Warm-Up Exercises: End ‘Sacrificial Pancakes’
Warm-up exercises are one of those things that most of us avoid, right? Most of us like to dive right into the ‘fun’; whether it’s exercise or sketching.
How many times have you gone out to sketch in your Nature Journal, only to be disappointed in those first sketches you attempt? If you follow Jack Laws, or Marley Piefer, they call these initial sketches ‘sacrificial pancakes’. It’s just like making pancakes for breakfast. The first one is almost always a flop.
Good news! There is a way to put an end to most of those initial awkward sketches.
Why We Need to Warm-Up
Anything we do that has more than one step involved, over time, creates a connection between the muscles used to accomplish the task and our brains. It’s a bit like a short-cut key on your computer. Think about something like driving a stick-shift. When you first start to learn, you have to very consciously think about each and every step. It’s difficult to coordinate the movements. Once you’ve driven that car for a while, you no longer need to think it through. It becomes subconscious — you can think of other things as you drive. You have created a muscle memory.
Creating muscle memory for sketching and drawing is similar. Your brain makes the connection between certain shapes and your brain. You know what those common shapes look like and how to create them.
There is another element involved, however, and this is where the warm-up comes into play.
Warm-up exercises for sketching help us to switch gears. It signals our brain that we’re going to draw now, so that your muscle memory kicks in. It’s much like winding down after your work day. During our commute home, most of us listen to music or maybe our favorite podcast. That activity tells our brain that work is over, we’re switching to personal time now.
Simple Warm-Up Exercises
I’m not gonna lie. I don’t always remember to warm-up before I begin a drawing session. But when I do, I’m happier with my first results and the session as a whole is much more enjoyable.
Start off with some simple lines; vertical, horizontal, and diagonal. Switch-up the pressure. Go from light to dark, dark to light; play with the line weight.
Begin with lines – vary the direction and weight 
Move on to s-curves. Again vary the direction and weight
In case you were curious — my favorite graphite drawing pencils — Derwent Graphic Pencils. These have been my go-to pencils for years. For me, the graphite is smoother and creamier.
Now try more organic-shaped lines, s-curves and such. Again, vary the direction and the line weights.
Next move on to basic shapes: circles, ellipses, cones, and rectangles. Make sure to vary the sizes and angles.
The last exercise I do is putting some of the shapes together. A triangle + an ellipse = a cone, which can become a bird’s beak later when you’re sketching.
Turn the 2-D shapes into 3-D forms. A triangle becomes a cone — which becomes maybe a bird’s beak.
A rectangle becomes a cylinder, which in turn becomes a tree branch or the body of a mammal.
A rectangle plus a couple of ellipses = a cylinder, which later becomes a tree branch, or perhaps the body of a deer. You get the idea.
So there you have it. Written out, it looks a bit intimidating but in reality we’re only talking about a few minutes to do all of these exercises. I promise that taking those couple of minutes will reward you with much better sketches from the beginning. Remember, this is not about perfecting anything. It’s about switching gears and letting your brain know that you are getting ready to draw.
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Hone Your Drawing Skills with Coloring Pages
How can you hone drawing skills with a coloring book?!
Bear with me, I promise you won’t be disappointed! I have had a life-long love affair with crayons. It’s true! I remember as a child, the best part of ‘back to school’ was getting that brand new box of 64 Crayolas to start the year. Close your eyes — can you smell them?
When the new crayons for school arrived, last year’s box became my play at home box. And boy did they get some use!
So, what’s the point of that little story? Actually, not the crayons, but the coloring books!
Coloring books have the power to help you get better at sketching and drawing. What? But the drawing is already completed, right? We just color in the image.
And that is where the power lies. How will you color in the image? Will you use color at all?
Grab a coloring page and a few tools and let’s get started. You’ll need:
- A pen, pencil, or fine-line marker
- Coloring media of your choice
- Colored pencils — I use Prismacolor Premiere
- Markers
- Watercolor
- Or yes, even crayons!
