How to Choose The BEST Sketchbooks for Art Teachers: Buy or DIY? (Ep. 1)

Sketchbooks can be intimidating.

Hardcover, spiral-bound, softcover, handmade, digital, travel-size, graph paper, drawing paper, or a simple binder with copy paper. With so many options, where should you begin?

Welcome to The Art of Education’s Sketchbooks 101, where art teachers learn how to build better sketchbooks, one page at a time. In this episode, elementary art teacher Nylah Khan and high school art teacher Crystal Dunn break down their favorite sketchbooks to make and purchase. 

In this episode, you’ll discover:

• How to choose a sketchbook for your students, curriculum, and budget
• Why inexpensive, handmade sketchbooks can encourage students to take more creative risks
• How to make a simple sketchbook with printer paper and a construction paper cover
• Why binders are a flexible option for organizing different types of paper
• How date stamps can track sketchbook check-ins
• When digital sketchbooks, graph notebooks, and accordion books are useful
• How to create sketchbook covers with paint, printmaking, collage, and recycled materials
• Why smaller sketchbooks may feel more approachable for students
• How sketchbooks support creativity, reflection, independence, and visual thinking
• How to make an accordion sketchbook for visual storytelling and connected artwork

Whether you buy a traditional sketchbook, create one from recycled materials, or use a simple folder system, the best sketchbook is the one that helps students feel comfortable experimenting, making mistakes, and developing their ideas.

Sometimes, the simplest solution really is the best one!

Explore bookbinding in more depth with the Sequential Book Arts Pack in PRO Learning.

To chat about sketchbooks with other art teachers, join us in The Art of Ed Community!