Inspiration from your surroundings

Grab your sketchbook and get outside!

Each month, members of the Illo Guild are answering a question together, and this month we’re responding to: How do you get inspiration from particular surroundings?

I have been drawing a lot of buildings lately for illustrated maps, including a map of Italy. So I brought my sketchbook while traveling around Italy earlier this month. What better way to get inspiration than looking at your subject matter in person?

I learned that the key is to sketch a ton without any pressure of creating a finished product. Are the sketches below perfect? Far from it. Did I learn unique details of these buildings? Absolutely.

I observed the buildings by sketching them—a lot of them. I looked at them so closely to draw particular details that I started looking at different features of the buildings even when I wasn’t sketching. I would be walking around, look up, and think, “Hey that has an interesting archway that I haven’t drawn yet,” and I would snap a picture for a later sketch.

So I’ve gotten caught in this great cycle that goes like this…

I want to draw something > I draw lots of sketches of the thing > I notice interesting features while sketching > Now I appreciate the unique features when I see the thing in real life > I want to draw more it

It’s a nice cyclical process, and if you can get yourself stuck in it, it will boost your interest in the subject and give you more sketches to choose from for the final project. You start to recognize all the little quirks that make the subject really unique.

Plus once I started sketching tons of buildings without any pressure, I saw my process go more quickly on paid projects. It creates a visual vocabulary in your sketchbook. When you draw the subject matter again, you already have a reference point, and it’s easy to get started.

So I challenge you to pick a specific subject in your neighborhood (or on your travels!) and fill pages of your sketchbook without any pressure. Soon you’ll have your own references for that subject, and it’ll be so helpful for future projects! Plus it’s just really fun, so enjoy :)

See you next Monday for a tip about children’s illustration,

Katie