{"id":43849,"date":"2024-10-04T07:28:50","date_gmt":"2024-10-04T11:28:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/?p=43849"},"modified":"2024-10-04T07:28:50","modified_gmt":"2024-10-04T11:28:50","slug":"so-long-cursed-sketchbook","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2024\/10\/04\/so-long-cursed-sketchbook\/","title":{"rendered":"So Long, Cursed Sketchbook"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Fuxi Sketchbook No. 2 of 2<\/span>
\n5\/16\/23 – 10\/3\/24<\/span><\/h2>\n

I was finally able to put this disappointing sketchbook out of my misery.<\/p>\n

Why was it disappointing?<\/em><\/p>\n

Well, the size, price and the binding were right. It measured 5.5 inches by 8.5 inches and it was bound along the short side. It had nice thick covers back and front which I encrusted with stickers, and it was CHEAP! I thought it would be everything I could have wanted in a sketchbook! I bought a pair of these pads for about $10 from an online seller. The first one was ok<\/a>. The second one was a tedious slog.<\/p>\n

It certainly wasn’t a Sketchbook from Heaven<\/em><\/a>. It didn’t contain any of that inexplicable magic that the earlier Heavenly sketchbooks did. It just wasn’t fun to draw in. I had to force myself to work in it. I wasn’t really whacky about any of the stuff I was scribbling in it. It was a cursed sketchbook.<\/p>\n

I did make some interesting story notes that I am either going to tear out and paste into a notebook or transcribe. It’s a perfectly serviceable scratch pad.<\/p>\n

Despite the Fuxi Sketchbook not being my favorite pad, I did manage to eke out a few sketches that I want to share below.<\/p>\n

\"Trying <\/a>
Trying to recreate an old art school project I can’t find. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Frankenstein <\/a>
Frankenstein needs a haircut <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Phantom <\/a>
Phantom in ink <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Mothman <\/a>
Mothman with a new pen <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Sketch <\/a>
Sketch for the last issue of Duckwork <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"The <\/a>
The Forager <\/div> <\/div>
\"The <\/a>
The Muscle <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Yet <\/a>
Yet another creature head <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Fuxi Sketchbook No. 2 of 2 5\/16\/23 – 10\/3\/24 I was finally able to put this disappointing sketchbook out of my misery. Why was it disappointing? Well, the size, price and the binding were right. It measured 5.5 inches by … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[49],"tags":[17,4274,312,310,3661,5,2030,4971,3663,25],"class_list":["post-43849","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-it-came-from-the-sketchbook","tag-cartoon","tag-cheap","tag-comic","tag-doodle","tag-illustration","tag-joe-williams","tag-pencil","tag-scribble","tag-sketch","tag-sketchbook"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1ed1x-bpf","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":40850,"url":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2023\/07\/12\/done-with-another-discount-sketchbook\/","url_meta":{"origin":43849,"position":0},"title":"Done With Another Discount Sketchbook","author":"Joe","date":"July 12, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"I finished off the HQ Fine Stroke Sketch Draw that I picked up from Philadelphia based discounter Five Below. The price was right, and I liked the pad's size of 5.5 inches by 8.5 inches as well as the wire binding being placed along one of the short ends, but\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "It Came From the Sketchbook"","block_context":{"text":"It Came From the Sketchbook","link":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/category\/it-came-from-the-sketchbook\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Nora-the-cave-woman.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Nora-the-cave-woman.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Nora-the-cave-woman.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":37574,"url":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2022\/05\/17\/heaven-on-5-a-day\/","url_meta":{"origin":43849,"position":1},"title":"Heaven on $5 a day?","author":"Joe","date":"May 17, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Ever since my wife picked up a cheap, wire-bound, scratch pad from a Target store for me as a Christmas gift, I now take cheap sketchbooks seriously. Throughout the years I may have bought every name brand of artist drawing pads available in art supply stores, but nothing has brought\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Illustration"","block_context":{"text":"Illustration","link":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/category\/illustration\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/18x12-pad-cheap.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/18x12-pad-cheap.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/18x12-pad-cheap.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":45915,"url":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2025\/09\/18\/the-cheapskate-strikes-back\/","url_meta":{"origin":43849,"position":2},"title":"The Cheapskate Strikes Back!","author":"Joe_Williams","date":"September 18, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"I was in an art supply store recently to pick up some gift items for a friend, and I thought I would pick up a smallish, mixed media, sketchbook for myself. I was thinking a 7-inch by 10-inch sketchbook would suit me well. It fits in my bag nicely and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Curious Clutter"","block_context":{"text":"Curious Clutter","link":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/category\/curious-clutter\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/PenGear-sketchbook-insert.jpg?fit=640%2C529&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/PenGear-sketchbook-insert.jpg?fit=640%2C529&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/PenGear-sketchbook-insert.jpg?fit=640%2C529&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":39669,"url":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2022\/12\/13\/more-monsters-in-a-cheap-sketchbook\/","url_meta":{"origin":43849,"position":3},"title":"More Monsters in a Cheap Sketchbook","author":"Joe","date":"December 13, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"I've been drawing monsters in front of the TV set for as long as I can remember, and it seems the trend continues as of late as I finish my evenings watching trash television and doodling in a cheap sketchbook.","rel":"","context":"In "Doodle Tuesday"","block_context":{"text":"Doodle Tuesday","link":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/category\/it-came-from-the-sketchbook\/doodle-tuesday\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/BANG.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/BANG.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/BANG.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":39340,"url":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2022\/10\/20\/not-a-bad-little-sketchbook\/","url_meta":{"origin":43849,"position":4},"title":"Not a Bad Little Sketchbook","author":"Joe","date":"October 20, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"I finished off another inexpensive sketchbook purchased from Target. I've had luck with the cheap little sketchbooks they carry so when we see something new on the shelves, we snag it. The paper was all right for dry media but wrinkled with anything wet which I expected. It wasn't a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "It Came From the Sketchbook"","block_context":{"text":"It Came From the Sketchbook","link":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/category\/it-came-from-the-sketchbook\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/UCREATE-SKETCHBOOK.jpg?fit=500%2C674&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":24433,"url":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2018\/10\/02\/another-cheap-sketchbook-bites-the-dust\/","url_meta":{"origin":43849,"position":5},"title":"Another Cheap Sketchbook Bites the Dust","author":"Joe_Williams","date":"October 2, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"The Llama Sketchbook: December 27, 2017 to September 29, 2018 Well, at least there is a llama beneath the stickers. In the back and forth of my commutes, my sketchbooks take a beating so I encrust them with whatever stickers I may find. This wasn't quite as good as the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "It Came From the Sketchbook"","block_context":{"text":"It Came From the Sketchbook","link":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/category\/it-came-from-the-sketchbook\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/heaven-2-electric-boogaloo.jpg?fit=640%2C421&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/heaven-2-electric-boogaloo.jpg?fit=640%2C421&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/heaven-2-electric-boogaloo.jpg?fit=640%2C421&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43849","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43849"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43849\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43849"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43849"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43849"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}