Introduction
Last week, I mentioned that I had gotten a wallet-sized sketchbook to facilitate sketching wherever I go. This week, I really put that capacity to the test. I never left my apartment without my sketchbook wallet in my back pocket.
The leather holder is built to house a 3x5 top-bound book. My current sketchbooks are the Rite in the Rain top spiral notebooks. I bought a few of them in green. The paper itself is water-resistant and tinted slightly green - which I was not expecting, but I don't mind.
The pages are simple enough to rip out and work on the backside, which I greatly prefer over normal bound books where the spines are usually a great hindrance to drawing freely on the back pages. I use a small Leatherman multitool with scissors to trim the topmost portion of the page and tuck them into the left pocket of the leather cover when I'm finished with a page.
Building a Visual Library
I get most of my daily sketching done while waiting for build pipelines to complete at my day job. One big issue I've been having with that is finding good reference sites that are allowed through the work Internet proxy. Luckily, the greatest source of information freely available on the web - Wikipedia - has a section dedicated to the Picture of the Day.
Every day for somewhere around two decades, Wikipedia has selected a featured picture to display on the main page of English Wikipedia. These range from portraits of notable people, nature shots of all kinds of fauna and flora, panoramas of famous cities, to anatomical and physics diagrams. Most of these are very high quality images and make excellent references for drawing and building up a visual library. Some advice I've heard often is that the best way to learn to draw from imagination is to learn to observe and internalize the real world.
It is surprisingly fun to draw in ballpoint. I've probably expressed that sentiment a couple of times now, but it bears repeating. I do believe it's building my line confidence and forcing me to measure more carefully before placing marks. Of course, I still end up botching a few lines every now and then, but I'm more likely to work around or incorporate my mistakes. In my opinion, that's a good way to start problem solving while drawing, which is a key factor of drawing from imagination.
When I have some extra space or get tired of drawing from reference, I'll incorporate some doodles.
Honestly, I was surprised by the sheer volume of sketches I was able to produce this week. I think just having the pen and paper on hand at all times makes me far more likely to try and draw something. Keeping them limited to small, thumbnail-esque drawings also makes it easier to sit down and knock out a sketch or two in a single session.
One thing I'm noticing in retrospect is that my hatching has improved quite a bit since I first started experimenting with ballpoint. I still have a long way to go, but I'm proud of the progress I've made in getting more out of the values with ballpoint.
At some point in the week, I wanted to try a different pen. I got myself a rOtring 600 ballpoint which is really nicely weighted and lovely to hold. I tried it with a Jetstream SXR 600 0.5mm refill, but I was pretty disappointed with the performance. I don't know if it's a one-off defect, but the refill I got skips pretty terribly when trying to write or draw at a certain angle.
I also wanted to try drawing with my Kaweco Student fountain pen, as I've seen some really great work from fountain pen and ink artists. I'm currently rocking the beautiful Pilot Iroshizuku Yama-budo, which is a vibrant and royal purple (though clearly my phone camera doesn't capture it quite as well). Unfortunately, the ink is pretty wet and smudges very easily, making it a poor choice for a back pocket wallet sketchbook.
So I returned to my trusty Fisher Bullet Space Pen. This thing is marvelous. It's compact when capped, but a very satisfying weight and length when posted. I have generally no problem with skipping and the pressurized cartridge makes it write pretty nicely. It will occasionally blot out a little extra ink, but it's been a negligible issue thus far.
I think ballpoint is quickly becoming my favorite medium. It's so versatile. I love the iPad for creating full illustrations, but there's nothing that can beat traditional pen and paper when it comes to good, old-fashioned sketching.
Some Digital Love
All of this is not to say I've given up on the digital medium. In fact, it's quite the opposite. Getting better with ballpoint is only making me better at digital artwork.
Now, the above sketch isn't the best when it comes to proportions. The left arm in particular is pretty jarring in its size and length. However, I do think I've made good use of hatching to emphasize value.
I think the most growth comes from an increase in confidence. Drawing references in ballpoint has greatly increased my confidence as an artist. I'm now close to getting addicted to drawing.
Conclusion
This has been a prolific week for me. I've drawn a lot, and I've been pretty proud of most of these drawings. There are a few that I feel I could've done better, but none were so bad as to discard. Even the doodles have value to me.
I really do think drawing is a good habit for any person to enjoy. There's no real goal or deadline if you're a hobbyist, and it makes a great outlet for you to express how you see the world around you, or even to visualize your mind's eye for others. It brings me inexplicable relief to finish a drawing I'm happy with. I don't know if that's what it's like for everyone, but it certainly feels like I'm righting something in my head when I draw something to my satisfaction.
Have a superb week!
