Witchbook Sketchcraft

I decided to take my own advice and pull one of my unused sketchbooks off the shelf, and start filling it up. I’m not racing at breakneck speed to crowd the empty pages with doodles. It’s just a very relaxed, personal challenge to pick up the sketchbook about once a month, regardless of what other projects I’m working on, and create a finished illustration.

And while most of the illustrations will no doubt be done in ink and watercolor — my current favorite medium, and one I want to improve my skills in — I’m also going to try to switch things up from time to time, using different mediums and, hopefully, improving my skills with those as well.

So, a monthly deadline and rotating mediums will hopefully keep things fun for me and fresh for whoever watches the videos we’ll make from this exercise. And when possible, I’ll also try to theme the drawings to whatever’s happening around the studio at the time. And as it so happens, this October Michelle and I are observing Witchtober, a self-imposed art challenge to create witch-related projects all month long.

We’re starting off Witchtober with this very simple sketch. An old-world, folklore witch. A witch that Hansel and Gretel might stumble across while lost in the forest. A witch that might grant you a wish in exchange for some kindness, but if you cross her she’ll take your first born child as debt.

So this folklore witch is the first monster in, hopefully, a whole sketchbook full of monsters that I’ll be filling up on a monthly basis. Join us over on YouTube this month where we’ll be making witch art all October, discussing witches, and dropping our favorite witch movie recommendations to help make your Halloween a little more mystical.