Sketchbook Notes
Caelum · Sketchbook Notes
Field notes on learning to draw
from the studio
Sketchbook Notes
Honest accounts from people who got stuck, quit, or started late — and the small thing that finally moved their drawing.
01
Own it vs. rent it
9 min read
Same Face Syndrome
Every character I drew had the same face. I thought I needed more talent. Turns out I needed to stop renting my learning and start owning it.
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02
Not too late, no system
8 min read
I'm 39 and I finally started drawing
For years I told myself I'd missed my window. It turned out the years were never the problem — the missing system was.
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03
Reader → creator
8 min read
I had the whole story. My drawing was the only thing keeping it in my notes app.
I took the beginner courses. They taught me to draw. They never taught me to draw a webtoon.
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04
Skills first, tool second
8 min read
I bought a $600 iPad to draw. It became a very expensive Netflix machine.
I had the app, the pencil, the brush packs. My drawings still looked like a beginner's. The problem was never the software.
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05
For the serious young artist
7 min read
Every anime drawing book looked like it was made for an eight-year-old. My kid is not eight.
She's been drawing seriously for years. I wanted a gift that took her as seriously as she takes it.
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