Hello Copic readers! In our previous blog, we moved inside our travel journals, where we sketched and outlined two different destination inserts using sites in Venice, Italy as the subjects (the Grand Canal and the Rialto Bridge; read more about it here). Today, we’ll be showing our final insert design: plein air sketching. And with that, let’s pick up our pencils, erasers, Multiliner pens and get started!

As you may already know, plein air is French for “out of doors”. This term is commonly used to describe drawing on-site, outside; so it’s only natural that we include an example of this to go inside our travel journals.

These sketches are often fast and gestural since the artist can’t always be sitting in one spot for hours at a time. However, this is dependent on the artist and their schedule for the day. Some artists choose to sketch while at lunch, others whenever they find a seat with a good view in a courtyard or common area they find captivating. Whatever the case may be, the attitude of a plein air sketch is to be just that: a quick sketch to capture a location! 

If you’re confident and/or daring, you can skip this pencil sketching step and go straight into using a Multiliner pen to sketch items on location. That is a bold move, but it certainly helps you to build confidence in your sketching since there’s no going back once the ink hits the page! 

The artist in this blog, however, did not feel confident enough with using a pen right away, so she sketched a few memorable things from her time in Venice scattered throughout both pages. Knowing that it’s tricky to sketch in the spine of two pages, she deliberately divided her spread in two, with three items on the left page and five on the right. Depending on the proportions of the things you’re drawing, you can include more or less items than the eight seen here. If you also want to include more written notes, that’s also encouraged. Fill your plein air pages as you see fit! 

The next step is to outline the pencil sketches with a Multiliner pen(s) if you haven't already done so. The artist chose to use only one nib: 0.3 mm. This pen size is a fan favorite among many different types of artists for its versatility in both drawing and writing. 

Using a similar gestural approach to outlining as with our previous blog here, the artist loosely traces over her pencil marks. More exaggerated squiggles, dots and hash marks can be made during this inking application to hone the feeling of being on-site. Use more lines to create a sketchy feel, or use less to slow off your coloring (we will be showing tips on how to color your travel journal in future blogs). 

Use more than one nib width as well if you’ve only sketched three or less items across both pages. Using multiple nibs is a quick and easy way to create line variation in larger drawings. 

The final step to complete your plein air sketch is to erase any pencil marks and add any details you may have missed. This step helps to prepare your sketches for color! Speaking of color, you can add an additional step of scanning your finished linework into your computer and save it in case you want to experiment with different marker palettes. Scanning your work is also a great way to archive your drawings and have a digital record of your trip! 

And with that, we wrap up today’s blog! To give this lesson a try yourself, download the above blank template here from our line art gallery and print it on a sheet(s) of smooth cardstock suitable for pencils and Multiliner pens. We recommend Neenah Bright White Premium Cardstock 65 lb. paper, which was used in this blog. Then, using your pencils and pens, sketch as many plein air doodles as you’d like using the examples from this blog as a guide. 

In our next blog, we’ll begin coloring our travel journals, starting with the two different cover designs. Until then, don’t forget to follow us across our social media channels @copic_official_us, and sign up for exclusive discounts and prizes by joining the Copic Club! One last thing - use #copicwithus or tag us @copic_official_us for a chance to have your drawings or workspace featured on our Copic US social media channels.

Thank you so much for reading and enjoying Copic markers as much as we do! 😀