Sketching - Learn Pencil Sketching

Viewing the Old Master's sketchbooks can often make us feel like ours' should be works of art. But really, a sketchbook is a practical tool for developing skills and recording ideas.

Choose your travelling companion from one of these top sketchbooks. Whether you prefer an elegant bound journal or a practical spiral sketchbook, there's one that will be right at home in your backpack.

If you find yourself asking 'what can I draw?', here is the solution - five whole pages of drawing ideas. Get extra mileage by adapting ideas for different themes to suit your way of working.

Landscape is a rich source of inspiration for the artist, and you don't have to be a tree-hugging greenie to be inspired. Whether it's an abstraction from landforms, a storm reflecting human emotion or an ode the wonders of mother nature, here are some landscape art and drawing ideas to inspire your creativity.

Drawing at the zoo can be a rewarding experience for both the novice sketcher and the accomplished artist. Speed sketching animals is a good way to hone your skills and train your eye to capture all creatures in motion. The zoo offers a wide variety of species, and therefore provides a chance to render scale changes and differing volumetric...

Stuck for ideas? Try one of these subjects - use the photograph as a reference or use it as inspiration to find your own versions to draw from life. Great for daily or weekly practice drawings to keep you drawing

Have you been on a sketch crawl or drawing tour? Getting out with other artists in a formal group or with friends to sketch the local sights and attractions makes a great day out. Share your sketch crawl experience.

Learn how to have a successful day sketching animals at the zoo with this tutorial from Ed Hall. Get the most out of your sketching trip with tips on using gesture drawing and examples of some of your favorite zoo animals.

Pottery Guide, Beth Peterson, looks at the value of sketch journals for potters and has useful tips on journal keeping for any artist.

Written for younger readers and worthwhile for older readers too, this excellent article from 'Artrageous Thinking' looks at why and how artists from Da Vinci to Picasso have kept sketchbooks, and suggests pracitcal themes and approaches to successfully keeping a sketchbook.

Now you've got a sketchbook full of subject notes, find out how to translate your ideas into a full-scale painting. A great page from expert watercolorist Ellen Fountain.

Renowned animation artist Glenn Vilppu demonstrates his approach to sketching groups of figures when working 'on location'. Vilppu is a great teacher - browse the site for other articles.