Shadowing Practice: How to start a new sketchbook | First page and beyond! - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Starting a brand new sketchbook is exciting, but that first page can also feel quite intimidating.
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Sketchbooks are such an important tool for an artist to explore their creative ideas, and improve their drawing skills and keeping a sketchbook is something
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that we are all capable of there's just a few simple things that can help us do so.
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So I'm going to give you my tips for how to tackle that first page
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and how to make your sketchbook a place that you want to return to again and again until it's full.
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The very first thing I do
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when I start a new sketchbook is to decorate the cover with a bunch of stickers from artists that I love
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I love collecting stickers, I'm sure many of you guys do.
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So if you have them, Use them!
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Life is too short to hoard them and never see them, so use those stickers that make you happy.
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For me, it really does make me want to grab my sketchbook.
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Next, we're going to open to a random page.
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I usually choose one a few pages from the start, and that's the first page we're gonna sketch on.
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When you do this, there's a lot less pressure to make a beautiful drawing.
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because it's just some random page in the middle, it's not that very first one.
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and instead of humming and hawing over what the very first page should be, just choose the first thing that pops into your head,
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or the first reference you find on pinterest or whatever it is that interests you.
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For me, I always love sketching a portrait, So that's the first thing I sketched in this sketchbook.
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It doesn't have to be anything spectacular, it just has to be Something.
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In this spread, I also ended up sketching a metallic kettle because I love drawing metallic and reflective surfaces.
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And I also did a little Lord of the Rings drawing.
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A sketch of Saruman.
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because i love the lord of the rings and i realized I never sketched Ul Saruman, so it was time.
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And none of these things really go together.
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They're just things that came to my head and got me sketching, which is the whole point here.
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Next thing, this one is super easy.
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Slap a starting date on the inside cover.
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I always put a start date and a finish date in my sketchbooks.
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because it's so great to be able to look back
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and see what we were sketching in years past and seeing how we've been proved.
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It's always very motivating, so I definitely recommend to date your sketchbook.
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you
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I'd recommend as a companion to your sketchbook to have a little pouch with some basic sketching tools some pencils,
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pens, colored pencils, ink brushes, whatever sketching tools you prefer.
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And usually when I start a new sketchbook, I like to do an art pouch refresh.
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So after many months, my pencil case ends up being full of stuff.
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they've just accumulated.
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many materials i don't even use very often end up in there for some reason,
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my one pencil case became two pencil case some mitosis happened.
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So what I do is I empty everything out on my desk, Marie Kondo style, and one by one I choose the tools that I frequently use,
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that I want to keep in my case, and I weasel out the ones that aren't being used.
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It's also a chance to look at my supplies and see if there are any that really inspire me
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Maybe materials I'd like to sketch with more?
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A forgotten pen or a specific colored pencil that sparks joy, that sort of thing.
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Having a nice curated art pouch will set you up to feel like you can sketch anywhere, at any time, And that's what we want.
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We want the least amount of barriers that keep us from sketching.
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I like to have a selection of graphite pencils, colored sketching pencils, like the Prismacolor Colerase pencils,
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which I've talked about, since the dawn of my channel, Also the colored Pila Eno mechanical pencils,
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a few water -based markers to add backgrounds or a hint of color to some sketches.
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I like to have some ink brush pens, ballpoint pens, some grayscale alcohol markers for value studies, and a small selection of colored pencils.
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A limited palette that I can pull from if I want to do more full color drawings.
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I also like to have a sharpener.
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some blending stumps, and erasers.
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Thank you you you I'm going to go to the next one.
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Amen.
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Thank you.
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Amen you Amen.
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Thank you.
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Thank you you Another thing I recommend doing in your sketchbook is to make an inspiring list of words.
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Sometimes I do this on the inside cover, sometimes on a random page, or the last page, just somewhere in the book.
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These words can be things or subjects you like to sketch, so portraits, animals.
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They can also be abstract ideas.
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feelings They can include your intentions for the sketchbook, or things you want to focus on or improve on.
