Hello and Happy New Year, Interneters!
It feels late to be saying that 3 weeks into the year, but I've been quiet for the last little while. Near the end of last year I was experiencing some fatigue and minor pain in my drawing hand, so at my doctor's behest I took it easy over the holidays until it started feeling better. And now that I am feeling better, let the drawing ensue!
In other news, here are a bunch of things that Wolfmans like:
Apples
Safari Shirts
Basketball
Jukeboxes
Handmade Sketchbooks
I know what your thinking--you have a lot in common with wolfmans. Well, you should probably go to the doctor like I did. If you have pain in your drawing hand, you may be a wolfman. (Luckily, my diagnosis was a false positive.)
Or you may have been thinking, "That is no sketchbook, sir! That is the box of a popular breakfast cereal!" Well, you'd only be half right, friend, for indeed it is both. My officemate and trained botanical professional, Anthony Zierhut showed me a totally easy method of making sketchbooks a couple of weeks ago, and I'm hooked.
You can try it too--he posted the easy to follow instructions RIGHT HERE IN PUBLIC for anyone to see. What a nice guy, right? He even gave me materials to make my first book (though I cannot guarantee he'll do the same for you).
Now, if you're thinking to yourself, "I can't make a nifty sketchbook like that; I'm allergic to cereal boxes," it turns out that you can make sketchbooks out of all kinds of stuff. I didn't have any bookbinding supplies at home, so I improvised with found materials for my next few books.
For the covers, I used the thick pages from a discarded children's board book.
The spine tape is duct tape instead of fancy binding tape.
I used regular sewing thread and a cheap candle instead of bookbinding thread and beeswax.
The paper is just regular cheap color printer paper--perfect for no-fuss sketchery.
The glue that binds it all together is regular white glue, like Elmer's.
To me, it's pretty cool that I could make a book out of stuff I found lying around our house. Give it a try and let me know how it works out for you
Anyway, I hope this year is fun and productive for all. Be good, and I hope to be back with more drawings soon!
