunting! I will lightly scribble and smudge with my pencil to make the page "dirty" and get over the fear of damaging the pristine white void.
Oh, I hear you!!! I've seen other people do similar things to sort of break in their sketchbooks...whatever it takes, do! And thank you so much for your comment. 💕
I 100% agree with you here! Sketchbooks are called SKETCHbooks for a reason, and it’s supposed to be messy, fun, and whatever you want it to be! After all, it’s kinda like a bit of a reflection of who you are in some way. I myself never understood why people want to be perfect with their artwork when it’s fine to have things unfinished or “ugly”. Heck, whenever I work on bigger project, sometimes I never get it done because my brain just wants to work on something else. Sorry for the mini tangent, and I hope you have a lovely day :)
Don’t apologize! Makes me think of something else I’ve been pondering, which is what should be the purpose of art anyway?! Not just to have a finished “product,” for sure! I love your thoughts on this….thank you so much for sharing!!
Yes, you want to work on something else because you’re in fear of it not coming out right. Perfectionism is a hinderance. This is my life…so many wip’s in my closet just crying out to me to finish! *sigh🙄 I’ve even prayed to God to help me get through and get over it once and for all!
@@1111MMC I don’t even struggle with perfectionism. It’s more of the fact I have another idea so I latch onto that idea instead of what I was working on originally. Perfectionism is more of working hard on a drawing while struggling to make it look good to one’s eyes. I’ve drawn plenty of stretches that I might not like, but I did it anyway. I’ve done big projects because of my burst of motivation. In my humble opinion, maybe try finding something that inspires you to try and get something done or set goals for yourself to finish any projects you might have! I believe in you!
To me, the moment you stop caring about perfectionism and aesthetic, then just have fun and it will begin to look unique and amazing in its own way. That’s the kind of stuff I want. The trend stuff always starts feeling like you’ve seen it before once you start looking for ideas. Idk just my opinion on it, not saying I’m right it’s just how I feel.
i hear you. i have slowly (at the age of 40) started joining social media and i make a point to point out i am not perfect. "oops, dropped my brush again. ok, let's fix this" i have art journals that go back to my mid teens and i get a good chuckle going back over them. they were never meant to share and it shows. one book was a whole botanical series using one element in 2d for the next attempt at 3d. i had no art teachers here so everything i learned i learned by trying new things, sometimes they even worked. now when i want to know how to do something i hit youtube... it feels like cheating. i still have my messy private journals that most people don't see. it must be awful to feel like everything you do must be display worthy.
Sketchbooks have been a huge part of my life for a while now. Around 3-4 years ago, I suffered from a massive personality change and memory loss because of a lot of health issues. I live in a really stressful household and having a sketch book to create and destroy in. After a few months of working on it, (and it being incredibly messy and chaotic) I felt a lot more heard and happy, even though I wouldn't let anyone see it. One of my promises to myself was to never let anyone see it in whole. Then I met my boyfriend, after a long while of dating and planning our lives together, I decided I would give him something very special. As I said earlier I have a lot of health issues, and many chronic and auto immune illnesses, I have no idea how much longer I have left. My final gift to the love of my life, will be all of them. He will get my sketch books filled to the brim with me after I pass away. They have poems and songs and drawings and paintings and I know he will have something to remember me by. I hope the day isn't soon but if it is, I'll be ok in the end.
to be honest, my brain has an unhealthy addiction to neat aesthetic sketchbooks filled with colour. the messiest thing i do if fill every page (even if marker goes through one). im a really bad perfectionist (especially since ive just gotten back into art) and i hope this video helps me. since the most practice i get is the pencil sketch.
Thank you so much for sharing your comment-I hope this helps you as well! Though I do want to say, I certainly don’t want anyone to think it’s wrong to have a neat, colorful, or otherwise aesthetic sketchbook…that’s not always a bad thing! But whatever you do, I do hope you feel comfortable with it and feel like you’re reaching your goals. 💖
For me i use notebooks with lined paper as sketchbooks, and I think that helps me with this. Because the paper isn’t “fancy” i feel less like I’m “wasting” it. I’ve noticed with my sketchbooks that are like. Advertised as sketchbooks (ie things from strathmore) I get leery of putting things in them that aren’t inked and colored.
I complete get that. I think it's a great idea to used lined paper, or any supply that will help take the pressure off! Thank you so much for sharing this!
I find that my sketchbook reflects the state of my mind (and myself) very well. It’s messy, filled with half finished pencil doodles, poorly drawn bodies, tiny stick people, sometimes scribbles, traced arts(because I liked how a character was drawn in that art-style), and the same few concepts over and over. Barely anything is ‘finished’ and I didn’t even bother coloring in anything. (I felt like they didn’t deserve the effort of coloring, too lazy.) Can never focus on 1 idea, my thoughts get cut off by another thought, can’t keep a single pose in mind, quick,random doodles of whatever that appears in my head at that moment until I run out of fume and stop. I just draw stuff whenever I’m bored. It doesn’t feel like I’m doing the whole ‘sketching’ thing right but that’s just how it is for me.
Hey, there truly is no “right” way-whatever works for you is wonderful!! And I can sooo relate to what you described 😁-thank you for watching and for sharing your comment! 💜
I would say my sketch book its more aesthetic. I like to finish my drawings, and have it more neat. Though honestly recently I've noticed its pretty bland. And with the way i want to get my drawings perfect stresses me out sometimes. I really need to get another sketch book, and be more messy in that one. It would definitely help me feel more free when im drawing. Thanks for the video!
Of course!!! Thank you so much for the comment!! And I do wish I would have emphasized more in the video that I'm definitely NOT against aesthetic sketchbooks, it's just that I'm all *FOR* messy ones. I hope you'll get yourself a messy one soon! 💖
trying to keep an aesthetic sketchbook too but i work with multiple sketchbooks at once (they're quite cheap) so most are messy and have lots of doodles.
didn't even realize just how much i needed to see a messy, not-aesthetic sketch with me until this. as a relatively new artist, this takes so much of the pressure off. thank you for posting this!!
I fell into the whole trap of making my sketchbooks look more interesting for tours and they got more and more elaborate whilst i rushed through them to film a tour and to push myself to see what the shortest time i could fill it was. Though I learnt a lot and my art improved, I got burnt out. I was worrying about spending too long on my sketchbooks and watching way too many tours whilst comparing myself to other artists, which is quite harmful. I do love making my tours but now I'm taking my time and using it to explore ideas, experiment and to study in. I like to draw in pen and for me, that has helped me with being less of a perfectionist and just getting loose with my ideas. Some things that help me is I have multiple sketchbooks, my everyday sletchbook, my studies sketchbook and my storyboarding/comic sletchbook. Giving each one a purpose personally helped me to stop worrying about making it look good. Also there's also art journaling if people want to have a sketchbook that they just want to fill with finished pieces
I love this so much, thank you for sharing!!! I’m glad you are taking time to explore more…and I think multiple sketchbooks with different purposes is such a good idea!
As a young artist I appreciate this note because, some of my friends do art and they get the wrong idea of thinking it needs to be perfect. But art is just for people to be creative and make art that they enjoy.
Why do they even care? Like unless they are getting paid well or have a realistic plan how to get paid well, it doesn't matter. Like people who show off these sketchbooks in these videos are doing it because they are getting paid for it. They are creating a product to make money from it. It's ridiculous when random people start emulating them.
This is funny that this video got recommended hours after I saw a specific tumblr post about the topic that we should let our sketchbooks be messy and chaotic again, and I agree with that! I myself have issues with perfectionism about my art and try to get into drawing again.
I’ve been saying the same thing for years. I started a “finish” sketchbook that I challenged myself to actually make finished pieces in but only because I usually just leave it as a sketch. Also strongly recommend people use ballpoint pen or colored pencils to sketch. Getting use to the deduction of a line is a lot and by using a colored pencil it makes it less intimidating in my opinion. You can always go back and line it if you really like the sketch.
THANK YOU!!!! I feel the same way when I see young artists keep only “perfect” or “aesthetic” sketchbooks that are “worthy to post”. As Wassily Kadinsky said, there is no must in art because art is free. To let go of perfectionism, embrace mistakes, feel free to express anything, and create things not for the eyes of others but for one’s own heart, that is what it’s all about… Art is free and art is freeing; truly, art is a journey of self. ❤
Fellow older millennial here! LOVED this essay!!! This video popped up on my feed as I was watching a video of a "perfect" sketch book, lol. Stopped watching that one to watch this... I have noticed this tone of perfectionism in a lot of social media content in general, not just art topics. I never had formal art training, but I always considered my sketch books very private spaces and more like a diary/journal entry. But I admit these social media "draw with me" sketching and perusing their sketchbook content, I do question whether I've been doing it wrong! lol Even my watercolor testing is a total mess in my sketchbook. However I do understand the appeal of wanting things to have a certain "look" and subtle perfection, which is cool and fine if that's your goal. Expressing your creative vision is your right and authority, even if it would be an eye-sore to a mainstream audience or onlooker lol. If anything, social media has enlightened me that there will always be people out there who absolutely love what you're doing.
Thank you SO MUCH for the kind & thoughtful comment!!!! 😭🥰 I'm so glad you enjoyed this. And you're totally right, this kind of mentality has creeped into allll sorts of topics. And I love what you said--"Expressing your creative vision is your right and authority, even if it would be an eye-sore to a mainstream audience or onlooker lol. If anything, social media has enlightened me that there will always be people out there who absolutely love what you're doing." That is so spot on and is a good reminder that not everything has to be "perfect" to be highly valuable!
When you said the word « Privacy » it’s so real ! Cause a Sketchbook for artists is private ! I hate when people are forcing like : Show us ! Come on it can’t be that bad ! And a second point, when you said that sketchbooks are not supposed to be that perfect I was so happy that someone was agreeing with me ! All of my sketchbooks are NEVER finished… But I started to cause myself pressure since of people saying that sketchbook is supposed to be « aesthetic ». But look at me, I started drawing 2 years ago, and now I can finally draw normal person instead of sticks ! So thank you, for this video.
I feel that. Sometimes I have ideas for big complex projects, but I don´t have the energy/motivation to do it and actually just want to scribble a bit. And then I feel bad about it for some reason.... :/
I do know what you mean….it can be an ongoing process to keep a gentle attitude toward yourself…but it is totally okay to just scribble! Your big projects will happen when the time is right, I think. 💕
I also come from a certain generation. When I arrived to IG, the word "Journal" was connected to scrapbook-type stuff and drawing, while to me, "journal" was handwriting. Personal. I have said that one learns to write by writing, and keeping a journal taught me to write. Playing piano scales teaches one about playing the piano. And, my dad was a professionally educated watercolorist. His sketchbooks were not finished pieces of art. They were where he did rough sketches which would consist of a rough idea of the subject, and values. In other words, artistic shorthand. I still remember him pulling off the road saying "I'm going to do a quick sketch", and it took less than a minute. Wasn't meant to look like anything but scribbled "notes". The irony is that I am surrounded by dad's paintings and think I should be that good - - and I'm a beginner. I see people's work on IG and feel defeated, because my stuff is "horrible". It's time for me to keep just a tiny sketchbook for scribbling. Thank you - found this be scrolling along YT.
