Sketchbook ideas

Mrs Grunwald (and ideas from many sources by other teachers)

Sketchbook Guidelines
Choosing a Sketchbook:
Spiral is nice because it opens up completely. Hard cover is nice because you can use
that hard cover as your drawing surface and use anywhere. Size: 8.5 x 11 or larger.
Basic Supplies:
Paint brushes, mat knife, box cutter or X-acto knife, scissors, wax paper, old credit card
for smoothing glued papers, newspaper to work on.
*Clear glue stick DO NOT use rubber cement (it dries out over time and does not hold).
Only use Elmers glue to attach thick items like mat board, fabric or objects.
Acrylic paint, water color paint, black and colored markers, stamps made out of erasers
or potatoes, colored pencils, oil pastels, crayons. Anything that will make a mark Be
inventive!
*Put wax paper between the pages until they are fully dry.
BUILD UP LAYERS USING DIFFERENT MATERIALS!
Fun Stuff:
Collected papers, junk drawer stuff, stamps, threads, wool, fibers, plastic wrap,
aluminum foil, tissues, feathers, old stockings (fishnet, perhaps!), bubble wrap, tiny
bottles, anything small, pressed flowers, coins, notes, love letters, other letters, collage
papers, origami papers, paint chips, magazines, maps, postcards, old calendars,
newspapers, junk shop finds, fabrics, lace, old jewelry, old photos, shells, buttons, puzzle
pieces, game pieces, cards, trinkets, tickets, beads, charms, hardware stuff, dental floss,
play money, wires, baseball cards, sports logos..
THE COVER, TITLE PAGE & INSIDE COVERS
The final part of your sketchbook is the Cover and Title Page. The cover consists of the
front, side binding and optional back cover. This should be the last step in designing your
sketchbook.
Give the book a title and incorporate it into your cover design. Be very careful with the
lettering. Use a stencil or print it on the computer with an appropriate font and trace the
letters.
You may cover the book with paper or fabric and paint directly on these covers.
You can use acrylic paint on the cover. Your design may be continuous and wrap around
the book. Create unity through the use of color, line, shape, pattern and texture.
Remember that the cover can be an invitation to open the book and explore. It must be
visually exciting, well-crafted and neat. It also must be sturdy.
The Title Page is a key page. It is the first real page the viewer sees and should have
the following information:
The title
The author YOU, the artist
The year This is usually not on the title page but it is significant in a sketchbook

You should include some artwork to enhance the words but the art should not be the
most important part. You could have small art work placed strategically on the page or
put a light design behind the words. The lettering can be traced from a computer font.
Plan the lettering and place it carefully on the page. The title should be the largest
because it is the most important. Make the font or type of lettering match the tone of
your theme.
The Inside Covers are the pages that are glued to the inside of the front and back covers
and may also include the attached page. A decorative repeat design possibly made with
a stamp would be the perfect solution. The design of the stamp must relate to your
theme. You may stamp with ink, markers or paint. The operative phrase here is HAVE
FUN!
Techniques and Ideas
Opening pages inside front cover explain your theme visually no words
Do a watercolor painting over two written pages going across the fold.
Make a small rubber stamp from a gum eraser and stamp it to enhance your art work
use it on other pages to create a design thread.
Do a page with a border color or black and white.
Attach an envelope and put something in it.
Add paper tabs on the edge of the page.
Do an inkblot with thinned acrylic paint then paint or draw over it. Let the blot be your
inspiration. Splatter or drip paint.
Begin a page with a crayon design and add a watercolor wash. Build up at least 3 more
layers of materials crayon resist, torn paper, acrylic paint.
Sponge paint with acrylics.
Start your page with a map.
Use colored tape to create masked off stripes or borders.
Paint a watercolor wash on tracing paper and texturize it with saran wrap.
Do a rubbing with crayon, tear it out, and attach it to your page.
Make a circular mandala design.
Make a bookmark for your book that reflects your theme you may attach it or not.
Create columns.
Make a cutout niche by gluing several (at least 10) pages together. Put something in the
cutout.
A window or two or three.
A frame with a deep hole.
A house interior to emphasize your theme.
Make a fold out page or a pop-up page (check online for directions).
Use a foreign language.
Incorporate an animal into your story.
Tell a visual story.
Use water soluble pencils or crayons.
Add strings or threads to enhance your art work.
Draw or paint with an unconventional tool.
Do a radial design.
Find a quote pertaining to your theme and incorporate it into your art work.
Sew through your page or pages. Attach a pocket by sewing it on the page.
Add a weaving or unusual fabric.
Make your page a puzzle.

