I can't believe I've done this and it looks this good, but - I've made my own sketchbook!
After searching and asking around, I found that no brand sells pastel paper sketchbooks. Then the wonderful ~
flyingfish98 pointed me to
a tutorial of how to make your own sketchbook, and it was basic enough that I was able to follow it. (No kidding. I can spend 20 hours over a watercolour painting, but anything that involves craft? Argh!)
Made from Canson Mi-Teintes pastel paper, an old amazon.de envelope for the cover, a ripped-up printout of a map of Beleriand (Middle-earth of the First Age)* pasted on with transparent and waterproof casein glue, some string, and quite some blood and sweat. Yes, even blood. I told you I'm terribly clumsy with craft.
I can't wait to fill this beauty with sketches... I'd love to recline by the waters of Ivrin for that, but alas, I'll have to make do with our world.
Photo by me. Plus all sorts of decorative cosplay stuff accumulated over the years.
*Since people keep asking: The map can be found online, and it's definitely a legally grey area. I would not be allowed to sell this; the map was drawn by Christopher Tolkien; it's the official one from the Silmarillion. The parchment look comes from a texture I painted myself, with custom brushes.
Some more in-progress shots on my blog:
[link]Some of the things that are in it by now:
`ChewedKandi has certainly gone out of her way to keep the vector community on the right path. Always making sure that her talents are infinitely scalable, Sharon has put her bezier curves to excellent use, and firmly anchored herself as an inspirational leader. We're absolutely delighted to bestow the Deviousness Award for June 2013 to `ChewedKandi. Congratulations, Sharon! Read More
Sta.sh
YOUUU...ARE GENIUS.
*Fangirl*
i am gonna have to make one now too.