Back when my sketchbooks were just for me, now I post tours every month

I used to keep all my sketchbooks tucked under my bed, never letting a soul peek inside. A few years back, I decided to try sharing a tour video on a forum, and it felt like a big step. At first, I only filmed the clean, finished pages because I was worried about judgment. After a while, I got brave and started showing the scrappy practice sheets and half-baked ideas too. The feedback from others online actually helped me see my own growth over time, which was cool. These days, my sketchbook tours are less about showing off and more about chatting with folks who get it. I think that shift from private to shared has made my drawing time way more fun and less stressful. Honestly, I miss the old quiet sometimes, but I wouldn't go back to hiding my books.

3 comments

3 Comments

hugom405d ago

Your bit about scrappy practice sheets reminds me, I once burned a whole stack of old notebooks in a paranoid fit.

sarahm195d ago

Wow, that burning notebooks comment hits hard. I had a friend who did something similar with her old paintings. She got really frustrated with her style and felt stuck, so one weekend she took every canvas from her closet and just threw them in the dumpster behind her apartment. She said it felt freeing right then, but a couple years later she told me she really wishes she had kept at least one, just to see how far she's come. It's like wiping out your own proof that you can get better. Do you ever wish you had that old stack back now, just for that reason?

wyatts952d ago

I had a hard drive full of awful song drafts I deleted in 2017. Totally get what your friend and sarahm19 mean... that stuff feels like garbage in the moment but later you wonder what was even on there.

-1