Use puzzle pieces, game pieces, playing cards.

Do a page in the style of a certain artist Van Gogh, Picasso, Matisse
Add sand to acrylic paint and cover the page before you start painting or drawing your
image.
Stain watercolor paper with coffee or tea and create an antique image glue this to the
page.
Add your own photographs to the page build around the image with paint or colored
pencils.
Find an image in a magazine, make copies, cut it out and arrange on the page. Paint over
the pictures and emphasize the brush strokes.
Use only one kind of paper and make a relief design, attach it to your page white or
black paper, newspaper, mat board.
Do an entire page in just words.
Before you begin painting, highlight or circle words that form a thought and layout your
design around these words.
Add objects (natural or manmade) to the page.
Scratch into wet paint or do a finger painting across the page. Paint a thin layer of color
first.
Crayon a design with heavy color, paint over the design with acrylic paint mixed with a
small amount of liquid soap and then scratch in a picture.
Use an old rolodex as your book.
Carefully burn the edges or center of a page and attach to your book.
Cut through several pages revealing a background on the last page.
Add spinners from board games or mechanical parts from clocks.
Make a mini book 4X4
LAYER! LAYER! LAYER!
DONT BE TOO SERIOUS HAVE FUN!
Rules for working in your sketchbook:
1. Do not make perfect drawings. Make imperfect drawings; make mistakes; make
false starts. Let your hand follow your feelings, not what your brain is telling you to do.
2. Always fill the page you are working on. Go off the edges whenever possible. Do not
make dinky little drawings in the center of the page. Make every square inch count for
something.
3. Do not start something and abandon it. Go back later, change it, and make it into
something else. Being able to rescue bad beginnings is the sign of a truly creative mind.
4. Always finish what you start, no matter how much you dont like it.
5. Put the date on every page you finish
6. Do not draw from photographs, magazines, or the like. The use of published
photographs or the work of other artists or individuals is plagiarism. Draw from
observation, things you see in the world. Learn to translate the dynamic threedimensional world into a two-dimensional world.
8. By the time you finish your book, your sketchbook should be twice as thick as it was
when you got it.
9. No cute, pretty, precious, adorable, or trite images. This is a college-level art class.
Expect your ideas about what makes good art to be challenged.
10. Dont be boring with your work. Challenge yourself!
11. Avoid showing your work to others unless you know they are going to understand
what you are trying to do in your sketchbook. You dont need negative feedback when

