Re-Using Old National Geographic Photos As Sketchbook References

I love the photos in old National Geographic magazines. Whenever I find some issues for cheap at a yard sale, I cut out the pages with the most interesting photos and glue them onto empty pages of my sketchbook.

Whenever I need reference for a quick warm up sketch, I flip the book open and start drawing whatever photo is on the opposite side.

An open sketch book with a photo on one side and a sketch on the other. The photo is of a monk in China wearing a red robe and a golden gauntlet on his right hand.
An open sketch book with a photo on one side and a sketch on the other. The photo is of a boy in a green outfit, with bright red knee high socks. He is holding a little wooden boy, that looks like Pinnochio.
An open sketch book with a photo on one side and a sketch on the other. A man hugging onto a hurdy gurdy. He looks emotional, as if he is crying for some reason. He is an older man with big bushy eyebrows.
An open sketch book with a photo on one side and a sketch on the other. The photo is of a cheerleader who looks very excited, as if her team just made a point.
An open sketch book with a photo on one side and a sketch on the other. The photo is of a woman standing on the front porch of a very large house. The house has two large columns at the front and the woman is posing between them in a bright yellow peacoat jacket 
An open sketch book with a photo on one side and a sketch on the other. The photo is of three young kids on a city sidewalk. They are wearing rollerskates
An open sketch book with a photo on one side and a sketch on the other. A man holding 3 lit cigarettes at the same time as if he is sampling them.
An open sketch book with a photo on one side and a sketch on the other. The photo is of two young boys in an ice cream shop. One of the boys is wearing a waiters outfit (a white button shirt, necktie, and black apron). The other boy is in a blue t-shirt and trucker hat and is holding an ice cream cone in each hand.
An open sketch book with a photo on one side and a sketch on the other. The photo is of a preacher in a big church, he has his hand on an a woman's forehead in the audience as if he is healing her.

And I asked some friends to draw in the book too:

An open sketch book with a photo on one side and a sketch on the other. The photo is of a woman and a child on a scooter. The scooter is pointed away from the viewer, so the woman is getting ready to drive the scooter, but is looking back slightly towards the viewer. On the back of the scooter is a basket with a small kid in it. The kid is wearing a helmet and has a grumpy look on their face. The kid is looking directly at the viewer.
An open sketch book with a photo on one side and a sketch on the other. The photo is of a man sitting on the back of a pickup truck. He looks like how we imagine farmers looking... old and skinny, wearing a denim hat and overalls. Classic americana style.
An open sketch book with a photo on one side and a sketch on the other. The photo is of a woman pumping a flat tire on her bike. She has a flustered look on her face.

Posted

in

by

doc

Tags:

Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *