Everyday Sketching Routines You Will Want to Adopt
WHY ADOPT EVERYDAY SKETCHING ROUTINES IN THE FIRST PLACE?
Well let’s start with the fact that if you are here reading this. It is probably because you have been trying to adopt everyday sketching routines and make it more of a habit, incorporating it into your daily life. Wether it is just purely to live a more creative life, master a skill or simply just because it sparks joy and you want to be doing more of it. Here’s the sad truth. It’s often the things that we love doing the most that are also the things which get shoved to the bottom of our priority list. I am sure you are very well aware of that. The question is, how do we make it a priority ? How do we give ourselves permission to do it and not let life kick in taking us by surprise every time!
HOW TO ADOPT EVERYDAY SKETCHING ROUTINES THAT WILL TURN INTO HABITS?
My first and best tip would be to keep it simple! By that I mean have a small sketchbook. That way you wouldn’t get intimidated by the big blanc space you might feel overwhelmed to fill daily. I use moleskine pocket daily planner. Mainly because it is small (the size of my palm) which in turns makes it very easy to fill. Because it is predated it also aids in my commitment of filling every page without skipping a day. I also like that it is pre-lined and a diary type notebook as opposed to professional watercolour sketchbook giving me more area to play and work on new surface that is not intended for watercolour use. Different and playful.
Dedicate a minimalistic tool kit for your daily sketching that way you could just grab it and go. Having a minimal kit will remove all the saga from your setup routine. Which in turn will aid in your commitment to the task. I usually have my sketchbook, watercolour palette, small water bottle and few sketching tools that I use for the purpose.
Have your kit nicely arranged in a carrier bag, big folder or anything that would just keep all your tools grouped together for you to grab at any given moment when the time presents itself for a sketch. I use IKEA wire basket that has dividers in it, allowing me to add and change things as I go along. Also I love the layout in that it allows me to have a plan view of the items which makes it easy to pull out when I am in the middle of my sketching session not needing to shuffle through to reach.
This brings me to my next point. Keep it mobile ! Having my kit arranged in a handy carrier means it can be just that. I feel that if I am able to sketch at any location around the house I am more likely to do it daily as opposed to having one dedicated formal work space. This makes it feel more casual and more easy going. That way I could squeeze in a sketch during a movie night or when I’m having a friend over for coffee. Remember this is only a sketch and is supposed to get you into your happy place. Having it more casual does just that.
Decide on a theme or prompts for your everyday sketching routines. For instance I decided that mine would be like a visual journal documenting what I call snippets of my life. I love going back through them remembering those special moments. I make sure that I always take pictures of things I want to document that way I have it ready. It could be anything really. Prompts like seven days of sketching your morning coffee, things on your desk or your art supplies! Sky is your limit !
Be kind to yourself! Habits take time to form and need constant practice. I haven’t mastered mine in a day or two. In fact I still have a moleskine daily pocket diary 2018 that I didn’t even open (read more about it here) before I committed to the daily sketching habit in 2019 and am constantly battling it to keep it alive now in 2020.