Don't Draw it All - Travel Sketchbook Tips from Ghana

In this post, I have some suggestions for keeping a daily sketchbook journal. I'll also show a few pages from a recent sketchbook I kept while abroad.

Last week, I had an incredible opportunity to take a bucket-list trip that I'd been planning for the past few years. I flew with Caleb, an illustrator friend, to rural Northern Ghana to visit two very close friends living in a remote village. I also finally met the team of young unicyclists I made a sticker for earlier this year. 

While putting the trip together, I realized that my last trip to Africa was over 30 years ago! I'll be headed back again next Summer. Come draw with us in Morocco!

(photo credit: My dad!)

When visiting a new place or country (or continent!) for the first time, there are so many new things to record in your sketchbook. It's incredibly inspiring and exciting, but it's easy to get caught up on trying to draw EVERYTHING if you're like me. 

Tip #1. DON'T DRAW IT ALL.

It's important to set reasonable goals for your travel sketchbook. Don't set out to record a minute-by-minute illustrated account of your trip. You'll inevitably get behind and feel bad for not drawing something. You'll try to make it up later, but then there's something else you've missed, and eventually, you'll stop working on your journal completely. I've done this! It can happen to you. 

Here's a reasonable goal: Draw or write something trip-related in your sketchbook for ten minutes every day. That's a more approachable goal than "DRAW EVERYTHING ALL THE TIME." If you draw for ten minutes and it's going great, keep going. 

Tip #2. Find YOUR time to draw.

Every trip is different, so it's up to you to find the best time to draw. Early morning is my most extended window; I like to sit and have coffee, make notes, and draw until it's time to get moving. It's when I'm able to focus. Because of this, most of my diary drawings are actually about the day before. BUT! Your peak brain activity time might be at night before bed or during lunch. 

Sorry, but I will get a little teacher-y here for a second. If you're struggling to find a great time to draw, but you're still finding time to scroll through Instagram (or whatever your time-sucking phone thing is) …um…cough… THAT'S WHEN YOU SHOULD BE DRAWING. 

Tip #3. Finish it later.

A great way to record as much as possible is to ignore the impulse to create finished art in your sketchbook while you travel. Don't worry about posting on social media when you travel. You can do that later if you have a few images you like. 

1. Make notes. Somewhere in your sketchbook, make notes throughout the day.
    
2. Take photos of the things you'd like to draw!
    
3. Sketch it out. Do a quick, rough drawing.
    
4. Ink it! Go over your sketch with a pen, watercolor, or whatever you like.
    
5. Finish it! Sometimes, when I'm back from the trip, I'll add color in Procreate, like in this drawing of Tongo Hills. I did the sketch while in Ghana but didn't ink it right away. The humidity was too high for working with ink. I inked it a few days later at a hotel in Saõ Tomé and Principé when the air was slightly better to avoid smudgy ink. I added the color this morning in Santa Fe, NM. So, if you're keeping count, this drawing was done in at least four stages in three other countries.

Your sketchbook is for YOU. 

You'll notice that my page for that day solely focused on a few highlights. I don't detail my feelings or the things that I learned. I didn't even explain some minor things in the drawing. My sketchbook isn't meant to be a travel guide for someone else. It's a personal record of a very new experience that I had. It's for me. I hope you enjoy looking at it, but it's not meant to be informative.

ALSO. I keep saying that these are notes for how to draw while traveling, but every one of these tips can be applied to keeping a daily sketchbook journal. Don't have a trip coming up? No problem! Just draw your day! 

Part TWO coming soon!

I couldn't fit all my notes into just one post, so keep your eyes peeled for part two. I'll discuss how to vary your pages, pick what to draw, make journal comics, and a few other bits to help you draw while you're out and about. Plus, I'll be showing more drawings that I made in Ghana and Saõ Tomé and Principé!

Thanks for reading!

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