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I've done these lists in the last three or four sketchbooks of mine, and they really are great to turn to when I'm feeling stuck or directionless.
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Not only for my sketchbook, but for any artwork I'm making.
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They remind me of the things that interest me in my own work and things that spark my imagination.
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Some words I end up putting in my lists again and again.
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Some words are new.
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But here's the list I ended up with for this sketchbook.
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We got haze, mist, memories, childhood, dreams, literature, film, Line of interest.
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That's a couple words, but you get the idea.
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Controlled brush strokes.
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Shape.
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distortion, Edges, Ceramics, Missing Pieces, wiped away.
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Kitsch, folk art, vibrating colors, limited color palettes.
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These might seem like a very random selection of words to you, but to me, they are a guiding light of sorts.
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So your list might end up being completely different from mine.
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It might be more literal or more abstract, longer or shorter.
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It doesn't matter.
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Just write down the words that come to you, that inspire you.
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That's all you gotta do.
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And I also feel like just the act of marking up
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the sketchbook in this way is once again removing some of the pressure.
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I feel like the more we make the sketchbook, used and not brand new and pristine, the more we'll feel comfortable marking it up.
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Thank you.
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Amen you Amen.
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you you Thank you.
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Thank you.
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Something else I like to do when I'm feeling stuck for what to do in my sketchbook is to do drawing exercises.
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And my favorite place to go to for this is Skillshare.
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who have kindly sponsored today's video.
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A class I've been taking that I wanted to share with you is called "Art Composition Fundamentals: Shape,
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Flow, and Feeling in Your Illustrations." This is actually the second class I've taken by Marie Noelle Worm,
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and it's been really great as I've wanted to get more adventurous with my compositions,
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and just improve them in general she goes over important compositional concepts like grouping values
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and creating leading lines and there are three mini exercises in this class that are both instructive and incredibly fun,
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and they will definitely get you thinking about composition differently.
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You'll also get a little peek into her process and her way of thinking when she's constructing an illustration.
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which I just love.
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Lots of great insights.
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I just highly recommend this class.
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skillshare is the best place to come to to learn a creative skill or pick up a new hobby
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Maybe you're feeling the urge to get creative again, craving the joy of making something with your hands instead of doom scrolling,
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or you just want to improve your artistic skills, then Skillshare is the place to go.
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It's where you can learn cool creative things from cool creative people.
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And I'm happy to share
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that the first 500 people to use my link in the description or to scan the QR code on screen...
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will get a one month free trial of Skillshare.
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you Once you've done a few sketches on that random page, the sketchbook is no longer pristine,
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and all of a sudden that first page feels a lot less intimidating.
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So this is when I like to go back to that very first page, and I like to sketch something that is the complete opposite of serious.
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something silly, something whimsical maybe
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i like to open the book and feel like this is a place where i can have fun for me, i find if it feels too serious,
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there's more pressure and I'm less likely to use the sketchbook.
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and I want to use it, I want to fill it up So I was tickled by the idea of a teapot with feet for some reason.
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I think I had seen a few ceramic pieces with feet and That inspired this page.
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So I found a reference of a silver teapot.
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You know I love reflective surfaces.
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and I added some feet.
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And above it, I wrote "Honne va", which means "let's go" in French.
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And as I'm learning French, or trying to, I thought this would be a nice, fun, encouraging thing to write.
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And to give you a couple more examples of some silly first -page -of -the -sketch -book sketches,
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in my last sketchbook, I drew a cat -shaped clock on the first page with the text "time to draw"
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and then I think in the sketchbook before that one, I drew a chicken on a swing and I wrote something like swinging in So yeah,
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these are not serious things.
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It's kind of a tradition at this point that I draw and write something silly and encouraging on the first page.
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but this is where you can sketch something that makes it feel like your space, so that whenever you open the book, you feel excited to sit down and draw.
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If the silly slogan thing resonates with you, then give it a try.
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i like it because as i said it makes the sketchbook feel like a pressure -free zone.
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you I think what keeps most people stuck is the fear of messing up.
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As humans, we are so so hard on ourselves.
