The Neighborhood Sketchbook

A few months ago, I wanted to challenge myself to drawing everyday. As an extra challenge, I wanted the sketchbook to be cohesive. So, the task was two-fold– be consistent, and don’t get bored. (I usually can handle a “theme” but I don’t typically draw the same subject matter multiple times in a row.)

But then I accidentally ordered an accordion sketchbook, and then the challenge became like a dozen-fold.

Now I had to pick something that made sense in a sketchbook that could be folded out into one really, really, really long page…

First, I was inspired by artist Minnie Small and her illustrations of houses (check her out! She’s my favorite!). Then, I remembered I used to draw houses as a kid, and I just really like architectural drawings. Plus, I thought it would be kind of interesting to see a bunch of different houses all in a row, when the sketchbook is unfolded.

Each drawing uses Tombow Dual Brush markers, because I had a bunch and liked how they worked but wanted to get more practice with them. It also limited my color palette, but in a good way. And the linework was all done with my trusty Copic multiliner pens.

All the photos came from either Google Maps (just picking random locations) or Unsplash (which is, for the record, where I get all my reference photos in my work. Highly recommend!)

So here it is:

“The Neighborhood”

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The coolest part of the sketchbook is that it unfolds into one ridiculously long page of illustrations. However, I do not currently possess a table long enough to hold it all. Here is a picture that kind of demonstrates the overall effect:

So there you have it — another sketchbook tour! I hope you enjoyed this one! I definitely did!

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Have you ever created a mini-challenge for yourself to learn something new? Any tips for building up a new habit, art related or otherwise? Share in the comments below!