Peek inside an artist’s sketchbook where digital art meets traditional – and her story comes to life

Khushi Chauhan is a visdev artist and illustrator from India. She enjoys narrating stories and capturing emotions through both digital and analogue tools, such as pencils and watercolours.

"I've been drawing since I was a child. I always knew I wanted to turn my passion for art into my career. So it came naturally to me to enrol in the Communication Design course at the National Institute of Design India. I'm currently focusing on freelance projects and building my visual development portfolio to work in animated feature films," says Khushi.

Khushi keeps both a physical and digital sketchbook, as she loves the speed of digital but doesn't want to lose the feel of pencil on paper.

"When I want to warm up for work, I draw on my iPad. And when I just want to sketch and chill, I draw in my physical sketchbook," she says, before continuing: "I try to doodle something every day. However, I get very busy with work and life, so I try to catch up on weekends when I have more free time. I really enjoy drawing in the evening before going to bed or early in the morning, as a warm-up before starting my usual work."

Read our feature on how to get started drawing on iPad for a kickstart, and our guide to the best iPad for drawing to see which is right for you.

I ask her if she sets limits on her sketching sessions: "I don't usually set limits when I sketch. I try to be a loose as possible to let the drawings flow. However, when I'm practising gesture drawing, I set a timer of 30-60 seconds to get more organic sketches and improve my speed and line quality," says Khushi.

When it comes to traditional sketches, Khushi likes to use just a classic pencil. "Preferably a soft one, like a 6B or an 8B. I don't usually erase much, so there's no risk of smudging," she adds. "I also enjoy using coloured pencils to add a touch of cheerfulness to my sketches. But lately, I've been really into drawing with pens. Just gel pens of any colour."

(Want to try pencil sketching, then read our guide to the best colour pencils and how list of the best sketchbooks for artists.)

She continues: "As for digital sketches, I love Jink Sketch and Emily Xu's brushes in Procreate. They offer many great options for both sketching and painting."

We have a list of Procreate tutorials if you need to get up to speed on this amazing iPad app for artists.

I ask her what her favourite pages are so far, "I love these two pages from my sketchbook! I drew them back in 2022, and I remember really enjoying experimenting with my old coloured pencils," Khushi recalls.

She usually draws inspiration from her surroundings and photos online. "Unfortunately, I haven't drawn from life in a while. Pinterest has become my go-to source for images," Khushi adds.

Khushi has participated in the Plenairpril challenge a couple of times, as you can see on her Instagram. Plenairpril is a daily art challenge curated by the Warrior Painters that encourages artists to paint outdoors (en plein air) throughout April.

I ask her what benefits she has noticed from drawing landscapes daily, "The main one is being consistent," says Khushi, then adds, "It's really hard to be consistent as an artist, but it's really worth it. Doing art every day has greatly sped up my progress. Secondly, it has allowed me to manage my time better and find space for personal art in my daily life. I'm really excited for next year. I'm determined to complete the challenge this time!"

She also shares some tips for those who want to take part in this challenge. "Try to plan according to your schedule. If you cannot create a super detailed illustration every day, it's okay to choose a simpler style or format to work on. To make things easier, rather than landscapes, you can also focus on different everyday objects to paint. This helps you understand shapes and materials in more detail. And then, don't give up!"

When talking about the importance of having a sketchbook routine, Khushi believes that it's really useful for overcoming art blocks and keeping track of your progress. "The best part is that every sketch tells a story, so it's almost like flipping through a photo album and reliving those memories as you look through your old sketchbooks. You can also spot your past mistakes and learn from them, as well as realise how far you've come," adds Khushi.

I ask Khushi if she usually sets goals for her drawing sessions: "Not really. Sometimes I just want to doodle without a specific purpose, other times I would take the sketch further and turn it into an illustration," she says, then continues, "However, sometimes I do goal-oriented studies, focusing on a specific topic such as anatomy, colour, shape and language".

At the end of our conversation, I ask her what she would like to improve in her drawing practice: "I would like to improve my live sketching. It increases both efficiency and understanding of the subject. I would also like to paint live and capture natural colours much better in real time," concludes Khushi.

Follow Khushi Chauhan on Instagram for more inspirational sketchbook art and advice, where she shares her landscape paintings featuring cute characters.