How to fill a Sketchbook Quickly // Specific Ideas & Tipps

Hey there! Today I wanted to share with you how to fill Sketchbook quickly to combat my perfectionism. I really hope that all those Sketchbook and Art Journal ideas can be useful to you and that you'll get some inspiration out of it.
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▶️ PRODUCTS USED:
• Watercolors: amzn.to/3w89Vdk * (similar set)
• Winsor & Newton Designers Gouache: amzn.to/3Jcp0Oc *
• Some Holbein Gouache Colors & a white tube of Schmincke Gouache
• Kunst & Papier Sketchbook (I don't really recommend that one tbh)
• Brushes:
- Staedtler Synthetic Brushes
- Caran D'ache Brush
- Etchr Brushes
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▶️ SKETCHBOOK COURSE: melaniebleis.podia.com/the-ul...
▶️ MY COURSES: visualmindart.com/courses
▶️ My favorite ART SUPPLIES: www.visualmindart.com/products/ *
▶️ Instagram: / visualmindart
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*Those are affiliate links. If you decide to buy something I get a small commission that helps me build my channel. This doesn't cost you anything. Also, as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

[@amortlepsg]

Adding stickers or stuff created on another type of paper is a great way to finish a bad quality sketchbook. It's also nice to have a low pressure sketchbook, you may not always enjoy the result but the process is usually free of stress.

[@dianeo]

I love that you did a watercolor wash on the sketchbook page before gluing down the squirrel art. I always felt that just gluing art into a sketchbook wasted a drawing page but this is a great way to fill a page quickly, enhance the art you're gluing down and use the page as more than just a placeholder for an art piece. Lovely ideas here! Grabbits! I like that one :)

[@VisualMind]

Thank you! 😊 I really like Grabbits too 😁

[@VisualMind]

➡️ NOTE: There's a safety reason why my hamster didn't have more bedding. She is no longer alive. Please stop commenting about this! ▶ SKETCHBOOK COURSE: melaniebleis.podia.com/the-ultimate-sketchbook-guide

[@sarahdermody6665]

Ahhhh saffo is so cute in your paintings, and when she was licking the tank 😆

[@makingtings2802]

I love the hamster spread! So cute. 🥰

[@onedirectioninfection5756]

hi! not really on topic for the video but i think adding more bedding into the hamster enclosure would help a huge amount. 6 inches is the minimum for hamsters to be happy (paper is better than woodchips as it can hold burrows very well) and 10+ is recommended :) some more enrichment would also help, like pet moss, grapevine/birch wood pieces, forage (like millet/oat/wheat sprays), a large sand bath and other homemade boredom breakers. having a huge cage is essential for a hamster, but it can be just as bad as a small cage if there's nothing for them to do. sorry for your loss, your hamster was a cutie and you clearly loved her a lot :)

[@VisualMind]

Unfortunately there's a reason why she didn't have more bedding!! ;)

[@onedirectioninfection5756]

@@VisualMind was she an escape artist?

[@Chihaya.A]

Yes!! More please ;) would love to see more ideas 💡 for sketchbooks using different mediums!!❤

[@AnimalDreams86]

Great video, I'm saving it to my inspiration list! I especially liked the window idea! About your hamster: he/she was probably trying to get out because the cage wasn't suited for a hamster. It looks to be definitely big enough, but hamsters want space to burrow, so they need a much thicker layer of bedding, at least 15cm thick, and a mix of materials that enables them to dig whole tunnel systems. Also, when 'aboveground', they like a lot of coverage. They're prey animals, so open spaces makes them feel unsafe.

[@VisualMind]

The reason why she didn't have more bedding was because it enabled her to reach the railings which she chewed on. I had another hamster in another cage and that's how he died. She never burrowed, just used the extra height trying to escape. Please don't assume that I'm ignorant & uninformed 🤦🏻‍♀️ and what's the reason for commenting this anyways after she died? I knew I should've added a disclaimer to the video, you're not the first one to comment this. Glad you liked the rest of the video though!

[@AnimalDreams86]

@@VisualMind actually, my reason for commenting this was because you sounded very sad not having a hamster anymore, and I hoped that if you knew about another way of housing them, you might have the joy of having one again. I didn't want to make you feel bad or anything. I want any pet to have a suitable home (and you're not the only one reading the comments), and anyone to have the pet they enjoy (if they know how to take care of it). I'm sorry I've brought it up! I really didn't want to hurt or upset you!

[@beccab2151]

This is what I was going to say too. Hamsters need toys, places to hide and deep bedding. Lots of places to dig.

[@lunacouer]

This comment is just...it's just so mean. If someone talked about their dog dying of old age, who said they weren't getting another dog because they felt their yard hadn't made their dog super happy, would you leave a comment of all your ideas on why they might have been unhappy with it? With all the ways they could improve it - for a non-existent future dog they already said they won't be getting? After they _just_ lost their companion? No, because it's disrespectful to their loss and they didn't ask for any advice. At least I hope not. Please consider this for future comments you make, especially since you've decided to double-down instead of deleting this comment. If someone needs hamster-homing advice, they'll go to a hamster channel, not an art channel comment section.

[@marissafrady6522]

I love all of your sketchbook videos! So helpful

[@junelondon1703]

First of all: PLEASE everybody, NEVER set free any pets because they don´t know how to survive outside, so they WILL DIE! (I know she said she just thought about it, but still.) Second: Those ideas for scetchbook projects are inspiring. I will definitly try some of them.