- A coloring book page (you can download free ones from many sites, I’ve gotten these pages from Crayola’s website.)
For these exercises, I prefer children’s coloring pages because they are usually just outlines without the added shading that many adult pages have. We’re going to be adding the shading ourselves!
Use Color Variation For Shading
The first technique we’re going to play with is creating shadows and shading with color. Let’s begin by choosing 3 shades of a color; a light, a medium, and a dark. I generally begin with coloring the entire area with the lightest shade. Make sure to leave the highlight white or very light. Putting the light color over the whole area kind of helps to tie and blend all the colors together a bit more seamlessly.
3 shades of blue + dark purple for deep shadows 
Color whole area with lightest color
Next, take the medium color and lay it down in the darkest and medium toned areas. Again layering the colors this way helps to tie all of the colors together.
Now for the darkest areas. When using colored pencil, I put down a bit of really dark purple — in Prismacolor pencils, it’s the Black Grape pencil. This helps to give the darkest areas a bit more depth. Use this one lightly, sparingly. Over the Black Grape goes your darkest shade.
Medium blue in the dark & mid-tone areas 
Dark purple in the deepest shadows 
Darkest blue in the shadows to blend out the purple
Make sure as you go that you are lightly blending all the colors together — in general, you don’t want harsh lines and transitions. Hard lines do happen in nature when the lighting is particularly bright, so this isn’t a hard and fast rule.
Last step: Go over the whole image one last time with the lightest blue to blend everything together Now, step back a bit from your page. Doesn’t it look more life-like, 3 – dimensional?
Keep practicing! Try imagining the light coming from different angles and see how that changes the drawing.
Hone Those Drawing Skills Using Mark-Making
Next up — let’s look at adding another dimension to the shadowed areas with a fine-line marker or pen. To play around with this process, you need to find a really simply done coloring page — one that doesn’t already have a lot of lines and shading. That’s what you’re here to do!
For this technique you’ll need a waterproof (or at least a smear-proof) pen or marker, 3 shades of pink (or your own color choice), plus a dark purple.
My favorite waterproof marker is the Faber Castel Pitt Artist Pen
Any place where your chosen subject is round or goes around a corner, you’ll add some marks:
- Hatching
- Cross-hatching
- Scribbles
- Or a combination
Make your marks darker and closer together in the deeper shadowed areas, lighter and farther apart in the mid-toned areas. Also think about following the contours of your subject — that alone will add an element of realism to your work.
Using your pen, make hatches in the shadowed areas. Make the marks more solid and closer together in the deepest shadow areas; lighter and more spread apart in the mid-tone areas.
If you choose, you can also add in color over the ink after you’ve given it sufficient time to dry. When adding color, follow the same procedure that we used in our first example.
Color entire image with lightest shade 
Fill in dark and mid-tone areas with medium 
Hit the darkest shadows with dark purple 
Go over the darkest areas with darkest shade to blend out the purple 
Go over the whole piece again with the light shade to blend everything together
These are just 2 quick ways to practice realism and hone your drawing skills using a coloring book! Play! Have fun! Challenge yourself! Once you feel you’ve gotten the idea with the coloring pages, move on to use these shading techniques in your Nature Journal — you’ll be so happy you allowed yourself to play like when you were a child.
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Introduction to Nature Journaling
I’d like to introduce you to Nature Journaling. Are you feeling a bit disconnected? Life moving too fast? Do you feel anxious and stressed? Both spending time in nature and drawing can help you to slow down, decrease your stress levels, and even lower your blood pressure! Bonus — it’s FUN!
Me? I have always had a passion for nature and drawing. Nature Journaling was the perfect solution for enjoying both at once. I’m so excited to share this with you. Keeping a nature journal can be an amazing adventure!
Are you ready?
What is a Nature Journal Anyway?
