New Sketchbook Anxiety

New sketchbook anxiety is real for most of us! It used to be a real stumbling block for me. Purchasing a new sketchbook is always a rush — thinking about all the potential in those blank pages was thrilling! But all of that imagining always gave way to crippling anxiety when actually facing that first blank page.

It’s an all or nothing mentality really. It goes something like this: ‘If I mess up this first page, the whole sketchbook is ruined. Why do I even bother?’ We make those tentative first marks, and our prediction has come true! We failed to create a masterpiece!

Remembering What a Sketchbook Is

For me, the first step in overcoming that anxiety is remembering why I keep a sketchbook in the first place. My sketchbook is for exploration and experimentation. It’s for taking notes and for planning out the occasional larger finished artwork.

Remembering the purpose of my sketchbook takes lots of pressure off of that first mark on that first page. 

My favorite ‘go-to’ sketchbook is Canson’s Mixed Media. The paper is just heavy enough to take watercolor in the field. I also find that it has just enough tooth that I don’t have a bunch of trouble with graphite smearing. I also love that it’s wire-bound so it lays flat when I’m working. Plus it comes in several sizes!

New Sketchbook Anxiety Busters

Here are a few more tricks I’ve learned along the way:

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• Don’t buy expensive sketchbooks! I am much less ‘precious’ about a sketchbook that hasn’t cost me an arm and a leg. On the occasion that I want a more expensive one, I try to buy in advance and on sale!
• Create a title page on the first page. Do some nice hand-lettering. It’s all about creating those first marks.
• Drop your book on the ground – yes, you heard me correctly! Drop it on the ground, step on it. Create a doodle from the marks.
• Make pre-set layouts for the first couple of pages. Draw smallish rectangles or squares — they’re much less daunting than an entire blank page.
• Tuck a couple of scrap papers between the pages. Do your warm-up sketches (ie: the uglies) on the scraps before you work in your new journal.
• Create reference materials on the first few pages.
  • Value studies
  • Color wheels
• Write or paste a copy of a favorite inspriational poem or quote on the first page.
• Choose a theme you’d like to explore. Write that theme at the top of a couple of pages.
• Who says you have to start on page 1? Flip your sketchbook to a page in the middle and get started!
• Take a cue from bullet journalers and create:
  • A moon chart
  • An index
  • A sketching habit-tracker

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These are but a few ideas to get you started. Try one or two or come up with a list of your own ideas! Most importantly, don’t let new sketchbook anxiety win —  get started on that new journal!