A sketchbook is a great way to collect and explore ideas – and of course the best thing is to keep one on you and get into the habit of using it every day.
I’m not that good, but I do always try to find the time when I go on holiday. On my latest two trips, I tried to push myself to develop my ideas as well as just recording what I saw – and also to feel more able to take risks and make mistakes. Here’s how I got on:
I loved the main character’s blue hair, so coloured it in, in some of the black and white panels – and even found a similar character in a poster to photograph and add in. This page also gave me the idea to make a collage using comic strips turned on their sides to represent skyscrapers.
I was struck by how different Hong Kong is by day from how it is at night and wanted to capture that somehow. The top card is from an art exhibition that captured the same scenes at sunset and sunrise, so was absolutely perfect. The bottom one is a Polaroid I took, with a picture from a flyer stuck on the reverse. The hinge is just made from tape.
These hills were breathtaking – I tried to capture them in as many different ways as I could.
Watercolour pencils are a great medium if you a bit nervous about painting, because you can draw everything nice and neatly first and then add water, creating the watercolour effect. I’m quite proud of these. Perhaps they could be a starting point for some sort of textile design.
I’m not very confident at drawing and found this style very liberating – drawing in pen and accepting the first line I drew, rather than going back and correcting things. If only I had Kate‘s talent!
I wanted to experiment with mixed media a little bit. I was conscious of how much money I was spending(!) and thought something using all the receipts could be an interesting way to record how we’d spent our time.
Such good crab and fries – one of the best meals of the trip!
You might also like:
Further reading for the especially geeky:
- http://www.accessart.org.uk/sketchbookspace/?p=579
- http://www.arthousecoop.com/projects/sketchbookproject
- http://redstudio.moma.org/in_the_making/diy/diy_sketchbook.pdf
- http://jasonsantamaria.com/articles/pretty-sketchy/
- http://indigo-blue-designs.blogspot.com/2010/12/seed-sketch-book-update.html
- http://arrestedmotion.com/2010/12/sketchbook-yoskay-yamamoto-part-ii/
- A Sketchbook Book (subtraction.com)
Hi,
Many thanks for visiting my blog today. Your sketchbook is great. I particularly like the fish collage. What makes your book different is the Japan theme. You should pop over to this site and take a look
http://www.sketchbookchallenge.blogspot.com
I shall pop back and see what else you draw.
x
Andrea – thanks so much. It’s funny you said you like the fish collage, because I almost didn’t include it! Will definitely check out the sketchbook challenge – thank you x
Katie, these are amazing, you should be very proud of them. x
Thank you Carole – and thanks for the RT on twitter too! x
I agree with Carole – these are brilliant, Katie! I especially like the receipts idea.
Aw – thanks Will! x
Hi Katie I have just stumbled across your blog today, and I don’t know why I didn’t know this awesome content was out there! I was at KLC last year too, on the certificate course, how have you been doing since you finished? I have a blog and am currently working on a website, still developing my ‘voice’ but I love the way you confess your design geekiness here – I’m a fellow geek. I am both wowed and inspired by your sketchbook, so many of us aren’t confident but we do have to keep trying.
I will now push myself more, especially when I travel, and had to say thank you for showing me not to give up and keep up with this part of the design process.
Congrats on such a wicked website and much-deserved success too!
😉