Project Megasketch -- A Perfect Solution for Your Winter Blues

If you're an artist who doesn't like winter, maybe this post is for you! I used to hate winter. If you live in a cold climate and you're a plein air painter, you probably know what I'm talking about.  One solution for the Winter Blues is to give yourself a special winter art project to break free from your own mold.

Last winter, I embarked upon a drawing/painting/sketching challenge to see objects in a different way, and learn to capture them faster. My hope was that when I ventured out again in the spring to paint, the drawing/blocking in stage would be quicker and more accurate. I wanted to tackle subjects that I found difficult, or required a lot of maintenance and practice, such as perspective, drawing straight lines and round elipses, and being able to sketch a portrait likeness in just a few minutes. I wanted to improve on capturing the elegance and directions of tree branches, the graceful movements of animals, the bustling activity of people walking, and copy some works of the masters to explore their methods. I experimented with mixed media, and broke out all those fun art supplies that I rarely have time to use, or that have been sitting on the shelf untested.

I dubbed this venture Project Megasketch, and began it last November. I finished in April. Maybe it can help you get through the Winter Blues this year, while venturing into new art territory. For those who want to give it a try yourselves, or just follow my project along for ideas, stay tuned. Yours may have different subject matter and goals, but you can create a project that will benefit your art with the development of skills and exploration of techniques by following the process. I'll post regular prompts and examples from my project to help get you started and inspire you in the weeks and months to come. There aren't many rules to follow.

Project Megasketch Rules:

1. Complete 600 pages, minimum size 9x12"-11x15", in any media. (Or set a different number of pages and size if that's too overwhelming. Make the challenge your own.)
2. Fill each page. No cheating with half-empty pages!
3. Work for sale or publication doesn't count. (More about this below.)
4. Set dates to start and finish. It's okay to adjust that later if you have to. Life happens!
5. Challenge yourself, but have some fun too.
6. Trust the process.

Having read this far, if you're still interested, get a few sketchbooks the same size, or one enormous
sketchbook, or cut paper to size if you like having the option of working on different types of paper and loose sheets. If you're feeling motivated, then start right now with what you've got. There's no time like the present! Leave a few blank pages in the beginning for some information and lists that we'll get to later.

I mostly used this sketchbook, which is 11x13", but also cut some other paper to size to have options. The huge sketchbook I used  is 600 pages and weighs about eight pounds. It's awkward to work in due to the thick spine, and impossible to travel with, but I love the paper. After the first 120 pages, I ended up removing all the signatures of paper by taking the book apart, and worked on a drawing board on both sides of the loose, folded sheets from the signatures. This provided a lightweight opportunity for travel purposes too. I found it much better than working in a book, and just numbered the pages as I went.

This project is purely educational/inspirational. Nothing is to be sold nor published, and you don't have to show/post your work from the project. This is important to free you up to experiment and work on problem areas, without feeling like you need to produce something that somebody else will like, appreciate, buy, or even see. It also frees you up to use reference images that are under copyright, since you are doing so only for educational purposes. You're going to need a LOT of reference material at your fingertips to make it through this project.

Fill a few pages with sketches and time them to figure out how long this project will take you. Allow for ample time. It might take longer than you think. How many days per week can you sketch? (I calculated for five days a week, but ended up having to catch up on weekends because I miscalculated how long each page would take me!) You should be able to calculate your finish date for the 600 pages from that information. Include extra weeks for vacations, holidays, and days off. It doesn't matter how long it takes; stay on the train and you will reach your destination. Trust the process!

Still feeling inspired? Leave a few blank pages at the beginning of a sketchbook and get started! We'll get to those blank pages shortly; you'll want them for some lists. The first few pages are the hardest, so initially leaving those blank is a good idea anyway.

In posts to come, I'll address things I found most beneficial, what I struggled with the most, plus tips, tricks, examples and resources that can help get you to the finish line. If you've got any questions, or there is anything you're struggling with during your project, post it to the comments. If there's something you think might be helpful to others, post that too! This was by far the best art project I ever did, and I hope it will inspire others as the winter weeks tick by.

You can click here to see all additional Project Megasketch posts in reverse chronological order.

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