you are trying out new ideas or experimenting. This is a place for risk taking. Dont invite
criticism unless you are confident that it wont derail your free spirit.
Ways to work in your sketchbook:
Draw, draw, draw, draw, draw, paint, paint, paint, draw, paint, draw, collage, and so
on.
Use pencils, pens, crayons, sticks, charcoal, burnt matches, pastel, watercolor, acrylic,
pine straw, fingersbasically anything that will make a mark. You have the power to
make a mark. Work on paper, canvas, sandpaper, or the like. Use wet paper and dry
paper to see how specific art mediums and techniques respond and/or interact.
Draw what you see in the world. No drawings from published images (plagiarism). You
can use personal photographs, but you need to learn to draw without the crutch of
someone elses composition or flattening of space so don't draw from photos too often.
Use gesture, line, and value in your drawings. Try to create a sense of light and depth
in your images.
Use the principles of perspective to show depth in a drawing.
Glue stuff into your sketchbook, such as ticket stubs, gum wrappers, tin foil, lace, lists,
receipts, sand, leaves, twigs, pebbles, shells, earrings, shoelaces, whatever. Make a
collage with the stuff. Add these things to pages that you started but dont like. Let your
imagination go wild.
Build the pages up by layering things; paint and mark on top of collage, newspaper,
and drawing. Attach pieces of fabric and photographs and paint over parts of them. What
did you do? What are you trying to say? Express yourself! Work to develop mastery in
concept, composition, and execution of your ideas.
Make decisions about what you do based on how things look. Go for the tough look, not
the easy solution. Do not be trite; say something important about the world you live in.
Take a news story and interpret it visually; use abstraction to express an idea.
Play around with geometric and organic forms, interlocking and overlapping to create
an interesting composition. Use color to finish the work.
Create a self-portrait using distortion, or cubism, or impressionism, or minimalism, or
pop.
Create a drawing of the interior of your room but add collage elements for the lamps
and furniture. Glue sheer fabric over the collage. Draw an image on the sheer fabric of
yourself moving around the room.
Make at least 100 gesture drawings from observation of the figure. Use wet and dry
paper. Try Cont crayons and sticks, vine and pressed charcoal, and Prismacolor sticks
and see how these respond and how they help you convey gestures in your images of
the figure. Change scale; work small and work large. Work with your opposite hand. Tie
your crayon or charcoal to a long stick and draw with that.
Make at least 25 contour drawings from observation of anything around you.
Remember to use the whole page. Fill the space behind the objects you draw. Make it
count for something.
Make a simple contour drawing of an arrangement of objects. Repeat the drawing four
times. Using transparent watercolors, Prismacolors, and opaque watercolor, explore
different color schemes in each of the four drawings. Write about how the color changes
the feeling in each image.
Write about your work. Write about what you like about a drawing, what you dont like
about it. Write about your hopes for your artwork. Write about why you like to make art.
Write about how your artwork could impact anothers thinking or feeling. Write about
what you want to say with your artwork, and what it means to you in the larger sense

Here are some more ideas of themes you can use in your sketchbook:
100SketchbookPromptsYouWillLove

People
1. Draw someone you sit by in an odd pose.
2. Draw family members with things that are important to them.
3. Draw yourself (or someone else) painting toenails.
4. Find a quiet place in a crowd. Draw the crowd.
5. Draw a relative by the light cast from a TV/Phone/Computer or other screen.
6. Make a portrait of yourself in twenty years. Or in fifty years. Or both.
7. Draw a masked man (or woman) that is not a superhero.
8. Draw the ugliest baby you can imagine.
9. Draw two sports figuresone in a dynamic pose, one in a static pose.
10.
Draw two self-portraits with odd expressions.
11.
Draw something or someone you love.
12.
Draw hair. A lot of it.
13.
Take a picture of someone near you on a bus or in a car. Draw them.
Animals
1. Draw an animal eating another animal.
2. Draw your art teacher in a fight with an animal.
3. Draw an animal playing a musical instrument.
4. There is an animal living in one of your appliances. Draw it.
5. Draw a dead bird in a beautiful landscape.
6. Draw something from a pets point of view.
7. Draw an animal taking a bath.
8. Draw an animal taking a human for a walk.
9. Combine 3 existing animals to create a completely new creature.
10.
Draw a family portrait. Plot twist: It is a family of insects or animals.
11.
Draw an animal playing a musical instrument.
12.
Draw the most terrifying animal you can imagine. Or the most adorable.
Food
1. Draw a pile of dishes before they get washed.
2. Tighten a C-Clamp on a banana. Draw it.
3. Draw a slice of the best pizza you have ever seen.
4. Draw junk food and the wrapper.
5. Draw your favorite food.
6. Create your own restaurant. Draw the restaurant, your executive chef, and a 12item menu.
7. Draw the ingredients or process of your favorite recipe.
8. Draw salt and pepper shakers.
9. Draw fresh fruit or vegetables, or something fresh from the oven.
10.
Draw a salad.

11.
12.
13.

Draw the oldest thing in your refrigerator.

