Keep your sketchbooks
A few days ago I was going through some of my old sketchbooks when I stumbled across some doodles of Jaren, Songbird, and the forest spirit. These sketches were all probably at least 10 years old. Aside from the fact that I wanted to cringe at how terrible I felt like the drawings were, it was really neat to be able to look back in time and see how my thoughts, styles, and ideas have changed over time.
I have a box of old notebooks and sketchbooks dating back to middle school which are filled with story ideas, character sketches, and first drafts. I’ll probably continue to hold onto them and haul them around every time I move. Why? I recommend holding on to your old journals and sketchbooks for a few reasons:
It’s a great way to measure progress! Sometimes we feel like we’re not improving at all, but looking at work from 6 months ago, 1 year ago, 5 years ago, even 10 years ago can be a great way to see just far you’ve come and how much you’ve learned/grown/improved.
Its a good place to keep track of ideas for future use on the same project, or future projects! I have all kinds of ideas for scenes and stories jotted down that I can reference. They may spark an idea, or help me when I’m stuck.
It doesn’t hurt to hang on to sketchbooks, but if you throw them away or get rid of them, you’ll likely never be able to get them back. I’m not endorsing hoarding, by any means, but something that you’ve personally taken time to write or draw can’t just be purchased or duplicated in the same way. If I get rid of my sketchbooks I’ll never be able to go back in time and re-create that, so to me, it’s worth holding on to them.
“A Songbird’s Tale” is a story I’ve been kicking around in my head for at least a decade. I’m glad I’ve finally decided to get to work on creating it and I’m glad I’ve kept some of my old works and ideas regarding the story. I’ve suffered a long time from the “I’ll do the thing when I’m better at the thing” mentality. Over the years I’ve learned there really is no such thing. You get better at the thing by doing the thing. If that’s sports, or drawing, or music, or any other endeavor you decide to pursue. You have to put in the reps to get better. So I finally just bit the bullet and started working on it. You don’t have to be good to start. JUST START. You get better along the way.
With that being said, please enjoy these very armature sketches from 2010. I wish I could say that I’ve worked more on my art since then and improved drastically, but I have not, and so I did not. However it’s never too late to start, which is why I’m writing and drawing again. So hopefully this inspires you to quit putting off starting and embark on your own journey as well!
Pictured above: A very old outline and characters. Many of these characters did not make it into the final version, these characters were heavily influenced by the D&D table top gaming I was doing at the time. Old sketches of Jaren, the forest spirit, and Songbird, all from around 2010. The characters have changed A LOT over the years. Finally, more recent sketches of Jaren’s attire and his cabin.
