A week in my A3 Sketchbook! Painting big and chatting about the Art Process

[@monkeymintaka]

Which was your favourite spread?

[@LMuse9]

I just love them, but especially the sheep landscape.

[@monkeymintaka]

@@LMuse9 thank you! That was a fun one to draw :)

[@anne-marieolivier8318]

The back alley pink one!

[@paulwoodford1984]

Has to be the leg spread

[@Toto-NaoWinter]

I love all of them. If I have to choose only one, it’ll be the sheep one❤. Thank you for sharing your process and thoughts. My biggest painting is A4, but you made me feel like painting bigger definitely 😊

[@monkeymintaka]

It is fun but definitely more time consuming to paint bigger than a4!

[@pennypop408]

My fav is the last one with the bridge.

[@monkeymintaka]

That’s my favourite too I think! Or the pink one 🤔

[@vanessahanley264]

I absolutely love them all! I love your loose style and your colour palettes are dreamy. So happy i have found your channel.

[@monkeymintaka]

Yay! Thanks so much :) Glad you found it too

[@jenniferwright2829]

Totally LOVE the hair color. When that clip started I thought "wait, did she dye her hair?" And you did! It's very vibrant and suits you well!

[@monkeymintaka]

Thanks Jennifer :)

[@helenkosmicki3283]

I love getting to see all the art production

[@monkeymintaka]

I’m glad you enjoyed it Helen :)

[@fionahannon_art]

Wow! I absolutely love your art style, I love to be messy too, and the A3 double page spread is so big and ….. I dunno why , it’s just so appealing. This is one of the most enjoyable, informative, and real art videos I’ve seen. I can’t tell you how much I love your work. Must subscribe immediately and binge all of your videos, can’t wait! 🙌🙌🙌🎨🎨🎨👍👍👍🙏🙏🙏👀👀👀👀👀💚🧡💚🧡💚

[@monkeymintaka]

Thank you so much!

[@anne-marieolivier8318]

I love the pink colour palate - i was sad when it lost

[@monkeymintaka]

I’m glad you got to see it in use!

[@jand9770]

The 1st completed painting you showed was very nice. When starting a new painting, I am surprised you didn't "skip a page" to make sure the paint didn't bleed through to the painting behind it.

[@monkeymintaka]

These pages are really thick, nothing tends to bleed through unless it's a ton of water

[@anne-marieolivier8318]

Four and a half days 😂😂😂 a looooong time

[@jessicarushton96]

I absolutely love how you limit the colour palette and render the images in your style! I find I get caught in all the details, so perhaps I should try limiting the materials and see where I get. Couldn't choose a fav becasue they are all so gorgeous! Loved the fact that you challenged yourself to a bigger size. I'd be terrified 🤣

[@monkeymintaka]

I find it difficult to limit the colours sometimes as I love every colour. But I always find the work turns out more interesting when I do! Have fun with it :)

[@KittehNow]

All are lovely ❤❤favorite was #6. Loved the whole video😊😊😊

[@monkeymintaka]

Yay! Thank you!

[@vixen5870]

Soo therapeutic ❤️

[@monkeymintaka]

Glad you enjoyed it :)

[@HarmonyHardin]

I love how freely you create your art, big strokes etc. Super fun to watch for me since my process is the total opposite, tiny details only basically with the finest brush I can find :)

[@monkeymintaka]

Thanks Harmony :) I am always impressed with the patience other artists have when painting tiny and detailed. It is nice to watch other peoples processes though, even if it isn't our own, I think we can always learn something or be inspired in some way!

[@atcreateartworks]

👏 I really love your style, use of color and process , especially with neocolors and landscapes 🫶🏼 I only recently discovered Caran D’ache Neocolor wax pastels and I am loving them! Your beautiful artwork inspires me to use them even more and watching your process shows me how much more I can do with them. Prior I typically used fineliners or ball point pens so I leaned much towards detail work. But the wax pastels are so freeing and loose to use. It opened me up to landscapes which I use to avoid. It feels good to find another medium opposite to my typical one. I work in a quicker more fluid style. It feels like a good stretch! And it loosens up my creative process. I use it now when I feel Art blocked or really want to relax. So happy to find your channel and Instagram page! 😊

[@monkeymintaka]

I'm so happy to ready your lovely comment. Neocolors are great fun! Hope you are enjoying them :)

[@bjustbee]

These look so good! I honestly love pink/red ones the most, but the green orange are so lovely. The one with the green buildings and the orange tree tops, so nice.

