Scouring the internet for a new pocket notebook, I had no luck in finding one. I have very specific requirements for the lined notebooks that I use as sketchbooks—that they’re cheap, have a soft bendable cover, have cream-colored pages, and are small enough to carry around with me.

I’ve purchased larger hardcovered notebooks and sketchbooks in the past but had trouble warming up to them. Smaller, inexpensive notebooks seem to be my kind of notebook. Here’s why:

1. The less I spend on a notebook or sketchbook, the less precious I am about it. It gives me a sense of permission to mess up and do “ugly” drawings. And since it was cheap in the first place, I don’t feel too pressured to create the perfect drawing. I can just turn the page and keep going.
2. The smaller the notebook/sketchbook, the less I have to draw. This sounds counterintuitive, but when I’m just starting to draw again, having a smaller sheet to fill helps me feel less intimidated. At the end of the day, I just want to have a drawing that I can look back on.
3. Ruled (lined) pages help fill the blank space which, again, makes drawing less intimidating. Lines are already on the page, so all I have to do is add more. What lower risk can I take?

Granted, I was tempted at Target when I saw a $16 Moleskine the other day with a stretchy band and creamy pages. It would look good, I thought. But I shook my head. No, we’re here for a cheap-lined notebook, remember? Right. I put the Moleskine back where it belongs, and looked through the other notebooks available. 

I finally found what I was looking for. A $2.99 pocket-sized notebook with cream-colored pages. The cover is not my aesthetic but, hey, at least it’ll do the job. I can add stickers to it later and make it my own. (WordPress is not letting me upload the picture of my new notebook, but I’ll come back and fix that later).

Here is my first drawing in this notebook. I haven’t done this style in a very long time. I drew what was in front of me: Amin’s bookshelf. My favorite part of this drawing is the plant; it was the last thing I drew in this compilation which shows how warming up with your pen really does help the results. I then added shadows with a water brush that I once filled with water and India ink.