AP Art & Design

Summer Sketchbook

After some rest this summer, try and fill as much of this sketchbook as possible. I find saying to myself “I’ll just start for 5 minutes and see what happens” often leads to hours-long sketchbook sessions.

This is your sandbox. A place to try new things, collect inspiration, and make connections to ideas that interest you.

You will not be required to share your sketchbooks with anyone and it will not be graded.

This doesn’t have to be polished.

Messiness is welcome.

You’re creating for yourself first… follow your curiosity and have fun! If you aren’t having fun making art, you are doing it wrong.

Sketchbook Ideas

You can do all or none of these while completing your sketchbook.

  1. Sketch from Life: People, places, objects, plants, animals—focus on light, shadow, texture, or movement.
  2. Studies in Medium: Try a material you don’t usually use
  3. Perspective & Composition: Practice angles, framing, or unique point-of-view shots.
  4. Mind Maps: Visual brainstorms of themes you care about—social issues, identity, fears, obsessions.
  5. Concept Sketches: Thumbnails or storyboards for potential artworks.
  6. Material Experiments: Try out layering, texture-building, or mixed media experiments—tape, sand, cloth, etc.
  7. One-Word Prompts:
    “Decay”, “Tension”, “Inside”, “Unseen”, “Contrast”, “Reflection”, “Growth”, “Barrier”, “Ritual”, “Lost”
  8. Photo vs. Draw: Take a photo of something, then sketch it—or vice versa. Consider what changes in the translation.
  9. Skill-Building: Follow an online tutorial in a medium, style, or subject of your choice. Repeatedly practice drawing a single object or feature
  10. “Opposite Day”: Take an artwork or photo you’ve made and redo it using the opposite style or tone.
  11. Inspiration Pages: Clippings, screenshots, photos, or drawings of work that inspires you (with short captions about why).
  12. Texture/Color Studies: Collect leaves, fabrics, or found items and match them with color swatches or texture sketches.
  13. Artist Statements: Write short reflections about 3–5 of your sketchbook pieces.
  14. Big Ideas: What themes might drive your work next year? What do you want to say or explore?
  15. Goals: What do you want to improve technically or conceptually over the year?
3D Artists:

In addition to choosing to do anything a 2D artist might, you can also focus on sketching sculptures, designing concepts, installation ideas, and creating textures. Print out photos of any sculptures you create and make a page featuring it.

Photographers:

Filling up your sketchbook will be easier in some ways and harder in others. Include printed photos, contact sheets, collaged compositions, exposure notes, photo prompts, etc.

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