Inspiring Conversations

50 Mind Blowing Sketches


  • SumoMe

Sketchbooks, windows to an artist’s personality. You can’t ignore what’s going on in their minds. Inspiration strikes at any moment so for those who can’t help but doodle down stuff, don’t leave home without that sketchbook! Just for you and originally from Design Instruct, we’ve got 50 doses of soul food sketched by 35 brilliant artists out there.

Allen Sutton


Mattias Adolfsson


Laura More Amore


David Fullarton


Irena Zablotska


Rafael Bertone


Alena Lavdovskaya


Beka Pkhakadze


Christian Borku


David Sossella


f1x


Grino


Anna Rusakova


Hanna Viktorsson


Ignacio Veiga


Irina Vinnik


Jenkins Jenkins


Jose Domingo Betancur Gomez


Joshua Philippe


Julia-Grigorieva


Katia Petrunina


Kyle Letendre


L Filipe dos Santos


Luishock


Mamz Hu


Michael Murdock


Nacho-Yague


Nicolas Cuestas


Ooli


razead


Roger Haus


Sabine ten Lohuis


Taylor White


Timothy Duong

Trevor Henry


Yissus Galiana




40 comments

  1. Ryan Lou /

    Whoa!

    • We think so too! Glad you enjoyed them! :)

      • These are just amazing.. I love them all. <3
        I'm my stumble upon.. and I guess I did sort of "stumble uopn" these.. Gosh, I love art <3

  2. isa /

    there’s nothing sadder than when someone with incredible skill and talent draws something that’s ugly as sin.

    • Maddie /

      Don’t hate on something they like doing. That’s like saying, “I like that you’re athletic, but soccer is stupid as fuck. Play baseball.” Don’t tell the artist, who is totally artistic in their own way, what they do is talented, but “ugly as sin”. Totally ignorant, and extremely wrong on your part.

    • Schuyler /

      There is little control over the muse, and in some of the most beautiful works of are come when it is not limited or rejected. These were pieces of work that were important to the artists, for what ever reason.

    • There’s nothing sadder than someone who uses “ugly” as an adjective for something they’re clearly too ignorant to understand, or, for that matter, attempt to understand.

  3. Lucas /

    I absolutely love these, some amazing imagination behind these sketches!

    I’m guessing “ugly as sin” refers to the first drawing by Allen Sutton… but I personally think that his sketch is by far the most imaginative, innovative and inspiring drawings on here. How do you ever begin to conjure up the images needed to draw something like that… even if it was perhaps drawn just out of boredom?

  4. Critic /

    I’m an artist myself and I hate it when people who aren’t artists assume anything someone puts out there is ‘mind-blowing’. There were only a select few that were actually interesting and most of them were considerably unskilled-looking. Just because someone draws lines in a girls hair or shows the boobs doesn’t make it amazing. No, I am not bias towards any creative expression whatsoever but I don’t agree with just how ‘inspiring’ these are supposed to be.

    • Hello Critic,

      Inspiration is subjective and so is art. There are people who smile at psychedelic pieces, others feel rejuvenated when they see pieces that are worthy to be exhibited in an art gallery. Perception is tricky, aye? Some pieces here may be “unskilled-looking” but they’re definitely not unskilled. It’s neither about the boobs, the hair, nor the defined lines that resonate off a masterpiece. It’s about the various stories each artist tries to convey when they create an illustration, which unfortunately for some stories, do not sit will with others. You also never know when a piece of art has made someone smile or has planted an idea into someone’s head that has snowballed into something of great value in his/her life. A little too far-fetched? Maybe. Impossible? Nope.

      Anyhow, thanks for popping by because it’s cool to hear from others about the entries here, especially when they’re about creativity and inspiration. We hope you’re inspired in some other way (:

      • You’re nicer than I would have been. That person is an ass; anyone that’s actually an artist like the one in question claims to be wouldn’t have been so quick to shit on other peoples works. Most of what I saw here takes a considerable amount of skill to make, and that’s not always something that’s easy to come by; not to mention there’s quite a range of styles and expressions. Art can’t just be “good” or “bad,” and if one thinks that way, then they’re missing the point.

    • krys oh /

      you’re a jack ass… and your ignorance is “mind-blowing”… good day.