The simplest answer: it’s an individual’s exploration of the nature around them. This exploration can be expressed in several ways:
- Drawings — this part goes without saying. It’s what most of us think of when we think about a nature journal. I know — you’ve been looking at other people’s nature journal pages online and you’re intimidated. Me too! Honestly, though, it’s social media folks! People only put the best of the best online — including artists! I promise that you CAN learn to draw the things you find intriguing in nature!
- Writing– can take many forms
- Metadata — Put the date, time, a quick note about the weather. That’s called ‘metadata’ and it’s science! This allows you to keep a running record from year to year about weather patterns as well as the plants and animals you encounter.
- Scientific names — you’ll learn these along the way as you become curious about flora and fauna you encounter
- Random thoughts — just like any other journal or diary
- Poetry — many people are inspired to write in verse to add to their pages
It’s your journal! Pick and choose what you want to include in yours. It will probably change over time. Experiment! Most of all — don’t forget to have FUN with it!
What Do I Need to Get Started?
Since this is an introduction to Nature Journaling, we aren’t going to get too technical. Personally, I like to keep things simple anyway. Think about where you’ll be journaling. Are you a hiker? Will you likely hike a few miles? Or are you more likely to park close to your chosen spot?
Make sure to grab your FREE copy of my Quick Start Guide to Nature Journaling from the Freebie Library.
Both are valid options, but may influence what tools you choose. I tend to be a hiker most of the time, so I like to travel light. A heavy pack full of lots of supplies is not something I would choose.
- Art supplies — choose your favorite media whether it’s pencils or paint, but carry only what you need. While it’s cool in the studio to have every color of paint, in the field it’s not practical. That bird that you’re trying to sketch won’t sit still long enough for you to rattle through your bag looking for the perfect color!
- Sketchbook — Choose one that’s small enough to carry with you. Pay attention to the type of paper. You’ll want heavier paper — perhaps mixed media if you plan to use watercolors. If you’re going to use mostly pencil, any sketchbook will do. I like to see beginners start with the least expensive option available. The reason? It’s best to not have to worry about wasting expensive paper! The more drawings you do, the better you’ll get!
- Clothing — this should go without saying, but make sure you’re dressed for the weather! Layers are best whether it’s the height of summer or the middle of winter.
That’s all you need to get started! And I’m willing to bet that you already have most of this at home without needing to go out and purchase a bunch of expensive supplies.
Take a look at my personal favorite supplies to get you started!
Your First Nature Journal: Getting and Staying Motivated
An introduction to nature journaling wouldn’t be complete without a motivational section! If you’re like most of us, me included, you’re going to start off strong. After a little time passes, you’ll lose the motivation that comes with the ‘newness’ of things. Here are a few tips to keep you going.
- Start small — habits are easier to maintain if you start with small commitments. Even 5 minutes a day of drawing will increase your proficiency! Create lasting habits — check out this video on Mini-Habits to get you started. Sketch while you have your morning coffee, or on your lunch hour. You can find nature everywhere! (Even in your kitchen! Sketch an apple, a pepper, or your houseplant.)
- Stay close to home. As appealing as it is, there’s no need to travel to distant, exotic lands to find interesting things to add to your nature journal. Your own backyard has plenty of journaling opportunities!
- Learn to adopt a growth mindset rather than a fixed one. Check out what Carol Dweck has to say about this in her TED talk on YouTube.
Nature Journaling is accessible to anyone! The supplies are inexpensive and easy to acquire. And one last tidbit of motivation. You’ve heard that it takes 10,000 hours to get good at something, right? Wrong! That number has been misquoted on site after site. It takes 10,000 hours to become a musical virtuoso or an Olympic class athlete. For the rest of us, studies show that it takes only 20 hours to get reasonably good at something new! How awesome is that?! You can do 20 hours — that’s easy, right?
What are you waiting for? Get busy and get those 20 hours!
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Nature Journaling With Kids II: Let’s Sketch!
