sketchbooks.. how do yours work?

[JParrilla]

Hey guys this is just one of those.. "hmm I wonder what others do" threads. I really like hardcover sketchbooks so I usually use moleskin or Cansons. Do you guys usually fill up a sketchbook with all of your sketches then get a new one? Or do you use multiple at once.. having each one for a different subject.. such as one for taking out with you.. one for nudes, one for imagination, etc? Ive always just filled one at a time.. and theyre always filled with a variety of things from imaginary drawings, life sketches, concepts, basically anything. Lately Ive been thinking about keeping 3 at a time.. One for imagination.. one for quick drawings while im outside with people.. and one for nudes, stills and other longer life studies. What do you guys prefer? I usually do all of my other stuff like anatomy studies and quick drawings on regular copy paper because I hate using good sketchbooks to study anatomy and other stuff like that. Most likely Im going to just keep it to 2. A small one to take out with me and a larger one for stuff I draw at home.. more than that seems like too much. I dont wanna have to decide which book I need to draw in.. thats too much order for me :)

[Liz Edwards]

I used to try and have 2 or 3 and using one for one thing and one for another, but it never worked out and I just ended up with a bunch of half empty sketchbooks with everything jumbled up anyway. Now I have one a4 sketchbook that I use for everything, and when it's full I start another! I prefer it this way, everything all nice and chronological and fun to flip though :)

[Psychotime]

One at a time for me. I've only used the overpriced hardcover sketchbooks with my school's logo (for stupid reasons) so far. I plan on sticking with them until I'm out of school (again, for stupid reasons).

[Spirit]

It's one at a time for me too, although I have a habit of buying new sketchbooks when I already have one I'm using :P
Nothing is in order in my sketchbook either, so everything is jumbled up. I may buy another one to do my anatomy/nude studies in, as I have suddenly had a thought which has made me worry. If somebody asks to see my sketchbook I'm currently using, they will see nude drawings which most non-artists find offensive. Aaah panic! New sketchbook quick! I also prefer hardback sketchbooks, and when I get a new one I'm going to be looking for smoother paper, as the one I'm using now is rather toothy and trying to render studies isnt easy on it, and doesn't give the desired effect.

[Asatira]

Generally it's one at a time for me. I tried doing more than one, or different sizes, but it became a pain to keep track of them. I have smaller sketchbooks that I started from two or more years ago that I never really filled because of their size and that I simply forgot about them. Currently, I work in your average sized sketchbook for quick sketches and sketches out in the field sort of things, and a larger sketchpad that I tear pages out of is used for my anatomy studies since it can be laid flat and I can tear them out when I finish a page.

I do use some small Moleskin sketchbooks, pocket-sized, for a combination of notes, lists, and doodles. I use it for convenience.

[Aphotic Phoenix]

I can draw at my current job in my free time (the amount of which I have varies), but it's a very public place so I try to avoid drawing nudes or anatomy studies at work. People rarely ask to look through them, but it just seems like common sense to only bring "PC" sketchbooks to my non-art related job.

I've mentioned it before in another thread, but I do carry several sketchbooks around. Most are old sketchbooks that I've had for a long time, and are of cheaper toothier paper that I don't like much. I use them for roughs, thumbs, gestures, etc, and anything I'll want to rip out later. I use my moleskine sketchbooks for more detailed studies because the paper is better. I also have a watercolor sketchbook, and a travel watercolor kit.

[Flake]

I have one for anatomy studies, one for scribbles, noodling and ideas.

In practice anything can go anywhere, but I know I need to learn more anatomy,

Most of my comp ideas are so vague and scribbly that they could fit on the back of a fag packet though.

[jigje]

Ive been learning to draw by doing one self portrait after another. I keep a dedicated Moleskin for them. I show friends and family the progress from the very first to the latest and they freak.
I keep another couple. One for real attempts at anything not self portrait related and one for totally playing around and experimenting, brain storming etc, just a junk book.

[The7Artist7]

I use an A4 hardcover sketchbook but don't use the actual pages of the sketchbook - for some reason I hate drawing on sketchbook pages so I stuff a small wad of 100gsm printer paper in the front... lol I recently bought a small A6 sketchbook with the plan of taking it everywhere with me but not really working out yet. Moleskins sound interesting :painting:

:yayca:

[Farvus]

I use three sketchbooks at a time. There is A4 sketchbook with thin paper mainly for imagination stuff and ideas. I have separate A5 one suitable for watercolor pencils and the third one is pocket sketchbook for drawing from life. I found that the smaller sketchbook I have, the easier it is for me to draw in public.

