“Make Ideas, Not Art”: The Sketchnote Workbook by Mike Rohde
If you’re like me, you have no drawing skills whatsoever (which means you’re probably not like me). No matter if you’re a closet M.C. Escher or can’t draw a basic stick-person – if want to improve how you capture ideas and share them with others, there’s hope.
Remember our friend Mike Rohde, who illustrated The $100 Startup?
Mike’s first book, The Sketchnote Handbook, told the story of sketchnotes—a way to capture your thinking visually and remember key information more clearly.
Since then, Mike’s been hustlin’ on his second book, The Sketchnote Workbook.
The Sketchnote Workbook is a great followup to the first book, with lots of new examples, tips, and ideas. What I liked best of all, though, is Mike’s commitment to dispersing myths that hinder our creativity, ideas, and art.
Here’s what he had to say about that:
“I constantly find in my workshops and talks that when I invite students to experiment with low-pressure drawing activities and a new perspective on what is considered ‘good enough,’ they find it refreshing and very empowering.
People relax, try, experiment and are blown away by what they are able to produce of value with visuals when judgement on the quality of the drawing is removed and replaced with a focus on the ideas behind them. I call it ‘Ideas, Not Art.’
There is a LOT of deep insecurity around the ability to draw that exists everywhere, and I’m determined to break down that barrier.”
“I want to help regular people move past the feeling they can’t draw. A ‘bad drawer’ can definitely be a great visual thinker!”
Oh, and for all our travelers: check out the video below to learn more about capturing ideas while on the road.
You can also follow Mike on his blog, Rohdesign, where he posts helpful videos for aspiring travel sketchnoters and documents his progress on his many projects.
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