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and as artists and creatives especially, I think a good way to combat this is to remind yourself that you're gonna make a lot of bad drawings
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I know that sounds bad, but you are.
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You're gonna make a lot of bad drawings and that is okay.
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In fact, it's actually a really good thing because that is how you learn and that is how you improve.
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it's completely impossible to make only good drawings.
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and no one is naturally born with the innate ability to draw incredibly.
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No one is.
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Some people may have brains that form these neural pathways a little bit easier, but we can all form these pathways in our brains.
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We just
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need to draw and make mistakes in order to form them
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and i really really do think that keeping sketchbooks is the best way to do this.
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So, to sum it all up, decorate your sketchbook with stickers, those beautiful ones that you've been hoarding.
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Date your sketchbook on the inside cover so that you can come back in the future and have that context.
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open up to a random page or a few pages in and start drawing the first things that come to your mind.
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Remember, the sketchbook is a place to play, and you don't have to share these sketches with anyone if you don't want to.
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Thank you.
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Refresh your pencil case or your art pouch what supplies do you actually use? make an inspiring list of words
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and then go back to that first page and draw something silly, something to make you smile.
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And finally, Drawing is good doing bad drawings is good, all drawing is good So get drawing.
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I'd love to hear your new sketchbook rituals or what motivates you to keep a sketchbook
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I will be sharing my full sketchbook tour of my latest finished sketchbook very soon
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so be sure to subscribe so you don't miss it and like the video if you liked it.
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It means a lot.
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Thank you so much to my channel members and my patrons over on Patreon! And yeah.
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Go sketch!
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Off you pop!
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and I will see you very very soon!
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for another video.
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Bye -bye.
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Oh you you you
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you
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Why practice speaking with this video?
This video on starting a new sketchbook offers a unique opportunity to enhance your English speaking skills through a relatable context. As the speaker shares their personal insights about the creative process, listeners can practice shadow speech, a technique that involves listening and repeating what they hear. This method not only helps in improving pronunciation but also builds confidence in speaking. Engaging with such content provides an enjoyable way to incorporate English speaking practice into your daily routine, making it easier to learn and apply new vocabulary in a creative setting.
Grammar & Expressions in Context
Throughout the video, certain grammatical structures and expressions stand out that learners can focus on:
- Present Continuous Tense: The use of "I’m going to give you my tips for how to tackle that first page" offers a glimpse into the present continuous tense, emphasizing ongoing actions. This structure is useful for learners to convey current activities.
- Imperatives: Phrases like "just choose the first thing that pops into your head" encourage decision-making and spontaneity, useful in casual conversation. This form brings urgency and directness to communication.
- Conditional Sentences: The speaker mentions, “If you have them, use them!” which showcases conditional forms that are essential for making suggestions and giving advice.
- Descriptive Language: Descriptions such as “I love collecting stickers” illustrate how to effectively express personal interests and emotions, helping learners make their speaking more engaging.
Common Pronunciation Traps
While listening to the speaker, several pronunciation challenges might arise:
- “Sketchbook” and “reflection”: The combination of consonant clusters can sometimes be tricky for learners, making it important to practice the practice of these specific sounds. Use shadowing apps to improve accuracy.
- Art-related terms: Words like “decorated” and “supplies” may have varying accents. Pay attention to how these words are pronounced in different contexts to avoid miscommunication.
- Conversational Pacing: The speaker's delivery includes pauses and changes in intonation that learners should try to mimic. This can be practiced using a shadowing site that allows for repetition of phrases at varying speeds.
Utilizing techniques like shadowing while watching creative content will not only improve your fluency but will also provide a deeper connection to the language through art. By analyzing structures and sounds, learners can develop a dynamic approach to mastering English speaking skills.
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Present perfect continuous have/has been + -ing — an action that started earlier and is still going on | I've been taking · you've been hoarding |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | we've been proved · they've just accumulated · I've talked |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | we've been proved · is called · was tickled |
| Possibility with “might / may” might/may + verb — something that is possible but not certain | might seem · might end · might be |
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.