Thank you so much for sharing this. Isn’t it funny, some of the things that seem to morph into different meanings with online culture?! I know it is so easy to be intimidated by amazing work but forget it took a lot of time and behind-the-scenes work to get there! 😆 Yes, I do hope you’ll keep a little sketch book!! And don’t be afraid to do “less than good” work….it is part of EVERY artist’s process! 💕💕
Thank you for this! I have often wondered why sketchbook tours online contain such perfectly aesthetic pieces. My sketchbooks are full of weird, wonky, wrong and wacky sketches. Some I would show to others and some that will never see the light of day. I always thought the point of sketchbooks was to let loose and work with the intention of not having to make the pieces too refined. I do however like the idea of keeping one for finished work too, so I now have one dedicated to messing around and another which I keep for attempts at more refined pieces. I feel like that's a comfortable balance for me. But I would love to see more messy sketchbooks by others artists!
I 💯 feel you!! I am trying to keep a book for more finished pieces too. (Progress is slow, though…which is why I have to keep a messy one too!) 😆 Thank you for watching and for sharing your comment!
This is definitely a mindset I struggle to get into, even as a fellow elder millennial lol. I unfortunately struggle against a strong "all or nothing" tendency in most things I do. I either want it to be perfect or I don't try at all, and it's so unhelpful and unhealthy. The perfectionism trap is so hard to fight against.
I am the same type of person and I think it's helpful to broaden the term "perfect" for oneself, like when I want to scribble for an hour to try some ideas I've had and to have fun with it, and I manage to do so, then that can be called perfect too, because it's what I had intended. It also helps me to remind myself that I will be stuck if I'm never creative in the way I work. I f.e. want to be able to draw loosely, with broad precise strokes coming from the elbow, which I will never achieve if I always sit there, tensed up, cautiously drawing to not make mistakes. Sometimes I even draw while intending for it to be bad and ugly, just so I can loosen up a bit.
I have a dedicated cheap soft-cover sketchbook that I call a "Smash Book" (it's like a book that you won't be afraid to damage or smash) where it's all random garbage doodles, warmups, practice, failures etc., and it's been pretty helpful. Not saying it's the solution, but if anyone is struggling with marking in their main sketchbook with the nice paper that was way more expensive than they would like to admit (me), this might help in bringing your confidence up.
This is how i feel as well, especially sketchbook tours. All these people have nice, athletically pleasing artwork in these good quality sketchbooks and me: Inexpensive composition blank paged notebooks full of scribbles, half formed practice poses, ideas that go no where in either pencil or ballpoint pen. .
BROOOO THANK YOUUU like idc if you want your sketchbook to be aesthetic cuz it's yours you can do whatever you want but i hate that like- there's this expectation that your sketchbook is now your portfolio or something and it sucks cuz it takes the fun out of having a sketchbook :( so i appreciate this very much, it's a great wake up call for me JKBDDHKBD and now instead of ripping out my doodles just because they're not a finished drawing- i'mma just keep em, thanks Leanne
Aww thank you so much!! 💖 I am so glad this could be helpful. And I’m glad to hear you’ll be keeping all your doodles! (I think they can be some of the most interesting parts of a sketchbook when you look back at it later!)
Not sure why theres a "SHOULD" here, sketchbooks are as individual as the artist... you set the intention for each one (or even each page). If you want it to be messy, great! If you want it to be finished works, totally up to you ❤ I tend to have multiple going all the time, each with a different purpose. Helps me keep my practice focused😊
Exactly, everyone is different! As I said, there's definitely no problem in making more polished/"prettier" sketchbooks. Having multiple types of sketchbooks going is a great thing!
I've only really been developing my art "seriously" for less than a year. I've written children's books that need illustrating (they are novels not picturebooks) but I have to draw very specific scenes in pen according to the plot. It's amazing how much better my drawings are just 9 months later. I make a distinction between my sketchbook which is an A5 art journal and sketch pads which are usually A4 and are loose bound so you can take pages out and frame any masterpieces you accidentally produce (totally accidentally in my case, ha-ha!) There's a couple of pictures I'd love to cut out of the sketchbook to go on my wall but I force myself to recreate them bigger and better if I want to frame them. Part of being a "professional," I think, is being able to recreate something you did well before. And because I'm drawing fictional (animal) characters, it's part of the process to be able to draw the same character in every mood from every angle, which took me a while to get used to. Most of my art before last year was abstract patterns. I didn't have the confidence to try portraiture which is mostly how I practise now. The proper sketchbook is full of paint tests now, seeing what different paints and inks look like when overpainted, blended and so on. Most of my drawings are black and white but I've started experimenting with dabs of colour. I use acrylics for everything I paint because they're so versatile and interchangeable. I love the waterproof quality of acrylic. All the paints and inks I use are waterproof, partly because I so hated having to use watery paints years ago at school. I'm 52 years old this year. It's never too late to learn, ha-ha!
Thank you sooo much for sharing this!! It is awesome to learn about others’ art journeys….I am so happy to know you are continuing to pursue different things-I think it’s seriously a shame when people decide it’s just “too late”. (Also…..I love the idea of a loose bound book in case of a masterpiece!) 💖💖💖 Thank you again.
Exactly! For me, sketchbooks are there to unwind and just be silly with art. Small studies would be good too, but it really is just for quick doodles. Do what works for you!
i struggled with this for so long, i genuinely would refuse to draw unless i knew the sketch would be turned into a full finished piece within my sketchbook. i currently have a sketchbook i’ve been working through since august 2020 and i’m only halfway done because i wanted it to be pretty and aesthetic. finally around 2022 i realized i can’t just neglect it, and to grow is to make mistakes. I began filling pages with stupid sketches and doodles, or even filing the page with stars i colored in with expo whiteboard markers lol. i caused my own art block for the past 3 years and slowly i’ve started coming out of it bc i don’t need to prove my skills to anyone & i should just be happy to create and leave my mark somewhere :)
thank you so much, i dont know how it was recommended to me, but this was exactly what a friend told me last night and exactly what i need to hear. i was wondering why i was feeling so stagnant and uninspired ... i'm embarrassed the answer is so simple lol
Naw, don’t be embarrassed about that! I am constantly late to finding those “simple” answers allll the time….😆 I’m so glad this could be helpful for you! Thank you so much for watching and for your comment! 💕
I totally agree with the inherent message, and I do believe that there's some merit to just... drawing, not chickening out because a sketch looks ugly in a sketch book, cus I mean where else is it gonna /go/? But i would like to raise the point that messy sketchbooks, ugly drawings... for me, and others I know, can be pretty un-motivating. To have to stare at something you genuinely don't like sucks, and ripping out expensive sketchbook paper when you can't stand to look at it anymore /also/ sucks! Because you can only do that so many times. I think that while social media has introduced the 'need' to be aesthetic, it's also shown the beauty in maximalism -- of layering over art with posted notes and cards, of adding shit just because you liked it (dried leaves, movie tickets, etc.) --- which, (I think?) started mainly as an 'aesthetic' internet trend. At least, thats how it came to me first. But treating my sketchbook like a diary, and filling up blank pages, painting over my bad art with something I do like? It's made me enjoy art a lot more. And i'm still making bad art! I'm still making mistakes, and while it may come off as a fear of imperfection, doing this technique actually made me /less/ afraid of messing up - it totally deescalated my worries of 'tarnishing' my sketchbooks. It also introduced me to new mediums! I used to be terrified of paint, much less painting without a sketch beforehand, but now i use it regularly to cover up the stuff i don't wanna look at with new and improved art, saving space and helping me understand 3-D lighting and shapes more. Plus those art-tiktok compilations are always great for inspo personally. I'm not saying any of this to diss any of the points you made in this video, and i at times do still struggle with making 'bad' art - i think everyone does. But personally the 'aestheticization' of sketchbooks actually helped me draw more constantly, and explore my options a lot more. Theres pros and cons, as there are to everything, is what I'm saying. Art doesn't have to be a particular way i guess.... thats, like. Literally the whole point! Anyway, sorry for rambling. Great video, and lovely doodles as well :)
Thank you so much for your comment, I do appreciate it! I agree, there are good things about aesthetic-ness; I’m definitely not against it! I guess if I had to really distill my point down, it would be, “don’t let your idea of what you ‘should’ be making keep you from making anything”…*Whatever* that may be! I guess I singled out more “perfect” sketchbooks because I’ve found this to be the kind that intimidate the most people.
Thank you!!! I've seen a few sketchbook tours and have been so confused as to how many "sketchbook" is that perfect. They're more like art book projects to put on display in your living room for people to flip through, not an actual sketch book.
YES! And I wish people could be more open with and unafraid of the idea of showing their "unperfect", unfinished, "ugly" art and scribbles and sketches. Because they are JUST as valid as a finished piece, and all of those unfinished, ugly scribbles FAR outnumber the beautiful finished pieces you produce.
I'm an old millennial too. I love having platforms to share and to connect with other creatives. Art and writing can be so lonely. It's nice to have a community.
as someone who grew up with the internet i've definitely struggled with this. i started watching sketchbook tours and at first they were really motivating and inspiring. the pace at which i filled sketchbooks significantly increased at first but eventually started to slow down as i became really perfectionistic. i started treating the creation of a spread like the creation of a finished piece, if that makes sense. i'm starting to get over this now and draw in my sketchbook for me again, not for the hypothetical people who might flip through it
Preach! I rarely start sketchbook drawings with the intention of finishing and sharing them. And if I'm gonna spend a long time on something, screw that book, just give me a loose sheet flat on the desk.
I struggled a lot with this so i kept a sketchbook, (ones thats perfectly neat and formatted) and a sketchbook sketchbook (where i would draw and doodle)
Thank you for this! I didn't grow up drawing, I fiddled with it in my 30's and now that I'm in my 40's, I'm taking it more seriously. I was *so confused* watching all these 'sketchbook tour' videos! Where are the mistakes? Where are the epic failures? Where are the weird doodles, and the scribbled notes? All beginner artists need to learn that these perfect art-pieces some people call 'sketchbooks' are *not* typical, and they are definitely not how you learn to draw. Nobody is born knowing how to play the piano like Horowitz--it takes hundreds of hours of practice! Playing the same scales over and over again until you can do it almost without thinking.... I *wish* someone had told me this when I first started drawing!
Thank you SO much for your comment! I’m glad to know this was helpful, and so happy to know that you are delving into drawing now, especially after not having done it as a child. A lot of people would not, and I’m so proud of you!! 💕
EXACTLY! And like sometimes I feel bad my sketchbooks are a trainwreck but other times I'm glad they are. Because my sketchbooks are for me and for ideas. And thats supposed to be messy.
