Sketchbooks

[cyberdreamz]

Earlier this month I finished my 2nd sketchbook and started a new one. Since I started doing traditional art more I've been able to finish that sketchbook faster than my previous one, buuuut it still took me 3 whole years >__> I like watching sketchbook tours from time to time and I always see people getting through theirs in just a couple of months. I understand that's not the point of having a sketchbook and I shouldn't make it into a race but it does make think I don't draw as much as I "should"...

So, tell me about your sketchbooks! I'm curious - how long do they usually serve you? And what do you usually draw in them? Maybe you keep multiple at the same time for separate subjects? I see a lot of people decorating the cover with stickers, do you? (I've even seen some put charms on the side, although that seems like it's just gonna get in the way while drawing...)
Currently most of what I have in mine is character design concepts and quick photo studies, and I think it's going to have lots of doodles of my sonas in a while X)
Here's the cover (should be attached to this post)! I wanted to add stickers onto it gradually as I filled more pages like with my previous one but I... kinda got carried away haha. Decorating's fun.

[oro_junestar]

Here's mine mostly in the order I used them, plus a close-up look at the more interesting ones :> (censored all instances of my deadname)

The very beat-up composition books were from my middle school years. They mostly contain meme-y doodles, a mishmash of various interests, TAWoG fanart, and a silly comic series called President Baby and Diaper Bird. The pink one contains the origins of Chad and Cookie, the first OCs I really took seriously.
That big black one and the first three in the next row are from my first Pac-Man era. There's another big black book, but that one's at my best friend's house. The one that says SKETCH and the trippy-lookin ones are filled to completion, but the other two aren't. This is in the span of about 2 years.
That white one with the pencils on it spanned between my Deltarune, Dragon Ball, and My Singing Monsters eras, from 2021 to 2022. It contains one of my most beautiful pieces that I still love dearly to this day, even if the anatomy's pretty wonky

That brown one with the stickers and the SCAD one contain my MSM, JoJo, and Miitopia eras, from 2023-2024. I didn't actually go to SCAD, that book was a handout from a college fair.
The first three on the bottom are the ones I used throughout my high school junior and senior year art classes, and mostly contain thumbnail sketches of my projects.
The black one with more stickers mostly covers my Regretevator era. I really miss the lore and designs I made for it, I wish the community wasn't such a hostile environment. On the bright side, it all led to the creation of Brim and Ming, and the very first sketches of them were made in this book.
The Incredibox one is my current sketchbook. Unfortunately, even though I treat it carefully, the pages keep falling out, so they're out of order and all over the place now.

These are 10 years of my life and 10 years of art history, waow

[Squidiottt]

here are allll my previous sketchbooks, nine of them in the span of about four years, i think?


and here's my current one! front and backside. can youy tell i liek hollow knight,,

So, tell me about your sketchbooks! I'm curious - how long do they usually serve you?

alright soo, i have gotten progressively quicker at filling sketchbooks, my last one(the pink one) only took a little over three months! which is a new record by far, especially considering that one has 80 arcs while the previous spiralbound ones only has 60 each. a more typical speed for filling them has been ca 5-7 moths though. the reason i filled the pink one so fast was probably a combination of having little to do during the summer and that i had alot of fun with it! there was awhile when i filled like 4 pages a day. also, i did use that one for artfight so that helped aswell.

And what do you usually draw in them? Maybe you keep multiple at the same time for separate subjects?

these things can fit so many fanart
i draw soo much fanart, probably about 85% of all my sketchbooks is just. fanart. and im not in alot of fandoms either (currently only 2) yeah. i love my fandoms.

i usuually only keep one at a time, i have been considering getting another one for, like, the boring stuff. like studies and such though because i havent been doing alot of that. getting a new sketchbook dedicated only to that would probably make it alot easier to actually improve cuz theres a pressure to make art i like in my main sketchbook which leaves less room for boring pages like that.

I see a lot of people decorating the cover with stickers, do you?

i use lots of stickers, as you can tell i even made some myself! i made both the aroace and popcorn ones. the 'awooo' one is made by my friend :3
(the sticker tutorial i used if anyones interested:)

for this sketchbook specifically i also have the drawing of lace and hornet which i just stuck on with a layer of tape(rather than gluing it, for waterproofness!)

ive seen some people paint onto their sketchbook covers which i might try sometime who knows

(I've even seen some put charms on the side, although that seems like it's just gonna get in the way while drawing...)

i have a charm(keychain more like) actually:

for me, despite how big it is, it hasnt been much of an issue, though i imagine it depends on where you attach it lol

btw your sketchbook cover looks awesome op its so collage-ey