A long time ago, I had the opportunity to work on a project with Dwight Allot, an amazing illustrator. After getting to know Dwight on a personal level, he invited me to his studio one weekend. While visiting his studio, I had the opportunity to look at his sketchbook. It was full of doodles, collages, thumbnails, personal notes, polished illustrations, creative writing, and all sorts of ideas for future projects. After looking at his sketchbook, I remember thinking to myself, “Wow, this is an idea factory.”

That Voodoo Thing

Dwight’s sketchbook inspired me to have my own idea factory. Since I was a creative guy who could design and illustrate, I really didn’t think it would be very difficult for me to create my own idea factory. Boy, was I wrong. I found that if you don’t establish a personal connection with your sketchbook, your idea factory isn’t going to produce anything. I realize that “connection” might sound a little like voodoo, but without this connection, all you’ll end up with is a sketchbook that’s half-full sitting on some bookshelf collecting dust.

Idea Factories at Work

Over the years, I have learned that the elite creatives, the ones who stand out from the crowd, ultilize some type of notebook, scrapbook, or sketchbook. It’s not by accident that they use one. For these top creative minds, having an idea factory that produces ideas 24/7 is key to their success.

To showcase some amazing idea factories at work, I decided to show off sketchbooks from three creative professionals. Their sketchbooks are highly creative and very inspirational.

1.  Guillermo del Toro is the writer/director of the movie Pan’s Labyrinth. To showcase his early writings, ideas, and sketches for the movie, Guillermo decided to display his sketchbook online. His online sketchbook is a real interactive treat for anyone who loves pure creativity. It’s also an excellent example of an idea factory at work.

2.  Emilie Boudet is a talented illustrator who lives and works in Paris, France. This girl is one creative sparkplug. You can tell by looking at her portfolio, her travel sketchbooks, and her blog that this girl is a natural illustrator. If you’re from Toronto, you really should take the time to check out her travel sketchbook from Toronto.

3.  Craig Frazier is a designer/illustrator who’s been at the game of creativity for a long time. In short, when he talks, people listen. In 2005, Craig decided to create a website called 98 pages to showcase sketches from his personal sketchbook. 98 pages is an inspirational website dedicated to the power of the sketchbook. It’s definitely worth taking the time to look at.

Ok, Where Can I Get One?

As I mentioned earlier, it’s not easy creating your own idea factory. That’s because you need to establish a personal connection with your sketchbook first. Creating this connection might take a little time to establish. Still, don’t give up, because once you establish this connection sketching will become second nature to you. As a result, you will start seeing ideas rolling off the assembly line 24/7. If you’re looking to start your own idea factory, here are a couple tips that worked well for me.

• Think Small: Large sketchbooks are a pain to lug around. As a result, you won’t be inspired to carry one around all the time. The problem with this is, inspiration can strike anytime, anywhere. That’s why I love using pocket sketchbooks. They fit in almost any pocket, they are easy to carry with you, and best of all, they don’t cramp your style.
• Treat It Like A Diary: If you treat your sketchbook like a diary and you make an entry every day, you’ll go a long way to establishing a connection with your sketchbook. It doesn’t matter how large or small the entry is, just make one. Then one day, you’ll find that making an entry once a day isn’t cutting it anymore. Congrats, because that’s when you’ll have started to make a personal connection with your sketchbook.

A Miraculous Occurrence

Each time I get the opportunity to look at someone’s sketchbook, I feel like a little kid at Christmas. For me, nothing beats seeing another creative’s thoughts, feelings, and observations through their sketchbook. It’s like I’m taking the creative journey with them. When Milton Glaser was discussing sketching in a video by C.Coy, he also described a similar feeling when he said, “I’m astonished by drawing. I always think of every drawing as a kind of miraculous occurrence”. Well, Milton, I couldn’t agree more.

Thanks to the internet, more and more artists are sharing their idea factories on their personal websites. If you would like to share a website that features an idea factory, please feel free to share by posting a link to it in the comments section.