100% agree with ALL of this❤ and I’m a Gen Xer who also grew up in a time of keeping my sketchbook in a drawer in my room never to be seen by judgemental eyeballs 👀 I’m always thinking this about younger artists and how the pressure is so on for them and how it doesn’t need to be that way. I’ve even talked in a video about how my sketchbook has everything in it. The good, the bad, the meh, and some finished stuff, too. I mean, if ya wanna have perfectly curated sketchbook, that’s fine. But don’t feel pressured to have a pretty sketchbook and an “ugly” sketchbook because you feel that cannot coexist. Creativity just is what it is and it should not be inhibited! So even if I should sketchbook tours, I let it all hang out because I’d rather people see a realistic view and not me trying to look like I have my act together 😂because I don’t! And even if art making is my full time job and I draw on a daily basis, I don’t make good art all the time. There’s plenty of uggos in all the pages😮😅
thank you so much. I have ripped out tens of pages from sketchbooks, scrapped hundreds of drawings, and erased sketches I found “ugly.” I know that I have this problem, and have been trying to trust myself and my skills. This really helped me remember that my sketchbook is mine, and nobody will see it if I don’t want them to. I think back to myself when I was younger, and even then I was overly obsessed with making each picture perfect. I really feel that when I let loose and draw for myself, I really do have more fun drawing.
I really think this is helpful! Barely any of my sketches are finished and they rarely have color because im always drawing at school. At home i feel the pressure to make perfect and spend so much time on one sketch whilst at school i feel free and tend to make quicker drawings due to the 40-50 minute periods that we have. MESSY SKETCHES FOR THE WIN!!
I grew up watching art tutorials and sketchbook tours on UA-cam, and while watching those taught me so much, they really impacted the way I viewed my art. I’ve always been somewhat of a perfectionist, but I was the absolute worst when it came to art making. There’s even been occasions where I’ve been too scared to draw at all, out of fear that it wouldn’t be good enough for anyone. To this day I have never finished a sketchbook, because I was too scared of making an ugly drawing in it. But I needed to put my ugly sketches somewhere, right? So I started drawing on the backs of cereal boxes and receipts, and then squirrel them away where no one could find them. I love art so much, but working in this way really drained me. It’s been SO hard to get over the insane idea that sketchbooks have to be beautiful places, and that I can only draw in them when I am worthy enough to do so. Nowadays, I still really struggle to remember that it’s okay for my work not to be pretty, and that I’m allowed to have a book of ugly drawings, but I’m so much better than I used to be. I now have two sketchbooks, one for complete drawings, and one for my messy drawings. I still have days where I am too scared to even draw in my messy sketchbook, but at least I don’t draw solely on cereal boxes anymore 😅 In conclusion, this video is absolutely correct, and you should take it to heart. If I could time travel I would show this to my younger self… who knows where I would’ve been now if I wasn’t so frightened to try.
Rebecca!!! Thank you so much for sharing your experience!!! I totally get that feeling of wishing you would have known something when you were younger, but I think it's SO impressive and you should be so proud of the progress you have made....thank you again, you are seriously an inspiration!!! 💖
I have a little notebook that I for whatever reason have always called my doodle journal. Almost all of my drawings in there are completely random, but I’m more than glad to have it.
I agree, I always love doing messy things in my sketchbook BUT imo messy and aesthetic can be the same thing. I liked glueing things in my sketchbook and decorating my sketches before tiktok. I'll do random messy sketches and decorate them because I FEEL like it and enjoy it, not because it's whats trendy. It doesnt have to be finished or perfect to be aesthetic.
I completely agree!! I definitely enjoy a messy look, too. I think the important thing is to not pressure yourself. Thank you so much for watching and sharing your comment!
I'm only 16 so I grew up with social media, though luckily i always kept my sketchbooks messy and personal. I'm attending a one year mandatory art course now to become an illustrator in the future. Literally all of my classmates are scared of making incomplete or rough drawings, the sketchbooks given to us by the school barely have any pages filled since they're scared to mess them up. But that fear is granted as our sketchbooks will be graded but still. It's so unhealthy to only strive for perfection, especially in art and most of my classmates dont realize that. They're scared to try out new things and develop an artstyle so they trace and browse pinterest to see popular art styles. It's really sad to see honestly
It is sad, but like you said, it is understandable when it’s connected to a course… I am so happy that you have such a healthy understanding of this, though!! 💕 (I hope maybe your influence can rub off on some of your classmates!) Thank you so much for sharing this.
I’m looking at all these sketch book tours where they have all these amazing drawings. Compared to mine these are works of art. My sketch book is literally sketches
This is why I only draw in old school notebooks. I just do life drawing and studies in there and there is not pressure to make it perfect because it’s literally just an old notebook.
Ooh, i used to have this issue! I saw plenty of artists i loved having clean sketchbooks with amazing drawings and it just stopped me from drawing so that i could "wait for the right time" where I'd be able to do a full piece. Yeah that never happened and after a year, i just decided to just roll and draw whatever on my sketchbook. Suprisngly, among the unfinished sketches, i had pretty beautiful ones too that i can't help but look back on!
I noticed the trend of people striving to fill their "sketchbooks" with polished, display-worthy art, too. The videos inspired me to buy a sketchbook and try to put perfect art in it, but very soon it was a mishmash of rough ideas, messy sketches and paintings, wild experiments, torn-out pages, etc, which is, I think, what a sketchbook is designed for.
i actually have 3 sketchbooks. one that’s really big, for projects for youtube. then, a normal sized sketchbook for practicing (mainly anatomy because i suck) but it’s still neat. and finally, a really small and convenient sketchbook. it fits in my pencil pouch for school, and i male little doodles and sketches in it. it’s the messy sketchbook that has random practices on every page. the best part about it is that i can take it anywhere, so i have the most sketches in it.
i used to not really worry about the looks of my sketchbooks, i thought they were _good_ messy, but then i saw all these tours and its always been hard to let go since,,, thanks for making this video
I do totally get that....as much as we might try, it can still be difficult to not be influenced by everyone else!! I hope you can let yourself just mess around with no pressure. Thank YOU so much for sharing your comment.
I’ve never cared to make my sketchbook nice, I’ve got pieces in all stages on any available space. But I have seen the trends to dress up the sketchbook and make it look nice, I just leave that for my digital pieces. You made some wonderful points and ones I also agree with wholeheartedly!
_I noticed how my sketches appear to be more nicely done in my math notebooks than in my actual sketchbooks. It's brought to my attention that whenever I draw during discussions, there's no worry or doubt about the outcome because you're only doing the activity out of boredom. However, looking back at my sketchbooks, there's always a constant pressure to maintain an organized or complete illustration. My sketches were either redone or ripped away as a result. This video shows that sketchbooks are a personal thing for artists, something you can use to draft and explore your potential without judgement. A flawless artwork doesn't matter anymore if what you're doing isn't making you satisfied or happy. Coming from a young artist, thank you sm for the eye-opening message !!_
It's true and I agree with you a sketchbook is a place to practice amd express your art in a loose and easy going way from which one can use the ideas in making art later on "An artist doesn't make a sketchbook, a sketchbook make an artist"
I have always (even before getting on the internet) kept two sketchbooks: one that I sometimes show people and that has more finished sketches (but sketches none the less) and one that no one except for me is allowed to open bc it's just my own private space and it's filled with anything whatsoever. I do this cuz it just lifts a lot of the pressure of always showing people my drawings and shit.
It's so interesting because I used to feel that I had to really try when drawing in a sketchbook, to have a specific idea of what I was going to make and not waste the page. What I found was I got frustrated with these drawings and I much preferred the doodles I made on pieces of scrap paper. Because I wasn't trying to make something "good," these doodles were more natural and I ended up with some really cool ones I liked
As someone who wants to pursue writing creative fiction, this really resonates with me. I’ve always been too afraid to write out my ideas and not having them come out as perfect as I imagine them.
Many of my sketchbooks have the most ridiculous doodles BUT when I look thru them again, I remember how silly o was being and of course laugh at the memories and would rather have some wonky doodles amongst more finished drawings. Some random character doodles are fun to redraw when I look thru to see how I’ve grown. I’m always read from some professional artists (tho I don’t remember who said it) that a sketchbook is a practice place, not a portfolio. I wish you all the ability to sketch without a care when you want to!
"Not making perfect/aesthetic art" was one of the reasons why I was struggling so much with drawing again, let alone fill out a sketchbook (which I haven't done in YEARS). One of the things that helped me was buying a cheap notebook (with blank pages or a dot grid journal) and give myself permision to do ugly sketches or random stuff. As long as I draw something. It's helping me get back into this habit and I'm trying to fill it up. This video is further motivation for me to keep going, so thank you!
Oh that is so wonderful to hear! And for the kind words, I’m so very glad this video could be helpful. 🥰 I 100% agree, as long as you’re drawing something, that is definitely progress!
I have definitely struggled with this over the years... Seeing sketchbook tours only made me feel worse about my art and i eventually just stopped. People have gifted me really nice sketchbooks and I've been too afraid that I'll ruin them. Eventually I decided to go to the dollar store and buy the cheepest sketchbook they have so I can practice and not feel bad about my work and it's helped a lot. Once I get more confident, I'll start filling in the lovely gifts I've been given and make myself proud.
i had the exact same problem, i have a sketchbook i got as a secret santa gift from a coworker in 2021 and i have not touched it at all, still working on my current sketchbook i started in 2020🥲 those sketchbook tours with the pretty editing and voiceovers on youtube also made me grow to hate my art, i tried to make my art look pretty and thought out but i was only 13 to 17 years old trying to make art on par with 20-25 year olds. I feel bad for everyone who is hard on themself thinking they need to meet some sort of social media expectation just for ppl to like their art
Thank you for this video! I haven't finished watching it yet, but it sounds very useful in the beginning. I just recently started a new sketchbook after a break of a few years, and I almost started crying when I finished the sketch and realized I had to do lineart next. I never touched the sketchbook after finishing that sketch, it's just been lying around for a week. I feel a lot of pressure, especially because it's the very first page.
Finally someone came out and spoke about the reality of sketchbooks. I’m trained and studied art for 6 years and my sketchbook is where all my ideas started and the kinks got worked out till I’d done all the studies, ready for the final piece. I’ve shouted at the screen so many times that something doesn’t belong in a sketchbook but is a final finished piece. It frustrates me. Thanks so much for the video it was well needed!
I am so glad you enjoyed it and agree!! Thank you so much for watching and for your comment. 💖 I really felt compelled to make this; it makes me so happy that so many other artists have found it, and that it resonates!
