Ringing in the New Year with Woflmans and Sketchbook Making

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!