Here are some nice thoughts on using sketchbook. I found it recently - http://www.jilliantamaki.com/sketchbook/2009/06/thoughts-on-sketchbook.html.

[Smarty]

I have one for my uni work and then my personal work. I really need to bring those two together. I love only having one personal sketchbook at a time. That way you can see them chronologically on a shelf :D. It gets addictive, and its nice to look back.

[Chris Saksida]

I use three at the same time: one a4 for nudes and anatomy studies; another a4 for monsters, dragons, warriors and fantasy stuff; and a third one that is veeeery small and fits in the back pocket of my jeans, and I fill it with almost anything, from nudes to portraits from imagination to trees to characters, almost anything, the small one is very usefull when I can`t bother to carry the other two, I just put that little thing in my back pocket and a little pencil and I have sketch materials wherever I go!.

I like my sketchbooks to look darn good so I put a lot of effort into what goes in them, I like that "finished" look in my sketchbook pages, if I want to draw something irrelevand I just use scrap cheap printer paper, but it`s just a matter of tastes.

[Ian Barker]

I used to try and have 2 or 3 and using one for one thing and one for another, but it never worked out and I just ended up with a bunch of half empty sketchbooks with everything jumbled up anyway. Now I have one a4 sketchbook that I use for everything, and when it's full I start another! I prefer it this way, everything all nice and chronological and fun to flip though :)

Same thing with me. I have several sketchbooks that started out with all anatomy drawings, and by the end had eventually turned into goofy cartoons. :| Although I do need to pick up a pocket sketchbook next time I'm at the art store.

[dierat]

I used to keep an 18x24" sketchpad as my only sketchbook. I figured, why go smaller and then sometimes not have big enough paper to do larger sketches. Eventually I got sick of it because it was such a hassle to doodle in. Now I buy these 8x10" hardcover spiral bound books and take them everywhere with me, mostly for drawing animals outdoors. I only keep a few of the drawings I like and recycle the rest of the drawings after I scan them.

[NicG]

I have a small one in my purse. That way if I ever have time to kill I can use it to draw. Also, I have a couple of different sizes.

[Skriblinmatt]

I usually only have one, and it's always exciting when it's time to go sketchbook shopping. Then you have the new book in your hand, and your thinking about what you could possibly fill it with. And your trying to convince yourself, this is the one! This book is going to be filled with ALL amazing stuff, all that you've been holding back will finally burst out of you into this book. Your going to unleash the artistic godliness that has laid dormant deep inside of you and THIS new book will be your treasure chest of flawlessness and not just filled up with wrong anatomy, poor perspective, week shading and skribbly doodle blunders!

I'm going to be teaching art classes to junior high kids starting in the fall though, and my new sketchbook already has 3 pages of naked people in it, so I think that for the first time in my life, I will have to start carrying 2.

I don't like the hard cover books by the way.

[Shantih]

One at a time, except for uni projects. My brain cannot handle any more than this.

[Kjesta]

When I did life-drawing and school art in Australia, I simultaneously (is that spelled right?) an A3 and an A4 sketchbook, but now I've got only A4. I love going through my sketchbooks (and folders, I used to have massive folders of drawings three years ago) and seeing my improvement through the time. I'll probably get myself another, smaller one though, to take with me for quick sketches.

[Quasi-almost]

I don't really keep up with all the sketchbooks I have, nor do I prefer any brand (It all depends on my budget and what's available). One thing I do like for my sketchbooks is a LOT of pages. Sometimes I just get regular printer (A4) and staple it and there I have a new sketchbook. I can't confine what I do in my sketchbooks nor do I really want to; I draw whatever I feel like drawing in there. After all the pages are done, I give it away or throw it away.

[Viridis]

I use very cheap hard-bound sketchbooks that I buy off the Borders clearance rack for $5. A few hundred pages of thin A4 sized paper makes them nice and portable. I put all kinds of things in my sketchbooks, from writing snippets to quotes to ideas for stories and actual sketches/thumbnails.

Lately though I'm doing a lot of sketches on plain, loose copy paper because it's easier to scan and compare ideas on single sheets instead of flipping through a book.

[Skriblinmatt]

This book is going to be filled with ALL amazing stuff, all that you've been holding back will finally burst out of you into this book.

This never happens BTW:er:

[Psypomp]

For me, it's hard to stay committed to a sketchbook. I used the same hardcover sb from middle school to junior year of high school, but I also had other sketchbooks. Now, I just keep a small one in my bag for jotting down notes/ideas.

[Taj]

Each of my sketchbooks is like a new album. my best stuff, my experiments, my failures, and my hits. Each new one i finish is my favorite.