You might be surprised to know that when it comes to creating graphic designs, many artists and illustrators don’t jump straight to the digital drawing board.
While it’s important to consider the parameters of what can be recreated digitally from a drawing or painting, sometimes the act of putting pen to paper or paint to canvas sparks a creative juices that nothing else can match.
Whether you’re a traditional painter or a digital art native, the first and most important tool in your arsenal is probably a good old notebook for sketching and your favorite pen.
Not every graphic designer needs to win gold medals in drawing, but even the simplest sketches to help plan a piece, whether they be stick-figure storyboards or colorful kaleidoscopic portraits, can be a useful creative starting point on which to base your final piece.
Drawing tablet or physical notebook?
A physical notebook is an inexpensive and practical tool that every artist should have. That said, whether it’s worth investing in an additional digital drawing tablet is entirely up to the artist. Here are some things to consider first:
- screen: Cheap drawing tablets don’t have a display and instead connect directly to your computer, meaning you draw on a blank board and your artwork is mirrored on your computer monitor. These are a good starting point for digital art beginners who don’t want to spend a fortune on a drawing tablet.
- compatibility: Make sure your tablet is compatible with your digital setup, this is especially important if you plan on seamlessly uploading your preliminary sketches into your graphic design program of choice.
- Pressure and Sensitivity: Before you buy a drawing tablet, make sure it responds to the pressure and sensitivity of your pen, otherwise you’ll be left with surprisingly boring pen strokes that don’t respond to classic artistic movements.
Here are our picks for the best physical and digital notebooks for graphic designers to try in 2024.