[@monkeymintaka]

Thankyou! I quite liked the red and pink colours too, although they are very different for me :)

[@coloredcarol8074]

I love your messy style! I’m on the opposite end of the spectrum, I tend to be too tight and would like to be more expressive. I found it funny and relatable when you mentioned crows tap dancing on your roof, because I have the same only they are seagulls, so quite heavy footed the fellas 😄

[@monkeymintaka]

Thanks Carol :) The birds are so annoying in the morning. I swear it sounds like they are trying to rip the tiles off with their beaks 😂

[@coloredcarol8074]

@@monkeymintaka the seagulls here sometimes loose their balance and come sliding down the roof, I find it quite funny actually 😂

[@anne-marieolivier8318]

I just love your process so much. Like i am always how will April do this - like no way and then magic! 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

[@monkeymintaka]

Thanks Amo 🥰

[@rubybea]

i love your videos so much, cant wait for the next upload.

[@monkeymintaka]

I’m so happy you enjoyed it! Next one should be up soon 👀

[@awesomeroarsome3894]

Love the pink house spread! A3 sketchbooks are very daunting

[@monkeymintaka]

Thanks! They take a bit of getting used to, I think they could take a lot more detail but it takes so long as it’s so much page 😂

[@emilyt7822]

Loved watching your process. It was amazing to the transformation with the layer of media building up 🙂

[@monkeymintaka]

I’m glad you enjoyed it :)

[@michelleboone2575]

I love your videos! I find myself giggling while I listen because you really have a great sense of humor. If I had to pick one of the spreads I think I’d pick the first one. Can’t wait to see the follow-up. Very inspiring!

[@monkeymintaka]

Thank you! I like that one too, it surprised me, if that makes sense 🤔

[@SashaFitzgerald]

I love your hair! My favourite was the last one, the lighting is beautiful. I can’t wait for your vlog!

[@monkeymintaka]

Thanks Sasha! It should be out sooooon, just need to finish a couple of bits 👀

[@trishamarie6848]

This makes me so happy! I am going to draw with you. Thank you for sharing your process. 💚💚💚

[@monkeymintaka]

Ahh yay! Happy drawing :)

[@anne-marieolivier8318]

Sleepy April is so cute

[@monkeymintaka]

Haha thanks. I thought I looked a bit of a wreck, but it’s real life I guess 😂

[@beckysoules4618]

I loved watching this! Your enthusiasm is contagious!

[@monkeymintaka]

Ahh thanks Becky! Glad you enjoyed the video 😊

[@amiesabadin750]

Thanks for sharing! My fave is the scribbly sheep spread!! I have the same A3 sketcbook with one page used.... I might try be brave and do a double spread like you soon... thanks for the inspiration and sharing scenery etc from your part of the world! :)

[@monkeymintaka]

Thanks Amie :) Yes be brave! It’s fun :) I rarely use single pages anymore, but with that long spread I probably should have as it was really hard to draw with it long ways 😂

[@fuzzydragons]

I've got Pink houses by John me3llencamp stuck in my head now after looking at your pink buildings lol 😝

[@monkeymintaka]

😂

[@rileyvanderzee]

im loving your style and process currently! also really enjoy the limited palettes youre using, great work!!

[@monkeymintaka]

Thanks so much! 😊

[@shemer00]

I absolutely love your videos. Thank you for another! I hope you're doing well

[@monkeymintaka]

I’m glad you enjoyed it!

[@shemer00]

I love all of them

[@RavensMinis]

This is so out of my comfort zone, but I love watching your process and the artwork. Perhaps it's cool to keep all your little pencil stumps and glue them on a canvas or something. You'll create a pretty neat 'pencil artwork' over time :D

[@monkeymintaka]

I’m so glad you enjoyed it! I have been keeping all my tiny pencils. I only have two right now but I’m sure I can find something to do with them when I’ve saved a few 👀

[@dianegibbs]

I loved the whole thing, love seeing your process and would love to know how you pick your palettes? Like what are you thinking about and how do you test out or do you test a palette before you decide to do a piece in it?

[@monkeymintaka]

Glad you liked it! I have been working on:thinking about a colour video series for over a year now. Just need to find time to film it properly.

