#38 - 5 Tips for new Sketchnoters
#38 - 5 Tips for new Sketchnoters
What I tell anybody who's started to sketchnote and asks me how do you do that?
👋 Hey, I’m Kumar and welcome to my weekly newsletter. Each week I share Sketchnote(s) on product, leadership, personal growth, and anything that helps you get started on Sketchnoting.
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The tips I give to people starting out in Sketchnoting
Engineering. Product Management. Psychology. Academia. Law. Finance. Journalism. Astronomy. Business. Design. Engineering. Research.
Notetaking and specially mindmaps aren’t just limited to these domains. Most people in the field today have been doing this in one way or the other. And when it comes to sketchnotes it is pretty new field. But if you go back to school days, the pages are all filled with doodle and illustrations to aid the notes.
On the one hand, this makes our community exciting and enriching to interact with. But on the other, it’s also a bit of a scary for those of us just starting out!
So to keep up with helping to learn and grow sketchnoting skill, let’s take a stab at those five tips for newly sketchnoters.
*Even if you’re not new to the field, I think you’ll still find some of these tips interesting.
Consume
Your visual diet will define what you think and do
What you consume everyday in form of information and visuals is very important.
I got started with sketchnotes while looking at awesome visual notes from amazing sketchnoters - Mike Rohde, Eva Lotta Lamm, Doug Neil, Tanmay Vora.
How often do you see sketchnotes made by other people on internet? Follow these folks to learn variety of perspective on similar or different topics
The sketchnote books you have read. Well there are many to learn from - Doodle Revolution, Presto Sketching, and many more
Be part of some sketchnoters community and you’ll get to see sketchnotes from people at different learning stages. Some will inspire and some will be gratifying.
Practice
Nothing beats learning by doing
You got to put the theory to practice. I would say copy for others have done. And that’s a great way to start. Initially it’s more about getting to learn the skill then creating great works. Pick up pen everyday and put it on paper. Without that Sketchnote isn’t going to come out of thin air !
I run AtomicSketches and some monthly challenges in a small community for practicising it daily, consistently to build that habit slow and steady.
Objective is to progress than to perfect.
Iterate
With each Sketchnote seek feedback
For every Sketchnote you create, solicit at least one person’s feedback. Whether it’s from an expert, your spouse, or your kid, it’s crucial to know how another human being perceives what you created.
Approach a safe space to share and get uncensored feedback on your work. That’s important to grow. Make sure it’s someone who won’t be afraid to tell you the truth.
I created a group of Sketchnote Feedback to share our sketchnotes and get open feedback. We celebrate and we criticise. We help and grow together.
Share
Share to overcome your fears and inspire others
There are many out there who are at the same stage of learning as you. Even though it may feel a little uncomfortable to share something you’ve just learned and feel like it’s still nascent, it’s great for your progress.
As soon as I have created something I do share it with my community and on social media. That takes away the fear to iterate and experiment.
Sharing will also allow others to see your work to learn from if they relate to your style.
Chill
Don’t put too much pressure on yourself
The Sketchnotes you create will not solve the world’s biggest problems.
And that’s OK.
In an environment where sketchnotes or visualisations of others are getting many likes or may be winning awards, it can be hard to see the impact of your own work.
Trust me, I get it.
But you have to remind yourself to take in the small victories too, that can come in unexpected ways.
This week I created a sketchnote just to demo the strategy of my organisation in the most crude way. Many reached out to me to appreciate how the sketch helped them understand it in simple way. They were able to make the connect. I absolutely loved it.
So take in all the small wins, and don’t be so hard on yourself. You’re doing great!
Thank you for reading Letsketchin. 🥧
—Kumar
I got to see the sketchnote Kumar referenced—created to explain a complex business strategy. What a treat! The animated Sketchnote was a delightful way to humanize business content and get everyone on the same page. The presentation was both humble and powerful.