Thank you!!! I’ve always felt super insecure about my own sketchbook because every other sketchbook I looked at seemed “clean” and “organized” meanwhile I have super crappy sketches in my book with pencil smudges all over the place and mysterious stains
I had this issue!! I spent so much time on a "Perfect Sketchbook" that it got boring so i made a sketchbook "messy" and it ended up being my favourite 😊
I've never heard anyone talk so... freely about their sketchbook. I've been afraid of even drawing in it for so long, and this video helped me see that that's not normal. I've always said that I don't like people looking at my drawings. At first, I was just embarrassed about it, so I hid what I was doing when people walked by. My family mostly ignored it, but sometimes they would try to sneak peeks before I could hide it. I really hated it. You see, I love character design, but the reason why I started doing it was to cope with my depression. My earliest characters are extremely personal to me because they were manifestations of the ugliest parts of me. Feelings of emptiness, self loathing, uselessness, I put each of them into characters as a way to tell myself that people could still function even with such traits. They weren't good characters in any sense, but they were mine. Obviously, this is a really sensitive topic for me, so I avoid showing them to anyone even now. My family, though, interpreted it as just shyness. One day, when I was in middle school, my older sister was visiting home. I left her alone in my room to use the bathroom. When I came back, my sketchbook was open in her lap. I don't remember what she said about it, but I couldn't handle it. I couldn't even draw for a whole month after that. I distinctly remember that during a depressive episode, I crawled towards my sketchbook just to do something for once and I wasn't able to touch it because of the anxiety. I also remember what she said when she did it again a few years later: "You don't have a lot of finished drawings in here, huh?" To this day, I always physically hide my sketchbooks when she visits. My mom is worse, though. In the past few years, whenever she's seen me drawing... It doesn't end very well. She's outright insulted my art to my face several times just because I won't do realism in my sketchbook. She's said that it isn't good enough to go to art school, that I can't even pass my high school art classes. Needless to say, I feel absolutely terrible now. I still feel drawn to art, but my self confidence has never been lower. It's gotten to the point where I am literally incapable of acknowledging my art as good no matter how many compliments I get. Heck, I even got into college for art, and I still have to have people reassure me that my art isn't garbage. Every doodle I do requires a massive amount of willpower because the fear that someone will barge into my room just to criticize it terrifies me, so I just never draw at home. Ironically, my sketchbook has become the least safe space for me to draw. It shouldn't be like this. I should be able to draw whatever I want without feeling afraid or ashamed. Somehow, I keep forgetting that. Maybe someday I'll be able to fix all these issues, now that I can see just how... differently normal people think. Sorry for trauma dumping, but I'm really happy that there are people who feel safe and happy drawing in their sketchbooks. Please keep loving your art and making beautiful things regardless of what people say.
Do not apologize for sharing this!! I appreciate that you are willing to share something this personal…the sad thing is this kind of thing happens to more people than one might think… and to some degree or another, I have seen a lot of artists struggling with not feeling like they cannot be free in their art. So I hope you won’t think you’re not normal. And having your family say and do these things, I am sure it would be extremely traumatic and honestly, I think would be a wonder if you didn’t feel this way. I can’t say what it would take to heal from this, but I hope you won’t give up. You are worth it, and your art is worth it. 💞
I really love the pretty sketchbook tours on youtube, but I have noticed that it has made me compare my own sketchbooks to them and feel "less". This was really inspiring & motivational!
It was always the fear of the work being judged, because you had to create work for your teachers to mark. So my sketchbooks always felt like they had to be perfect, it didn't help me progress thinking that way.
Right? I sort of understand having a sketchbook for school art work, but from what I've heard, it sounds like many of them need to stress to students that in real life or personal practice, sketchbooks do not have to be perfect!!
I always am stressing out because my sketch book isn’t aesthetic enough, that it’s not good enough to share with the internet and I gotta draw digital instead to upload SOMETHING. I Thank you so much for this video, it really made me see that I have been taking on a sketch book the wrong way and I really don’t need to share with the internet my entire sketch book❤❤
Thank you for saying this! Its such an important reminder to keep. It feels like there's so much pressure to make and share perfect art. I need to remember that it's important to have a space for myself to experiment and have fun.
![Don't be Afraid to Sketch! // How to Sketch More Freely [sketchbooking tips!]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/uCjQ_H1oX3E/mqdefault.jpg)
This is such an important message! We hear so many young artists who feel pressured to make all their work public, as a result of "sketchbook tours" that look impossibly perfect and composed. We think a real, working artist's sketchbook can and should be a closed rehearsal space, and maybe a little bit of a mad scientist's laboratory too! Artists who never allow themselves to make something awkward or "ugly" aren't pushing past the limits of their abilities, and that's too bad, because exceeding your ability is how you'll increase your ability. Thanks for sharing this!
UGH! Yes, yes, yes!!!
YASSSSSSSS!!!! THISSSSSSS!
Yes.
I leave one page empty because it bleeds :( How do I fix it??
"Rehearsal space" is the best way to describe it
The irony, of course, is once I gave myself permission to be messy and not worry about results, the quality of my sketches drastically improved.
YES. This is an excellent point!!
Yup! 😄
✨️YES✨️
i've found the same thing! i was so afraid i'd let myself make "bad" art if i stopped trying to make it perfect (when really it doesn't matter if it's "bad" anyway!!!), but eventually i stopped caring and let myself make messy and imperfect art. it's so much more fun now.
Yup. I think you have to be bold and create an absolute mess before you create great art. Bring order out of chaos. But the chaos first.
Thats a problem i had with sketchbook tours…compared to mine they were so dense and aesthetic?? i just leave some pages empty and then draw on the next one😅
OMG SAME....I'm trying to work on that, though!! 😂
Same here!
ME TOO
few months ago i started watching one sketchbook tour and absolutely fell in love with how this person did their art that i got REALLY inspired. but then i started a slight obsession and couldn’t stop watching sketchbook tours which became more depressing as i kept seeing more and more “perfectly filled” sketchbooks. so while it’s good to get some inspiration from online, it’s best not to overdo it.
not a single original experience ☠️ (I literally do the same)
Your sketchbook should be however you want it to be. That's the beauty of art, there is no right way, just your way
I totally agree!!
So true, there's more than 7 people have been told me "your sketchbook shouldn't be for aesthetic, but messier, because is place for you to learn, enjoying drawing whatever you want" and it's true sketchbook is for me to scribble and draw everything i like
Heck yes!! I figure, if it happens to turn out aesthetic, that’s okay, but that definitely should not be the priority…the priority is to enjoy the process…keep on scribbling! ☺💖
@@leannedelux yes yes :))
i mean that too, is ok to make your sketchbook aesthetic but yeah it shouldn't be the priority, to be able enjoying thing we love is what make drawing so meaningful especially for me ❤️ i will thanks!!
I've discovered that buying a "sketchpad" instead of a "sketchbook" allows me to be more messy and actually PRACTICE. Ive filled one almost completely within a couple months, compared to sketchbooks ive had for years and never finished one once!! With a sketchpad you can always just tear pages out if you hate them. You can't really do that with a nice expensive bound sketchbook, you feel so much pressure to not mess up in those.
That is such a good point!!
Heck yeah, love a good sketchpad! I find myself very drawn (no pun intended) to sketch pads and spiral pads for the same reason!
I love seeing messy sketchbooks like yours because to me that’s an aesthetic that is so satisfying and refreshing because then you get to see artist like yourself growing and building their art style to be something more than just pleasing to others eyes it’s about improving and making your art beautiful for yourself that you are proud to show no matter what people say whether people hate your art style or not art is meant for you and meant to glorify God‘s creation to be honest!
I SECOND THIS!! I feel so blocked by my sketchbook all the time but I will eff up some sketch pads 😭😂so weird how psychological it is
Depending on how "aesthetic" you want your sketchbook to be: If you have a bound sketchbook and you messed up its easy to just cover it up with another piece of work that you can paste in or otherwise. Of course, to some people this would "ruin" the sketchbook but to others, that *makes up* their whole aesthetic!
I didnt think of a sketchbook as a personal safe space until you mentioned it. I think this might help me be motivated to draw again.
That is FANTASTIC!!! I am so happy that this could be helpful, and I hope you'll keep drawing! Thank you so much!
Please do! Just have fun!
My partner needs to hear this so bad!! They haven’t used any of the sketchbooks they’ve gotten for themselves because they “want them to look pretty”, and are afraid they can’t live up to that, so they just don’t try. I’ve been trying to tell them, don’t be afraid to be messy! Try to let go a little, and you’ll be surprised at what you can do! It’s okay to make “ugly” art, it all helps you grow and improve, AND allowing yourself to be messy helps you enjoy the process so much more!
HECK YES! You are so right. Please be sure they give this a listen then if they haven't already!!! 😆💕 And absolutely, we have to make the "ugly" stuff to get to where we want to be! I know it can be easier said than done, though. I hope this video helps!
i hope they overcome that fear of making messy and "ugly" art. i used to be just like that and the idea of letting go used to be so daunting
UA-cam really screamed "FOR YOU" by recommending me this video and honestly I really needed it. I just finished my exams and now I'm ready to get back into my hobbies. I've always been a perfectionist but listening to your words and watching your video just made me realise that now that I have some free time I can do LITERALLY DO ANYTHING I WANT with my sketchbook cuz in the end it's my book filled with what im thinking off so it should have the same look as my head. INPUT = OUTPUT I guess lol
seriously thank you for this tho!
Thank you so much for the sweet comment, I'm so happy this could be helpful for you! I often still forget I can do anything I want in my sketchbook...and it's definitely so freeing every time I remember!! 😅
Just wanted to say that I am exactly in your postion 😂 Just finished exams and now want get back into art
I think sometimes that the formality of a sketchbook in general can stop people up. As a kid, I drew on loose sheets of copy paper in a clip board, there was not permanence, no consideration for how many pages I had left, or if Id rip it out if I really hated it. Sketchbooks were always more expensive, had a finite amount of pages, etc. Then I moved to digital where every image is pretty much its own thing, a single document can be like a sketchbook. ZERO permanence if I didn't want it to be that way. That let me experiment and practice so freely that I really think it helped me improve so much. No concern over "running out" or "ruining" or "wasting" anything. But yeah, wonderful video! Side note those calarts accepted "setchbook" videos are so stressful lol. Im so happy for the people who got accepted but also, thats not a normal sketchbook, and I feel like thats something we need to keep in mind before we put those kind of expectations on ourselves.
OMG You are so right!!!! It's funny, because this was actually something I just started thinking about today....the whole formality of it. Especially if you have a fancy hard-bound cover sketchbook with "nice" paper...that can be intimidating in itself, other artists aside. Drawing on loose paper is an excellent idea. Thank you so much for the thoughtful comment (and compliment!) I appreciate it so much!
@@leannedelux Aw no problem! The permanence of sketchbooks is something thats intimidated me like, forever, so I wouldnt be surprised if lots of other people feel that way.
i used to draw on the margins of all of my books and notebooks haha. and those art school accepted sketchbooks are sort of a portfolio to get admission. so they're required a certain quality or look for sure. which is a completely different purpose than regular practice sketchbooks.
I make my own sketch books for this reason. I made it so I can ruin it to, its very fun haha
this is why the only sketchbooks ive really used (and journals for that matter) are those cheap composition notebooks you use for school. the nicer a sketchbook or journal looks on the outside, the more pressure i feel to make the inside look all nice and pretty. i have so many beautiful journals that are completely empty and gathering dust, but the one i actually use has duct tape all over it because the cover started peeling off lol
I've always been a messy doodler, it just fills up the page more
I've noticed some people try to make their sketchbooks super neat, but it's not actually THEM. Different artists have different personalities, some people are messy and some people are crazy organised (like me for instance), and our personalities should be reflected in our art.
Its crazy how many people forget the "sketch" part of sketchbook. Literally every sketchbook ive ever owned has lazy doodles, messy sketches, and so much "bad" art and color swatches lol. Not everything an artist draws has to be a masterpiece, and I cant imagine limiting myself to that much perfectionism, let alone to an *entire* sketchbook?? Ive seen this problem especially on TikTok, and I hate the performity of it. Making bad art is part of being an artist, not everything has to be a pleasing aesthetic to post online.
