Luckily, R2 doesn’t get nosebleeds.

Most of the art I do these days are digital, with the “artputer” running Clip Studio Paint. That doesn’t mean I’ve abandoned good ol’ fashioned paper as a thing to draw on though. I still enjoy regular drawing, but for most of my current projects I find digital to be easier. That said the various drawers I have my drawing and other art making paper in are kind of mess. So this week the goal was to make it less of a mess. If I want to find my bristol, my computer paper, my carbon paper, or my construction paper among other paper types I need to make that easier.

These various papers are stored in three different drawers; one drawer is part of the set of metal drawers and the other two the plastic drawers by the desk. This is the first project in Operation: A Place For Everything, which I mentioned but didn’t give a name to in last week’s v-log. The mission is to reassess how I store things and dedicate a particular spot for a particular need. The metal drawer box was already “assigned” to “special papers”, stuff I don’t use very often but might have a use for in the future. The other two I really didn’t designate for any particular purpose so things were not as organized as I’d like. So deciding to start with an easy one for Operation: APFE (I’ll work on that) getting this part of the art corner together seemed like the right way to go.

I would have broken out The Table for this one but it’s in the garage and it was so cold that day that by the time the Table warmed up I could be done.

The first step was kind of obvious. I took everything out of the drawers and laid them all out. The stuff in the metal “special paper” drawer at first didn’t seem like I needed to pull them out because I knew what was in there but I did it anyway. This turned out to be a good thing as I added a few things in there and reworked the stack.

After laying them all out I had to decide what goes with what. The bristol (a good paper used by many comic creators before digital got so much easier, and still used by ones who prefer the physical drawing experience) comes in two sizes for me. We also have sketchbooks, computer paper, tracing paper, those “teach little kids to make letters” books I use for character model sheets, lined paper for writing, and various other project paper. The big white art binder is big and heavy so I already knew that had to be at the bottom of the bigger drawer, so it was more a matter of figuring out the best way to organize the rest of it, including a reference book that won’t fit in my rack by the art desk and a weapons catalog I don’t want to keep explaining to guests is only there for art reference. Me and blades are best kept away from each other, lest I lose a vital body part. I’m very clumsy.

The stuff I use more often or want to start using more often goes in the top drawer of the plastic drawers. Well, second drawer as the actual top drawer still holds reference models (some of you non-artists call them “action figures” or some such cute name). This is where I put the sketchbooks the bristol, and the letter guides. The bottom drawer, including the art binder, is stuff I use less often and put aside for potential future projects as they have potential for fun things I want to try down the road once my life schedule is a bit more organized.

Over in the metal drawers it’s still the specialty papers. Carbon paper, little notebooks, post-it notes, trading card mock-ups, and the like go here.

Finally, on top of the plastic drawers (and this is a before shot because I don’t know what happened to the after shot–the notebooks are in the middle drawer now since I use them in the planning stage for various comics) I have the stuff I need immediate access to. The production book for my Christmas superhero comic Captain Yuletide, which I hope to finish building this year, hangs out here as well as the current model sheet book, and the main planning notebook. This is a reminder that I need to work on this and I can easily grab it to work on at the art desk or if I decide to work elsewhere in the house or even if I go out. It’s also good to have handy when I’m working those projects rather than switching windows to look at a digital version.

I wanted the first project of both 2022 and Operation: A Place For Everything to start easy and indeed it was. Once I figured out where I wanted to put stuff and what purpose the drawer would serve everything else fell into place. Now that part of my art station is ready to go and easier to go through. I already know what I want to do for the next two projects and we’ll be back to the continued reorganizing of the art corner soon. Hopefully the rest of the projects I want to get done will be this easy.

Not according to my recent history, but I can dream.

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