I have been a long time follower, fan, and supporter of Katie Moody. The title of this book fits so perfect with who she is as a person. Katie is a joy and her work and dedication to her craft speak for themselves.

I’ve had this book preordered since the day she announced it was available on Patreon, but I am so grateful to the publisher to get an Advanced E-Copy so I could drool over it before my copy arrives in March.

This book doesn’t disappoint. It’s filled with Katie’s thought processes, practices, suggestions, tutorials and all the ways she uses her sketchbook as a way to go through life. I’ve taken part in many of her challenges and followed along. Her concept of play is clear within these pages and you can feel her love for this book project radiating off every page.

This book is for the beginner and expert alike. That’s what I love so much about Katie’s approach. There is always something to learn, even if it is just to loosen up and explore the world around you in a sketchbook. I cannot recommend this book enough. If I could rate it higher than a 5, I would. That’s how valuable it is.

Sketchbook Joy : How to embrace your creativity and fill your sketchbooks with colour. This is a beautifully uplifting and inspiring art instruction book to encourage artists to embrace the sketchbook as a way to explore and establish an art practise. The projects and prompts are inspiring and suitable for artists of all levels. Just browsing through the book is joyful and almost a meditation in itself.

A gorgeous guide to using sketchbooks to capture your artistic creativity, with lots of easily followed tips. Loved it!

As an artist I found this to be a lovely introduction to what it means to have a sketchbook and art practice. The illustrations were uplifting and simple explanations made the idea of owning a sketchbook approachable, which I think is exactly what every budding artist needs. The simplicity really added to clarity as well. I could happily reccomend this to new students.

The author of this title describes sketchbooks as safe places for creating. This seems like an inviting concept. Because of this belief, this book is not overly prescriptive or instructional. Rather, it is filled with ideas and suggestions for how to enjoy this activity with sections on everything from colors to techniques and more.

There are a number of suggested projects. A few of these center on butterflies, the beach, chickens, and urban sketching. At the end of the book readers will find a prompt list and some resources.

Note that the illustrations throughout this title are very appealing. They do entice me and make me want to create.

All in all, this is a good title for someone looking to explore their artistic side.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group for this title. All opinions are my own.

Anyone can draw! Beginner friendly starter and well intentioned guide to sketching and art. Katie Moody starts off Sketchbook Joy with a brief intro to the world of art and delves a little into color theory, techniques, and tips for drawing, creating and imagining.

The illustrations and examples are really good. I also appreciate the encouraging and upbeat voice throughout the book and many options she presents help readers get started in learning to sketch and start a sketchbook. The latter half of the book has a lot of interesting project ideas and references. I think if you’ve ever taken an art class (even at a high school level), this book might be too basic but this is a great pickup for anyone trying a new creative hobby who has never dabbled in drawing (like me).

Thank you to Quarto Publishing Group and NetGalley for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are independently my own.

This book is just WONDERFUL. The illustrations are stunning, and the advice given in this book is engaging and yet also practical, even for a just-starting-out and not very good artist as myself. I will DEFINITELY be recommending this book. I adored it!

This was such a lovely read. The artwork of Katie Moody was also a delight to see when reading. There were so many tips and steps on what to do, what to try, new things, new mediums and step by steps that didn't seem or look daunting to try out. I am really pleased to have read this and also take note of a bunch of new methods to try and adapt to my own shoddy attempts at art and just overall sketching. It really gave me the urge to get creative!

Sketchbook Joy is the perfect name for Katie Moody's new book. It is a joy to read, look at the pictures, and follow the tutorials in your Sketchbook. Katie Moody walks you through the essentials to start a sketching practice and explores many ways to approach filling your Sketchbook. Pick up Sketchbook Joy and you'll be excited and joyful to pick up a pen and start creating.

I was very excited to read this book after following Katie and her work on YouTube as she has always been an inspiration to me, especially to get into a more regular sketchbook practice.

Sketchbook Joy is great for beginners looking for ideas, techniques and information on the materials needed to start a sketchbook practice. Even as an artist myself I found the book inspirational and discovered a few new techniques to try, such as, starting a sketch with brush pens and layering other mediums over the top. The prompts and step-by-step guides are well thought out and detailed. I certainly want to try visual journaling when I'm out in the landscape to feed into my artwork. The book is also filled with examples of Katie's work which are joyful to look at and in the step-by-step images you can really understand her processes.