Right!? It can be so frustrating!! Thank you for the comment, it is always reassuring to know there are others out there who feel the same!! 💗
something i tell myself all the time is that "i was not made to create art just to post it online. humans were not made to share their entire lives and everything they make online". at the beginning of the year, i got a leuchtturm sketchbook - nice yellow hardcover, nice paper and let me tell you i had the HARDEST time actually putting anything in it, let alone allowing myself to be messy in it and not have fully completed pieces. growing up on social media with an intense desire for attention and validation, i would combine my desire to be seen with my desire to create and let me tell you that it was HELL. its straight up only within these past three years that ive been able to sit down with myself, get some therapy, and figure out what was causing that (among other things) like im a very messy artist and using any type of "nice" and "put together" sketchbooks are stifling, because i automatically set such high expectations for what it should look like and how i should be using it. i honestly dont even like the word "sketchbook" because it feels so finalized and unattainable for me. i enjoy drawing and coloring on pieces of colored paper, and then taping them into whatever thing im working out of at the time :-) like i barely use social media now due to my severly unhealthy attachment to it growing up (combining need for attention with the desire to create, you know how it goes) but yeah like. awesome message from this video, it really resonated with me, thank you for saying what youve said here :-)
Thank you so much for sharing this!! I really appreciate it….I’m so glad to know you’ve been able to work on things, and figure out what works for YOU! I hope you’ll keep creating in a way that helps you thrive!
YES. Ive always hated making ""aesthetic"" sketchbooks. Like I get why people like them but it just does not work for me lol
one time my art teacher made me organize my notes like this and I was LIVID.
I end up focusing so much on how the notes LOOK that i forget to pay attention to the ACTUAL NOTES. I just write/draw whatever makes more sense to me, and it usually looks better than if i actually tried lol
I'm sorry that happened, this person shouldn't be an art teacher.
My Art teacher in high school was the worst
he forced us to draw the same sketch so many times because he said everyone was always horrible at it ... meanwhile he would sit on the chair talking about how is great grand dad made a deal with the government to get some products in our state ... and then he started saying the mayonnaise brand a lot of us use secretly has poison in it and is a product from our enemies back when there was war ..
bro I been using that mayonnaise for 20 years it's completely fine
my art teacher was absolutely insane it was like going to a history class where nothing was factual and everything was his crazy theories .. literally he rarely spoke about art ..
I was obviously rebellious cuz I got tired of him and drew whatever I felt like ... and he absolutely hated me .. like he said I was the WORST student he ever had .. he said I was worse then the ones skipping his class cuz I dare to disrespect him beacuse I choose freedom and draw as I wished . he was so determined to fail me complelty like he was just absolutely turning into a volcano . I was thrown out class many times
yeh my worst grade in school was art , all my other grades were perfect A's with a few B's . and then my art grade just the worst
I was very proud of it tho he was a horrible teacher not doing his job right I'll also not do my job right I'll do as I wish ... honestly he admitted to my classmate that my drawings were good but he was so salty to accept it and never told me that .. my classmate snitched and told me but I pretended I didn't know..
Too many people weigh themselves down with "shoulds". It's soul-crushing.
Right?? I know it can be a tough habit to break! But it's so freeing once you do!
Thank you, i needed to hear that. Like really. It's bean like a year than i haven't done a messy sketch on a sketchbook ! Because of all the impossibly perfect sketchbook tours, so aesthetic and pretty and thought off. Toxic perfectionism is such an issue in the art community, I have a lot of friend that even get mad at the idea of doing something sketchy and ugly. Thank you to say that, it's okay and important to have a place were we can do mistakes freely, that we don't have to show to everybody !!
Thank YOU for taking the time to leave this comment! Truly, I cannot tell you how much it means to me that this video was helpful for you. I hope you'll make lots of sketches very soon!!! ❤️ Do not let limiting ideas keep you from making the art you NEED to make!
Every time I get a new sketchbook, they all become "dedicated" to one thing. This means all my sketchbooks are empty, save for the first few pages of whatever thing I tried to dedicate them to. I'm about to take one and literally start scribbling in the pages to make it less valuable and precious to me.
Sort of related, clean pages are very daunting! I will lightly scribble and smudge with my pencil to make the page "dirty" and get over the fear of damaging the pristine white void.
Oh, I hear you!!! I've seen other people do similar things to sort of break in their sketchbooks...whatever it takes, do! And thank you so much for your comment. 💕
I 100% agree with you here! Sketchbooks are called SKETCHbooks for a reason, and it’s supposed to be messy, fun, and whatever you want it to be! After all, it’s kinda like a bit of a reflection of who you are in some way. I myself never understood why people want to be perfect with their artwork when it’s fine to have things unfinished or “ugly”. Heck, whenever I work on bigger project, sometimes I never get it done because my brain just wants to work on something else. Sorry for the mini tangent, and I hope you have a lovely day :)
Don’t apologize! Makes me think of something else I’ve been pondering, which is what should be the purpose of art anyway?! Not just to have a finished “product,” for sure! I love your thoughts on this….thank you so much for sharing!!
Yes, you want to work on something else because you’re in fear of it not coming out right. Perfectionism is a hinderance. This is my life…so many wip’s in my closet just crying out to me to finish! *sigh🙄 I’ve even prayed to God to help me get through and get over it once and for all!
@@1111MMC I don’t even struggle with perfectionism. It’s more of the fact I have another idea so I latch onto that idea instead of what I was working on originally. Perfectionism is more of working hard on a drawing while struggling to make it look good to one’s eyes. I’ve drawn plenty of stretches that I might not like, but I did it anyway. I’ve done big projects because of my burst of motivation. In my humble opinion, maybe try finding something that inspires you to try and get something done or set goals for yourself to finish any projects you might have! I believe in you!
To me, the moment you stop caring about perfectionism and aesthetic, then just have fun and it will begin to look unique and amazing in its own way. That’s the kind of stuff I want.
The trend stuff always starts feeling like you’ve seen it before once you start looking for ideas.
Idk just my opinion on it, not saying I’m right it’s just how I feel.
I 100% agree with you, though! Thank you so much for the comment! 💖
i hear you. i have slowly (at the age of 40) started joining social media and i make a point to point out i am not perfect. "oops, dropped my brush again. ok, let's fix this" i have art journals that go back to my mid teens and i get a good chuckle going back over them. they were never meant to share and it shows. one book was a whole botanical series using one element in 2d for the next attempt at 3d. i had no art teachers here so everything i learned i learned by trying new things, sometimes they even worked. now when i want to know how to do something i hit youtube... it feels like cheating. i still have my messy private journals that most people don't see. it must be awful to feel like everything you do must be display worthy.
Pssh, it’s definitely NOT cheating to learn through UA-cam! And I am so happy to know you are creating art!! Keep it up! 💖
Sketchbooks have been a huge part of my life for a while now. Around 3-4 years ago, I suffered from a massive personality change and memory loss because of a lot of health issues. I live in a really stressful household and having a sketch book to create and destroy in. After a few months of working on it, (and it being incredibly messy and chaotic) I felt a lot more heard and happy, even though I wouldn't let anyone see it. One of my promises to myself was to never let anyone see it in whole. Then I met my boyfriend, after a long while of dating and planning our lives together, I decided I would give him something very special. As I said earlier I have a lot of health issues, and many chronic and auto immune illnesses, I have no idea how much longer I have left. My final gift to the love of my life, will be all of them. He will get my sketch books filled to the brim with me after I pass away. They have poems and songs and drawings and paintings and I know he will have something to remember me by. I hope the day isn't soon but if it is, I'll be ok in the end.
I hope that you and your lover get many more years together before that day comes
to be honest, my brain has an unhealthy addiction to neat aesthetic sketchbooks filled with colour. the messiest thing i do if fill every page (even if marker goes through one). im a really bad perfectionist (especially since ive just gotten back into art) and i hope this video helps me. since the most practice i get is the pencil sketch.
Thank you so much for sharing your comment-I hope this helps you as well! Though I do want to say, I certainly don’t want anyone to think it’s wrong to have a neat, colorful, or otherwise aesthetic sketchbook…that’s not always a bad thing! But whatever you do, I do hope you feel comfortable with it and feel like you’re reaching your goals. 💖
As a young artist, thank you for this reminder 🙏
Absolutely. Thank you so much for watching, and for just being a young artist!! I am so proud of you!
For me i use notebooks with lined paper as sketchbooks, and I think that helps me with this. Because the paper isn’t “fancy” i feel less like I’m “wasting” it. I’ve noticed with my sketchbooks that are like. Advertised as sketchbooks (ie things from strathmore) I get leery of putting things in them that aren’t inked and colored.
I complete get that. I think it's a great idea to used lined paper, or any supply that will help take the pressure off! Thank you so much for sharing this!
I find that my sketchbook reflects the state of my mind (and myself) very well. It’s messy, filled with half finished pencil doodles, poorly drawn bodies, tiny stick people, sometimes scribbles, traced arts(because I liked how a character was drawn in that art-style), and the same few concepts over and over. Barely anything is ‘finished’ and I didn’t even bother coloring in anything. (I felt like they didn’t deserve the effort of coloring, too lazy.)
Can never focus on 1 idea, my thoughts get cut off by another thought, can’t keep a single pose in mind, quick,random doodles of whatever that appears in my head at that moment until I run out of fume and stop. I just draw stuff whenever I’m bored. It doesn’t feel like I’m doing the whole ‘sketching’ thing right but that’s just how it is for me.
Hey, there truly is no “right” way-whatever works for you is wonderful!! And I can sooo relate to what you described 😁-thank you for watching and for sharing your comment! 💜
I would say my sketch book its more aesthetic. I like to finish my drawings, and have it more neat. Though honestly recently I've noticed its pretty bland. And with the way i want to get my drawings perfect stresses me out sometimes. I really need to get another sketch book, and be more messy in that one. It would definitely help me feel more free when im drawing. Thanks for the video!
Of course!!! Thank you so much for the comment!! And I do wish I would have emphasized more in the video that I'm definitely NOT against aesthetic sketchbooks, it's just that I'm all *FOR* messy ones. I hope you'll get yourself a messy one soon! 💖
trying to keep an aesthetic sketchbook too but i work with multiple sketchbooks at once (they're quite cheap) so most are messy and have lots of doodles.
"A place...with no pressure and no fear of criticism."
It's going to be difficult to draw in if I can't look in it either.
I meant criticism from others….I feel this is a lot different from one’s own!
didn't even realize just how much i needed to see a messy, not-aesthetic sketch with me until this. as a relatively new artist, this takes so much of the pressure off. thank you for posting this!!
I am so happy to hear this was helpful for you!!! Thank you so much!
