KEEPING A SKETCHBOOK CHANGED MY LIFE: How to start and keep a daily drawing habit. PART FOUR: Use Your Sketchbook As Your Journal

Hello again!

It’s me, author, illustrator, and avid sketchbook keeper, Mike Lowery.

Today is my fourth and final post in my SCBWI blog takeover series about starting a daily sketchbook habit.

It's been an honor to share my sketchbook secrets with you all for the past few weeks, but sadly, tonight they are making me hand over the keys to the blog. Today will be my last day in this stone chamber room, hidden deep under the Society’s headquarters. The room also happens to be where they keep the 1998 Dell computer that all visiting authors and illustrators must use during our residency here, writing for the blog. As soon as I hit “publish” and this post goes live, there will be a small ceremony, and I’ll be escorted back up to the street level where I’ll be reunited with my family.

Enough about all that! It’s time for:

KEEPING A SKETCHBOOK CHANGED MY LIFE, PART FOUR: USE YOUR SKETCHBOOK AS YOUR JOURNAL.

In parts one through three of this series, I’ve suggested ways to start a daily sketchbook habit. Today, I’d like to focus on how to keep that habit going.

Consider using your sketchbook as your daily, illustrated journal.

This is my primary way of keeping a sketchbook currently.

How to get started.

Make a bullet-point list of anything that happened the day before.
I jot down anything that comes to mind, without worrying if it sounds interesting or worth drawing later. Did you get a new pair of shoes? Did you buy pickles? Or did you finally sign up for swim lessons? Jot it down.

Just like our “things that I like” lists from a few weeks ago, we are trying to cut out any internal editing at this stage. If it helps, set a timer and turn off your phone or notifications while writing.

BIG TIP.
Look through your photos to help remember what you did the day before.

Over the years, I've gotten pretty good at taking quick “reminder photos” throughout the day. A few days ago, we took our son to the Natural History Museum in DC for the first time. The photo wasn’t meant to be printed and framed; it was just a reminder to draw it later.

Here’s the photo I took.

(This is not meant to be seen or published in any way! It’s just a snapshot to remember the moment!)

And here’s the subsequent sketchbook drawing.

This is an unfair example of doing this, because a trip to a new town to see something new is something I would have remembered the next morning when I sat down to draw. However, I don’t only take photos of moments that include taxidermied elephants and other big stuff. I also do it when I get a new roll of film in the mail or boil a bunch of hot dogs all at once because my son is having some friends over. 

For the sake of this post's aesthetic, I decided NOT to include the photo I took of a big pot of boiling hot dogs. I am also aware that, at this point, I’ve lost a few readers who heard me say I was boiling hot dogs and, considering it an abomination, would prefer I grill them. Also, if you’re vegetarian, please know that there’s a chance they were vegetarian hot dogs.

Let’s move past the hot dog portion of this post.

The point I’m making is that taking lots of little reminder photos is a great way to have stuff to draw tomorrow when you’re journaling in your sketchbook.

And then…

Draw something that stands out.

Here are a few ways that you can consider drawing in your sketchbook journal.

a) Draw a favorite moment.
This is exactly what it sounds like. Just draw a moment from your day or the previous day. If you saw an interesting building or took a walk around a lake, draw it!

b) Draw a short comic.
Whenever I overhear something funny or have an interesting interaction with someone, I like to make little notes in my sketchbook to draw it out later. Sometimes it's a big, impactful moment; sometimes it’s just something silly.

A recent example from my sketchbook was when my son was eating a burger (grilled, not boiled, don’t worry) and said, “I think someone over-seeded this bun with sesame!” It's a great collection of words and a great sentiment. So I made a note and drew it the next day.

c) Draw a collection.
I love drawing things as small icons sorted into a grid. Just start drawing any bullet point that you’d like to draw. Saw a funny new type of mayo that happens to share your first name? Okay, weird, but draw it.

—

In conclusion.

As I so subtly suggested in the title of my series, keeping a sketchbook really did change my life. It helped me find my way of drawing and helped me keep going, grow, and get better. Every single story I’ve written has started in some form in my sketchbook.

More than that, it’s also such a great way to give your brain a chance to take a break.

Well, that’s all from me. I hope that you’ve been encouraged over these past few weeks to dust off that ol’ sketchbook and start drawing. If you have, please let me know. If you’d like to receive my once-a-month-ish newsletter, you can sign up here: Mike’s Newsletter

If you’re interested in hearing more about my course for illustrators that focuses on the business side of art, you can check out here: GETTING PAID TO DRAW.

Thanks for reading,
Mike

GETTING PAID TO DRAW

Want to know more about the illustration world?

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See his graphic novel series, UNICORNDOG, here, and follow Mike on Instagram at @mikelowerystudio.