Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
If you want the drawings in your sketchbook to look better, the fastest
way isn't to draw better. It's to design the page they're sitting on.
In this one I take four spreads from my sketchbooks and rebuild them in
front of you, element by element, so you can see the order I worked in
and what I was thinking about at each step. A stormy afternoon at home.
A page I started years ago and still haven't finished. A travel journal
from a hotel with a band in the lobby. And a pair of blue suede shoes I
had to share with my son.
I'm not a designer and I never went to design school. There's no grid,
no rules, no correct method. Mostly it's gut, and I've been trying to
work out how to hand you my gut for a while now. This is my best attempt.
➡️ My course: Start Your Sketch Journal: sketchbookskool.com/start-your-sketchbook-journal
🟥 Become a channel member and get perks: youtube.com/channel/UCnwAvNKzdoFgRyvXEBJBv0Q/join
More from Danny Gregory:
💌 My (free) weekly essays: dannysessays.com
🎨 My newest course: Quick Draw: sketch.tiny.us/quick
✏️ My most popular course: How to Draw Without Talent: sketch.tiny.us/WIthoutTalent
🎓 My other courses: SketchbookSkool.com
📚 My books: sketch.tiny.us/books
❤️ My favorite art supplies ❤️
🖊️Drawing pen: geni.us/Fudenosuke
🖌️ Brush pen: geni.us/NIJP
⛲️ Fountain pen: geni.us/2L44mQ
✒️ Dip pen: geni.us/AzWOBZT
🖌️ Watercolor brush: geni.us/WNSix
👉 Nib: geni.us/ZebraGNib
📓 Sketchbook: geni.us/venezia
🌈 Colored Pencils: geni.us/Inktense
✏️ Colored-pencil sharpener: geni.us/VLhfnO3
🖍️ Tempera sticks: geni.us/tempera
Note: There are affiliate links on this page – this means that if you click through and order anything through them, I will earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. These commissions help me continue creating the free content I share, and I greatly appreciate the support!
CHAPTERS
0:00 Making a drawing better
0:57 There's no right way to do this
1:38 I'm not a designer but...
2:41 How I begin a design
3:23 Designing the page
4:07 Variations are endless
4:55 Building on a theme
5:41 Travel journal
6:14 Telling a story
6:49 What connects a page
8:24 The illustrated journal course
9:07 You can do this
If you want the drawings in your sketchbook to look better, the fastest
way isn't to draw better. It's to design the page they're sitting on.
In this one I take four spreads from my sketchbooks and rebuild them in
front of you, element by element, so you can see the order I worked in
and what I was thinking about at each step. A stormy afternoon at home.
A page I started years ago and still haven't finished. A travel journal
from a hotel with a band in the lobby. And a pair of blue suede shoes I
had to share with my son.
I'm not a designer and I never went to design school. There's no grid,
no rules, no correct method. Mostly it's gut, and I've been trying to
work out how to hand you my gut for a while now. This is my best attempt.
➡️ My course: Start Your Sketch Journal: sketchbookskool.com/start-your-sketchbook-journal
🟥 Become a channel member and get perks: youtube.com/channel/UCnwAvNKzdoFgRyvXEBJBv0Q/join
More from Danny Gregory:
💌 My (free) weekly essays: dannysessays.com
🎨 My newest course: Quick Draw: sketch.tiny.us/quick
✏️ My most popular course: How to Draw Without Talent: sketch.tiny.us/WIthoutTalent
🎓 My other courses: SketchbookSkool.com
📚 My books: sketch.tiny.us/books
❤️ My favorite art supplies ❤️
🖊️Drawing pen: geni.us/Fudenosuke
🖌️ Brush pen: geni.us/NIJP
⛲️ Fountain pen: geni.us/2L44mQ
✒️ Dip pen: geni.us/AzWOBZT
🖌️ Watercolor brush: geni.us/WNSix
👉 Nib: geni.us/ZebraGNib
📓 Sketchbook: geni.us/venezia
🌈 Colored Pencils: geni.us/Inktense
✏️ Colored-pencil sharpener: geni.us/VLhfnO3
🖍️ Tempera sticks: geni.us/tempera
Note: There are affiliate links on this page – this means that if you click through and order anything through them, I will earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. These commissions help me continue creating the free content I share, and I greatly appreciate the support!
CHAPTERS
0:00 Making a drawing better
0:57 There's no right way to do this
1:38 I'm not a designer but...
2:41 How I begin a design
3:23 Designing the page
4:07 Variations are endless
4:55 Building on a theme
5:41 Travel journal
6:14 Telling a story
6:49 What connects a page
8:24 The illustrated journal course
9:07 You can do this
