Making Thumbnails Even More Fun!

'Sunflowers Make Me Smile'        9x12         pastel       ©Karen Margulis
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 Can it be possible?  Thumbnails are fun?  They have been for me now that I discovered a methodical way to do them and use them thanks to Doug Dawson.  Since the workshop I have been not only doing my thumbnails but actually looking forward to them!  And of course my students are coming along for the ride (and hopefully learning a lot from doing them)

But a couple of my students (and very good friends)  found a way to make doing thumbnails even more fun.

 It's all about the tools!

The Thumbnail Kit

Everyone needs a Thumbnail Kit!  My creative friends decided to make their own sketchbook using Graphic design paper. This paper is lightweight but the Prismacolor markers don't bleed through. They just happened to have the equipment to create a spiral binder so they were able to cut the paper and make a book the size they wanted.  They used some fun colorful cardstock for the covers.

What I love about the book and one you can do in any sketchbook is the pockets they made for the thumbnail templates.  They made a template for a rectangle and square.  You can use the template to make your box for the thumbnail sketch. I love this idea because you can get a neat and tidy box in the perfect size for a thumbnail.  Your thumbnails will just look better!

If thumbnails are fun.....You are more likely to do them....Go out and add some fun to your sketchbook!

My black and white thumbnail at top left with my first layer of pastel. I did a value block in to match the values in my thumbnail.  It makes a clear value map for me to follow when adding more layers of pastel.