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Every sketchbook tells a story, and sometimes that story is about fighting your materials. In this 2020-2021 sketchbook, the paper was the main character. It wasn't the smooth, waxy surface found in a Moleskine or Yupo paper. It had tooth. It was grainy.
When you encounter materials that fight back, you have two choices: force your usual style and struggle, or adapt and lean into the limitation.
Listen to Your Paper
If you aren't getting the results you want, the first thing you should do is check your paper. It might be as simple as that. In this book, the graininess "ate up" the graphite. To get dark values, you have to layer graphite on graphite aggressively.
Because the paper was flimsy, wet media like watercolor or tempera caused significant warping. While you can sometimes salvage a warped drawing, it is usually better to match the medium to the surface. However, this struggle led to a breakthrough: The Flat Look.
Embracing Stylization
Since smooth, realistic shading looked flat on this grainy paper, the best move was to intentionally lean into that flatness. This forces you to focus on design over rendering.
- Art Nouveau Aesthetic: Instead of fighting for volume, outline the shapes and keep the shading simple.
- Directional Shading: Even when drawing flat, the direction of your pencil strokes can convey form. If a body is at an angle, shade in that direction. It’s a subtle cue that separates a drawing from looking like a sticker.
- Silhouette First: Start with a rough silhouette, add details, and then add minimal shading.
Mixed Media Techniques
Experimenting with different tools can help you find shortcuts to the look you want.
The Colored Pencil Hack Blending colored pencils can be difficult compared to graphite. A great trick is to use a transparent, white, or eggshell pencil to blend all the colors together. This acts exactly like a blending stump but for wax-based media, smoothing out the transitions without losing saturation.
Ink and Markers Pairing Micron pens with alcohol markers offers a unique contrast. You can use the ink for "edging" and texture, while the markers provide a smooth mid-tone that sits nicely on the paper. It creates a sketchy yet finished look that is very different from using a traditional dip pen.
The Mental Game
A sketchbook is not a museum; it is a gym. You will see abandoned pieces, and that is healthy.
The Art Graveyard There is no "art police" that will arrest you for leaving a drawing unfinished. If a piece is getting too dark, too messy, or you just aren't feeling the vibe, move on. However, try not to throw the art away. Keeping your "failures" archives your progress and honors your path as an artist. Years later, you might look back and find sentimental value in the struggle.
Eating Your Greens Treat daily drawing like eating your vegetables. You do it to build a habit. It doesn't have to be a masterpiece; it can be a single hand, a zombie, or a page of poses. If you feel burnout approaching, switch your subject matter. If you've drawn ten girls in a row, draw a frog or a skull.
The goal is to keep the creative muscle active. The feeling of not drawing for a long time is always worse than the feeling of a temporary art block. Keep moving, keep experimenting, and if the paper fights you, change your strategy.
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