Draw a piece of fruit every day until it becomes rotten.
Draw everything on a restaurant table.

Objects
1. Draw what is in the rearview mirror of the car.
2. Draw moving water. Draw still water.
3. Draw an object floating.
4. Make a drawing of all of your drawing materials.
5. Find a trash can. Draw its contents.
6. Draw tools that belong to a certain profession.
7. Draw three objects and their environments. One of the three should be in motion.
8. Draw the interior of a mechanical object. Zoom in, focus on details and shading.
9. Create three drawings of messes you have made.
10.
Draw five objects with interesting textures: wood grain, floors, tiles, walls,
fabric, etc.
11.
Draw a collection of purses, wallets, or bags.
12.
Draw your favorite well-loved object or childhood toy.
13.
Draw a watch or another piece of jewelry.
14.
Draw something hideous that you keep for sentimental reasons.
15.
Draw something with a mirror image.
Technical Skill/Skill Development
1. Draw all the contents of your junk drawer with one continuous line.
2. Make a detailed drawing of a rock.
3. Draw a dark object in a light environment.
4. Draw a light object in a dark environment.
5. Make a detailed drawing of five square inches of grass.
6. Draw a transparent object.
7. Draw a translucent object.
8. Do several studies of eyes, noses, and mouths in a variety of poses.
9. Draw an interesting object from three different angles.
10.
Value StudiesDraw three eggs and part of the carton with a strong light
source.
11.
Draw three metallic objects that reflect light. Focus on highlights and
reflections.
12.
RefractionCreate two drawings of separate objects partially submerged in
water.
13.
Make three drawings (your choice of subject) using materials with which you
are not familiar.
14.
Draw a piece of patterned fabric with folds.
15.
Draw a bridge and all of its details.
Creativity/Originality
1. Draw yourself as an original superhero.

2. Make a drawing that looks sticky.

3. Draw a mysterious doorway or staircase.
4. Draw an empty room. Make it interesting.
5. Draw a flower. Make it dangerous.
6. Draw an object melting.
7. Draw an imaginary place, adding all kinds of details.
8. Draw a gumball machine that dispenses anything but gumballs.
9. Danger! Draw yourself in a dangerous situation.
10.
You are on the back of the bus. Figure out who is with you, where you are
going, and why. Illustrate and explain.
11.
Draw whats under your bed (real or imagined).
12.
Draw the most incredible game of hide-and-seek you can imagine.
13.
Create a new sport. You can improve an existing sport, combine two existing
sports, or come up with something completely new.
Open-Ended Themes
1. Make a drawing that is totally truthful.
2. Make a drawing that lies all over the place.
3. Make a drawing that is completely and utterly impossible.
4. Story Illustration: Fix a story that you dont like, or reflect/improve upon one you
do.
5. Let someone else choose your subject and tell you what to draw.
6. Draw your greatest fear.
7. Use song lyrics, quotes, or poetry to inspire a drawing.
8. Find the three most useless objects you can and draw them.
9. Draw an interesting form of transportation.
10.
Draw something for which you are thankful.
11.
Go somewhere new and draw what you see.
12.
Draw something that cant be turned off.
13.
Draw something soothing.
14.
Draw something you think sounds or smells incredible.
15.
Draw something that needs fixing.
16.
Draw something youve always wanted.
17.
Draw something out of place.
18.
Draw something that should have been invented by now.
19.
Draw something you keep putting off, or something that causes you to
procrastinate.
Lastly, this experience should be for your growth as an art student, as a person who
values art as a means of expression. Keep it for yourself so that you will feel free to work
without judgment. Remember, this is an ongoing process that uses informed and critical
decision making to develop ideas.
Bring the book to the first day of school. You will have an opportunity to select the
pages you want to share. We will use your experience as an introduction to some of the
thinking that you will be engaged in during the course.

There will be prizes for:

Thickest Sketchbook
Most Pages Filled
Most Expressive/Imaginative Use of Media
Most Risk Taking
Best Cover Design
Best Sketchbook Experience Story