Sketchbook Mitosis
If you’ve followed me for basically any amount of time you know that I find the psychological aspect of making art incredibly compelling. It’s something that’s totally different for every artist, and there are always new things to unpack about it. (And I’m gonna keep writing about it forever!) A big one for me is the type of book I draw in. It’s a difficult thing to quantify. The texture of the paper, whether or not it’s lined, whether the book opens up flat, etc. All factor in to how much I enjoy drawing in it.
A few years ago I went nuts and bought a few Magma sketchbooks, which include these great general tips sections in the back, only to eventually find that I didn’t love actually drawing in them. This one book in particular ended up getting about two thirds filled before I moved on and left it alone for about six years. It occurred to me recently that I could give it a new life if I gently removed the remaining blank pages (while leaving in the back information section) and made them into their own totally new book. The big benefit here is that the reduced number of pages allows the new book to open up flat, which was the primary issue with the old one. It just needed a cover. Luckily I’ve gotten into the habit of saving sturdy paper (mainly pieces of cardboard and stuff like package envelopes) for just such an occasion, so I used the envelope in which my copy of Burzok's Mercenary Handbook was shipped.
I plan to tape the first and last pages to their respective inner covers, but I’m holding off on that for when I begin to actually draw in the book. After that I might draw on the cover, add stickers, or most likely just write the date on which I begin drawing in it, but for now it’s in a good place. Maybe I’ll also do this with the remaining pages on the other Magma books.
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The Bevis Frond’s What Did For The Dinosaurs, one of my favorite albums ever, seems to finally be available online. I haven’t heard this thing since I lost the CD at least a decade ago! Anyway, here’s my favorite song off the album.
