Draw Your Day: My Review of this Beautiful Learn to Sketch Book

Learn from, or just look at, this beautiful inspirational book on creating sketches of your everyday life. If you haven’t drawn for a long time, or need fresh inspiration, this book will guide you through how to draw and create, the materials to use, and has just so much inspiration!

I first came across Samantha Dion Baker on Instagram, where she shares her beautiful sketches of her everyday life.

Those sketches are not just basic sketches of say, a coffee cup (although there are plenty of coffee cups to be found in her sketches!)

They are scenes of everyday life – surrounded by words and quotes, so each different sketch is really a story all to its own.

Samantha’s sketches are beautifully drawn and colored. They feature all aspects of her life – her bus journey illustrating the woman who sat across from her, a bunch of bananas, a woman walking her dog in Central Park, her breakfast that morning.

I was therefore very excited to find Samantha’s book, Draw Your Day: An Inspiring Guide to Keeping a Sketch Journal.

 

Drawing by Samantha Dion Baker

 

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Just Start Drawing

As children most of us drew constantly, using all kinds of art mediums, colors and more.  We drew so many things, anything and everything – people, monsters, buildings, cars and more.

We drew what made us happy, what made us sad, and we drew what we were afraid of too.  Some of our drawings were good, some were complete rubbish, but we didn’t stop drawing – we just kept doing it.

I still remember the thrill of getting a new pack of what we called “felt tips.” These were markers in all the colors and that new packet and those new colors to explore was so exciting.  I would draw all kinds of things, using every color of the rainbow and beyond.

At one time I was really into drawing fashion models.  That was during my “I want to be a fashion designer” phase of my teenage years.  I would draw so many fashion models.  I remember I learnt a trick to make their red lips appear glossy – by leaving a little smidge of white on the lip!

But at some point I stopped drawing, and I am sure most of you will relate to that (unless you ended up going to art school perhaps).  It was probably around the time that self-doubt kicked in.  

There is a famous quote by the artist Pablo Picasso that is just so perfect – “All children are artists. The problem is how to remain an artist once he or she grows up.”

But I always wished I could draw and paint.  I fancied myself with a art studio bathed in light, with a long white desk in front of a window with a view, where I would sit and draw all day long, while listening to music, or audio-books perhaps.

The life of an artist seemed intriguing.  You would definitely have something to talk about at parties!  Your parents would say “my daughter is an artist” and it just sounded good!

But life gets in the way. You have a responsible job to bring in money for your family.  You are tired when you get home from long hours at work.  You don’t have the time to sit at that long white desk and draw to your heart’s content.

But – what if you turned that all around now? What if you learn to draw the right way? What if you get so much inspiration that you start sketching and drawing your world around you?

Your first pictures might be bad.  They may be awful.  But they just might be good! As you keep practicing and learning you look at your pictures and think how amazing it is that you just created that!  

This is what this book will do for you. It will show you how to start drawing, even though it might have been such a long time since you took pencil to paper and drew whatever you wanted to.  Even if you are not trained in art, even if you haven’t done an art class since middle school.  

Because we can all draw.  We all draw in a unique way to us. Just take a look at all the different styles and genres of art.   

There is so much difference, so much that is unique to the artist.  One artist may draw elaborate landscapes in oil paint that are so detailed that the place comes alive. 

Another artist may draw a cluster of colored dots, that make a statement and convey a message.

Drawing by Samantha Dion Baker

 

Tools & Materials Needed

As Samantha states in her book, “It is not the tools that make the art, but the vision – the ideas behind the created piece – and the process itself.”

This means that any tools and materials will work. You can start drawing on a budget, or spend more money on more expensive tools.

As you get more and more into drawing you will find what works for you, what you enjoy using, what works better, what allows you to be the most creative.

But the book does go into detail about all the mediums you will want to consider using in your drawing practice – the sketchbooks, pencils, erasers, pencil sharpeners, pens, paints, markers, colored pencils, pastels, calligraphy and lettering pens, and more.

Inspiration

The book is an inspiration in itself.  I love to just sit with the book while I am drinking a cup of hot tea – going through the pages of beautiful sketches and designs.

The book guides you through how to find your own inspiration.  Spoiler alert: inspiration is everywhere, all around you.  

You can get inspiration from the food you are eating, the flower shop, your trip to the grocery store, the certain look on your child’s face.

Start noticing the world around you as you walk around or even drive around.  Really look at things.  Look closely at that leaf and notice its many colors and tones, and the delicate skeletal lines throughout.

Samantha gives you a list of possible objects and things for inspiration.  It includes flowers, fallen leaves, bugs, the weather, storefronts, a news headline, the friend you had lunch with, makeup,  and even ticket stubs.  

 

The Process of Drawing

There is an entire chapter of the book that details Samantha’s basic process for creating a page.  

This chapter details how she does, and how to do, an initial pencil sketch, adding ink, adding color and more, right through to the fully painted and colored page.

There are lots of illustrations showing the initial pencil sketches in their first format, through to beautiful finished sketch drawings.

Then there are lots of ideas for drawing, including typography and signage, the weather, nature, buildings and architecture, quotes and special words, everyday objects, and so much more.

There is a large section of the book on collage, which can create some very unique illustrations, with lots of ideas for different types of collage.

Collage pieces can include used stamps, receipts, takeout menus, candy wrappers, marbled or patterned papers, colored tissue papers, washi tapes, photographs and so much more.

This book is such a beautiful thing to own and look at.  I actually just sat and looked at this book several times, taking in all the drawings and creations, before I even contemplated going through the drawing instructions and tutorials.

Get started again with creating something special.  Bring out your inner child who loved to draw and create – and just do it! Just do it for yourself!

Learn from, or just look at, this beautiful inspirational book on creating sketches of your everyday life. If you haven’t drawn for a long time, or need fresh inspiration, this book will guide you through how to draw and create, the materials to use, and has just so much inspiration!