Morongo Canyon
Used a brush pen for this sketch in the desert outside L.A. I had to work fast cause my hands were freezing.
The real Dagger of Time
Sketchbook pages from my first day on the Prince of Persia set in Morocco, last summer:
Jake offered to hold the Dagger of Time so I could sketch it. The one drawing you’d figure I could do in my sleep. Naturally, under pressure (we were between takes), I rushed it, and messed up the proportions.
I asked him to hand me the dagger for a moment, thinking I might just turn back time and try that sketch again. Alas, it was empty. He must have used up the sand doing stunt work with 2nd unit.
It felt good to hold it, though. Much more solid and weighty than a PS2 controller.
Shanghai sketchbook
From my last day in Shanghai:
This is my new favorite skyscraper, the Jin Mao Tower. (The one that looks like a bottle opener is the Shanghai World Financial Center.)
I did this sketch from the top of the tower. It was growing dark and the city was fast disappearing in the haze, so I only had a few minutes. I actually like it better than the more “done” sketch I did in the park.
The gear I use
About two years ago, I started carrying a notebook around with me so I could sketch when the urge struck. My friend Alex Puvilland gave me my notebook number two, a Moleskine sketchbook, which is the kind I’ve used ever since. I’ve filled seven of them.
Moleskines are kind of the iPhone of sketchbooks: They’re ubiquitous, pricey, and their marketing is so blatantly geared toward making you feel like possessing one will make you a cooler person that I feel a vague sense of embarrassment at having succumbed. But I keep on using them anyway, because they’re just so well designed.
Nifty features: The pocket in the back is just right for holding airplane boarding passes and scraps of paper you don’t want to lose. The binding doesn’t fall apart no matter how much you kick it around. And there’s a ribbon to mark your place.
The paper is really thick. At first, I found it almost intimidating (as if it required a worthier drawing than just a casual scribble), but I got over that. It’s thick enough that I can draw on both sides without it showing through, which makes the book last twice as long.
It’s not good for watercolor; the paper is so smooth that the water just beads up and rolls off the surface. It will accept an India ink wash, like this sketch I did in Union Square. Watercolor pencils also seem to work OK.
Moleskine does make a watercolor notebook; I used one for these watercolor sketches, but I haven’t really gotten comfortable with it.
The pen I use most often is a Staedtler pigment liner, black, 0.3 nib. It’s not perfect, but it’s waterproof, and cheap enough that I can buy them by the dozen and always have an extra handy when I lose one (or when the cap gets lost, which happens a lot, as it tends to fall off when I stick it on the back end). I’m still looking for the perfect pen. I’d also love to find a brush pen that uses indelible India ink cartridges, but can’t seem to find one. Suggestions welcome.
