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Weekend Sketches #11 - The Little Sketchbook That Could

11/20/2021

4 Comments

 
A photo of a black hard bound sketchbook with a faux leather cover resting on a dark brown wood desk. The sketchbook cover is plastered with five stickers: A small rainbow coloured bear in the top-left corner, blue pixel art roses in the top-right corner, a large kappa cabbage in the centre, a green Maneki-neko covered in fungi and mushrooms in the bottom left, and Jasper from Steven Universe in the bottom right. The bottom right corner of the sketchbook is taped up with tangerine themed washi tape. There is a Staedtler eraser resting next to the sketchbook on the top left corner of the photo.
A photo of the same sketchbook but taken from an angle where the viewer can see its spine more clearly.
A photo of the back cover of the same sketchbook, but oriented so that the spine is facing the bottom of the photo. Along the top edge of the sketchbook, written in gold paint marker, are words that say: “Water bottle spilled on it” and “Got caught in bike spokes” written out in all caps. Another corner of the sketchbook has been taped up with the same tangerine themed washi tape. On the left edge of the photo rests a Staedtler eraser and a black pilot fineliner.
Hello again to returning readers and a regular hello to new visitors! This week I felt like sharing some more analog sketches I had scanned out of one of my sketchbooks. I've been using this HJ Canada permanent black sketchbook for a lot of my offline sketching and I really like it. I liked it so much I bought 3 more of them when I saw they were on sale.

These sketchbooks are pretty cheap (imo) costing between $12-15 CAN for the 5x8 inch ones and have 284 blank pages and a stitched spine that allows the book to lay flat. The paper is acid free with one side being more rough and the other smooth. They're fun to sketch in with ballpoint pen and can take watercolour, to an extent (I have suffered some bleed through though haha).

Drawing in this sketchbook has been freeing for me because it is so cheap and innocuous looking, with some nice mid-grade paper, but it can take a beating. My current sketchbook has seen the horrors of having half my water bottle leak on it, and then later on got caught in my bike spokes while they were in motion. I don't feel afraid to draw in this sketchbook and can freely scrawl wonky sketches in it.
A scanned double page spread from a sketchbook featuring black and white drawings. On the left page starting from the top left and going clockwise: 

A bust drawing of Sol looking directly at the viewer, her face and shoulders are framed by the fur collar/hood of her coat. 

A bust drawing of  Nyx glancing to her right and looking a little murderous. Above Nyx’s head is written “Pilot finalizer with an under sketch.”

A profile bust drawing of Nyx facing right with her right hand raised in a fist as small sparks of lightning crackle from it.

A half body drawing of Sol from behind. Her hair is in a braid and flower petal are shedding from it. Two large wings sprout from her back and in her right hand she holds a longsword.

On the right page, starting from the top left and going clockwise: 

A half body drawing of Sol and Nyx kissing. Above Nyx’s head is written “Them” with a small drawing of a heart next to it.

A small half body drawing of Sol and Nyx. Sol is standing behind Nyx and has her arms wrapped protectively around her while Sol holds her longsword in both her hands. Nyx’s hands are at her side with lightning crackling from them.

A larger half body drawing of Sol and Nyx hugging. Nyx’s face is nestled in Sol’s chest and large wings are sprouting from Sol’s back.

A small full body art of Sol and Nyx embracing. Nyx has her arms wrapped around Sol’s waist while Sol is caressing Nyx’s face.
A scanned double page spread from a sketchbook featuring black and white drawings. On the top half of the left page is a full body drawing of Nyx in a right facing action pose. She is leaping in the air, her legs are tucked under her and her cloak flaps behind her like a cape. Both her hand are raised and lightning crackles erratically from them. On the bottom half of the page are two half body drawings of Nyx. The left drawing is of her looking directly at the viewer with an expression of doubt and remorse. Her right hand is raised to her chest. The left drawing is of Nyx looking more confident. She is only in her tunic and her right hand is raised to shoulder height as small sparks of lightning emit from it.