[@HappyArtDesign]

Hi love this video! Definitely encouraging for me to start in my a3 size. I come from a5 tot a4 and wanted something crazy 🤪 What paint do you use for the underpainting? I love the colours of them too!

[@monkeymintaka]

I did the same! Started on a5 and went up. But I still use all the sizes. The a3 is really fun :) I used the Himi jelly gouache for the painting in this one.

[@emmaneary6120]

Ooh I like the first and the last ones best. I wonder if you can very lightly sand any areas of thicker paint to help coloured pencils go down better. I've never tried it so maybe it doesn't make a difference or it just wrecks the paper. Sandpaper's a normal art supply right? I still have an A3 sketchbook lurking in a drawer. I just need to decide what medium to use in it as I think coloured pencil would take too long on it's own.

[@monkeymintaka]

Sand paper could work 🤔 I might buy some next time I’m in town. A perfectly normal art supply I think! I think an a3 page in your style would be so awesome, but would also take ages! Maybe you could do one over a month and just do a little bit when you feel like it, as a longer project

[@sarah_hedges_creates]

Loved this, very inspiring as I have an A3 sketchbook and I’m scared to start it or even what to do in it! I struggle going larger than A4. I may give myself a challenge like this to help!

[@monkeymintaka]

Thanks Sarah! I find it does take some getting used to, drawing bigger. I love my A4 now and I don't think I can go back to A5. But A3 just feels so MUCH bigger! It is fun though :)

[@bazutaartstudio]

That is the biggest sketch book I have ever seen :). tap dancing crows, new illustration idea?? I've not really been a huge fan of pink since I was like 12 but I'm really digging those pink spreads. good job on the bigger paintings!, You'll be working on big panels of canvases before you know it.

[@monkeymintaka]

I’m working on them this week Wendy so much sooner hehe. I kind of want to draw birds though, so maybe I will do some crows 🤔

[@miklosnemeth8566]

Nice video! That reference photo at 5:18 is perfectly composed. Can you share a link to it?

[@monkeymintaka]

Thanks! I took these photos so I don’t have a link sorry.

[@saraho6824]

Your videos are so chill and relaxing. Thank you for making them and sharing them with us. I love the spread with the little bridge, I think it was your Friday painting? I love the idea of an A3 sketchbook, and I have an A4 that I'm "working" in. haha But I gotta get better at drawing scenes rather than individual, random objects.

[@monkeymintaka]

Thanks Sarah :) I think that was my least favourite! It was really tricky drawing in portrait as the sketchbook didn’t fit on my desk. It took me a long while to work up to whole scenes too, and now I am going to try to add characters which I think will be quite difficult to get right. Keep drawing and having fun, that is the most important part of art I think 🤔 😊

[@nancysharp7138]

Did you treat your page prior to painting with a gesso? And does paint bleed through?

[@monkeymintaka]

No, I am far too lazy for that! This sketchbook has really nice thick pages so nothing bleeds through - unless it’s an alcohol marker or a lot a lot of water. Hope that helps :)

[@Fie.Franciska]

I also bought a A3 moleskine sketchbook and I cant waaait to use it, 5 more days and we will finally be in NZ 😊

[@monkeymintaka]

Yes Fie! I bought another one the other day as I am enjoying this one so much, I tried a cheaper brand though so I am excited to compare the two.

[@tommel302]

Hey , curled paper or something else? what is the gram? Is it good for gouache?

[@Fie.Franciska]

@@tommel302 the gram is 165gsm, I have used both watercolour and acrylics in it and it worked fine, watercolour obs not as well as on watercolour paper but it could hold an okay amount of water I would say :)

[@Fie.Franciska]

Do you put any fixative on your pieces when you use neocolours?

[@monkeymintaka]

No I don’t, but I do have some coming in the mail this week so I might start!

[@Fie.Franciska]

@@monkeymintaka ah okay :) I have only used neoCs in a black sketchbook so far and they smoosh so much so was just wondering if when using them in mixed media they might not be as bad for rubbing off if that makes sense :)

[@monkeymintaka]

@@Fie.Franciska I don’t really find they run off. I put a piece of paper in between so the crayon doesn’t transfer when I’m drawing on the other side and that works fine

[@kymcrowart7876]

What brand sketchbook is this?

[@monkeymintaka]

Moleskine :)

[@jayne3944]

OHHH MY GOODNESS!! LOVE YOUR ARTWORK!!!

[@monkeymintaka]

Thanks so much!