Dust Off Your Sketchbook: How Drawing on Paper Can Improve Your Digital Art
Digital art is fast, powerful, and convenient—but sometimes it makes us forget where our creativity began. A sketchbook brings you back to basics, sharpens your skills, and strengthens your ideas. Here are 10 reasons why keeping a sketchbook can seriously level up your digital art.
10 Reasons a Sketchbook Improves Your Digital Art
If you love digital art, let me ask you something uncomfortable (but necessary):
How often do you actually use a real pencil and paper to draw?
After years of working digitally, I realized something that hurt a little — I was depending too much on digital tools and slowly forgetting how to draw on paper. Today I come to confess something very real: I feel like I’ve lost a lot of my ability to draw in my sketchbook.
Maybe it’s our growing dependence on screens. Maybe it’s comfort. Maybe it’s fear. But whatever the reason, traditional tools started to disappear from my daily practice — and with them, something essential.
I’m MaríaPalito, and today I want to talk to you about why having a sketchbook can dramatically improve your digital art — even (and especially) when it feels uncomfortable.
When a Digital Artist Returns to Paper… and Fails Miserably
After failing in my first attempt, I decided to return to my sketchbook to improve both sides of my art. I’ve been an artist for 15 years. I’ve gone through many stages — sewing, writing, illustration — but I have never felt as incapable of creating art as I do now. Maybe it’s the rise of artificial intelligence. It has tested all of us. It has confronted us with our worst fears. Sometimes a question echoes in my mind:
If I’m no longer an artist… then what am I?
Here’s the good news (read this twice):
You will never stop being an artist.
It doesn’t matter if your income comes from art or not. Creativity is still there. And we are still here to find it — because it’s always available.
This is what it feels like to be a digital artist… and then draw on paper again. And do a terrible job.
The Sketchbook That Was Literally Gathering Dust
The day I decided to draw on paper again, my sketchbook was literally gathering dust on a shelf — waiting patiently for someone to care. I didn’t even have my usual tools nearby, so I thought:
“Well, I can draw with a pen. That won’t matter.” It mattered.
I became deeply disappointed in my artistic abilities. I picked up the pencil and my hand started shaking.
I don’t remember how long it had been since I last drew traditionally — maybe months. The last thing I remembered was sketching loosely with a pencil. What surprised me wasn’t just how bad it looked…
It was how much I doubted myself the entire time. And that’s when it hit me.
Why a Sketchbook Is Essential for Digital Artists
Yes, we can be very skilled drawing on an iPad. But what happens if someone asks you to draw something nice on a piece of paper? After a lot of practice, I realized I needed a sketchbook — not as a replacement for digital art, but as its strongest ally. So here are 10 reasons why a sketchbook can improve your digital art (and possibly save your sanity).
Final Thoughts: Why Every Digital Artist Needs a Sketchbook
That’s why — even as a recovering perfectionist — I highly recommend returning to the sketchbook.
You don’t have to be perfect.
You don’t have to show it to anyone.
And you’re allowed to try things you’re afraid to try digitally.
A blank digital canvas can be terrifying.
A sketchbook helps you discover what you love to draw.
And when you return to your iPad?
You won’t be empty.
You’ll be full of ideas — waiting.