I fell into the whole trap of making my sketchbooks look more interesting for tours and they got more and more elaborate whilst i rushed through them to film a tour and to push myself to see what the shortest time i could fill it was. Though I learnt a lot and my art improved, I got burnt out. I was worrying about spending too long on my sketchbooks and watching way too many tours whilst comparing myself to other artists, which is quite harmful. I do love making my tours but now I'm taking my time and using it to explore ideas, experiment and to study in. I like to draw in pen and for me, that has helped me with being less of a perfectionist and just getting loose with my ideas. Some things that help me is I have multiple sketchbooks, my everyday sletchbook, my studies sketchbook and my storyboarding/comic sletchbook. Giving each one a purpose personally helped me to stop worrying about making it look good.
Also there's also art journaling if people want to have a sketchbook that they just want to fill with finished pieces
I love this so much, thank you for sharing!!! I’m glad you are taking time to explore more…and I think multiple sketchbooks with different purposes is such a good idea!
As a young artist I appreciate this note because,
some of my friends do art and they get the wrong idea of thinking it needs to be perfect.
But art is just for people to be creative and make art that they enjoy.
For sure!!! You definitely have the right idea! 💖
Why do they even care? Like unless they are getting paid well or have a realistic plan how to get paid well, it doesn't matter. Like people who show off these sketchbooks in these videos are doing it because they are getting paid for it. They are creating a product to make money from it. It's ridiculous when random people start emulating them.
This is funny that this video got recommended hours after I saw a specific tumblr post about the topic that we should let our sketchbooks be messy and chaotic again, and I agree with that! I myself have issues with perfectionism about my art and try to get into drawing again.
"can I see ur home sketchbook?"
me n every other art student in my year: "no it's got personal and cringe stuff in there."
I’ve been saying the same thing for years. I started a “finish” sketchbook that I challenged myself to actually make finished pieces in but only because I usually just leave it as a sketch. Also strongly recommend people use ballpoint pen or colored pencils to sketch. Getting use to the deduction of a line is a lot and by using a colored pencil it makes it less intimidating in my opinion. You can always go back and line it if you really like the sketch.
Yes! I have been trying to work more with ballpoint pens and want to start using colored pencil for sketching more, too…this is good advice!
THANK YOU!!!! I feel the same way when I see young artists keep only “perfect” or “aesthetic” sketchbooks that are “worthy to post”. As Wassily Kadinsky said, there is no must in art because art is free. To let go of perfectionism, embrace mistakes, feel free to express anything, and create things not for the eyes of others but for one’s own heart, that is what it’s all about… Art is free and art is freeing; truly, art is a journey of self. ❤
YES YES YES!!!
Fellow older millennial here! LOVED this essay!!! This video popped up on my feed as I was watching a video of a "perfect" sketch book, lol. Stopped watching that one to watch this... I have noticed this tone of perfectionism in a lot of social media content in general, not just art topics. I never had formal art training, but I always considered my sketch books very private spaces and more like a diary/journal entry. But I admit these social media "draw with me" sketching and perusing their sketchbook content, I do question whether I've been doing it wrong! lol Even my watercolor testing is a total mess in my sketchbook. However I do understand the appeal of wanting things to have a certain "look" and subtle perfection, which is cool and fine if that's your goal. Expressing your creative vision is your right and authority, even if it would be an eye-sore to a mainstream audience or onlooker lol. If anything, social media has enlightened me that there will always be people out there who absolutely love what you're doing.
Thank you SO MUCH for the kind & thoughtful comment!!!! 😭🥰 I'm so glad you enjoyed this. And you're totally right, this kind of mentality has creeped into allll sorts of topics. And I love what you said--"Expressing your creative vision is your right and authority, even if it would be an eye-sore to a mainstream audience or onlooker lol. If anything, social media has enlightened me that there will always be people out there who absolutely love what you're doing." That is so spot on and is a good reminder that not everything has to be "perfect" to be highly valuable!
When you said the word « Privacy » it’s so real !
Cause a Sketchbook for artists is private ! I hate when people are forcing like : Show us ! Come on it can’t be that bad !
And a second point, when you said that sketchbooks are not supposed to be that perfect I was so happy that someone was agreeing with me ! All of my sketchbooks are NEVER finished… But I started to cause myself pressure since of people saying that sketchbook is supposed to be « aesthetic ». But look at me, I started drawing 2 years ago, and now I can finally draw normal person instead of sticks ! So thank you, for this video.
Thank YOU so kindly for the comment and for sharing your experience!! 💖
@@leannedelux aww 🥰
You’re welcome :) Thanks to you too :) !
I feel that. Sometimes I have ideas for big complex projects, but I don´t have the energy/motivation to do it and actually just want to scribble a bit. And then I feel bad about it for some reason.... :/
I do know what you mean….it can be an ongoing process to keep a gentle attitude toward yourself…but it is totally okay to just scribble! Your big projects will happen when the time is right, I think. 💕
my sketchbook is one big mess lol, full of sketches and random things i like, never have a finished piece in it.
I also come from a certain generation. When I arrived to IG, the word "Journal" was connected to scrapbook-type stuff and drawing, while to me, "journal" was handwriting. Personal. I have said that one learns to write by writing, and keeping a journal taught me to write. Playing piano scales teaches one about playing the piano. And, my dad was a professionally educated watercolorist. His sketchbooks were not finished pieces of art. They were where he did rough sketches which would consist of a rough idea of the subject, and values. In other words, artistic shorthand. I still remember him pulling off the road saying "I'm going to do a quick sketch", and it took less than a minute. Wasn't meant to look like anything but scribbled "notes". The irony is that I am surrounded by dad's paintings and think I should be that good - - and I'm a beginner. I see people's work on IG and feel defeated, because my stuff is "horrible". It's time for me to keep just a tiny sketchbook for scribbling. Thank you - found this be scrolling along YT.
Thank you so much for sharing this. Isn’t it funny, some of the things that seem to morph into different meanings with online culture?! I know it is so easy to be intimidated by amazing work but forget it took a lot of time and behind-the-scenes work to get there! 😆 Yes, I do hope you’ll keep a little sketch book!! And don’t be afraid to do “less than good” work….it is part of EVERY artist’s process! 💕💕
Thank you for this! I have often wondered why sketchbook tours online contain such perfectly aesthetic pieces. My sketchbooks are full of weird, wonky, wrong and wacky sketches. Some I would show to others and some that will never see the light of day. I always thought the point of sketchbooks was to let loose and work with the intention of not having to make the pieces too refined. I do however like the idea of keeping one for finished work too, so I now have one dedicated to messing around and another which I keep for attempts at more refined pieces. I feel like that's a comfortable balance for me. But I would love to see more messy sketchbooks by others artists!
I 💯 feel you!! I am trying to keep a book for more finished pieces too. (Progress is slow, though…which is why I have to keep a messy one too!) 😆 Thank you for watching and for sharing your comment!
This is definitely a mindset I struggle to get into, even as a fellow elder millennial lol. I unfortunately struggle against a strong "all or nothing" tendency in most things I do. I either want it to be perfect or I don't try at all, and it's so unhelpful and unhealthy. The perfectionism trap is so hard to fight against.
Oh I hear you!! 😆 I do also struggle with it from time to time and have to remind myself….it can be so frustrating.
I am the same type of person and I think it's helpful to broaden the term "perfect" for oneself, like when I want to scribble for an hour to try some ideas I've had and to have fun with it, and I manage to do so, then that can be called perfect too, because it's what I had intended. It also helps me to remind myself that I will be stuck if I'm never creative in the way I work. I f.e. want to be able to draw loosely, with broad precise strokes coming from the elbow, which I will never achieve if I always sit there, tensed up, cautiously drawing to not make mistakes. Sometimes I even draw while intending for it to be bad and ugly, just so I can loosen up a bit.
I have a dedicated cheap soft-cover sketchbook that I call a "Smash Book" (it's like a book that you won't be afraid to damage or smash) where it's all random garbage doodles, warmups, practice, failures etc., and it's been pretty helpful.
Not saying it's the solution, but if anyone is struggling with marking in their main sketchbook with the nice paper that was way more expensive than they would like to admit (me), this might help in bringing your confidence up.
I think this is a wonderful idea!! Thank you for sharing!!!
This is how i feel as well, especially sketchbook tours. All these people have nice, athletically pleasing artwork in these good quality sketchbooks and me: Inexpensive composition blank paged notebooks full of scribbles, half formed practice poses, ideas that go no where in either pencil or ballpoint pen. .
BROOOO THANK YOUUU like idc if you want your sketchbook to be aesthetic cuz it's yours you can do whatever you want but i hate that like- there's this expectation that your sketchbook is now your portfolio or something and it sucks cuz it takes the fun out of having a sketchbook :( so i appreciate this very much, it's a great wake up call for me JKBDDHKBD and now instead of ripping out my doodles just because they're not a finished drawing- i'mma just keep em, thanks Leanne
Aww thank you so much!! 💖 I am so glad this could be helpful. And I’m glad to hear you’ll be keeping all your doodles! (I think they can be some of the most interesting parts of a sketchbook when you look back at it later!)
@@leannedelux fs thanks again :D
Not sure why theres a "SHOULD" here, sketchbooks are as individual as the artist... you set the intention for each one (or even each page). If you want it to be messy, great! If you want it to be finished works, totally up to you ❤ I tend to have multiple going all the time, each with a different purpose. Helps me keep my practice focused😊
Exactly, everyone is different! As I said, there's definitely no problem in making more polished/"prettier" sketchbooks. Having multiple types of sketchbooks going is a great thing!
the point of a sketchbook is to sketch, a.k.a be messy
bestie that's why its there for you to MESS IT UP LET'S GOOOOO WOOOO
YESS!! 😆 I love it! 💯💕
I've only really been developing my art "seriously" for less than a year. I've written children's books that need illustrating (they are novels not picturebooks) but I have to draw very specific scenes in pen according to the plot. It's amazing how much better my drawings are just 9 months later.
I make a distinction between my sketchbook which is an A5 art journal and sketch pads which are usually A4 and are loose bound so you can take pages out and frame any masterpieces you accidentally produce (totally accidentally in my case, ha-ha!) There's a couple of pictures I'd love to cut out of the sketchbook to go on my wall but I force myself to recreate them bigger and better if I want to frame them. Part of being a "professional," I think, is being able to recreate something you did well before. And because I'm drawing fictional (animal) characters, it's part of the process to be able to draw the same character in every mood from every angle, which took me a while to get used to. Most of my art before last year was abstract patterns. I didn't have the confidence to try portraiture which is mostly how I practise now.
The proper sketchbook is full of paint tests now, seeing what different paints and inks look like when overpainted, blended and so on. Most of my drawings are black and white but I've started experimenting with dabs of colour. I use acrylics for everything I paint because they're so versatile and interchangeable. I love the waterproof quality of acrylic. All the paints and inks I use are waterproof, partly because I so hated having to use watery paints years ago at school. I'm 52 years old this year. It's never too late to learn, ha-ha!
Thank you sooo much for sharing this!! It is awesome to learn about others’ art journeys….I am so happy to know you are continuing to pursue different things-I think it’s seriously a shame when people decide it’s just “too late”. (Also…..I love the idea of a loose bound book in case of a masterpiece!) 💖💖💖 Thank you again.
Exactly! For me, sketchbooks are there to unwind and just be silly with art. Small studies would be good too, but it really is just for quick doodles. Do what works for you!
