Recording in sketchbooks and journals
A sketchbook is not a gallery of finished work. It is a working tool where observation, notes and experiments accumulate until an idea becomes possible.
Lesson overview
What you'll learn in this lesson
Use a range of techniques to record their observations in sketchbooks, journals and other media as a basis for exploring their ideas
Key learning points
- • Recording by looking
- • Using more than pencil
- • Annotating with purpose
- • From recording to ideas
This lesson at a glance
- 30 minutes
- 25 parts to scroll through
- 4 quick checks
- Marked quiz at the end
- Gentle pace: short sittings with pauses
Words to know
Scroll down — the lesson carries on below
Watch & discover
Part 1 of 25
Visual introductionPicture this
Recording in sketchbooks and journals
A sketchbook is not a gallery of finished work. It is a working tool where observation, notes and experiments accumulate until an idea becomes possible.
In a nutshell
Use a range of techniques to record their observations in sketchbooks, journals and other media as a basis for exploring their ideas
What you already know
Part 2 of 25
Before we start
What you already know
You should already be able to make a simple observational drawing.
Key words
Part 3 of 25
Key words
Words you'll need today
- Observational drawing
- Drawing directly from what you can see.
- Thumbnail
- A small, quick compositional sketch.
- Annotation
- Written notes explaining intention and findings.
- Media
- The materials used to make marks.
Reset break
Part 4 of 25
Pause
That's sitting 1 of 6 done
Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.
Learning cycle
Part 5 of 25
Learning cycle 1 of 2
Ways of recording
A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.
Explore the idea
Part 6 of 25
Learn
Recording by looking
Draw from the object, not from memory or a symbol of it. Timed studies help: one minute for the whole shape, five minutes for proportion, fifteen for tone. Working at different speeds trains different skills, and the fast studies are often the most useful because they force decisions about what matters.
Explore the idea
Part 7 of 25
Learn
Using more than pencil
Record with whatever suits the subject: biro for energy, charcoal for mass, wash for atmosphere, collage for pattern, photography for fleeting light, and rubbings or frottage for texture. Varying media prevents everything looking the same and often reveals a quality of the subject that a pencil hides.
Reset break
Part 8 of 25
Pause
That's sitting 2 of 6 done
Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.
Quick check
Part 9 of 25
Quick check
Part 10 of 25
Learning cycle
Part 11 of 25
Learning cycle 2 of 2
Making the book work for you
A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.
Reset break
Part 12 of 25
Pause
That's sitting 3 of 6 done
Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.
Explore the idea
Part 13 of 25
Learn
Annotating with purpose
Notes should record intention, method and judgement: what you tried, why, and what you would change. Useful annotation is short and specific — 'diluted ink dried too flat, try layering' beats 'this is my ink drawing'. Dated pages let you see progress and give evidence of how an idea developed.
Explore the idea
Part 14 of 25
Learn
From recording to ideas
Recording feeds development. Group related studies, choose a detail worth enlarging, and use thumbnails to test compositions before committing. Leave space to return to a page. A sketchbook works when its pages talk to each other, and the messy pages are usually where the thinking happened.
Quick check
Part 15 of 25
Reset break
Part 16 of 25
Pause
That's sitting 4 of 6 done
Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.
Quick check
Part 17 of 25
Common mix-ups
Part 18 of 25
Common mix-ups
Things people often get wrong
- People often try to make sketchbook pages look finished. It is a working tool, and experiments belong in it.
- People often annotate by describing. Record intention and judgement instead.
Challenge round
Part 19 of 25
Game · Sort it
Which of these are true?
Drag each card into the right column. Tap a card first if dragging is fiddly.
True
Not true
Reset break
Part 20 of 25
Pause
That's sitting 5 of 6 done
Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.
Challenge round
Part 21 of 25
Game · Fill the gaps
Finish the sentences
Choose the word that belongs in each gap.
____ with whatever suits the subject: biro for energy, charcoal for mass, wash for atmosphere, collage for pattern, photography for fleeting light, and rubbings or frottage for texture.
Challenge round
Part 22 of 25
Game · Recall cards
Observational drawing means drawing from...
Card 1 of 4
Exit quiz
Part 23 of 25
Exit quiz
Show what you've learned
6 questions, marked together at the end. Nothing is timed.
1. A one-minute study is useful because it...
2. Varying media helps by...
3. Dating pages provides...
4. Charcoal is particularly good for...
5. A sketchbook page should ideally...
6. Recording feeds development when studies are...
Mastery quiz
Part 24 of 25
Marked quiz
End of lesson quiz: Recording in sketchbooks and journals
4 questions, marked with the reasoning shown. No timer.
1. Observational drawing means drawing from...
2. Which annotation is most useful?
3. Thumbnails are used to...
4. Frottage records...
Lesson round-up
Part 25 of 25
Lesson round-up
Ready when you are
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Luna: 0 out of 4 on the practice checks. Only if you feel up to it — one more?
Ask LunaPart 1 of 25 · Watch & discover