Anyone else really conservative with using sketchbooks/art supplies?

>>2847576
A fancy skecthbook will cost you $15 at most, stop being so cheap.

I'd say it's better to use them for the intended purpose. I used to be really conservative with my sketchbooks and drew small so I wouldn't "waste" it. Just go for it, man. They bought it for you to use

I am this way with watercolor paper and paint. All that shit is so expensive. I am used to digital and having *infinite* paint and paper/undo buttons.

The trade off is originals made traditionally are worth more precisely because of this.

It still holds me back sometimes.

if your just doing pencil stuff you honestly don't even need fancy books. Hammer mill 28lb printer paper will do you great and is 500 sheets for 12 bucks and OOOOO so smooth.

>>2847576

Yeah I have this problem because poverty. I even start using the back of the current sketchbook once I finish it, even though I have like 100 other good sketchbooks waiting for me.

It's the scarcity mentality that you need to get rid of.

Think about it this way: your paints and markers are going to dry up eventually, and THAT is a waste. So you might as well use it, and believe it or not, a lot of art supplies last a pretty damn long time even if you use it every day. You should actually be racing through your supplies so they don't die before you get to use them up.

See your tools as an investment in yourself and your future. You're wasting time by not using them to practice.

Think of all the ways you're not wasting money instead - a lot of people spend their $$$ on things that contribute nothing to their life. Getting a bunch of videogames than they can't even finish, buying starbucks coffee, getting hooked on drugs, spending it on useless trinkets that break within a couple months. Your art career relatively cost zilch compared to the bunch of useless shit people waste their money on and don't even get to keep.

>>2847606
Yeah, you're right that it's a scarcity mentality thing. I'm a really frugal person in general and don't like to waste things. The problem also with fancy sketchbooks is "I can use this once I'm actually good" but the I end up never using them...

>>2847617
>"I can use this once I'm actually good"
Iktf

>>2847606
This is great advice, thanks

>>2847617

There's two types of mindset: the scarcity mindset where you focus on limited resources, and the productivity mindset where you begin planning how to produce more of what you need/want. If you keep thinking of everything in "I am going to run out, I have to save it" you'll never get anything done out of fear that you'll run out of something. Instead, focus on how you can use your current supply to produce good artwork, and how to get yourself in a place where you can get art supplies on demand so you don't worry about it.

>The problem also with fancy sketchbooks is "I can use this once I'm actually good" but the I end up never using them...

You'll never think you're good enough to use it. That's just how artists are. Plus it's just paper, it's not like you're tattooing your shit drawings on your own mother. You can always buy another expensive sketchbook in the future, maybe in a month or two if you draw daily. That's plenty of time to save up money for a new one, unless your family doesn't buy you another one as a gift. Be happy you have a generous family and make the best out of it.

>>2847617
>I can use this once I'm actually good
I have a lot of nicer artist grade paint that I am this way about. I have a whole set of designer gouache my girlfriend got me I have't popped the seal on for that reason!

All of you just use your goddamn art supplies.

Don't become like me, who wasted so many years not experimenting with new techniques and supplies. By the time I finally got myself to use my art supplies, my markers were half dried out and the oil paints stiff in their tubes. Use them while they're fresh, and then go buy another. It's better to run out of art supplies, save up, and then just buy more instead of wasting 5 years not doing something that would've cost only like $300 for the whole span of not-drawing. How much money do you guys spend on toys and games and junk food?

It's not like you need to make huge gouache paintings every day, but it doesn't hurt to experiment with pricier supplies a couple times a month.

Another thing that agitates me is when I gift art supplies to my art friends, and they don't use it because it's too precious or something. Goddammit, I got you something, so try it out. Think of the people who bought the stuff for you.

>>2847589
>500 sheets for 12 bucks
Fucking what? Link?

>>2847589
Yeah, I got some watercolor brush made with squirrel hair for free by someone that costs a hundred dollars or some shit, it feels fantastic, but I'm way too overly cautious with it as a result.

>>2847576
buy a tablet