So, a question for all you artists with sketchbooks!

[InkyMilk]

Heylo fellow artists and doodlers! I have a little bit of a conundrum. Personally speaking, I never got into the whole digital drawing dealio. True, I like to paint digitally and experiment with digital tools, but when it comes sketching and setting down my lines, I simply have to do it traditionally. And as I've been drawing longer than I can remember, this means that I have a pretty substantial stack of sketchbooks growing bigger and bigger each year. Although I scan in my finished work, I still keep the hard copy.

Problem is, there's growing to be too many! And I don't know what to do with them! I feel like I'll regret it if I destroy them, but at the same time I just don't have enough space to keep hording them like this. Are they are other creative options I might be able to turn to? What do you do with all your old sketchbooks?

[ponygirl74]

Get a flat bed scanner and scan them into your computer - I have a printer with a scanner but I have a dedicated flat bed scanner for my art work - I've sold 4 pieces of art at 2 different galleries and I have ether pictures on camera of a ceramic plate and the rest were scanned into my laptop and put on an external hard drive.  The prices of them have gone down- Amazon is good for reviews even if you don't buy it off there and find it at a better price elsewhere, people give good reviews - I reviewed my current laptop there but found a better price on another site.   I hope this helps you.   

[AnnaPommes]

oh, i know what you are talking about.
for me, i usually keep the sketchbooks in my cupboard, there is an extra section just for sketchbooks. some of the older sketchbooks (from when i was 16 or so) did went to recycling heaven. but i looked thought them before and took out pictures that were special for me. i still keep these pictures in a box to have pictures for every year, like a photoalbum of memories.
today i just have the sketchbooks from when i started to study at university a few years back and i will probably keep them.
scanning everything would make me crazy, isn´t that really much work to scan everything? O-O

oh, and a question for you:
do you also keep more sketchbooks running at the same time? i have 3 at the moment. ^^"

[ponygirl74]

oh, i know what you are talking about.
for me, i usually keep the sketchbooks in my cupboard, there is an extra section just for sketchbooks. some of the older sketchbooks (from when i was 16 or so) did went to recycling heaven. but i looked thought them before and took out pictures that where special for me. i still keep these pictures in a box to have pictures for every year, like a photoalbum of memories.
today i just have the sketchbooks from when i started to study at university a few years back and i will probably keep them.
scanning everything would make me crazy, isn´t that really much work to scan everything? O-O

oh, and a question for you:
do you also keep more sketchbooks running at the same time? i have 3 at the moment. ^^"

it depends on how detailed the work is - for me the more colors it takes a longer time- if it;s pencil work it takes less time- if they are just rough drafts on something I'm working on to get the right look I most likely won't scan them, unless I need to use photoshop to help me re-size them if I'm putting them on a canvas and the original work is to big to fit on it.  Since I sell or give my art as gifts to people I like to scan them in so I have it, but that's just me.     

[AnnaPommes]

hmm, i understand. my work is either for uni or a comission/gift too. i should really pick up the habit of scanning them, i just take photos but they are bad if you want to make a portifolio. ^^" i already had this situation two times. *cought*
inky, be wise and do it like ponygirl!

[Sonata]

I know exactly how this is. I'm lucky, though, because I can simply send them to my mom's place xD I've sent quite a few back recently and plan on sending more once I have them completely scanned. I don't need to have them physically here with me, but I still want to have it all scanned so I can look at them if needed. I thought about recycling them, but I just don't have the heart to destroy my own work from years and years back...

[Calico_Star]

I stuff them under my bed so there's no room for the monsters to hide

....But the space under my bed is pretty much full now so I don't know what I'm going to do next.

[Eviecorn]

Once you figure this out, tell me.  I have 15 years of sketches lying around.  DX

[OLumeVaSti]

I have mine stacked in a Rubbermaid tub in a closet

[elvenwine26]

I made a scrap book of all the pics I did like from back in the day and threw out the rest.  It's just way too much to keep track of. I wish I could scan them in fancy style.  Oh the woes of being poor.

[Galactica]

I've noticed if I keep them round long enough-  I can look at stuff more objectively/critically and can then do a major purge.

I like the idea of scanning stuff- but have only done that when I really like what I've done.

[flyawayraven]

I have mine stacked in a Rubbermaid tub in a closet

I was going to suggest something like this.

Stupid me threw all my old sketchbooks out during an "everything I draw is garbage" phase so I don't really have the storage conundrum. :x

[InkyMilk]

Emuel- I have 3 sketchbooks I usually use at once too! One with cheaper paper that I use for all my random doodles and scribbles to get ideas down, one with nicer paper that I use for my "real" projects, and then a mini sketchbook I carry around in my purse so I'll have something to use in the middle of the day in case an idea suddenly worms into my brain.

And thanks for the responses guys! Thankfully the pile is still at a somewhat manageable degree, so I still have a small amount of time to decide  I like the idea of maybe scanning my work, but perhaps I'll only begin with the oldest first and slowly work my way to present work since it makes sense that over timeI'll have a better eye over what is worth it to keep and what isn't. The scrapbook idea is interesting too since I've already started something similar with my doodle sketchbooks, since half of what I scribble down is literally pointless circles and swirls I don't really need to keep. I wish I had space to store them all, but sadly my room is so jam-packed with stuff as it is (it doesn't really help that it's also used as a playroom for when we babysit so I'm sharing space with a bunch of kids things) that I really have to be creative with utilizing space! I've reached the point where I wonder if it would be possible to build shelves around the top border of my room!

[Galactica]

I have mine stacked in a Rubbermaid tub in a closet

I was going to suggest something like this.

Stupid me threw all my old sketchbooks out during an "everything I draw is garbage" phase so I don't really have the storage conundrum. :x

I think I might suffer from the same attacks- lol.   I guess it probably would be nice to have some of my older stuff around...

[melodys_angel]

Mine are on a bookshelf   I like the Rubbermaid idea though!