On top half of the right hand page are two half body drawings of Sol in just her embroidered tunic and her hair bound up in a short puffy ponytail. Above her head is written “The beautiful and gorgeous Sol” with a heart drawn next to it. On the bottom left half is a drawing of Sol and Nyx with their arms around each other and smiling. Sol is wearing a more modern leather jacket with a popped collar and Nyx is wearing a jacket with a fur trip along the collar. On the bottom right is another drawing of Sol in her tunic this time with her hair in a braid and flower petals trailing from it. She is smiling and blushing.
A scanned double page spread from a sketchbook featuring black and white drawings. On the left page is a full body drawing of Sol in profile facing right and staring at Nyx on the facing page. She is wearing a shiny halter top and lacks. Dragon wings and a unicorn sprout respectively from her shoulders and lower back. Her hair is braided and flower petals stream from it. On the bottom left of the page and behind her is a drawing of some budding cherry blossoms.

On the right page is a full body drawing of Nyx in profile facing right, but her head is bowed and her eyes are closed. Her arms are wrapped around her knees, which are brought up close to her chest. She is dressed in a long tunic that is cinched around the waist by a rope and a pair of leggings. A small braid dangles from her right temple and is adorned by a shiny bead. From her back sprout a pair of dark swallowtail butterfly wings and around her are drawings of swallowtail butterflies as well as a swallowtail butterfly cocoon and a trio of sparkles around her head.
These featured sketches were more of a test. Normally I would sketch right to ink using ballpoint or a black Pilot fine-liner. I enjoy sketching or drawing right to ink because it forces me not to overthink what I'm drawing. But recently I've been thinking about how I want to approach texture with my analog inking, so I've started doing a pencil under-sketch and then inking over top with the fine liner.

I still consider these sketches, because I kept my lines loose and rough in order to retain that good illusion of motion a sketch has. Making them too clean can take away from the energy in the under-sketch. From this I let myself have fun losing myself in the texture of the sketches, from Nyx's hair to Sol's wings.

I've been on a long path towards learning to enjoy analogue inking and having this intermediate stage which is still technically low stakes sketching, but also not, has been helping a bit. By doing this I have been discovering what kind of inking style I would like to adopt when using my dip pens, and honestly the style I like is one that has rough and loose line art with lots of texture. I want my inks to look like they are vibrating.

Hopefully once I do more with my dip pen I will scan and show those to y'all tuning in. Otherwise, thanks for stopping by, and have a nice weekend!
4 Comments
Elemei
12/5/2021 16:55:27

Extremely impressed and glad at your sketchbook surviving the bike spoke trial. I love those Nyx butterfly drawings!

Reply
Gisele link
1/21/2022 16:56:04

Hello Elemei!!

Sorry about my late reply. Thank you so much for you comment. Haha yeah I am amazed as well that it wasn't busted in half after that accident. I can't say the same for my portable battery pack lol.

I'm glad you like those Nyx drawings. I had a lot of fun hatching in the texture. Analogue inking is kind of a delight that way!

Reply
Winter
12/10/2021 20:11:36

Late to this one mostly because I lost track of my updates!! But i really like the way your write the crimes committed against your sketchbook on the cover! What a fun log of crazy events. Sketchbooks can really go through one hell of a journey when they follow you everywhere you go!

The way you treat sketchbooks as places for experimentation and trial & error is really inspirational. Its hard to break out of the block that This Book has to have only the most perfect & pretty illustrations. I also just love love love leafing through these and seeing all of your different mediums and the preferences you have from time to time. Its imperfections are its biggest asset. Its really got me pushing to start my own again!!

Reply
Gisele link
1/21/2022 16:52:38

I'm so happy that it's got you thinking about trying out sketchbooks again, Winter!

I actually have a future post locked and loaded about how sketchbooks have been turned into a commodity within the art making community, what with how we will sell them digitally (and sometimes physically) or offer them as an incentive on Patreon, which I am guilty of doing.

I want to dive into that and look into how we can return to treating our sketchbooks as a visual journal for just ourselves, and if we wish to share them have them become a teaching tool more than a finished product for others.

I hope that once we can hang out again we can swap sketchbooks and look through each other's art <3

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    Hello, my name is Gisele! I'm a cartoonist, editor, and writer living on the cold shoulder of Canada. You can support me and my work through Patreon.

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