My Sketchbook 2024
I try to Draw Every Day... I fail, but I do try.
A long time ago I used to think I just collected sketchbooks and sketchpads. I’d buy one draw a little and then put it away, only pull it back out when I needed to draw something for someone. I’d go on a trip and wish I had brought a sketchbook, I’d buy one and then never draw in it. 🙄 When I retired one of the things on my bucket list was to draw more. It’s something I like to do and while I’m not a good at it as I would like, I can kinda do it. So I bought a sketchbook. I nice bound one and started to doodle. The idea was to not be able to pull out any drawings, because you learn from every thing you draw, no matter how bad it might be. That was 2023. On a Whimventure® before they were called that, I bought a few stickers thoughout the year and put them on my sketchbook. A way to chronicle the things I’d done, and places I’d gone.
Started out 2024 with more ideas and projects and a new sketchbook that is almost filled. I still have a few days to go and I’m sure I’ll get it filled. I have some projects I’m working on and have some time to doodle. The thing is, as you get older, you realize that perfection is NOT what you should be going for. Perfection will come with time, patience and messing around. Like Miss Frizzle would say “Let’s get messy!” I have learned more from my mistakes than I ever did from my perfectly drawn cartoons (if I ever had any perfectly drawn cartoons).
I sadly watched my niece drawing and she was doing exactly what I have tried to teach kids to avoid for decades- trying to make every line count. Pushing down hard with the pencil and erasing (a lot). I used to always tell my students you can always make a line darker, so draw so lightly, so only YOU can see the line. I tried to show her some other tricks, but (being of a certain age and I believe having been told I was a fool) she just kept plodding along trying to create a perfect drawing in her sketchbook. My mistake is I didn’t bring my sketchbook along. Although, from what I understand my style is frowned upon as frivolous… so I really don’t think it would have mattered.
If you were to look into my sketchbook you’d see a lot of light blue. You see I draw using a non-photo blue pencil. It’s a trick. When you scan your drawing into a digital format you can make the light blue disappear. It’s been used in drawing comics and animation forever. It also frees you up to make mistakes, that you can build off of. If I like a sketch, I’ll go back and either use a dark pencil or ink to finish it.
A lot of the ideas I had for Comic Carnival, or MINI Takes The States fill this sketchbook. SO a lot of monkeys. I also took notes in it from various conferences, and as I created characters for RPGs.
As 2024 comes to close so does this year’s sketchbook. You can tell from the stickers I did a lot of stuff. What will 2025 bring? Probably more monkeys, but also some design ideas I have for some projects that I really would like to get moving on. Like I was told at CXC this year, always have multiple projects going, so when you get bored or hit a wall on one, you can bounce to another and not waste time. I’d like to go back to doing a daily journal comic… just not in this sketchbook.
So as we get closer to 2025 and the Resolution Monster is released from his cave, I recommend not coming up with a giant impossible to keep resolution. Just pick something you actually want to do and make a little time for it. For me, it’ll be drawing (I like to think pencils and paper are cheap)- for you it might be some passion you’ve neglected because of “life.” I’ve asked a few parents- what are you silently teaching your kids? That you need to give up things you like because you are now an “adult” or parent? Shouldn’t you try to show them how to live a well-balanced life that includes time for family, work, and your own stuff? (Note: I don’t have kids, so I could never ever in a million years understand) It took my retiring to really embrace stuff outside of teaching, but now I just regret not doing it sooner, then again… I had to go to bus duty.🙄
