Sketchbook 3: HOW TO SKETCH?

Sketchbook is a diary, but instead of writing, you fill it up with drawings using a pen, just like the written diary. But although I would say that pen is the easiest medium to start with, the preference is entirely up to each individual. You could use pencil or paint with brush too, in a sketch form.

Works or drawings in sketchbook are a record of one's own interest, not in any way  a piece of art work in the common sense. However, sketches possess all quality and prospect of good work of art. A good piece of sketch can be successfully done by a child, a beginner, an artist or someone with twenty years of sketching experience, just like a piece of good art work. Not by chance but firstly with purpose and intention, a sketchbook keeper would gain and develop his or her own skill, experience, style and point of view to became an artist on its own merit,

Each person has his or her own way to draw lines hence own style and line character.

Start your first sketchbook with drawings of subject you are familiar with. As an architect, my first few sketchbooks were all about buildings, what I feel comfortable with. But they were different type of drawings I had been doing nearly all my life. I see the buildings in a different way. There’s no pressure or expectation of the drawings, or the buildings, in any particular way or purpose; I just record them the way I see and feel about it. It is, in a way, a work of feeling rather than knowing or intention. And what’s more? Sketching allow me to observe and learn about the subject in a new light and in the way that the experience stays with me for a long time.

Subject that is familiar yet stir your curiosity like a tuk-tuk coffee shop or futuristic cabin seats.

Subjects for sketchbooks are limitless and this freedom of choice may not work with everyone. So, the most practical way is just simply pick up anything that first comes to your mind, be it about cars, pets, garden, music or coffee table, anything. You will find new and more subjects soon enough after the first sketch or even half way through it! And that’s perfectly alright. There’s no hard and fast rule on sketching, that’s why you would want to do sketching at the first place any way. No rule, no pressure, no worries no frustration; it’s purely for fun, joy, relax and to satisfy one’s curiosity and interest.

If you feel that it is more fun to sketch at another place rather than your own living room then try a nearby coffee shop, at Starbucks or in a park. Another good thing about sketching is that it is convenient and unobtrusive. An A5 sketchbook can go anywhere without drawing anyone’s attention.

Look around down, relax, start with something simple that first come to your mind.

Start your sketch only after you have decided what you want to sketch and decide what you want to sketch after you have look around and settled yourself in comfortably. I did the sketch of a Bangkok’s vegetarian restaurant above while waiting for our orders and started with the map at top of the page only. The rest of the sketch was done after the meals while having dessert and coffee starting with those rows glass covers on the long counters; that's where my cake come from! Then the sketch moved along to cover the unusual round lanterns hanging all over the dining area.

After finding what you want to sketch, start to draw the most prominent shape of the subject and expand from there. Try to draw and then stick to what you think it WOULD look like instead of trying to copy what you see in front of you. Then fill in only some features of the subject instead of the subject's details.
That's the idea and how I do my sketches.

The image of the shrine It is all impression, not the details.

This description may sound philosophical but it is in fact very natural and easy to put into action. One may not fully realise while doing it but it is clear once it is done.

Sketchbook 1: WHAT IS IT? WHERE TO START?

There are many ways to describe a sketchbook. This is only natural since sketchbooks existed long back into mankind's history. Do we start from the primitive cave painting as an early sketchbook?

Perhaps I should just talk about sketchbook from my own point of view; then sketchbook is a free form drawing record of my feeling, my reaction to what I see, where I've been. It is as much a record of my own experience as my expression of, and my interest in art. At the end, my sketchbooks are traces of my life's journey.

My sketchbooks are drawings in either pen or pencil or both. All sketches are done on site, indoor and outdoor, taking from 10 minutes to half an hour at most. Some of them are washed over with watercolor or rub over with wax pastel, either soon after the on-site works or stay black and white line works. I really hardly come back to work on any past sketches.

I use all kind and size of sketchbook, from 10x15 cm to A4 size, as long as they are blank without lines. I also make my own simple sketchbook from thin watercolor paper, at time; wrap the cover with left over cloth. I use this thicker paper as watercolor sketchbook as if they are my painting, color painting over sketches of line work of ink or ink work of brush pen.

To me, there's nothing mysterious or ritual on starting a sketchbook. I'd just pick up some pencils (2-6B, soft pencil) or a few pen (fine line, 0.2-0.5 fine felt tips but not ball point pen) or brush pen (pre-loaded brush tip pen that looks like Chinese brush) and a sketchbook and go! There can be nothing easier than to enjoy sketching on a sketchbook.

For sketchbook beginners, it is most important to have a clear awareness that a sketchbook IS a private diary of an individual. Unlike a piece of art work, sketchbook is not necessarily for sharing, not for advice or improvement, neither for comments nor praises. It is absolutely private and it is entirely up to each sketchbook keeper if he or she is happy to share the sketchbook among friends who enjoy, appreciate and value such viewing.

My personal advice for a good start is to get the BEST sketchbook you could find. If this is your first sketchbook at all, a reasonably thick and the most appealing sketchbook on the shelf is what you deserve. Look for a strongly built book with reasonably thick, nice to feel at papers that you could open up flat on both pages. The best quality is one with thread stitches spine that holds several stacks (called signatures) of papers into a book that will last you years of enjoyment. Sketchbooks with spiral metal wire spine also allow you to open a full flat 180 degree but sometime do not encourage a double fold (pages) drawing while the one with glue instead of thread spine might split over times.

Some good sketchbook might cost more but it is wise to start with a good one that make you feel good to carry around. Never mind even if your first few sketches are not up to your own expectation but that's the best start and, best advice I could ever give. Be proud of your first good to look at, good to feel at book, you can always have another less costly one to go along and to trash out along side your best looking one!

Below are some of the sketchbooks that you might come across in department store or art supply shops. Shown here are ranging from homemade metal wire spine to simple black hard cover, the legendary Moleskine sketchbook, hand-made book from China, the elegant looking hand-made lotus leave cover from Thailand and a robust functional double volume, two in one hard cover sketchbook with cloth covers.

However, it is perhaps fair to take it easy and just have another look at this starting issue here, before we run out onto the street. It seems to also make sense as a brushing up exercise for those who are familiar with drawing but had let it rusted over a long period of time as much as a primer for those who by now only vaguely remember how a pencil look like.

We will start with pen drawing on the next post.