This is officially my first dedicated sketchbook that I have owned. I've used various notebooks and loose sheets of paper to draw, paint, and doodle on, but I bought this specifically for a daily art practice. I did buy the Speed Ball Handbook Journal like Mike recommended because there are just too many options out there and as long as one person likes it, I might as well try it :) For my first page I felt intimidated to draw myself as that's something I've never tried and didn't want to mess up (I will try at some point in this sketchbook). I decided to make a floral version of my first initial (H) because I do love drawing florals and the initial makes it personal to me. Can't wait to start page 2 tomorrow! Thanks for a great class and I would love more like it!

Day 1: The Dreaded First Page - image 1 - student project

Day 2: Okay, well, technically this is Day 3 because I ran out of time *forgot* to do a page yesterday but it's fine and we're gonna pretend like that didn't happen. Today I decided to test how well this sketchbook holds watercolor so I did a drawing in pen of a cutie house I saw in Southern California last summer and then did some light washes of watercolor over top. I didn't have my usual set of watercolors nearby and I didn't feel like getting up to find them so I used whatever colors were on a ceramic palette I had at my desk. It's more muted than I would have typically done but I still really like how it turned out. I'm always taking pictures of houses and interesting buildings wherever I go because I love to draw them later:) Day 1: The Dreaded First Page - image 2 - student project

Day 3: Fun pineapples done with acrylic paints

Day 1: The Dreaded First Page - image 3 - student project

Day 4: Ink and watercolor dino scene. This makes me want to write a children's book:) P.S. Mike's idea to draw a frame around the page has forever changed my illustration process, in the best way possible! It makes everything look like a finished piece and gives some boundaries so that you don't run into the edge of the page.

Day 1: The Dreaded First Page - image 4 - student project

Day 5: Recently I saw the cutest Western themed postage stamps and I knew I wanted to recreate one in my sketchbook. I decided to leave it black and white and add some light grey watercolor to give a little bit of variation. Day 1: The Dreaded First Page - image 5 - student project

Day 6: Today I used a reference photo of Arches National Park because I have always wanted to visit and the colors and landscapes are just stunning. I used watercolor more heavily and the page did buckle more, but using the elastic closure helps to smooth it out some.

Day 1: The Dreaded First Page - image 6 - student project

Day 7: YAY! Made it to the one week mark and I'm so happy with the progress so far. I just bought my first Posca paint pens and tried them out for the first time. They offer so much control, with the opaque results of acrylics. (I bought the medium size 5M)

Day 1: The Dreaded First Page - image 7 - student project

Day 8: Simple pen and watercolor leaves

Day 1: The Dreaded First Page - image 8 - student project

Day 9: Icons. In the spirit of summer I thought doing beach-related icons would be super cute and a fun way to practice creating simple, easily understandable images.

Day 1: The Dreaded First Page - image 9 - student project

Day 11: For today, I drew from a reference photo of a bouquet I made last summer. It was fun to play with foliage that was in focus as well as some that was out of focus and looser. I also worked on capturing the effect of the glass jar because it's something I want to understand and get better at. Day 1: The Dreaded First Page - image 10 - student project

Day 12: One of my biggest sources of inspiration is my camera roll. Wherever I go, whether its walking around a city or sitting in the passenger seat, I'm always taking pictures of landscapes or buildings that catch my eye. Whenever I need inspiration, I just scroll through my photos and look for something that I find interesting that day. This is a building on a college campus that I drove through recently, and I was drawn to the red brick and overall structure of it. I considered coloring it in with watercolors but I really liked the simplicity of keeping it black and white. I didn't want to spend the time drawing every single brick on the building (plus, I knew it would look too busy), so I just drew a couple bricks here and there to give the overall idea. Not every line is perfectly straight or matches the perspective, but it captures the energy of the building in the picture, and that is what matters to me.

Day 1: The Dreaded First Page - image 11 - student project

Day 13: This is the moment when I regret committing to share every page in my sketchbook. I've wanted to try drawing figures for a very long time but I couldn't work up enough courage to overcome the fear of failure. I haven't done anything close to this since like elementary school, so this is not in any way something I practice or actually just do at all lol. Today I just went for it and found some reference images on Pinterest of ballet poses. Using a dynamic, gestural subject helps make for a more interesting piece. I also added any muscle that could be seen in the reference photo to make the dancers more realistic. Honestly, for a first try, they're really not that bad, but I definitely have tons of room for improvement.

Day 1: The Dreaded First Page - image 12 - student project

Day 14:I was out shopping when I saw an adorable daily planner covered with cheetahs in various poses. Of course I took a picture so that I could replicate them once I got home:) I have been wanting to better my understanding of animal anatomy and starting off with simplified cartoon-ish versions seemed like a good place to start. I used my beige Posca pen and copied each of the four poses used for the design the cover. Animals' fun, dynamic body language make them great subjects to draw! Day 1: The Dreaded First Page - image 13 - student project

Hailey H

Student, plant mom, watercolor artist

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