Nature Journaling can be a bit of a daunting proposition, especially if you think you can’t draw yourself. As we all know, your kids will mimic what you do. Grab your own nature journal and sketch along with them! Here’s what I want you to remember as you begin this journey. First – nature journaling is not about creating a pretty or perfectly accurate picture. Second – drawing skills will improve with continued practice.
(This is Part II of Nature Journaling with Kids — click here for Part I)
Where to Nature Journal With Your Kids
This one is kind of a no-brainer. Kids are naturally curious. Any place there is nature, your kids can find something to explore in their journal. Honestly, the best nature connections generally come from exploring your immediate surroundings.
- Get them excited to begin a new adventure – try going to a new-to-you park not far from home for a first outing.
- Sketching in your own yard can be a fun adventure. Although they see their own yard every day, you’ll be surprised at how different it looks to you once you begin to sketch elements you find in it.
- Discover the nature that resides inside your home! Yep, it’s there too!
- Check the produce drawer in your refrigerator. Pull out an apple. Sketch it whole. Notice how most of them are not one solid color. Is there a stem? Cut the apple open horizontally. Draw the insides. Cut one vertically. How is it different? Draw it.
- Do you have any houseplants? Draw them. Cut flowers in a vase?
- What about pets? Have them draw the dog, the cat, the hamster, the goldfish.
- Is there a spider crawling up the wall? Have them draw it before you take it outside!
- Get in the habit of packing your nature journaling supplies when you take trips. Nature is everywhere!
- A trip to the zoo or the aquarium is a good way to study and sketch non-native animals up close.
Leading Your Kids on a Nature Journaling Adventure
Get kids in the ‘mood’ to become explorers! I bought a set like the one below for both of my grandkids — they loved it! They would often get all geared up on their own and head out to the backyard.
If you’re just starting out with a nature journal, make it easy on yourself! Let it be just a spontaneous thing. Grab a pencil and some paper. Head out to your backyard or a nearby park. Ask your kids to draw whatever catches their interest; a bug, a tree, a flower, etc. You won’t be hovering over their drawings, as you’ll be making your own, right? This is a big deal — kids mimic what they see.
Now ask them questions. Do not comment on the artwork — nature journaling isn’t about the art! Ask them what they noticed about their subject. What colors did they notice? Do they know the name of it? (What kind of bug, flower, etc.) Let them lead the discussion. Have them tell you why they chose to draw what they did. What do they like about it? What do they wonder about the object? Let them color their drawings when you return home. Congratulations! You just made your first nature journal entries!
For specific recommendations on supplies, check out My Favorite Supplies page.
Next Steps in Nature Journaling with Your Kids
Make a habit of carrying your nature journals with you when you travel or even when you’re running errands. Nature can be found everywhere. You might spot a dandelion in a sidewalk crack, a hawk skimming over the water as you’re driving, or an interesting spider crawling on the dashboard of your car!
We all get too busy and it can be hard to find extra time for activities — think outside the box. Cut a length of string or yarn; no more than 5 or 6 feet long. Have your kids sit in your yard. They can only sketch what is within the reach of their string! You’ll be amazed at what you can find even in that tiny space! This exercise will help them build observational skills as they become hyper-focused on finding interesting things within their space.
Nature Journaling is Both Art and Science
If you want to take your journaling to the next level, get in the habit of looking up scientific information on your subjects. You can often do this on the spot using field guides specific to the area where you live. Or get your phone out and google it!
Use your nature journal to ask questions. Is this bird native to our area, or is it just passing through as it migrates? Is this flower an annual or perennial? What insects are attracted to this particular plant?
I am a big fan of John Muir Laws, who teaches nature journaling with kids and adults. He advocates asking yourself 3 things on each of your journal pages: I notice, I wonder, It reminds me of, . . Observing closely enough to complete these 3 statements, forces you to look very closely and to engage your brain!
