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My former student Yves Yumol shared his sketchbooks to show how he learns through sketching. We looked at his process for studying, designing, and building a visual library. Here are the most important lessons you can apply to your own sketchbook practice.

Master Studies Are Not Copies

When you look at the work of great artists, you should do master studies rather than simple copies. You are not just copying an image. You are trying to extract information. This requires mindful studying.

If you want to learn a specific technique, try to match the original art as closely as possible. Look at a close-up of the original piece. Try to draw it at the exact same size using similar tools. Yves used Copic Multiliners and markers to mimic the value structures and textures of artists like Bernie Wrightson. Doing this helps you understand the subtle decisions the original artist made. Working from masters opens your eyes because the pressure of making design decisions is removed. You just focus on the technique and the goal.

Simplification is Designing

When drawing from life, the amount of detail in nature or architecture gets overwhelming. You have to find ways to organize the chaos. Stop over-detailing your drawings. Stop putting in too much texture. Simplifying is the act of designing.

You can handle lighting and shadows in two different ways. You can focus on the shadows by drawing all the plane breaks and details inside them. Alternatively, you can oversimplify the shadows. You can lump them all together into one dark shape with simple hatch marks. You do this when you do not want the audience to pay attention to the shadow. By implying that the shadow is empty, you force the viewer to look at the areas in the light. That is where you put your detail and narrative.

Mileage and Focused Repetition

Improving your art requires mileage. This means putting in the hours and doing the repetition. However, it must be focused repetition.

You should be willing to redraw the same subject multiple times. Have a specific goal in mind for each attempt. Your first pass might have scratchy line quality. Your second pass might have smoother lines but poor proportions. By the third attempt, you can hit all your goals. Once you fix the underlying issues, you can reward yourself by adding all the fun shading and details.

Plein Air and Editing Reality

Drawing and painting on location forces you to make your own decisions. When you copy a master, the decisions are already made for you. When you are outside, you have to decide where the focal point goes and how to compose the scene.

Do not just copy exactly what you see. You have the power to edit reality. If a straight line of palm trees looks boring, add zigzags to make them look more organic. If a tree creates a bad tangent, just move it five feet to the right in your drawing. Nobody will know.

You also need to think about contrast. Contrast is not just about light and dark. It deals with any opposites. You can contrast man-made structures with organic nature. Keep man-made objects very straight and rigid. Keep organic elements curvy and loose.

Building a Visual Library

You need to build your visual library so you can draw from memory and imagination. You build this library slowly by drawing from references.

Do not just rely on the internet for references. Go to the library and grab random books. Look through old magazines. You will find unique references that you would never find online.

If you want to draw fantasy environments, you need to study real architectural anatomy. Learn how buildings are structured. Study elements like corbels and machicolations. Machicolations were defensive structures on castles used to drop rocks on attackers. Today they look beautiful and decorative. Learning how these parts function allows you to make your fantasy worlds look believable.

Thumbnails and Composition

If your compositions all start to look the same, try doing film studies. Watch movies you have never seen before. Look at the shots purely for their visual design. This will give you fresh ideas for your own work.

When starting a new sketchbook page, draw all your empty thumbnails or frames first. This removes the intimidation of a blank page. You can then quickly fill them with silhouettes and shapes. Sometimes you can just draw blobby shapes and try to find images inside them. It is like seeing shapes in the clouds. This takes practice, but it helps you discover new designs.

Daily challenges are another great way to push your skills. Grab random objects from your kitchen or a thrift store. Paint them with gouache. Doing a daily challenge keeps you on your toes and keeps your skills sharp.

Exploring Tools and Mediums

Sometimes the material itself inspires the art. Yves uses Stillman and Birn sketchbooks with thick paper that handles gouache painting perfectly. He also experiments with fountain pen ink for washes. Some inks look purple when first applied but dry into a beautiful neutral gray.

Technology can also aid your sketching process. Yves uses VR for 3D modeling. VR bridges the gap between traditional sculpting and digital art. You can turn and carve a model as if it is right in front of you. You can then take those 3D block-outs back into 2D programs like Clip Studio Paint or Photoshop to clean them up and finish the designs.

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