doodle daily...

and scribble random thoughts. I enjoy that little saying very often, seen here scribbled in one of my sketch pads. Which happens to be the subject of today's post. Sketch pads. Sketches. Random and specific thoughts.

Above is one of my sketch books that is well loved and worn. Very often my sketches are random thoughts that fall in my head and I need to jot down before they are swiftly swept away. Many times this will include ideas and inspirations I have seen in magazines or online. Sometimes it might be a quote or two that I read, or overheard my kids say. But mainly, I do attempt to be proactive with many of my layout projects and assignments by using my book to purposely plan those pages.

Now there is no real rhyme or reason to my method of planning a layout. Sometimes they are simply mere sketches without even a photo in mind. Every so often I get down to the nitty gritty and use measurements and color and even title idea. The photo below is is an example of getting a bit more specific with my plan in mind.

For me this falls in the doodle and scribble daily category believe it or not. It is relaxing and enjoyable to me to pull out my colors and add that to my sketching. And what is really fulfilling is when the above design turns into this::

You can see it is not the exact sketch idea, but it certainly was a great jumping off point that for me turned out very well.

Another format I enjoy is graph paper. That's when one can really get down to it and use actual scale sizing. I know, that might be a little strict for some, it's not what I always employ. It is simply one that does at times come in handy. The scheme seen in this next photo...

...then became this layout below. You can see how I stayed a bit more true to my original plan. And I am just as happy as to how that turned out too.

So that is a little peek into my creative process. Hope a little something here is helpful to you.

Now, go forth and sketch!