Seawhite A5 Concertina Sketchbook with Case

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Loved every moment. Karen is such a generous tutor – so informative and helpful. One very happy student – thank you. xx” Jude B I often use my sketchbooks to play with new materials, colours and techniques. They can be a private place to test supplies, make messy, happy accidents and discover techniques I love. This is my six week course that runs two times a year. If you are looking for a way to push your work forwards and find your own style, in a non-rigid way, with room to be independent and do your own thing, then this is the course for you.

Remember sketchbooks can be a place to learn what you like to do when you make art so trials, tests and mistakes are welcome here.

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There are many ways to make a concertina sketchbook and the internet is full of tutorials, but this straightforward and simple way works the best for me. Although this is a VERY simple process, strangely I have not found a tutorial on this method on the internet. Hence this blog!

I scan the drawings on the scanner giving overlaps at the edges and then stitch the images together using an app on my smartphone, as I haven’t got a fancy editing programme like photoshop on the computer. Laborious but it works. Here it is after a three day walk along the Mendips, both sides of the paper concertina full of sketches (note how the covers are flipped in the photos). Chose a material or materials for the cover that you feel is appropriate for the content of the sketchbook, that lends itself to being collaged. Fabric, tissue paper, old letters, maps, photographs, dead leaves, anything goes!

10 Reasons Why I Love Concertina Sketchbooks

We carry a large selection of sketchbook sizes - everything from small A6 notebooks to square and graduate sizes and even huge expansive A1 sizes, there's a sketchbook for everyone. Our large format sketchbooks are truly unique, available in different ranges and finishes, both in case and spiral bound options and popular with artists who work big and education as classroom floor books. I’ve been looking at Karen’s work for quite a while and wondering how she achieved the effects in her concertina sketchbooks, so when the opportunity to find out came up, I jumped at the chance.

I tried adding a taped hinge to the two covers (how the Moleskine ones are constructed), but this only worked when sketching in the concertina one way; one side of the paper still didn’t get the support of both covers. Let your marks and ideas roll into each other through the book, it can lead to beautiful unexpected results.

Concertina Sketchbooks – What Are They?

When you measure the paper to fit around your cover cardboard, leave a good 3cm beyond the shape of your board. TIP: Fold the paper over first to get the shape of the cover into the paper. At the corners, cut a slight V shape away from the corner for ease in folding over. You can use either double sided tape to attach the cover paper or glue. I chose double sided tape. It would definitely not stand up to heavy watercolour or even gouache usage, but it’s a good fit if you’re only painting with light amounts of water or in small sections. Exceptionally comprehensive information on watercolour paints and equipment. Exhaustive details on pigments, translucency, comparing brands etc. Essential viewing for the true obsessive.

FINALLY: make sure when you work into your sketchbook that you draw on the side without the tape! Customizing the Sketchbook Covers But why should I go to so much trouble? Because concertina sketchbooks are wonderful. Let me count the ways.. 10 Reasons Why I Love Concertina Sketchbooks So many people use them, so many people love them. What is a concertina sketchbook and why do I love them so much? Concertina Sketchbooks – What Are They?

The sketchbook suited the wax crayon function of the Woodys the most, bringing out their strong pigment with only a slight amount of wax buildup. When diluted into watercolours the paper again showed a slight predetermination to warp, if only in a minor way. And here’s the concertina held open with a clip, creating a wide and stable base for sketching that doesn’t strain the hand. In this next step, you’ll need to measure your paper to cut three strips (in this case) at 18.5cm high. The strip takes the whole length of the paper. You will be left with a wee bit at the top that you won’t need. TIP: You know the old adage, measure twice, cut once? Not a bad rule to follow.