Nature has a way of pulling you in. The more time you spend observing and journaling, the more you’ll want to. Nature journaling forces you to observe plants and animals up close and personal. You begin to connect, to realise that you are a part of it all. You fall in love. And most importantly, you naturally begin to protect what you love.
Don’t forget to grab your FREE copy of my Quick-Start Guide to Nature Journaling from the Freebie Library.
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Anyone Can Draw: Yes, Even You!
Drawing? In a Nature Journal? ‘But, I can’t draw!’ I have but one main thing to say about drawing, and I believe it to my core, . . . everyone can learn to draw.
Busting the Myth: Inborn Talent and Drawing
Artists are just born that way. They have some big advantage of being born with the genetic predisposition to be good at drawing. Which gene sequence was that? I forgot. Oh, that’s right, there isn’t one!
Joking and sarcasm aside, I do really believe that anyone can learn to draw. I’ve seen it. I’ve lived it. I will say that some people get a bit of a head start. However, it’s because they are handed a crayon when they are toddlers, and never put it down. They graduate from crayons to pencils and paint. Drawing and painting are favorite activities all through their lives. But here’s the thing — they are better simply because they’ve had more practice time than you!
Honestly, I believe this to be true of many things in life. Good guitar players live with their guitars in their hands; their fingers bloody and calloused from the hours of practice. A sweater gets knit one ugly stitch at a time. That one perfect cake is baked over and over until it is perfected. Musicians make music, knitters knit, bakers bake. You get better at drawing, . . . by drawing.
My Drawing Story
I was the crayon kid. I have always loved to draw and color. Even though I did pretty well in school, I hated it. The part I loved? Shopping for school supplies at the end of summer. I remember that wonderful, brand-new box of crayons I got every year. Oh, I can be transported in time in an instant by the smell of a new box of crayons even today!
My childhood inspired original drawing “potential”
made with colored pencils on black paperAs I got a bit older, I graduated to pencils. (My mother was not a fan of messes, so paint was not part of the equation.) I copied pictures from magazines. I stumbled upon shading with my fingers. My brother and I held ‘drawing contests’ where we took turns thinking of an object to doodle, then argued about who did a better drawing! (I was better at realism; he was better at cartoon-style illustration.)
Then came adulting — sigh, . . . a ‘real’ job, a marriage, a child. The only things I drew now were silly doodles with my daughter.
Kids grow, lives change. When my daughter turned 16, she got a job and I took drawing classes at a local art center. I was scared and shaky walking into that first class! What if I was too rusty? I was certain that I would be terrible at this, but I wanted it so badly, I gave it a shot.
, . . . and that is where I had an amazing instructor who took me back to the beginning and the basics that are common to all drawings.
Drawing Skills: Begin at the Beginning
Do you believe yet? Are you at least beginning to believe that you can learn to draw? If you’re still not convinced, take a few minutes and watch these two TED talks: ‘Why People Believe They Can’t Draw’ and ‘It’s Easy to Draw! Why is it Hard to Draw?’
I love what Michael Rastovich said. (His video is linked above.) You start with one line. You don’t move on to the second line until the first one is correct. That’s a great truth. You learn to walk before you run. Begin at the beginning. It’s when we try to draw something complex without taking those first baby steps that makes us think we stink at drawing.
So, where is the beginning? My art instructor started beginners off with understanding and using our drawing tools, moving through value studies, shapes and shading; and only after we had a handle on these basic exercises, did we move on to working on a complete drawing of our choosing. I believe it’s the perfect start.
Are you ready to begin your drawing journey? Tomorrow’s skills begin with today’s decisions!
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Overcome Your Fear of the Sketchbook
Fear of the sketchbook. Fear of the blank page or the empty canvas. Writer’s block. It’s the same for artists and writers alike. As someone who keeps a nature journal, I sometimes suffer from both!
