Sketchbooks vs. Finished Work
Why Process Matters as Much as Product
When you think about making art, it’s easy to focus on the final piece—the polished painting on a gallery wall, the digital illustration ready to post, the sculpture that took hours of painstaking effort to complete. Finished work is what we usually show the world. It’s the proof that we did something, that our time and energy led to something tangible. And in a world that tends to reward outcomes, that final product can feel like the only thing that matters.
But if you’ve been making art for a while—or even if you’re just getting started—you know that there’s a lot more to creativity than the finished piece. A sketchbook, for example, is where ideas start. It’s where thoughts are allowed to be messy, spontaneous, or half-baked. And honestly, those raw, unfinished bits can sometimes be even more important than the work you ultimately share or sell.
Why We Focus on Finished Work
There’s a reason why we get so hung up on finished work. Finished pieces are satisfying. They’re complete. You can show them off, share them online, put them up for sale, or submit them to a show. They make you feel productive because you’ve crossed some kind of imaginary finish line. And if you’re trying to make a living from your art, there’s the practical side of things, too—finished work is what people pay for.
I get it. I’ve spent more than two decades as a practicing artist and professor, and I know that the art world (and the wider world, really) loves an outcome. But if you only ever focus on the final product, you’re missing out on something essential. You’re missing out on the process—the slow, sometimes frustrating, sometimes exhilarating journey of getting from idea to finished piece.
The Sketchbook as a Safe Space for Creativity
A sketchbook is like a judgment-free zone. It’s a place where you don’t have to worry about whether something is “good” or “right.” You can draw, write, scribble, paint, glue things down, tear things out, or cover a page with random shapes. No one else has to see it. You can use it however you want.
And that freedom is powerful. Because when you take away the pressure to create something finished or impressive, you give yourself room to explore. You let yourself follow weird, winding paths. You let your mind wander. And sometimes, those wandering thoughts lead you to places you never expected.
The Ideas That Would Have Gotten Lost
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve flipped back through an old sketchbook and found something that sparked a new project. Maybe it was just a line drawing I did while half-distracted, or a note I scribbled down in the middle of the night. At the time, it probably didn’t seem like much. But later, it turned out to be the seed of something bigger.
Without a sketchbook, those ideas might have gotten lost. They might have drifted away before I had a chance to grab onto them. And that’s the thing—creativity isn’t always a straight line. It’s not always a clear path from idea to finished piece. More often than not, it’s a bunch of half-formed thoughts, false starts, and experiments. A sketchbook helps you hold onto those pieces, even when they don’t seem important right away.
Trusting the Messy Middle
One of the hardest things about being an artist is trusting your own process. It’s especially tough when you’re also managing the business side of things. You’ve got deadlines, clients, commissions, or social media to think about. It’s easy to feel like you don’t have time to “waste” on sketching or journaling.
But here’s the thing: that messy, in-between stage is where a lot of the magic happens. The time you spend playing around, trying new techniques, or doodling random ideas is not wasted time. It’s the foundation of your work. It’s what keeps you from getting stuck in the same patterns or burning out from the pressure to produce.
Sketchbooks as a Business Tool (Yes, Really)
If you think a sketchbook has no place in the business side of art, think again. First off, it’s a great organizational tool. When you’re juggling a million ideas, commissions, or project deadlines, a sketchbook can help you keep track of everything. Instead of letting ideas float around in your head, you can jot them down or sketch them out. Then, when you’re ready to start a new project, you’ve got a whole pool of ideas to draw from.
Sketchbooks can also be a great way to connect with your audience. People love seeing behind the scenes. They love getting a glimpse of the process, the mistakes, the experiments. Sharing pages from your sketchbook—whether it’s on Instagram, in a blog post, or during an open studio event—can help people feel more connected to your work. It shows them that art isn’t just about the final piece. It’s about the whole journey of getting there.
The Personal Side of the Process
As someone who teaches art, I always encourage my students to keep a sketchbook. Not because I expect them to fill it with brainstorming, iterations, drawings or future ideas, but because I want them to trust their own process. A sketchbook is a place to ask questions, to try things out, to be vulnerable. And that vulnerability is important. It’s what keeps you open, curious, and willing to take risks in your work.
In my own practice, my sketchbook is like a conversation with myself. Some days, it’s a place to vent my frustrations or doodle aimlessly. Other days, it’s where I wrestle with a new concept or work out the details of a project. Looking back through my sketchbooks, I can see the threads of ideas that have run through my work for years. Even the pages that seemed like pointless scribbles at the time are part of the story of my creative life.
Process and Product: Two Sides of the Same Coin
At the end of the day, your sketchbook and your finished work are two sides of the same coin. One feeds the other. The ideas you capture in your sketchbook might not always turn into finished pieces, and that’s okay. The act of capturing them is valuable in itself. It keeps you engaged, curious, and connected to your creative process.
So if you’ve been feeling like your sketchbook doesn’t “count” or isn’t as important as your finished work, I hope you’ll give yourself permission to rethink that. Let your sketchbook be messy, unfinished, and full of potential. Let it be a place where you can play, experiment, and explore. Your future self—and your future work—will thank you for it.
Feeling unsure of where to start? I made a handy-dandy download with some ideas to get your creative juices flowing again in your sketchbook. Feel free to print it out and tape it into your sketchbook and see which of the sketching ideas work best for you and your process.
