sketchbook episode 22 ✏️ new sketchbook and why I don’t like it | pencil sketches | some digital illustrations vs sketches 🖥️🎨 | plant pictures🍀 | a bit chaotic but entertaining post ✨✨ (Patreon)

Hi!

Every time I don’t post for more than a week (or two) I feel rusty and I feel very much like that now!

My mom visited us, then I had a freelance work marathon (successfully completed, yayy), meanwhile I got sick.

Technically I still pretty much am sick.

It’s nothing serious, just a running nose, headache and sore throat.

So! I’ve spent half of this time with my mom, mostly hiking and sightseeing and the second half frantically working on botanical illustrations.

My old but gold fan was keeping me company, helping my laptop survive this marathon of work.

Its freezing cold stream of air is a cause of me being sick, but it was totally worth it, lol!

The idea of having time and freedom to create again kept me awake almost the whole night yesterday!

Usually I sleep like a baby regardless any circumstances but not this time.

I haven’t touched markers in almost two weeks!!! I was drawing a lot but with different mediums (just pencil and digitally)

I was also looking forward to posting here!! (being a biiiiit nervous!)

Today’s post might be a bit chaotic as I have a lot to share and a lot to catch up on.

I just want to start somewhere, cause, you know, taking the first step is always the most difficult thing!

Let’s start with some pictures.

A few pics from our adventures in Silesian Beskids!

As always I took billion photos of plants in the woods and in the local park, so I thought I could share some pictures here!

It was so nice to spot a willow gentian! (I did a little study of this plant recently)

Oh my, usually I take bad pictures, just to be able to remember what I saw (or identify a plant later at home).

But it’s nice to put an effort into taking better pictures sometimes!

Let’s take a look into my new sketchbook. I’ve been sketching a lot.

I mean, look at that (I started this sketchbook 1 month ago)

it’s Canson One Art Book (100 gsm) by the way.

To be fair, a lot of sketches I made were for a freelance project and these are quite quick and messy.

I also sketched mostly just on the right pages of the sketchbook!

I’m not a fan of this sketchbook because it doesn’t open flat, which makes scanning and working on double-page spreads tricky!

Also the paper is a bit too white and the pencil smudges a bit on it.

This is quite surprising.

 I usually use the cheapest paper possible and never had this kind of issues. This time I got a “proper” sketchbook just to find out I was better off using a copy paper, lol!

I’m going to finish it anyway and I’m honestly already looking forward to it.

I’ll be sharing pictures of my sketches (instead of scans) and of course I’ll make a flip through video once I fill half of the sketchbook.

Today I want to show you just a few recent pages!

Some doodles I made about two weeks ago! (these pictures are a nightmare to take and edit. Is it a bit blurry or is it my vision getting worse? :D)

Another comfort zone doodles. And a lot of lemons.

why can't I take a picture of a FLAT page, send help!

As you might remember, lemons were the theme for the past month, so I made tons and tons of sketches of these fruits. (these are one of the worst ones, lol)

As I mentioned before, this sketchbook is not very comfortable to use and I was sketching only on the right pages of it first.

Later I decided to draw on the left pages too, to not waste any paper.

So the sketches aren’t quite chronologically organized!

The right side was made about a month ago (another lemon practice sketches!) and the left side was made yesterday!

It’s a quick study of a plant I spotted on a hike.

I’ve never heard of this flower before and the pictures are quite bad but it was fun quick study!

Another spread with “old” right side and “new” left side.

The left one is a quick study of nasturtium.

I just can’t get enough of how gorgeous this plant is.

It deserves a full illustration (or at least a full spread), for sure!

The right side are lemon sticker designs! (which I’ll show you in one of the next posts)

I keep mentioning the freelance project!

Well, I had a pleasure to illustrate three botanical books with a publisher I worked with before, so it went smooth. The books were about dandelion, clover and nettle.

They asked me to work digitally (they found me last year through my old digital illustrations I shared online).

That’s not something I usually do but I don’t mind drawing digitally for work!

Actually ALL of my client works so far were made digitally.

I don’t share these works anywhere though (ok, occasionally I share some here!)

A while ago I asked you if you’d like to see my digital sketches as they’re very different than my usual ones.

Then I realized, I actually don’t even sketch digitally!

I just draw shapes and don’t keep them later, so I can’t show you them at the moment!

Usually I just sketch on paper, scan the sketch and make a digital illustration based on it.

Let me show you some examples.

Some are 1:1 copies, some are a bit changed!

I made almost 70 illustrations like these! (most of them are just spot illustrations with no background, which is apparently my specialty now :D)

I’ve decided not to take freelance projects for a while, so I can work on some personal things, share overdue rewards with you and create content for this month in peace!

My dearest apologies for keeping you waiting!!

I hope you enjoyed this quite chaotic and a bit more personal post!!

and I hope you’re having a lovely Summer (or Winter)!

Love,

Marta