Yes, absolutely! Whatever works for the artist….THAT is the right way!
i struggled with this for so long, i genuinely would refuse to draw unless i knew the sketch would be turned into a full finished piece within my sketchbook. i currently have a sketchbook i’ve been working through since august 2020 and i’m only halfway done because i wanted it to be pretty and aesthetic. finally around 2022 i realized i can’t just neglect it, and to grow is to make mistakes. I began filling pages with stupid sketches and doodles, or even filing the page with stars i colored in with expo whiteboard markers lol. i caused my own art block for the past 3 years and slowly i’ve started coming out of it bc i don’t need to prove my skills to anyone & i should just be happy to create and leave my mark somewhere :)
I am so happy to you’re coming out of your art block….and I hope you’ll keep up the awesome work! 💕
thank you so much, i dont know how it was recommended to me, but this was exactly what a friend told me last night and exactly what i need to hear. i was wondering why i was feeling so stagnant and uninspired ... i'm embarrassed the answer is so simple lol
Naw, don’t be embarrassed about that! I am constantly late to finding those “simple” answers allll the time….😆 I’m so glad this could be helpful for you! Thank you so much for watching and for your comment! 💕
I totally agree with the inherent message, and I do believe that there's some merit to just... drawing, not chickening out because a sketch looks ugly in a sketch book, cus I mean where else is it gonna /go/? But i would like to raise the point that messy sketchbooks, ugly drawings... for me, and others I know, can be pretty un-motivating. To have to stare at something you genuinely don't like sucks, and ripping out expensive sketchbook paper when you can't stand to look at it anymore /also/ sucks! Because you can only do that so many times. I think that while social media has introduced the 'need' to be aesthetic, it's also shown the beauty in maximalism -- of layering over art with posted notes and cards, of adding shit just because you liked it (dried leaves, movie tickets, etc.) --- which, (I think?) started mainly as an 'aesthetic' internet trend. At least, thats how it came to me first. But treating my sketchbook like a diary, and filling up blank pages, painting over my bad art with something I do like? It's made me enjoy art a lot more. And i'm still making bad art! I'm still making mistakes, and while it may come off as a fear of imperfection, doing this technique actually made me /less/ afraid of messing up - it totally deescalated my worries of 'tarnishing' my sketchbooks. It also introduced me to new mediums! I used to be terrified of paint, much less painting without a sketch beforehand, but now i use it regularly to cover up the stuff i don't wanna look at with new and improved art, saving space and helping me understand 3-D lighting and shapes more. Plus those art-tiktok compilations are always great for inspo personally.
I'm not saying any of this to diss any of the points you made in this video, and i at times do still struggle with making 'bad' art - i think everyone does. But personally the 'aestheticization' of sketchbooks actually helped me draw more constantly, and explore my options a lot more. Theres pros and cons, as there are to everything, is what I'm saying. Art doesn't have to be a particular way i guess.... thats, like. Literally the whole point!
Anyway, sorry for rambling. Great video, and lovely doodles as well :)
Thank you so much for your comment, I do appreciate it! I agree, there are good things about aesthetic-ness; I’m definitely not against it! I guess if I had to really distill my point down, it would be, “don’t let your idea of what you ‘should’ be making keep you from making anything”…*Whatever* that may be! I guess I singled out more “perfect” sketchbooks because I’ve found this to be the kind that intimidate the most people.
Making my own sketchbooks has helped me overcome the fear of ruining them
Ohhh I love that!
Thank you!!! I've seen a few sketchbook tours and have been so confused as to how many "sketchbook" is that perfect. They're more like art book projects to put on display in your living room for people to flip through, not an actual sketch book.
YES! And I wish people could be more open with and unafraid of the idea of showing their "unperfect", unfinished, "ugly" art and scribbles and sketches. Because they are JUST as valid as a finished piece, and all of those unfinished, ugly scribbles FAR outnumber the beautiful finished pieces you produce.
I'm an old millennial too. I love having platforms to share and to connect with other creatives. Art and writing can be so lonely. It's nice to have a community.
The beauty of sketch books to me is to see how much progress you've gained along the way as well imperfections
Exactly!! 💞
as someone who grew up with the internet i've definitely struggled with this. i started watching sketchbook tours and at first they were really motivating and inspiring. the pace at which i filled sketchbooks significantly increased at first but eventually started to slow down as i became really perfectionistic. i started treating the creation of a spread like the creation of a finished piece, if that makes sense. i'm starting to get over this now and draw in my sketchbook for me again, not for the hypothetical people who might flip through it
I am so glad you are drawing for YOU again! 💕💕
Preach! I rarely start sketchbook drawings with the intention of finishing and sharing them. And if I'm gonna spend a long time on something, screw that book, just give me a loose sheet flat on the desk.
I struggled a lot with this so i kept a sketchbook, (ones thats perfectly neat and formatted) and a sketchbook sketchbook (where i would draw and doodle)
Thank you for this! I didn't grow up drawing, I fiddled with it in my 30's and now that I'm in my 40's, I'm taking it more seriously. I was *so confused* watching all these 'sketchbook tour' videos! Where are the mistakes? Where are the epic failures? Where are the weird doodles, and the scribbled notes? All beginner artists need to learn that these perfect art-pieces some people call 'sketchbooks' are *not* typical, and they are definitely not how you learn to draw. Nobody is born knowing how to play the piano like Horowitz--it takes hundreds of hours of practice! Playing the same scales over and over again until you can do it almost without thinking.... I *wish* someone had told me this when I first started drawing!
Thank you SO much for your comment! I’m glad to know this was helpful, and so happy to know that you are delving into drawing now, especially after not having done it as a child. A lot of people would not, and I’m so proud of you!! 💕
EXACTLY! And like sometimes I feel bad my sketchbooks are a trainwreck but other times I'm glad they are. Because my sketchbooks are for me and for ideas. And thats supposed to be messy.
Heck yes! 💯💖
100% agree with ALL of this❤ and I’m a Gen Xer who also grew up in a time of keeping my sketchbook in a drawer in my room never to be seen by judgemental eyeballs 👀 I’m always thinking this about younger artists and how the pressure is so on for them and how it doesn’t need to be that way. I’ve even talked in a video about how my sketchbook has everything in it. The good, the bad, the meh, and some finished stuff, too. I mean, if ya wanna have perfectly curated sketchbook, that’s fine. But don’t feel pressured to have a pretty sketchbook and an “ugly” sketchbook because you feel that cannot coexist. Creativity just is what it is and it should not be inhibited! So even if I should sketchbook tours, I let it all hang out because I’d rather people see a realistic view and not me trying to look like I have my act together 😂because I don’t! And even if art making is my full time job and I draw on a daily basis, I don’t make good art all the time. There’s plenty of uggos in all the pages😮😅
Yes yes yes!! 😅 I love this so much....thank you for sharing!!!! 💖
I use my sketchbook for both rough sketches and finished drawings, I love keeping everything together :D
yeah thats why i have a notebook for sketching
not a fancy sketch book
makes me feel more relaxed about it
thank you so much. I have ripped out tens of pages from sketchbooks, scrapped hundreds of drawings, and erased sketches I found “ugly.” I know that I have this problem, and have been trying to trust myself and my skills. This really helped me remember that my sketchbook is mine, and nobody will see it if I don’t want them to. I think back to myself when I was younger, and even then I was overly obsessed with making each picture perfect. I really feel that when I let loose and draw for myself, I really do have more fun drawing.
I cannot tell you how happy it makes me to know this helped you out! Thank you so much!!
@@leannedelux of course! Thank you
your sketchbook can be anything you like. clean or messy, it's yours and you can do anything with it with your own creativity ✨
I totally agree, you should do whatever helps YOU!
I really think this is helpful! Barely any of my sketches are finished and they rarely have color because im always drawing at school. At home i feel the pressure to make perfect and spend so much time on one sketch whilst at school i feel free and tend to make quicker drawings due to the 40-50 minute periods that we have. MESSY SKETCHES FOR THE WIN!!
YES YES!!! I love it! Thank you so much for sharing and for the kind comment....I'm so glad that you're creating!
I grew up watching art tutorials and sketchbook tours on UA-cam, and while watching those taught me so much, they really impacted the way I viewed my art. I’ve always been somewhat of a perfectionist, but I was the absolute worst when it came to art making. There’s even been occasions where I’ve been too scared to draw at all, out of fear that it wouldn’t be good enough for anyone. To this day I have never finished a sketchbook, because I was too scared of making an ugly drawing in it. But I needed to put my ugly sketches somewhere, right? So I started drawing on the backs of cereal boxes and receipts, and then squirrel them away where no one could find them. I love art so much, but working in this way really drained me. It’s been SO hard to get over the insane idea that sketchbooks have to be beautiful places, and that I can only draw in them when I am worthy enough to do so. Nowadays, I still really struggle to remember that it’s okay for my work not to be pretty, and that I’m allowed to have a book of ugly drawings, but I’m so much better than I used to be. I now have two sketchbooks, one for complete drawings, and one for my messy drawings. I still have days where I am too scared to even draw in my messy sketchbook, but at least I don’t draw solely on cereal boxes anymore 😅
In conclusion, this video is absolutely correct, and you should take it to heart. If I could time travel I would show this to my younger self… who knows where I would’ve been now if I wasn’t so frightened to try.
Rebecca!!! Thank you so much for sharing your experience!!! I totally get that feeling of wishing you would have known something when you were younger, but I think it's SO impressive and you should be so proud of the progress you have made....thank you again, you are seriously an inspiration!!! 💖
I have a little notebook that I for whatever reason have always called my doodle journal. Almost all of my drawings in there are completely random, but I’m more than glad to have it.
I agree, I always love doing messy things in my sketchbook BUT imo messy and aesthetic can be the same thing. I liked glueing things in my sketchbook and decorating my sketches before tiktok. I'll do random messy sketches and decorate them because I FEEL like it and enjoy it, not because it's whats trendy. It doesnt have to be finished or perfect to be aesthetic.
I completely agree!! I definitely enjoy a messy look, too. I think the important thing is to not pressure yourself. Thank you so much for watching and sharing your comment!
I'm only 16 so I grew up with social media, though luckily i always kept my sketchbooks messy and personal. I'm attending a one year mandatory art course now to become an illustrator in the future. Literally all of my classmates are scared of making incomplete or rough drawings, the sketchbooks given to us by the school barely have any pages filled since they're scared to mess them up. But that fear is granted as our sketchbooks will be graded but still. It's so unhealthy to only strive for perfection, especially in art and most of my classmates dont realize that. They're scared to try out new things and develop an artstyle so they trace and browse pinterest to see popular art styles. It's really sad to see honestly
It is sad, but like you said, it is understandable when it’s connected to a course… I am so happy that you have such a healthy understanding of this, though!! 💕 (I hope maybe your influence can rub off on some of your classmates!) Thank you so much for sharing this.
I have a messy sketchbook and a finished work sketchbook! It’s really nice and freeing. Plus, I like having all my nice finished things in one place.
I’m looking at all these sketch book tours where they have all these amazing drawings. Compared to mine these are works of art. My sketch book is literally sketches
And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that!! 💜
This is why I only draw in old school notebooks. I just do life drawing and studies in there and there is not pressure to make it perfect because it’s literally just an old notebook.
