I receive a lot of questions about my sketchbook and the art materials I use on a daily basis. I always show the inside of my book and my surrounding space but I wanted to go in depth to answer some questions I have been getting lately. 

I like store-bought books. I love to make my own sketchbook more. I have found that the homemade books seem to get more use, and have a higher quality of work in them. I also seem to re-use the work over and over again, re-purposing and recycling each piece of art depending on the nature of my situation. My current sketchbook, which is about to be completed (I only have about 13 pages left) was made with regular drawing paper, polyester thread, ribbon, and the cover of an old Art & Development guide from college. This was a crazy month for me so I used a lot of new techniques, and experimented a little bit more than usual. I also have been using quite a bit of colored pencil, ModPodge, china markers, and even pastels. Working out of my comfort zone has been really rewarding and it motivates me to produce better work overall. 

My EDC usually includes my sketchbook and this nifty tin that is an old butterfly and alphabet stamp collection that I bought a long time ago. I really didn’t like the stamps but love the tin. In this box of wonders I keep:

1. Mechanical pencils and a couple of drawing pencils for details.

2. Microns, .01 and .03 (anything bigger is used for finals, never for the sketchbook)

3. My favorite pens, Vision Pilots (because they are fadeproof, waterproof, and work on practically any kind of paper)

4. Various colored pencils, markers, and china markers. I usually close my eyes and pick colors so I am not always using the same scheme. The weirder and more mis-matchy the colors the better. I always carry a watercolor brush and water soluble crayons and pencils. (a life without watercolor is no life at all, my friend)

5. Xacto knife #11, eraser, sharpener, gluestick and/or tape, and most recently thread and needle. These things are used for texture, and tactile interest that I simply cannot live without. I am thinking about including some other things soon but that’s a secret for now. 

I hope this helps, and hope it inspires you to draw. Use materials that you like. If it doesn’t feel good in your hands and doesn’t give you the effect you want then it’s worthless. Don’t be afraid to experiment but keep your favorite supplies near and dear to your heart. Start an “everyday” collection and your sketchbook will thank you.