Drawn

Earlier in the week I snagged two books that both celebrated the importance of sketching, and they serve as great reminders as to the value of sketching and drawing for fun, practice, and experimentation.

Sketchbooks: The Hidden Art of Designers, Illustrators & Creatives by Richard Brereton

I’m certain there’s no wrong way to fill up a sketchbook, but y’know, there’s nothing like looking through the sketchbooks of other artists to see what else is possible as far as stretching one’s creative muscles, and learning to play on the page. In Sketchbooks, Richard Brereton invites us deep into the pages of several dozen artists’ sketchbooks.

It’s really quite amazing to see the breadth of creativity in something so private as these journals-of-process: doodles, colour studies, notes, rough typeface designs, life drawing, collage, and streams of consciousness… these precious books are lovingly photographed, and it makes me wish I could hold the actual pieces in my hands. I’m keeping this one close to the drawing table.

Sketch Infectus: Doodles & Drawings from the Sketchbooks of Joe Bluhm

I’ve written about Joe Bluhm‘s inhuman caricature abilities before, and this book lets the reader dive into Joe’s personal sketchbooks in an attempt to figure out how his brain works. As added value, the book is littered with quotes about sketching and advice from over 35 professionals including Steve Brodner, Philip Burke, Stephen Silver, Tom Richmond and John Kascht. (Full disclosure: I am quoted in the book as well)

Some sample quotes from the book:

“Illustration is about logic and clarity. In coming up with ideas there must be a space where they can be put down, examined, revised, recombined. It’s only through sketching that this can be achieved.” – Steve Brodner

“Sketchbooks are where you should make your mistakes; don’t be afraid of generating brain-farts and pencil-vomit.” – Joe Bluhm

“You can never waste a page in a sketchbook or waste money on a sketchbook. Fill ‘em up fast, and a buy a new one as soon as you can.” – Aaron Philby

“Keeping sketchbooks is a very private meditation on where I’ve been and where I hope to go as an artist. Revisiting where you were artistically can be very therapeutic.” – Ed Steckley