Ooh, i used to have this issue! I saw plenty of artists i loved having clean sketchbooks with amazing drawings and it just stopped me from drawing so that i could "wait for the right time" where I'd be able to do a full piece. Yeah that never happened and after a year, i just decided to just roll and draw whatever on my sketchbook.
Suprisngly, among the unfinished sketches, i had pretty beautiful ones too that i can't help but look back on!
That’s why i have a sketcbook and an artbook. The artbook has more finished peaces but it gets filled much more slower than the sketchbook
I noticed the trend of people striving to fill their "sketchbooks" with polished, display-worthy art, too. The videos inspired me to buy a sketchbook and try to put perfect art in it, but very soon it was a mishmash of rough ideas, messy sketches and paintings, wild experiments, torn-out pages, etc, which is, I think, what a sketchbook is designed for.
i actually have 3 sketchbooks. one that’s really big, for projects for youtube. then, a normal sized sketchbook for practicing (mainly anatomy because i suck) but it’s still neat. and finally, a really small and convenient sketchbook. it fits in my pencil pouch for school, and i male little doodles and sketches in it. it’s the messy sketchbook that has random practices on every page. the best part about it is that i can take it anywhere, so i have the most sketches in it.
I LOVE this!! The more the merrier, I think! Thank you for sharing that. 💕
i used to not really worry about the looks of my sketchbooks, i thought they were _good_ messy, but then i saw all these tours and its always been hard to let go since,,,
thanks for making this video
I do totally get that....as much as we might try, it can still be difficult to not be influenced by everyone else!! I hope you can let yourself just mess around with no pressure. Thank YOU so much for sharing your comment.
I’ve never cared to make my sketchbook nice, I’ve got pieces in all stages on any available space. But I have seen the trends to dress up the sketchbook and make it look nice, I just leave that for my digital pieces. You made some wonderful points and ones I also agree with wholeheartedly!
Thank you so much, for watching and for your kind comment!! 💖💖
_I noticed how my sketches appear to be more nicely done in my math notebooks than in my actual sketchbooks. It's brought to my attention that whenever I draw during discussions, there's no worry or doubt about the outcome because you're only doing the activity out of boredom. However, looking back at my sketchbooks, there's always a constant pressure to maintain an organized or complete illustration. My sketches were either redone or ripped away as a result. This video shows that sketchbooks are a personal thing for artists, something you can use to draft and explore your potential without judgement. A flawless artwork doesn't matter anymore if what you're doing isn't making you satisfied or happy. Coming from a young artist, thank you sm for the eye-opening message !!_
Thank YOU so much for watching and leaving your comment!! I appreciate it--and you--so much!
It's true and I agree with you a sketchbook is a place to practice amd express your art in a loose and easy going way from which one can use the ideas in making art later on
"An artist doesn't make a sketchbook, a sketchbook make an artist"
I have always (even before getting on the internet) kept two sketchbooks: one that I sometimes show people and that has more finished sketches (but sketches none the less) and one that no one except for me is allowed to open bc it's just my own private space and it's filled with anything whatsoever. I do this cuz it just lifts a lot of the pressure of always showing people my drawings and shit.
It's so interesting because I used to feel that I had to really try when drawing in a sketchbook, to have a specific idea of what I was going to make and not waste the page. What I found was I got frustrated with these drawings and I much preferred the doodles I made on pieces of scrap paper. Because I wasn't trying to make something "good," these doodles were more natural and I ended up with some really cool ones I liked
As someone who wants to pursue writing creative fiction, this really resonates with me. I’ve always been too afraid to write out my ideas and not having them come out as perfect as I imagine them.
Oh, I hope this was helpful! ☺️ And I hope you will get to writing!!
Many of my sketchbooks have the most ridiculous doodles BUT when I look thru them again, I remember how silly o was being and of course laugh at the memories and would rather have some wonky doodles amongst more finished drawings. Some random character doodles are fun to redraw when I look thru to see how I’ve grown. I’m always read from some professional artists (tho I don’t remember who said it) that a sketchbook is a practice place, not a portfolio. I wish you all the ability to sketch without a care when you want to!
"Not making perfect/aesthetic art" was one of the reasons why I was struggling so much with drawing again, let alone fill out a sketchbook (which I haven't done in YEARS). One of the things that helped me was buying a cheap notebook (with blank pages or a dot grid journal) and give myself permision to do ugly sketches or random stuff. As long as I draw something. It's helping me get back into this habit and I'm trying to fill it up. This video is further motivation for me to keep going, so thank you!
Oh that is so wonderful to hear! And for the kind words, I’m so very glad this video could be helpful. 🥰 I 100% agree, as long as you’re drawing something, that is definitely progress!
I have definitely struggled with this over the years... Seeing sketchbook tours only made me feel worse about my art and i eventually just stopped. People have gifted me really nice sketchbooks and I've been too afraid that I'll ruin them. Eventually I decided to go to the dollar store and buy the cheepest sketchbook they have so I can practice and not feel bad about my work and it's helped a lot. Once I get more confident, I'll start filling in the lovely gifts I've been given and make myself proud.
i had the exact same problem, i have a sketchbook i got as a secret santa gift from a coworker in 2021 and i have not touched it at all, still working on my current sketchbook i started in 2020🥲 those sketchbook tours with the pretty editing and voiceovers on youtube also made me grow to hate my art, i tried to make my art look pretty and thought out but i was only 13 to 17 years old trying to make art on par with 20-25 year olds. I feel bad for everyone who is hard on themself thinking they need to meet some sort of social media expectation just for ppl to like their art
Thank you for this video! I haven't finished watching it yet, but it sounds very useful in the beginning.
I just recently started a new sketchbook after a break of a few years, and I almost started crying when I finished the sketch and realized I had to do lineart next.
I never touched the sketchbook after finishing that sketch, it's just been lying around for a week.
I feel a lot of pressure, especially because it's the very first page.
That is good practice daily. I feel like drawing made fun.
Finally someone came out and spoke about the reality of sketchbooks. I’m trained and studied art for 6 years and my sketchbook is where all my ideas started and the kinks got worked out till I’d done all the studies, ready for the final piece. I’ve shouted at the screen so many times that something doesn’t belong in a sketchbook but is a final finished piece. It frustrates me. Thanks so much for the video it was well needed!
I am so glad you enjoyed it and agree!! Thank you so much for watching and for your comment. 💖 I really felt compelled to make this; it makes me so happy that so many other artists have found it, and that it resonates!
I would advice to get a bunch of paper, discs and discpunch. You could punch only pages that you like into your discbound sketchbook! 😈😈😈😈
Thank you!!!
I’ve always felt super insecure about my own sketchbook because every other sketchbook I looked at seemed “clean” and “organized” meanwhile I have super crappy sketches in my book with pencil smudges all over the place and mysterious stains
Absolutely! And there is definitely no shame in a stained and smudged sketchbook….that just adds character!!
I had this issue!! I spent so much time on a "Perfect Sketchbook" that it got boring so i made a sketchbook "messy" and it ended up being my favourite 😊
Yes!!! I love that!!
I've never heard anyone talk so... freely about their sketchbook. I've been afraid of even drawing in it for so long, and this video helped me see that that's not normal.
I've always said that I don't like people looking at my drawings. At first, I was just embarrassed about it, so I hid what I was doing when people walked by. My family mostly ignored it, but sometimes they would try to sneak peeks before I could hide it. I really hated it.
You see, I love character design, but the reason why I started doing it was to cope with my depression. My earliest characters are extremely personal to me because they were manifestations of the ugliest parts of me. Feelings of emptiness, self loathing, uselessness, I put each of them into characters as a way to tell myself that people could still function even with such traits. They weren't good characters in any sense, but they were mine. Obviously, this is a really sensitive topic for me, so I avoid showing them to anyone even now. My family, though, interpreted it as just shyness.
One day, when I was in middle school, my older sister was visiting home. I left her alone in my room to use the bathroom. When I came back, my sketchbook was open in her lap. I don't remember what she said about it, but I couldn't handle it. I couldn't even draw for a whole month after that. I distinctly remember that during a depressive episode, I crawled towards my sketchbook just to do something for once and I wasn't able to touch it because of the anxiety. I also remember what she said when she did it again a few years later: "You don't have a lot of finished drawings in here, huh?" To this day, I always physically hide my sketchbooks when she visits.
My mom is worse, though. In the past few years, whenever she's seen me drawing... It doesn't end very well. She's outright insulted my art to my face several times just because I won't do realism in my sketchbook. She's said that it isn't good enough to go to art school, that I can't even pass my high school art classes.
Needless to say, I feel absolutely terrible now. I still feel drawn to art, but my self confidence has never been lower. It's gotten to the point where I am literally incapable of acknowledging my art as good no matter how many compliments I get. Heck, I even got into college for art, and I still have to have people reassure me that my art isn't garbage. Every doodle I do requires a massive amount of willpower because the fear that someone will barge into my room just to criticize it terrifies me, so I just never draw at home. Ironically, my sketchbook has become the least safe space for me to draw.
It shouldn't be like this. I should be able to draw whatever I want without feeling afraid or ashamed. Somehow, I keep forgetting that. Maybe someday I'll be able to fix all these issues, now that I can see just how... differently normal people think.
Sorry for trauma dumping, but I'm really happy that there are people who feel safe and happy drawing in their sketchbooks.
Please keep loving your art and making beautiful things regardless of what people say.
Do not apologize for sharing this!! I appreciate that you are willing to share something this personal…the sad thing is this kind of thing happens to more people than one might think… and to some degree or another, I have seen a lot of artists struggling with not feeling like they cannot be free in their art. So I hope you won’t think you’re not normal. And having your family say and do these things, I am sure it would be extremely traumatic and honestly, I think would be a wonder if you didn’t feel this way. I can’t say what it would take to heal from this, but I hope you won’t give up. You are worth it, and your art is worth it. 💞
I really love the pretty sketchbook tours on youtube, but I have noticed that it has made me compare my own sketchbooks to them and feel "less". This was really inspiring & motivational!
Aw thank you so much, Elena!! 💖 I’m so glad you enjoyed!
It was always the fear of the work being judged, because you had to create work for your teachers to mark. So my sketchbooks always felt like they had to be perfect, it didn't help me progress thinking that way.
Right? I sort of understand having a sketchbook for school art work, but from what I've heard, it sounds like many of them need to stress to students that in real life or personal practice, sketchbooks do not have to be perfect!!
I always am stressing out because my sketch book isn’t aesthetic enough, that it’s not good enough to share with the internet and I gotta draw digital instead to upload SOMETHING. I Thank you so much for this video, it really made me see that I have been taking on a sketch book the wrong way and I really don’t need to share with the internet my entire sketch book❤❤
Thank you so much for the thoughtful comment!! I'm glad this video could be helpful for you!
Thank you for saying this! Its such an important reminder to keep. It feels like there's so much pressure to make and share perfect art. I need to remember that it's important to have a space for myself to experiment and have fun.
YES!! 💖💖 Thank you so much for watching and for your kind comment--I hope you'll keep creating with joy!!