The Drawing Board

[turdougen]

I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions for a brand/size/etc of sketchbook to take to upcoming conventions... I've never bought any original art but plan on getting into it this summer/fall.

Also does anyone want to post some pics of sketches they've got in the past?

[Unicorn Master]

I prefer a hardcover book that is bound well. I bought my first one for Emerald city con this year and it was actually the cheapest one there (about $15) for the size and features I wanted. Hardcover with a fabric cover and thread bound. It also had the heaviest paper weight of the selections (which I had some nice feedback from several artists about).

Here are the pics that I have from it. My fav part about it is that, because of the fabric finish, I was able to get Richard Starkings to do the front cover and spine in silver sharpie. It just soaked into it.









Also, the heavier the paper, the more freedom the artist has. There was a lot of ink and wash that went into the first two sketches and, thanks to the thickness of the paper, there wasn't any bleed through (though I did leave a blank page in between each sketch just to be safe).

I've got quite a few more sketches, but those were all done on single sheet Bristols. Also, this book is just around 8.5x11.

[AztecLos]

I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions for a brand/size/etc of sketchbook to take to upcoming conventions... I've never bought any original art but plan on getting into it this summer/fall.

Also does anyone want to post some pics of sketches they've got in the past?

I suggested this to another poster but, it might be good if you got a simple sketch pad or two from a retailer like Walmart, Target, or if they are price well at an art or book store. I figure you can go get a sketch, but if the artist wants you to leave your page with them, you can and move on to the next artist. You can carry it all in a portfolio.

Then you can just take them and have them framed. Or you can just ship them off and have them book bind. Choose to have them bound by either what convention you attended or by the year you attended conventions. 

Just something I thought of. 

[Unicorn Master]

I suggested this to another poster but, it might be good if you got a simple sketch pad or two from a retailer like Walmart, Target, or if they are price well at an art or book store. I figure you can go get a sketch, but if the artist wants you to leave your page with them, you can and move on to the next artist. You can carry it all in a portfolio.

Then you can just take them and have them framed. Or you can just ship them off and have them book bind. Choose to have them bound by either what convention you attended or by the year you attended conventions. 

Just something I thought of. 

That's a great bit of advice. I keep a pad of Bristol boards for that reason. Had this happen with the Samnee sketch, but as the book is exclusively a Spidey sketch book, had to leave it. Just depends on what you're doing with the book.

[scoundrel3000]

I recently just switched to a portfolio and loose leaf paper system.  I gave my sketchbook to an artist and they didn't have time to do my comission in time.  Long story short, I was only able to get one sketch during that con.  Lesson learned, don't put all your eggs in one sketchbook. 

[AztecLos]

That happened to me at Mega-Con. I had a small sketch book and had to leave it was an artist, and he wasn't known at all. But I wanted to get more sketches and couldn't. So this idea I will go with.