Judge a book by its cover

Never under estimate the power of a good sketch book. 

The time was upon me when I needed to buy my new sketch book and since I was in Korea, the land of cuteness and invocation I thought I would have no problem. When it comes to seats in a restaurant, I'll sit anywhere, put it in front of me and I'll eat it but unfortunately when It comes to choosing a sketch book I am fussier than a Persian cat on a 5 star cruise.

It needs to be exactly right which means a lot of searching but in the end ultimate satisfaction. Before I rant about why these tiny needs are important let me explain what they are:

. Size: a5 perfect size to fit in any bag I may carry and the right size for coffee tables/airplane seats/laps

. Not hard back but not soft back. It needs to feel slightly weighted so I have a hard surface to lean on but it still needs to be able to bend as I get into weird positions when I draw.

. Thickish slick paper, not recycled paper that feels like leaves (sorry world) and not bumpy like water colour paper.

. No SPIRAL!

. Quite chunky - I like the book to be just under an inch in thickness if possible as I don't want to go through it in a week.

. Quirky if possible. Obviously it's what's inside that counts , don't judge a book.... And all those life lessons but I am an artist and I do like an element of my personality on the cover if possible. I could add it myself but then we have the pressure put in a design. I realise that the fact I have tattoos but can't commit to drawing on a sketch cover is a psychologist dream but I'm just odd like that.

So anyway those are my factors so you can imagine I search for quite a while before the perfect book is found. This time it was about  two months.

'Thats crazy' you might say and I'd be inclined to agree with you except that when the perfect book is put in front of me, when I've written my name on the inside cover like a geeky school girl and I've got pages upon pages of what could be beautiful art, it's all worth it.

I'm not a 2D-ear by nature . I love drawing but I'm a cg animator so finding a sketch book that inspires me to think I can achieve something instead of excepting defeat, it makes these pre- carpal tunnel wrists very happy.

So far the new sketch book is turning out better than expected. I got over the first page fear and have drawn more than a few times every day. It's nothing special but it was enough to inspire.

Now let's get drawing!

What inspires you to be creative. Any mind games you play on yourself that you'd like to share?  Good luck and happy sketching  x