Thursday, January 15, 2009

Art Backpack fine tuning and Sketch Folio

The Sketch Folio could be a good choice for field sketching, for it can efficiently organize and hold a handful of pencils and 9"X12" sketchbook in such a lightweight and compact format. The Sketch Folio works fine if there is adequate room available to set it down flat to draw. It can be awkward to hold while standing and drawing. It's rather easy to poke yourself if the pencils points are stored as shown on the picture, and the sketchbook and tools can still slip off the folio depending on the angle it's held. It would be nicer if it held its contents more securely. Its magnetic closure is rather weak, so the folio never closes tightly allowing tools to fall off while moving about and running. Careful children could get some practical use out of the Sketch Folio on field trips. More rambunctious kids would probably be better served with fully enclosed messenger bags that would more securely hold all their art supplies.
The single strap Adidas bag is my current default art backpack which I tend to carry everywhere. Definitely way too many tools to use on short trips, but just about the right variety for longer trips. Good to have when sharing quality time with the nieces, so they can have a wide range of choice of media for impromptu art lessons. Got some watercolor and watersoluble crayons in case the weather is nice enough for a painting session in the patio. Lots of markers, pigment pens, pencils, and leadholders options to provide variety and fun choosing and trying different artist-quality sketching tools under close supervision. Generous supply of drawing paper and loose card stock sheets to accommodate the needs of several children. A digital camera for documenting artistic output tends to add a tad more weight.Still gotta pare it down a lot more, to come up with a more efficient daily take-along sketching kit.

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