    • You obviously don’t have the faintest glimpse of a clue to what qualifies or doesn’t qualify as art, if as you actually were as you claim to be “an artist” seeing as how eager you are to prove that you are a real artist and you know apparently more about art than these true artists who pour their hearts and souls onto something as simple as a piece of paper using something as simple as a pen or a pencil. I would be most interested to see YOUR art. I would imagine even if it is good, which is not unlikely, that it is not the slightest bit similar to this, the clear fact that you do not find this art interesting as an even clearer result of your closed-mindedness, should not mean that because you deem it un-interesting, it should fall under that category. Sincerely,
      -your biggest fan.

    • by what definition do you use artist…its extremely closed minded to deny these people the title of artist just because you may not agree with their technique at least these people were brave enough to put these peices out into the world….
      placing ignorant comments about how putting lines in a girls hair isn’t art just makes you sound as if your jealous of a talent you dont have….those who cant do usually bitch about those who can….. attempt to publish some of your own art and see how nice people are to you…..and just because you are an artist does not give you the right to shit all over someone elses accomplishments

    • Springly /

      Thank you, the internet needs more people like Critic. When I hit Stumble for art, I want to see ART, not ‘mind blowing sketches’ or yet another ‘you can’t tell they’re paintings, they look like photos omg’. Sketches should not look like this. Sketches are for working through your ideas, and a good sketch is always unfinished looking or often even ugly. These are the vanity sketchbooks of hipster children, not artists. These are the expensive little moleskines they carry around, hoping someone will ask to take a look, and that they rip out the failed pages from. It’s sad, really. Their finished paintings probably look worse than this, because they spend all their time trying to LOOK like artists rather than BEING artists.

    • Allyce /

      Critic, I am married to an artist and he (and I as well) absolutely agree with you. The term artist should actually MEAN something. Someone is not a lawyer or a doctor just because they say they are. Neither are they artists just because they choose that label for themselves. To those who say that art cannot be good or bad, I beg to differ. Art CAN be classified according to skill! “Expressing yourself artistically” is nice and all – and everyone should do it! – but that is NOT the same thing as being an artist. Thanks for being willing to tell the truth, Critic!

      • real world /

        Please elaborate more on what you define as art. Because it is all subjective, your idea of art may seem mundane or lacking to others. For example I think photo realism can be amazing visually but without any real meaning it might as well have just been photographed. get it?

  5. Max /

    Its awesome, i really like it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i wonder how you get these ideas to draw such stuff…?

  6. Objective /

    @Penny and Critic- Regardless of what you have seen or how your comparisons hold up, these are incredible artistic expressions. It is the categorical thinking of Critic that has resulted in our society’s continual attempts to categorically rank things that exist over an inherently unrankable continuum.

    We can claim to say that one thing is art and one kind of art is better than another, but the fact remains that art does not desire or require approval, and it inherently defies ranking.

    Some of the most famous artists came at the “industry” (not that it always has been an industry) the same way that this artist has. In our currently saturated “market” I would consider these to exist apart from the homogenous herd. Thus I would consider them to be of artistic value. I tip my hat accordingly.

    I never rush to anyone’s defense, but this defense is clearly and truly deserved.

  7. I love the f1x the most of all those drawings.

  8. Chriss /

    I’m an artist as well and I believe in the importance of self- expression. I love it when an artist puts pieces out there that provoke many different responses. I believe it is important for artists to poke at the world, our works are meant to engage the mind. This set of “notebook” pieces does just that, keep them coming.

    And for those who may prefer convention…If you follow the pack, you may step in a lot of what they leave behind!

  9. Petrichor /

    Whenever I see incredible drawings and sketches like this I am both inspired, and honestly, entirely jealous. I love doing art, but I think over the years, so many rules and things have been drilled into me, I’ve lost some of my old creativity. It’s wonderful to see these people whose minds just seem to be bursting with lovely images. Not only that, but entirely in ink. I always use pencil due to my tenancy to make mistakes. Regardless of what anyone says, I love these images. Sometimes, I think it’s what keeps me going.

  10. Carillon /

    I am an artist as well as a few of you, and to whoever “Critic” is I was slightly appalled at what you wrote. Just because you don’t enjoy a piece of art doesn’t mean someone else won’t. Like others said, art is subjective. Only criticize your own work unless someone asks your advice or it’s your job. It seems you need to get off your high horse.

  11. Critic,

    “I’m an artist myself and” Argument from authority – always a logical fallacy, but even worse when it’s in a subjective field where there arguably can’t be any authorities.

    “I hate it when people who aren’t artists assume anything someone puts out there is ‘mind-blowing’.” – incredibly condescending, don’t you think? And besides, “assumes” that it is mind-blowing? If the person who posted these pieces had his mind figuratively blown by them, then how can they not be mind-blowing? Who are you to say that they are not, in the face of reality and facts? Why aren’t the people looking at art allowed to decide if they like it or not?

