Since I started seriously doodling “rapid prototypes” on 3×5 cards in April 2008, I’ve accumulated quite a stack. All together these are about 1 inch thick, so that’s about 150 cards. Each one is date stamped like so: 4.16.08.B = “The second drawing of April 16th, 2008″.
It’s important to date and keep your sketches so you can see progress over time.
For example, these were the first ones I did and kept:
April 15th, 2008
And these are two I did today:
Obviously a lot happened between April and September, and I’ll be talking about that progression over the next few posts.
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4 Comments ↓
I suck at this. oodles of doodles and nowhere to be found. It’s a good idea, though.
Whether you’re using sketchbooks, 3x5s, or cocktail napkins, just make a habit of dating every piece.
On the back of every 3×5 card I do: mm.dd.yy.X where X = A-Z order of pieces done on that day.
This has been a thought in the back of my head but I’ve yet to date anything. I know I really should. Today will be the day I start.
I do not keep all drafts of my drawings, only the 1st drafts with the final redrawn in my sketch book. Not all of my 1st drafts make it into the book but I still keep them.
Steve, glad you’re starting with the tracking. It’s really more of a habit. I like to think of it as a naming convention: “10.15.08.A” means I don’t have to invent a name for what’s abstract in the first place.
Excited to see how your progress becomes “visible” to you with what are essentially artistic progress tracking codes.