Using Your Sketchbook as an Idea Lab

A course by Joan X. Vázquez , Illustrator and Graphic Designer

Illustrator and Graphic Designer. Xalapa, Mexico.
Joined October 2015

Learn how to use memory, abstract language, and wit to experiment and expand your visual vocabulary

100% positive reviews (122)
2,118 students
Audio: Spanish
Spanish · English · Portuguese · German · Italian · French · Polish · Dutch

Learn how to use memory, abstract language, and wit to experiment and expand your visual vocabulary

Lose the fear of the blank sheet and discover drawing exercises that can unleash your creativity. With the help of illustrator and graphic designer Joan X. Vázquez, learn how to create illustrations by observing your environment and developing a personal bond with the image, generating unique illustrations that are full of character.

In this course, learn how to use the sketchbook as a creative tool and a space for experimentation. Explore the ideas that arise from memories, abstract language, and wit, and allow them to evolve in order to experiment and expand your visual language. Once finished, you will be able to create content in sketchbooks that can be applied to publications, exhibitions, or any personal or professional project.

Read more ↓

What will you learn in this online course?

15 lessons & 38 downloads

The notebook as an object
6 minutes, 29 seconds
Materials
14 minutes, 16 seconds
Notebooks and processes
5 minutes, 30 seconds
Register the present
8 minutes, 54 seconds
Notes and appropriation
15 minutes, 58 seconds
  • 100% positive reviews (122)
  • 2,118 students
  • 15 lessons (2h 16m)
  • 38 additional resources (8 files)
  • Online and at your own pace
  • Available on the app
  • Audio: Spanish
  • Spanish · English · Portuguese · German · Italian · French · Polish · Dutch
  • Level: Beginner
  • Unlimited access forever

What is this course's project?

Make an artist's sketchbook full of drawings, where you explore various themes and techniques that can be applied to publications, exhibitions, or a personal or professional project.

Projects by course students

Who is this online course for?

This course is aimed at art enthusiasts, cartoonists, artists, illustrators, teachers, and anyone who wants to use drawing as a tool to unleash their creativity.

Requirements and materials

No previous knowledge is necessary to take this course, just curiosity and a willingness to experiment.

Regarding materials, you should have a sketchbook with paper that can withstand mixed techniques, colored pencils, watercolors, markers, India ink, brushes, colored or textured paper, glue, scissors, and any other material you have around and feel like using.


Reviews

2,118 Students
122 Reviews
100% Positive ratings

Joan X. Vázquez

A course by Joan X. Vázquez

Teacher Plus
Illustrator and Graphic Designer

Joan Xavier Vázquez keeps a record in his sketchbooks of everything he observes, using them to understand and go deeper into complex subjects such as his emotions and thoughts. The illustrator, graphic designer, and teacher organizes workshops in his studio, Lapis, where he shares creative processes, generates questions, and diversifies perspectives.

Currently, he creates conceptual illustrations for magazines and books, as well as for for social and cultural projects.


Content

  • U1

    Introduction

    • Presentation
    • Influences
    • What will we do in the course?
  • U2

    The notebook as a rehearsal space

    • The notebook as an object
    • materials
    • Notebooks and processes
  • U3

    Record the chaos

    • Register the present
    • Notes and appropriation
    • What are stones for?
    • Free figuration
  • U4

    From chaos to idea

    • Interpret nothing
    • I remember
    • The space and time
  • U5

    From the idea to the artist book

    • An invented museum
    • Artist book? Chaos!
  • FP

    Final project

    • Using Your Sketchbook as an Idea Lab

What to expect from a Domestika course

  • Learn at your own pace

    Enjoy learning from home without a set schedule and with an easy-to-follow method. You set your own pace.

  • Learn from the best professionals

    Learn valuable methods and techniques explained by top experts in the creative sector.

  • Meet expert teachers

    Each expert teaches what they do best, with clear guidelines, true passion, and professional insight in every lesson.

  • Certificates
    Plus

    If you're a Plus member, get a custom certificate signed by your teacher for every course. Share it on your portfolio, social media, or wherever you like.

  • Get front-row seats

    Videos of the highest quality, so you don't miss a single detail. With unlimited access, you can watch them as many times as you need to perfect your technique.

  • Share knowledge and ideas

    Ask questions, request feedback, or offer solutions. Share your learning experience with other students in the community who are as passionate about creativity as you are.

  • Connect with a global creative community

    The community is home to millions of people from around the world who are curious and passionate about exploring and expressing their creativity.

  • Watch professionally produced courses

    Domestika curates its teacher roster and produces every course in-house to ensure a high-quality online learning experience.


FAQs

Domestika's courses are online classes that provide you with the tools and skills you need to complete a specific project. Every step of the project combines video lessons with complementary instructional material, so you can learn by doing. Domestika's courses also allow you to share your own projects with the teacher and with other students, creating a dynamic course community.

All courses are 100% online, so once they're published, courses start and finish whenever you want. You set the pace of the class. You can go back to review what interests you most and skip what you already know, ask questions, answer questions, share your projects, and more.

The courses are divided into different units. Each one includes lessons, informational text, tasks, and practice exercises to help you carry out your project step by step, with additional complementary resources and downloads. You'll also have access to an exclusive forum where you can interact with the teacher and with other students, as well as share your work and your course project, creating a community around the course.

You can redeem the course you received by accessing the redeeming page and entering your gift code.

If you're a Plus member, when you complete a course you've purchased, you'll instantly get your personalized certificate. You can see all your certificates in the Certificates section of your profile. You can download your certificates as PDFs and share the link online. Learn more about certificates.
Using Your Sketchbook as an Idea Lab. Illustration course by Joan X. Vázquez

Using Your Sketchbook as an Idea Lab

A course by Joan X. Vázquez
Illustrator and Graphic Designer. Xalapa, Mexico.
Joined October 2015
  • 100% positive reviews (122)
  • 2,118 students