[@lywaa2300]

I love these ideas!

[@furryfriendsandfun]

Hey Melonie, thank you for making this video. I love these kinds of videos so much.

[@mell5778]

Thank you! I realy like these video's 😊 so much inspiration🤗

[@kimberlycorliss9616]

Great ideas. I love your artwork!

[@AtelierArts]

These are some really cool tips! Thank you❤️✏️📒

[@VisualMind]

Thank you & you're welcome 😊

[@enchantedcolours2023]

Lovely ideas for scrap booking 👏

[@PhoebesWorldProductions]

I love doing cut outs and windows in my art journal pages.... Awe, I love the little critters. =) I love your parrot stamp. =) These are all great ideas. =) Awe. =( my sincere and heartfelt sympathies on the loss of Sappho, I love the page about her.

[@VisualMind]

Thank you 😊💜

[@PhoebesWorldProductions]

You're welcome. =)

[@xoonaniart]

This was a very inspiring video! Thank you for sharing your ideas with us! Xxx Xoonani

[@cremeuxkraft9019]

Have you thought about using an Instagram challenge as inspiration for a sketchbook video? My favorite is the #foodpaintchallenge it's how I was filling mine. Before I fell behind. Lol

[@madiii520]

tysm so for inspo! although this is not my art type, its still aesthetically pleasing✨💖

[@SketcherAmitSharma]

Wonderful👌

[@sixmercer2504]

I would name your little characters "Porcuibuns" (porcupine bunnies). They're like little Furbies (which are already a thing so I'm just describing them in a way I recognized them). So Porcuibuns would be the name I would call them. (Oh and the licking your hamster was doing was a sign of anxiety, it seems cute but repetitive things like that are usuallydye to anxiety). But that set up you have is insane! Any captive little animal would be so lucky to have that enclosure. But I am a hardcore animal rights vegan girl who hates captivity for animals if it can be helped. And usually it can. So I commend you greatly for wishing to sell the cage and not get another hamster 🐹 You helped me so much when you said that painting takes way less time than dry media. I have two main sketchbooks that are really close to being filled but have been taking FOREVER! Of course due to medical issues I don't draw every day, I would if I could. But to learn that my fear of the paintbrush would catapult me through my sketchbooks while also learning to paint was the greatest information I got from this video! I also love how you explain that learning how to mix colors can be used as paint swatches along with the painting making it more interesting and to use that on the page next door. When you said you didlike the clouds and pulled the tape off all I could think was "outline the clouds with black pen!" But we all work differently, I just thought that might pull it together more and of course it could destroy it and yeah, it's just what I would have done.

[@alexmeiser-stedman7851]

Woop, I'm here!! You're hilarious 😹 I just found loads of doom box stuff I'm going to stuff into a scrap book. Hmm, scrap book, not sketch pad, maybe I'll combine!! From looking at your home page I love your style!! The cats!!! 😻 See you soon, ciao for now

[@alexmeiser-stedman7851]

This is also exactly what I need right now, I think it'll help me get on with tidying my 'studio' 😂👌

[@alexmeiser-stedman7851]

"scratch muffins"! 🤷🏼‍♀️

[@rajeshraii]

Wow ,what an useful video for art lovers.I love every single idea that you have shown in this video.I am totally going to try this . Thanks for teaching us Mel .Have a good day🌿

[@VisualMind]

Thank you! 😊

[@twinsings4659]

I love hamsters and you painted them perfectly compared to others

[@petragunther4439]

But why should I hurry to fill a sketchbook quickly? I rather enjoy filling page after page (just skipping the very first one blank to overcome "the block caused by staring at the first white page")

[@VisualMind]

You don't have to, it's your sketchbook Petra ;)

[@melanie990]

Fuzz Beans!

[@joanpringle-canning2834]

🤗🤗🌸🌸🌸🌸🤗🤗

[@user-ht7yc1vk2v]

Кака я рада видеть человека, рисующего правильной, левой рукой! Привет, рисующий собрат!

[@r.liebgott1543]

Great line: she was basically a blob with eyes and feet.

[@fuzzydragons]

RIP little hamster I only have finished a sketchbook for college or uni, never one for just me lol

[@MarvelKaitlin]

The bunny thingies could be called Bonnie and Clide

[@leylax3499]

Mines literally just full of scribbles 😂😭

[@christinesharland8478]

Love this. But Why quickly. Are we on a time limit lol. I say Enjoy each page.... Sketchbbooks arent cheap and trees cant grow any quicker......

[@VisualMind]

Because it takes the pressure off making each page perfect. Having a balance between quick and fun art and more refined art helps prevent artistic burnout. But take as much time as you want with your sketchbooks - there's absolutely no rule that tells you how to do it. That's the fun part actually.

[@lindseyelza1222]

Grabbits.

[@Bell_La]

8:55 then why did you keep having hamsters?? omg

[@VisualMind]

Should I have killed them instead? 😂

[@melindawilcox1934]

Stop holding your brush like a writing pencil! A brush is a fulcrum! Lol.

[@VisualMind]

I have exactly 0 clue what you mean lol.

[@jonlizsam]

I would call your creation a hedgybunbun. They’re darling. I love your page and have never seen this before. You must have taken great care of your hamster. 🥲

[@VisualMind]

Thank you 🥰