    “There were only a select few that were actually interesting and most of them were considerably unskilled-looking.” It needs to be repeated that only some of them are interesting is nothing but your opinion. No, really. You can call yourself an artist and an expert however much you like. You can scream that there are set, specific standards of art at the moon until you’re blue in the face, and it won’t change facts and reality. If the fact is that the person who posted these actually did find them all interesting, then guess what? You’re wrong.

    “Just because someone draws lines in a girls hair or shows the boobs doesn’t make it amazing.” I remember one single picture above with uncovered breasts in it. I don’t know about the hair, it wasn’t something I especially noticed. So what are you on about?

    “No, I am not bias towards any creative expression whatsoever but I don’t agree with just how ‘inspiring’ these are supposed to be.”
    So, in essence, you don’t have any bias against these pictures, you just don’t like them and can’t let it pass if someone else likes them.

  12. ArtStudent /

    I am an artist in training and seeing these pieces really do inspire me to see what different styles i can draw, but also to be able to see how other artist’s express themselves. I find these pieces not only very inspiring but also very creative and wonderfully expressed. Thank you so much for sharing this :)

  13. Really great stuff! This sort of work always makes me so jealous – the ability to convey so much emotion with such small scale – such economy of line.

  14. kevin /

    Critic’s problem is probably training, art “training” is apt to kill the childlike imagination that a lot of people have in them, but dare not express in their art because of “critics” such as critic…
    Also, these are sketches, critic, sketches are for the artist alone unless he or she decides to share them, so jackasses like you can criticize them.

  15. Wow! So it’s true. There’s still hope in this planet.

  16. Descriptive efforts become meaningless and TIRESOME when
    virtually everything is tagged “Epic”, “Mind-blowing”, etc.
    These sketches are fine, but mind-blowing?? Hardly.

    The web is littered with “fair” amateur artworks overweighted with overbearing, inaccurate labels that serve only to make them ridiculous by comparison.

    This practice thus serves only to cheapen the truly exemplary works.

  17. ivychristian /

    i really love these! very inspiring, similar to my own works.

  18. I love looking at these. Never get tired of them. It’s nice to look at them and get an idea of the artists’ personalities. Each one, unique and perfect. Very inspiring. <3 <3 <3

  19. u dont undersand art………..

  20. it.cuts.both.ways /

    creative and beautiful. it’s sort of sad to see people who ‘are artists’ putting these down. art is more about expression than skill, and i don’t see anyone who’s saying how insipid these are offering any suggestions for improvement, so perhaps the naysayers should shut up. however, at the risk of sounding like an incorrigible nitpick, i would have found it preferable if this were called something more imaginative than ‘mind-blowing’, even if i do agree with that assessment. thanks for posting these. :)

  21. it’s easy to be critical!

  22. Repeater /

    It’s a little funny, but not too shocking that peoples work is still being derided for being simple/not arty enough. Manet, Gogh and every other bloody artist got it at some point or another. I don’t see why we feel the need to try and quash change in the world of art, it is inevitable.

    As those who see illustration as a lesser form, your style was once seen as a lesser by those who came before you. Surely, even if you don’t like the style you can appreciate that like you these people put their blood sweat and tears into creating something that fits their vision, which is what an artist is.

    PS. Some of these sketches show a great underlying knowledge of form and lot of technical ability. It’s easy to learn technical ability. It’s easy to learn to see things exactly as they are. Knowing when to hold back, and abstracting your work is actually harder than you’d think.

    PPS. Mind-Blowing is slight hyperbole, but then again, it is an article, entirely separate from the artists in that respect.

  23. So Grotesque but beatifull none the less, like life.

  24. hillary /

    I think I’m done being bummed out by the criticism my art could possibly get. And I don’t think I want to hide a drawing because the rules that have been hammered into me since the start of my school years will cause me to be embarrassed and horrified by my art’s imperfection. And I think I AM an artist, whether you think I am or not, because art does not conform, and art does not require attention or ask for approval. I’m proud to have the talent that I have, whether my work turns out amazingly beautiful or as ugly as sin. My art defines my generation, my hand defines my mind, and NO ONE has the right to define beauty.

    You want the short version? Here it is:
    I’m an artist despite your criticism and quite frankly I don’t give a damn if you agree with me or not.

  25. Wow! Amazing..Just amazing..I’m out of words.. They are just all beautiful!

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