Sketchbooks #ThinkDo Activities

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Use the #ThinkDo activities on this page to help you include a variety of activities in your sketchbook

Look at my niece’s sketchbook & watch how it develops over time

Find out more about the types of sketchbooks available and the benefits of keeping one 

Look at this video as well as this one showing sketchbooks created by textiles students


#ThinkDo 1

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Personalise the front cover of your sketchbook. Use any technique you wish. The key thing is that it should stand out from the rest and look inviting to read. You might want to think about including your name somewhere on the cover although this doesn’t have to be on the cover itself e.g. a luggage type label



#ThinkDo 2

Create an electronic sketchbooks using Pinterest. This will enable you to save information and inspiration you find on the internet. Create boards that represent areas that might interest you e.g. fashion design, interiors, colours, fabrics, areas related to your exam board specification. Find people to follow who inspire you. Take a look at my Pinterest to get you started. 


#ThinkDo 3

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Use other forms of social media to save photos you have taken yourself and to look at inspirational images other have taken. Take a look at my Instagram account to get you started 



#ThinkDo 4

Choose a colour and find as many different examples of that colour as possible in magazines. You could also comment on the colours, consider their meaning, as well as how they might be used when designing (including designing products using the colour you have investigated). 



#ThinkDo 5

Find examples in magazines of texture and patterns. You could also include patterned materials in your research. Comment on the textures and patterns and consider how they might be used when designing. 


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#ThinkDo 6 

Find an image in a magazine and collect fabrics and yarns to match the colours. This is a good way of identifying a colour palette to work with when designing products. 



#ThinkDo 7

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Draw products that interest you. These can be from your imagination or you can look at products around you, or in magazines, to inspire you. Don’t worry too much about being able to draw as the more you practise the better you will get. Invest in some fine liner drawing pens as they make even a poor drawing instantly look better. Avoid drawing in pencil first and going over the drawing in pen - just draw! Going over things you have drawn in pencil just slows down your ideas. Don’t forget a sketchbook isn’t about having perfect drawings but rather about having a place to experiment and practise. 


#ThinkDo 8 

Invest in different mediums for drawing with e.g. colouring pencils, water soluble colouring pencils, paints, chalks, charcoal. This will help you discover the mediums you like to work with and you will discover some things work better in some mediums more than others. 


#ThinkDo 9

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Find an image in a magazine (or one of your photos) and cut it in half (or cut off the arm, leg etc.!). Redraw the torn off bits with your own ideas. 





#ThinkDo 10

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Visit somewhere that interests you and write about it e.g. a museum, a gallery, a craft fair, a shop. As well as your comments draw images of things that inspired you. Use your thoughts to create new product ideas inspired by what you saw. 



#ThinkDo 11

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Use the library to look at books on fashion drawing and other areas of textiles design. Even just reading these books will help you develop your own style. Have a go at copying some of the drawings. You could trace them at first to get used to doing drawing and then gradually add bits of your own. Don’t worry that you aren’t very good to start off with as that will improve with practice. Collect names of books you like and put them on your birthday and Christmas list! Look out for books aimed at different levels of skill. The 20 ways to draw a dress is good for beginners where as these 2 books are aimed at someone who wants to learn the detail on how to draw fashion.

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#ThinkDo 12

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Collect a variety of different magazines so you have plenty of sources of inspiration when you want to start a project. Don’t just collect magazines on areas that interest you, look instead for colours, patterns and textures that might be inspirational. Think about how you will store the magazines, You could create a covered box to store them in as this would keep them from getting damaged and would keep any loose bits of paper safe. 


#ThinkDo 13

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Who is your favourite designer? Research them by visiting a store or by looking at their online website. What is their signature style? Comment on and evaluate their products. Draw their designs. Create your own designs using the style of the designer. 




#ThinkDo 14

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How might nature inspire you? 

Collect cuttings & take photos of nature. Do you own drawings of nature. What colours, textures, and shapes inspire you? Do drawings to show how you might use these ideas when designing products?  




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