Templates Sketchbook & Drawing

Pocket Sketchbook

3.5 x 5.5 in CMYK 1.57:1 portrait

A 3.5 by 5.5 in pocket sketchbook page. The size that fits in a back pocket and the practical format for travel sketching, urban drawing, and field studies.

3.5 x 5.5 in

about the size of a postcard

About this size

The pocket sketchbook is a constraint format. The page is small enough to draw on with one hand while standing, which is what makes urban sketching practical in places where setting up a stool and a full sketchbook would be conspicuous or awkward.

The size also forces compositional discipline. There is no room for layered subject matter on a 3.5 by 5.5 page; whatever the sketch shows has to be the one thing the moment was about. That edit-on-the-fly habit is half the value of working at this scale.

  • Field sketches
  • Pocket notes
  • Travel drawing

Pro tips

  1. 1 Designed for one-handed work in the field. Compositions have to stay simple because the format demands it.
  2. 2 A useful daily-practice size when carrying a full sketchbook is impractical. The barrier to starting is whatever fits in a pocket.
  3. 3 Subject discipline. A pocket page holds one observation; trying to layer in supporting context rarely works.

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8 x 8 in

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10 x 14 in

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