Sketching Videos

In this video I will show you a quick way to draw a cactus or plant in your sketchbook using a simple but effective sketching technique. And this will take you just 5 minutes...

Have you always wanted to try fountain pen for your sketching but weren’t sure which one to get? Well, in this video I am going to show you my 5 favourite fountain pens for sketching that I use on...

If you only have 5 minutes to sketch you can still get loads of benefits from opening up your sketchbook and putting pencil to paper. In this video I’m going to share 5 of my favourite sketching e...

Starting a new sketchbook practice can seem super-intimidating but it can also be so rewarding. In this video I will explain the 4 reasons why you need to start a sketching practice today.

Welcome to episode 19 of Sketchbook Stories, with me, Susan Yeates. In this episode I am showing my sketchbook pages that feature my blue nude collages inspired by Matisse. Within this episode you ...

Welcome to episode 18 of Sketchbook Stories. In this episode I am showing my blue ink cactus art and playing around with some of my favourite paintbrushes, admiring the many amazing and different p...

Welcome to episode 17 of Sketchbook Stories. In this episode I am playing with paint pens, doodling freely and explaining how I keep these easy art materials around to sketch whenever I wish.

Welcome to episode 16 of Sketchbook Stories. In this episode I am displaying my little doodle forest sketches. Follow me as I sketch a quick example of the framed forests too!

Welcome to episode 15 of Sketchbook Stories, with me, Susan Yeates. In this episode I am showing my shadow sketchbook art, along with a quick demonstration so you can have a go at creating with me!

In this episode I am opening up the pages of a recent pith sketchbook where I have been sketching the landscape using a quick tonal study. As well as showing the page I will show you how to create ...

This sketchbook page shows the wonderful technique of blind contour drawing and how we can use this to sketch faces. So fun for loosening up and building confidence in pencil. Oh and it's quick too!

This A4 sketchbook page shows a colourful landscape sketch done in water-soluble crayons, inspired by an oil painting by Paul Cezanne. This video details the exact processes and materials used as w...

Welcome to episode 11 of Sketchbook Stories, with me, Susan Yeates. This sketchbook page shows a collection of loose pencil sketches done in my daily sketchbook whilst on the Isle of Wight. As well...

Welcome to episode 10 of Sketchbook Stories. This sketchbook page shows a landscape sketch done in pencil and watercolour whilst travelling in Spain in a small A6 portable sketchbook. As well as e...

In this video I show you inside the pages of my very first 30-Day Sketchbook Challenge Sketchbook. All these sketches were completed between 01-30 Jan 2018.

Welcome to episode nine of Sketchbook Stories. Today I am going to show you a sketchbook from 2017 that shows my pencil sketches of fishes. These sketches were the initial designs for my fish lino...

Sketchbook warm-ups are designed to be quick exercises to get you in the zone when you open your sketchbooks for the first time on a particular day. This exercise involves doodling pasta shapes usi...

Welcome to episode eight of Sketchbook Stories. This sketchbook page shows a landscape sketch done in pastel pencils whilst on a trip to Gran Canaria. As well as explaining where this was created,...

In this video I show you inside the pages of my second 30-Day Sketchbook Challenge Sketchbook. All these sketches were completed between 01-30 Jan 2019.

Welcome to episode seven of Sketchbook Stories. Today I am going to show you a collection of pages from over 20 years ago when I was a student at art college. We went on a trip to Barcelona and vis...

In this video I will talk you through a simple way to get familiar with your coloured pencils. This helps you to warm-up and get ready for more detailed work.

Welcome to the 7-Day Sketchbook Challenge! 7 days, 7 prompts, 7 sketches. Watch the vidoes here to follow along with the challenge in your own time!

Welcome to episode six of Sketchbook Stories. Today I am going to show you a page from a recent sketchbook that has a number of pencil sketches on it. These were created at different times and both...

