bunchofars

[bunchofars]

<transcript> Hello and welcome to Bunch of Ars, I'm Giles Meakin and I'm a professional freelance illustrator.

This isn't a product review. I bought this sketchbook off Amazon, but I didn't buy it for the paper quality. I bought it because it had 365 pages, and I wanted something to keep me honest as an artist to try and draw something every day, for one year. Two and a bit years later, I've finally finished it and I wanted to share it with you.

For me, social media is a necessary evil. A day spent making content and chasing engagement, is a day I'm not making art. I'd rather focus on my craft, because i'm not a talk show host, I'm an artist. I'm only going to post something when I've got something I want to say, and if I think that thing I wanted to talk about has some value.

I often look at the work of other artists online to inspire my own practice. There is some amazing talent out there, something I aspire to despite having been in the business for quite some time. There is always something new to learn, and the skill of my fellow artists is humbling... initmidating even. That said, I do see a lot of sketchbook reviews that may give aspiring artists a false impression of what a sketchbook is, or what it should look like. Page after page of immaculate, slickly rendered art that's ready for publication.

A sketchbook is not a portfolio. I want to disavow you of that notion. What you see online is not an accurate reflection of a normal artistic practise, unless you're at the absolute top of your game. World class artists like Kim Jung Gi for example (god rest him).

The point is, there is always a bigger fish. You're not in competition with other artists who may have been drawing for years, who are fortunate enough to dedicate their lives to art with a laser like focus. You are only in competition with yourself.

To me, a sketchbook is a visual journal of your journey as an artist. It's a place where you can quickly scribble down ideas before you forget them, practice the things you're bad at drawing.

Experiment, try things out. Doodle in your break time or when you're stuck waiting on public transport (again). Half baked or half finished ideas. Use it as a scrapbook.

It's a place to make mistakes. something you can look back on to see where you've been. Happy Accidents. Some of what you do will make you cringe, but there will also be diamonds in the rough.

So I present to you my most recent sketchbook, warts and all. edited only to remove personal information. I hope it serves you as an honest reflection of my journey as an artist, and that it might help you on yours.

Pause the video to check out the pages in detail. At the end, there are 50 famous faces I tried to draw in a minute each. You might like to have a stab at guessing who's who. Feel free to leave a comment; like or susbcribe if you thought this video was worthwhile.

Ciao For Now.

</transcript>