Traveling with a Thin Black Line
I travel lightly in this sketchbook. Thin black lines fill the pages and my mind delights in its journey.
Do you have a sketchbook with rules attached? That phrase “a sketchbook with rules” may sound a bit odd, but setting up parameters or rules for your sketchbook could be an excellent way to jump start your creativity. It is when an artist strips away all the options that you can hone in and create in a zone.
That is the origin story for this sketchbook in the video above. Back in 2018, I decided this sketchbook would only house drawings with very thin black lines. This rule meant I could only use 2 pens for this sketchbook. I also set up the parameter that the drawings needed to be organic. I only worked in this sketchbook a page at a time, maybe 2. It has taken a while to build up drawings, but it quickly became a great source of inspiration for myself to keep looking at and coming back to again and again.
In a designated sketchbook…
Only use certain pens, certain markers or colored pencils.
Only draw certain subjects, specific to you and your interests.
Only draw with your non-dominate hand in a designated sketchbook.
Buy a toned paper sketchbook and only use a light colored pen or colored pencil.
Staple your own small sketchbook and use a specific supply that you may only have a small quantity available. Use it up!
Only use certain sketchbooks when you travel or for a certain time of the year.
Set a sketchbook for practicing your figure drawings or portrait drawings.
Decide which sketchbook you only go to for certain moods or create a bad day sketchbook!
What other ideas can you come up with for your own sketchbooks?
This month’s freebie page:
July
Print, color and cut your own bookmarks with this month’s coloring page.
What a fun filled and hot summer it has been for us! I have been relaxing and trying to fill my bucket creatively every chance I get in preparation for the next school year. I have been trying out new ideas and working on old ones too. This post makes me ready to buy new sketchbooks and create more parameters for myself.
What lines will you travel with soon~
Hannah