I would highly recommend to anyone looking to start their own sketchbook practice.

A perfect sketchbook for the new year to take up sketching as a hobby or a profession (who knows).
Cosy, accessible and lovely.
It is one of those sketchbooks that you can follow cover to cover without feeling bored or intimidated,

It was great to read this encouragement for keeping a sketchbook which is something I'm just on the verge of starting. I loved the idea of commonplacing with drawings not just writing and ideas for incorporating pastels which I haven't tried yet. This book is a great reference for all the possibilities you could include in a sketchbook.

I always get a notebook to doodle, sketch, or just plan ahead and it ends up looking bare/empty. This is nice to get ideas. I think I will share it with my 3rd grader who likes to journal and draw.

Sketchbook Joy would be wonderful for beginners. There are lovely illustrations throughout.

The book devotes a number of chapters to clear explanations and guidance for how to start sketching - there's lots of advice on brushes and paints. I am not particularly artistic (but would like to be) and would never have thought about the importance of choosing colours, which is covered in detail. There are tips for a number of techniques which can be tried.

The projects seem slightly more complex than the earlier section suggests but they have encouraged me to order some supples and I’m looking forward to trying out some of the ideas.

A sweetly painted book. Honestly very beginner primer of how to get started but not much beyond.
Great for a newbie!
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

This is a great little book for people wanting to start using a sketchbook or up their games. The first half is detailed information about materials, color theory and the philosophy of using a sketchbook. The second half is projects and prompts. Quite a bit of the first half is reassurance and musings, with quite a lot about mediums as well. The projects show the steps she uses to make a little colorful fish with watercolor and colored pencils, for example.

One issue I had with the book is that the first very long half really seems to be designed for the absolute beginner. She explains the different types of paintbrushes, for example (fan, mop, etc.) and types of paints. But the second half with her example projects are not necessarily beginner projects and new artists may feel overwhelmed by them. I was also hoping for more inspiration rather than just some copy-me kind of projects.

All that said, it’s a lovely little inspirational book that’s brimming with Moody’s own sketches and paintings, and it’s filled with encouragement and ideas.

I read a temporary digital loan of this book for review.

This book is a gorgeous guide to enjoying a mixed media sketchbook.

Moody makes it all seems approachable and achievable. Her writing is down to earth and explanatory. The illustration and layout of the book is stunning. Artists and journalers alike will benefit from this gem of a book.

The book covers techniques, tools, and includes projects to inspire the reader to test out the aforementioned techniques and tools.

I have spent years battling with the ideal that I'm "not good enough" as an artist. I haven't used a sketchbook for ideas and swatching and ~playing~ with my art; rather I meticulously plan in my head before daring to commit that to paper.

Katie Moody's book "Sketchbook Joy" is designed to turn that thinking around, giving permission to play while creating a daily art practice, whether you have 5 minutes or 5 hours to draw. This book is full of inspiration and encouragement.

There is a lot of information in here about the different media to use when sketching - from paints to inks to pencils to pastels to markers to collages and much much more, and some out of the box techniques to get the most out of each. Whatever mediums call to you - use it!

The second half of the book is all about projects. Not how-to guides, but gentle suggestions to frame your work so as to create a book that brings you joy, whether it be a travel sketchbook, a visual journal, swatch collections, still life or botanical studies, urban scenes, landscapes, or even images from Google Maps!

There are prompts and inspirations, to help you through artists block, let go of perfectionism, and make a sketchbook that is uniquely ~you~.

~ Many thanks to Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review~

Sketchbook Joy is a really accurate name for this book. It just feels so inherently positive and conversational, like I just learned to paint from a friend. This book contains so much great information about making art, from using color and selecting tools, to techniques for specific media and step-by-step tutorials. And it's all explained in a way that feels really encouraging and low pressure. Casually creating art is one of my favorite hobbies, but like many people, I often find myself intimidated, staring at a blank sketchbook page with no idea what to do with it. This book has so many fun ideas to get past that block and the best part is that every page is full of the author's own beautiful artwork. I highly recommend this book to anyone who's looking for a little sketchbook inspiration!

Loved it! 😊 I have followed Katie on social media for a while now and really admire her sketchbooks, so to see behind the scenes a bit is perfect! Fab help with sketchbook beginners :)