15 Reasons to Use a Sketchbook by Sergio Bleda, Miguel Gallardo and Puño
We ask three illustrators why they use a sketchbook and why you should too
Sergio Bleda (@sergibleda) is a professional cartoonist and illustrator from Valencia (Spain). In his Domestika course Inking Techniques for Comics and Illustration, he explores the technical and creative possibilities of inking. He is also passionate about sketchbooks and always carries one around.
He sees his job as quickly translating ideas into images so that they go from being an abstract concept to something readable. Sketchbooks, therefore, are handy tools. Here are his five reasons why you should use one as well:
#1
Every drawing that starts in a sketchbook can be defined as a clumsy "graphic babbling": a small step that makes you lose your fear of the unknown. The first word of a new language.
#2
It allows you to work without pressure. Sometimes you draw without knowing precisely what you are looking for, and a sketchbook is perfect for that.
#3
It's great to iterate on an idea, and will give you immense joy when sometimes–only sometimes; perhaps on the second or third, or the twelfth attempt–you manage to draw precisely what your brain expressed in its own language; a thought that the shoulder, arm, and hand knew how to translate so that your eyes, and the rest of the eyes of the world, can understand.
#4
It's made only for you or whomever you want: we don't make sketchbooks to be admired. Some are indeed admirable, but most of the time, no one, apart from us, will see or judge them. And that allows them to be as free or crazy as necessary.
#5
It is the first step towards something extraordinary: we do them for the same reason that farmers plant seeds, so that they become huge and beautiful trees, with leaves that give us shade, trunks that shelter us, and limbs that provide us with fruit.
Miguel Gallardo (@gallardo) is a renowned Spanish cartoonist; most of his works revolve around the underground comic scene. He is also the teacher of the Domestika course Narrate Vignettes with a Pen, in which he teaches how to build a comic strip from a personal experience. For him, a sketchbook is also essential, and these are his arguments:
#1
There is no excuse not to have one, everything works, and they are very cheap.
#2
You can use it for a lot more than just to sketch, scribble, or draw.
#3
It is useful to always carry one around and use it to write down your day-to-day thoughts.
#4
Even if you move to a different country or continent, Sketchbooks know no borders.
#5
It allows you to remember everything you want to remember.
Puño (@puno) is a professional cartoonist and another sketchbook lover, like he says in his Domestika courses Creative Techniques for Aspiring Illustrators, Drawing for Beginners Level -1, and Creating Original Illustrations with a Tablet. Here are his five reasons for never leave a sketchbook at home:
#1
Notebooks are like branches of our brain: they are real file systems where we can store our ideas, keeping our heads free to manufacture more of them.
#2
Ideas need a physical form; if they are only in our head, they are just occurrences.
#3
Drawing an idea in its first moments of life will allow you to consider whether it is viable or not, thus saving the mental resources you'd invest in its development.
#4
A notebook is not only an archive: it is a garden, it is a warehouse, it is an assistant, and sometimes a lifesaver.
#5
If we become successful, our children will be able to sell them to some museum; if not, the paper is always good for heating up in winter.
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