Moleskine Reloaded

I can honestly say that I’m pretty obsessed with sketchbooks. As it stands I have about 8 of them going at the same time, and as I said before this year (or was last year?!?), my resolution is to complete all of them before buying a new one. But that has proved to be very hard, both the not-buying part and the completing-them-all part. So to satisfy my craving, without compromising my intentions, I decided to make a new sketchbook using an old moleskine diary.

I have made sketchbooks before, and I love how they look once they are finished. And I noticed I have different feelings when using a homemade item, than when I use something I bought brand new.

I don’t feel the pressure of having to make things look perfect, to follow a certain style, to make no mistakes. If I have made the item once, I can sure make it again and that somehow gives me the freedom to experiment a bit more and put the pressure off. And I believe this is the reason why my homemade sketchbooks look nicer and more cohesive than the once I normally buy.

Another good reason for making my own sketchbook is that I can choose the style, the format and the paper that goes in it. To be fair, I have loved the moleskine watercolour books since they came out, and that is what I use the most. However, the sizes available are not my ideal choice.

I love the pocket size of the moleskine, as it goes well with my pocket size watercolour kit, which is just perfect for outdoor and travel sketching. But the landscape format sometimes has proven not to be ideal. I feel like it is too narrow for some subjects, and to make up for it I normally carry some spare watercolour sheets in a different size.

To cut this short, I used an old moleskine daily planner and re-filled it with watercolour paper (I used Fabriano Accademia, natural grain, 240g/m² // 113lbs), giving me a 48-pages pocket size sketchbook in a portrait format. I have followed the very detailed instructions found on the Trumpetvine Travels website. They are absolutely well written and so easy to follow.

The sketchbook came out pretty well; it is not perfect, I didn’t trim the edges of the pages, so they don’t align perfectly and, although I rounded the edges to match the moleskine cover, somehow I managed to trim some of the side edges of each sheet as well (I’m still mastering the art of corners rounding!).

But I absolutely love the overall look. I promised myself not to start using it until I finish at least my two moleskine sketchbooks, which fortunately have only few pages to go.

Shop news :: As I tend to get carried away with repurposing old moleskine diaries, the above pocket size moleskine reloaded is now available to buy on my Etsy shop (click here).

Cathy Johnson’s Mini-class // Quick Sketching 1 - Lesson 4 and wrap up

It took me even more time to go through lesson 4, than to go through all of the three previous lessons. I lost focus and got distracted by so many other things lately that this mini-class got to the bottom of my to-do wish list. But here I am, finally.

The last lesson focused on tonal values, big shapes and shadows to just give a quick impression of your subject, capturing the atmosphere without going into too much detail. And this is something I have been lacking.

Recognising tonal values has always been difficult for me. It is easier if I’m looking at a black and white picture, but when working on the spot, recognising the value of the colours has proven a real challenge. I can narrow my eyes trying to see the simple value pattern, but it doesn’t always work, especially if I’m looking at a landscape and there are a lot of colours. Doing a quick tonal sketch and adding a value scale can help, but really doesn’t solve my problem; I guess practice will improve my observational skills. In the meantime, I had the chance to test different ways to create tones using different tools and techniques.

My favourite so far is using a water-soluble pen or pencil and a water brush to dissolve the colour and create a shaded wash. Even the most boring drawing can become interesting when adding tones.

Capturing the direction of the light by adding shadows it has also proven to change the mood of a drawing. And one of the best tips I must remember is to always leave some white paper for the lightest lights.

So this is the end of the first of the Cathy Johnson’s online mini-classes! The overall course was good value for money, probably a bit too basic for me, but I am one of those people that forget things easily, so it was a good way to return to the basics and take on board all the tips given in the lessons.

I put together a summary list of all the tips that I should remember when doing a quick sketch, but also of some of the things that I discovered about my tools.

Favourite tools for quick sketching //

• Faber-castell PITT artist pen sanguine – brush size (waterproof) + watercolours
• Staedler fine liner 0.3 black (waterproof)
• Derwent inktense peacock blue (watersoluble)
• TOMBOW ABT Redwood 899 (watersoluble) brush and fine point + watercolours (THE BEST)
• Eraser Faber-Castell

Best tips for quick sketching //

• Consider the time available when starting a sketch - start with the big shapes and add details later on as you have time
• Consider gesture sketching when trying to capture movement
• See objects as basic shapes
• Use thumbnail sketches
• Develop your own visual symbols
• Identify tonal values by squinting your eyes
• Choose/identify light direction
• Leave some white paper for lighter lights

 I am planning to start the next mini-class, Quick Sketching 2, soon, so watch out for this space!

In the meantime you can have a look at all my sketches from the previous lessons here.

More info about Cathy Johnson’s online classes can be found here.