‘Pencils and Pixels’ is a learning resource aimed at helping you to improve your communication skills through drawing. An important part of the design process is to develop ideas from the imagination and share those ideas in the wider world. Whether you are having a conversation with yourself or with others, improving your drawing skills will help you to explain that most important of questions, ‘but what will it look like? For more information and related videos, visit: http://pencilsandpixels.blogs.lincoln.ac.uk/lessons/lesson-1/

1. Keeping a sketchbook 29.07.05 1
Keeping a Sketchbook
Why should designers draw?
Drawing is about seeing. It is an analytical process that helps us to gain a
better understanding of the world in which we live, often down to quite fine
detail. Through drawing we begin to see how objects relate to each other,
what they are made from and how they were built.
When we design we work out ideas in our imagination and often form mental
images of what our design will be like. Whilst in our imagination these
images are only of value to us. We may be able to describe in words what we
can see in our ‘minds eye’ but until we can create a picture, we cannot
clearly communicate to others our intension. Despite huge advances in
technology, drawing remains the quickest and most effective means of
communicating ideas from our imagination. Designers need to learn how to
draw.
As with learning a musical instrument, learning to draw can be a frustrating
and long process that takes practice and determination. However it can also
be enormously rewarding and great fun. A common misconception among
design students is that to be a good designer you have to able to create
highly realistic ‘artistic’ images equivalent to works of art. This is simply not
true. We do however have to make ‘communicative marks’ that enable us to
explain to another person our ideas.
As children we learn how to draw in an almost stereotypical way, trees look
like lollypops, people are made from matchsticks and elephants look like
Dumbo. We have had a lifetime of influence that makes us perceive our
world in a particular way. Learning how to draw from life requires us to stop
looking with our brains and established understanding of what things should
look like and to SEE with our EYES. We have to replace our in built belief of
what we ‘think’ the world looks like with copies analysed by our own eyes
from real life. Just as reading and writing helps us to build a mental
dictionary of words and language, drawing the world around us helps us to
build mental images that enhance our visual dictionary.
The more we enrich this visual dictionary through practice, the better
informed our visual memory becomes. We can then call on this stored
resource when we need to draw from our imagination, which makes this
process much easier as we are better able to anticipate how the world fits
together.
As with any skill, learning to draw requires the mastery of several key
principles most notably an understanding of how perspective works.
Drawing is also helped by using the correct materials for appropriate jobs but
most important of all is to practice drawing through copying.

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Why keep a sketchbook?
ALL designers should keep a sketchbook!
By keeping a sketchbook that can easily fit into a bag or pocket, designers
can practice drawing wherever they are, whenever they wish. The
sketchbook can become a hand drawn version of a camera.
However, sketchbooks are not just for drawing practice but can be used for
writing down inspirational ideas when they arise, filing snippets of useful
information, organization and a myriad of other functions that are purely for
personal use. The sketchbook becomes a series of private conversations with
oneself enabling ideas to develop as information passes between hand and
eye and back again.
As time passes you will end up with a collection of sketchbooks that act a
record of your design life, a diary of design experience. As well as charting
how your drawing improves over time, a sketchbook is a record of ideas that
you may wish to return to for future projects.
What type of sketchbook?
This is mainly personal preference, but A5 is a good size for slipping into a
bag or large pocket. Some designers prefer A6.
Always choose a hardback sketchbook so that you have a stiff surface on
which to draw. Choose cartridge paper that is not too heavy but has enough
of a key to receive pencil.
Who is a sketchbook for?
Whilst tutors will constantly remind you to keep a sketchbook, it is only of
any use to YOU. Never worry about the mistakes; enjoy the sketches you are
please with. Include written notes, diagrams and anything else that will help
you to remember experiences. Do not take yourself too seriously and to not
try to keep each page of your sketchbook in perfect condition. A sketchbook
is a working document a set of visual notes. A sketchbook is a profoundly
personal document that is a learning and recording tool that if you so choose
should only be seen by you.
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