sketchbook

Sketchbook Art Lately

ll Good Things are Wild and Free by Terri Wilhelm
| terriaw

I read this advice recently: “Create what sets your heart on fire and let it illuminate your path.” That’s what I’ve been trying to focus on with my sketchbook art lately.

When I was in Minneapolis last month for the ICON12 Illustration Conference, I stayed at my cousin Linda’s house in the country and we saw a doe and three fawns come out of a clearing and cross the road. They were such a lovely sight I wanted to remember in a sketchbook spread, combined with all the wildflowers in bloom in late summer using with watercolors and colored pencils.

I painted a light wash background on this spread and decided it was perfect to draw backyard wild things with my colored pencils.

I love stickers so this sketchbook spread of small vignettes was inspired by nature things I might want to make a sticker from.

I love water more than anything! I love to drink it, swim in it, shower in it, and watch it. I also discovered I have a lot of boat pictures in my photo roll so I did these little vignettes using a watercolor wash background and neocolor II pastels, which I haven’t used much. It was great fun to experiment with a variety of mixed media.

Speaking of watching the water, it’s fun to watch water birds like gulls ride the wind over the waves, so I played with blues and textures in this sketchbook spread.

I’m always working on several art projects at the same time, so stay tuned for more nature and wild things illustrations. And thank you for stopping by!

Icon12 Illustration Conference Recap

| terriaw

I finally got to attend the ICON illustration conference, after wanting to go for over ten years.

ICON Illustration Conference tote bag

This year’s conference was held in Minneapolis at the Minneapolis Institute of Art, which is right next to MCAD (Minneapolis College of Art and Design).

Minneapolis Institute of Art

I went with my cousin Linda who is also an artist, which was the highlight of the week, spending time together, talking about art, looking at art, making art and shopping for art supplies.

I prepped the inside cover of a new A3 sketchbook, a larger size than the A4 I normally work in, with the intention of using one sketchbook to take notes and do workshop drawing exercises and doodles.

We attended several hands-on workshops, learned about SEO and how to improve our websites, practiced costume figure drawing, did a variety of silly drawing in a few zines, and learned about how to pitch an idea to a publisher. Each one was so informative and energizing!

figure drawing by Terri Wilhelm

I also made a few new friends and exchanged business cards and postcards. Here’s a small variety of the cards I handed out.

Terri Wilhelm business cards and postcards

I am looking forward to attending again, even though it’s not until 2026 since the conference is held every other year.

In the meantime, I am full of creative energy and look forward to more artsy getaways.

Drawing character sketches

| terriaw

I’ve been having some fun drawing character sketches in my sketchbook.

These foxes and crows were inspired by the shenanigans I see in the neighborhood. They will join the owls I sketches recently in my upcoming stories.

These characters are part of a new series of stories I’m writing and illustrating, inspired by the animals in my backyard and my neighborhood.

I have the character names and storyboards done; now I’m working on character sketches and dummy books. Excited to show you more soon!

New Work! The Locals

| terriaw

It makes me happy when I can share new artwork! I’m calling this “The Locals,” wildlife commonly found in the Great Lakes area.

It was great fun filling up this 14″ x 17″ page with animals – a deer, bear, wolf, coyote, fox, raccoon, badger, skunk, squirrel, rabbit, groundhog, porcupine, eagle, great blue heron, great horned own, cardinal, blue jay, did I miss anyone?!

One of my goals in life is to draw everything so this page full of animals is a great contribution to that goal, as well as my zoo-inspired animals.

I Photoshopped this page so each animal is on its own layer and ready for a variety of uses, from the cool web banner above, to icons on maps, mixed up in surface patterns, perfectly placed on greeting cards, strategically referred to in editorial illustrations and more!

I could keep going and fill up more pages like this with so many different themes, like underwater sea life, birds, butterflies, zoo life, and the list goes on.

Behind the Scenes

| terriaw

Behind the scenes, I’ve been filling up pages of owl sketches for a character I’m working on, inspired by a great horned owl hanging out in my backyard recently.

This is part of a new series of five stories I’m writing and illustrating, inspired by the animals in my backyard.

I have the character names and storyboards done; now I’m working on the character sketches and dummy books.

I love simplifying these sketches with just two colored pencils. Next up, I’m finishing sketching the storyboard panels and then the text and the dummy book!

A Day in Life

| terriaw

I strive to make more time to draw everything in my sketchbook, everything in the course of a day that brings me joy or inspires me.

I love to draw these collages of things that captured my attention, like the crow that keeps visiting our birdbath to dunk his bread, or the crab apple blossoms on the trees blooming all over town this time of year, or the lady walking her cute dog who kept looking back for the next treat, or the adorable little groundhog foraging through the meadow behind my office.

In this recent sketchbook spread, I wanted to remember the red-winged blackbirds singing in that same meadow, the goldfinches who are very busy in spring, the sandhill cranes who have returned from their migration trips, the daffodils blooming throughout my gardens, the forsythia’s mix of yellow blooms alongside early green leaf buds, and the many red admiral butterflies I see on my walks.

I’m also working on character sketches for several new stories so I cherish being able to sneak in drawings like these for the practice, the memories, and the simple chance to lose myself in a moment from the day.

A to Z Animal Zine

| terriaw

I love to draw animals! I’m so excited to finish this illustration project, which has become one of my favorite pieces!

This is an A to Z animal zine, inspired by Sarah Dyer’s Patreon drawing session. I tore a piece of paper out of my Moleskin A3 sketchbook (16.5″ x 12″) and folded and cut it into a snake book so it would have 26 panels. Sarah provided a selection of reference photos for each letter. I couldn’t attend her live session so I worked on mine in my spare time over the course of a week. The folds end up with a few hidden panels so I added a little nature scene on those end pieces where the book turns.

I painted the back side of the paper with a blue and green wash and used colored pencils to draw a faux topographic map pattern.

I adore this project because it got me to draw a great variety of animals.

I love making zines, a mini “magazine” from one simple piece of paper, so I’m excited to make more like this.

I often hear the advice to make the kind of artwork you would like to get hired for so I’m going to make more art like these zines!

Character Sketch

| terriaw

I loved dreaming up this random character with her friend while doodling in my sketchbook.

Next up I want to do more sketches of them on their adventures through the outdoors together and cook up a fun story.

I also want to dream up more characters to build a library of characters to tap into for a variety of art and storytelling.

Painting Textures and patterns

| terriaw

I’ve been having fun experimenting with textures, patterns and scenes in my sketchbook lately.

Some of my scraps were fun to turn into a sunrise, sunset, clouds floating through the sky or a winter scene.

Water is one of my favorite things so I loved painting water scenes like this bookmark and postcard.

Sometimes I just like to spread around lots of paint and turn the page into something cool with a few marks using white gouache.

I really enjoy this process of making art where there’s no pressure and no destination, just meditatively dipping my brush into water and then paint and swirling into onto the page. It’s also fun to have a few pieces going at the same time so I can keep going while waiting for one to dry.