In this video I show you inside the pages of my 30-Day Sketchbook Challenge Sketchbook from Jan 2020. All these sketches were completed between 01-30 Jan 2020, in a landscape format hardback sketch...

Join me for the 7-Day Sketchbook Challenge 2023. This challenge runs live from Monday 22nd - Sunday 28th May 2023, but you can take part any time! Each day for 7 days in a row I will share with yo...

May 4th be with you! Now I will let you into a little secret - I am a huge fan of Star Wars. And in this sketchbook I had a play with sketching in pencil some of the iconic helmet shapes (and BB8...

In this simple sketching tutorial you will learn how to have fun with a brush pen and make circular mandala patterns. The tutorial shows you all the fun marks you can make with a pen and then how t...

Welcome to episode four of Sketchbook Stories. In this series I will open up the pages of my personal sketchbooks and tell you the stories behind the sketches. I will also show you how the sketche...

In this video I show you inside the pages of my 30-Day Sketchbook Challenge Sketchbook from Jan 2021. All these sketches were completed between 01-30 Jan 2021, in a small hardback sketchbook. Each...

Welcome to episode three of Sketchbook Stories. Today we are looking at a few pages of mushroom sketches completed a while ago in fine-liner pen and Inktense pencils. This video includes a demonstr...

In this video, I show you how to create a continuous line drawing using a fountain pen. The subject matter is a simple cup. This is a super-fun activity for filling your sketchbook... I even have a...

In this video, I show you how to create a continuous line drawing using a fountain pen. The subject matter is a simple cup.

A huge welcome the second episode of a NEW video series on YouTube called Sketchbook Stories. In this series I am going to open up the pages of my own sketchbooks to show you what’s inside – the go...

In this video I show you inside the pages of my 30-Day Sketchbook Challenge Sketchbook from Jan 2022. All these sketches were completed between 01-30 Jan 2022, in a small moleskin sketchbook.

A huge welcome the first episode of a NEW video series on YouTube called Sketchbook Stories. In this series I am going to open up the pages of my own sketchbooks to show you what’s inside – the go...

In this video I show you inside the pages of my 30-Day Sketchbook Challenge Sketchbook from 2023.

Take a look Inside the full version of the 30-Day Sketchbook Challenge. We have had so much fun so far with our panel sessions, sketch-alongs, sketching tutorials, warm-up exercises and daily promp...

Take a look through the pages of one of my daily sketchbooks. This one was used from Autumn 2021 to Winter 2022 and shows a mixture of pencil sketches, paint and sketching demonstrations from the ...

This week is an interesting discussion all about throwing away old sketchbooks. This is an exercise in letting go of perfectionism. Can you throw away some old sketches or sketchbooks? It can be a...

In this week's sketching tutorial we experiment with fine liner pens and I show you a handy exercise for getting to know them better. Perfect if you are new to pen and ink drawing and sketching. Th...

In this week's YouTube video I am going to show you inside one of my daily moleskin sketchbooks. These are the sketchbooks I use most regularly and carry around with me everywhere that I go. This s...

In this handy sketchbook tutorial, Susan explores how you can create different values of tone using a single pencil. This is perfect as a way to understand how to depict light and dark in a sketch...

Want better results with your pencil sketching? Find out three different ways to hold your pencil for awesome (and varied) results.

This video is a 10 minute introduction to the art of Gelli plate printing. Susan shows you what a gel plate is and how to ink and print using a variety of textures. Gel plate printing can be used t...

In this video I recap and explain about what the H and B stand for on a pencil. This is known as the hardness and softness scale. This is super-helpful to know if you are using pencil as a sketchin...

Why would I use a hard pencil in my sketchbook? This is the question I discuss in this handy video that is part of a special YouTube series all about sketching using pencil.

In this video we are going to compare mechanical pencil to 'real' pencils. This is part of a series on my YouTube channel all about exploring pencils in your sketchbook.

In this video Susan shows you what is included in her own portable sketching pack! The absolute essentials and the optional extras for a regular sketching habit.