‘Don’t wait for you life story to be perfect before allowing yourself to be happy.’
sketches in stillnessAn ‘Ugly’ Sketch is Simply a Problem to be Solved
Many of us believe that you are born with the ‘gift’ or talent of being able to draw. On the rare occasion when we do try to draw something, and are disappointed with the results, we fall back on, ‘I just don’t have that gift.’ We crumple up the paper, toss it in the trash, and decide never to try again.
“Ahhh… What is this” 
“What am I doing with my life”
‘The reality of the creative process is that it often requires persistence, the ability to stare at a problem until it makes sense.’
Jonah LehterLet’s try something different next time. Don’t throw your next sketch away. Leave it. Walk away from it for as long as it takes you to get your emotions about it under control. Now come back to your page.
Sit with this sketch you don’t like. Analyze the sketch — not your talent! Is there anything you do like about it? What — specifically do you not like? You must take the time to do this analysis in order to get better at sketching and drawing. It’s an exercise in problem-solving (not in evaluating your worth as a human). If you can identify the problem areas, you can work on them and improve.
It’s Practice, Not Talent That Makes an Artist
I get it. We all have that fear of facing a blank page. We want everything we create to be of ‘professional artist’ caliber every. single. time. Here’s a revelation — you only get to see the best of the best pages of most professionals! All artists have ugly pages in their sketchbooks; pages they aren’t proud of and don’t want to share with others.
Pro-Tip: If every sketch, every drawing, every painting is successful and perfect, you’re not stretching yourself enough! Stepping out of your comfort zone is the only way to grow and learn new things!
Whether you’re keeping an art journal, a nature journal, or some other type of artistic journal, it’s the practice that makes ‘perfect’. Sketch something every day, even if it’s a tiny, 5-minute doodle. Overcome your fear of the sketchbook 5 minutes and 1 doodle at a time! Make ugly art — lots of it.
The Art of Getting Started
Getting my practice in, I’ve noticed a SERIOUS improvement! Ways to Push Through Your Fear of the Sketchbook
There are tons of ideas out there to jump-start creativity. Here are just a few of the ways that work for me when I get stuck in ‘fear of the sketchbook’ mode.
Canson XL Series Mix Media Pad, 5.5” x 8.5”, Side Wire Bound, 60 Sheets (400037134) (2 Pack)- Purchase or make a sketchbook that begs to be picked up! Yes, that seems a bit superficial, but I am a ‘paper junkie’! I love looking at beautifully crafted journals. I love the way a pencil glides across certain papers.
- Build a relationship with your sketchbook — like any human relationship the more time you invest, the more in love you become!
- Choose a limited color palette to work with for a given period of time. Or use just a pencil.
- Remember why you want to keep a sketchbook
- This is a place where only fun and experimentation exist
- Leave your inner critic behind
- Leave expectations of the outcome behind
- Your sketchbook is not for creating finished works of art — it’s where you play with ideas, take notes, and plan for a finished piece later on
- Your sketchbook pages do not need to be shared with anyone!
- Start your session with a couple of quick ‘no pressure’ doodles — my first attempts for the day are often wonky and ‘ugly’. I need to give my brain time to make the connection that ‘we are drawing’ so that the correct muscle memory pathways kick in.
- If you’re on Pinterest, there are tons of ‘30 day drawing challenges’. Pick one and use it for your doodle practice
- This is my go-to trick. Start small – commit to just 5 minutes at first. Pick up your journal, set a timer for 5 minutes. Most of the time, after that 5 minutes is up, you’ll want to continue. There’s something in our brain (fear of failure/fear of success??) that makes getting started the hardest part. Then once we get into ‘flow’ mode, it’s hard to stop!
- Daily Doodle — choose random words to doodle. Choose random adjective and noun combos — like MadLib. (Remember how fun those were when you were a kid?) Random Generators to jumpstart ideas:
I firmly believe that anyone can learn to draw. It’s a matter of wanting it badly enough to put the time in. It’s a matter of pushing past emotions that get in your way as you’re learning. It’s a matter of relaxing and allowing yourself to enjoy the journey, rather that looking only at the destination.
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