Yo! 2017 sketch a day

Today’s scrap paper sketch

I’m curious to know why you think your sketch-a-day work is of the quality to deserve a book – what has really has improved from January 1 until today to show a progression in quality or technique? I appreciate the willpower to keep this up but does it deserve distribution? The possibility that we can all self-publish doesn’t mean we should.

Always appreciate those words of encouragement. Thanks Dan!

An AM sketch before heading out for some client meetings.

If this isn’t a troll post then WOW

I have scoured the internet for work which I find fresh, up to date, unique in style and consistently high standard and out of hundreds of people I only found 2 guys, Michael is one of them.

Show me anyone else who can come up with client ready sketches day in day out at this standard. Yes there are a lot of talented people out there that can produce nice stuff, but not like this.

Regarding improvement, I’m not really sure how his work could be improved upon. To just maintain this level of work is a feat in itself.

Michael does all this stuff on this forum for free and contributes a lot of his time here under no obligation. In all honestly I think your comment is rude and totally warped.

the bluntness of the question aside, it isn’t one that strikes me as rude or warped (the last part about self-publishing is right on the edge though!)…basically asking what is the purpose & who is the intended audience isn’t so out of bounds…photographers, painters, writers, all turn similar 365 challenges into books, and those with a high enough profile can turn into it an opportunity to make some coin…#whynot.

if you’ve scoured the interwebs for work you find “fresh, up to date, unique in style and consistently high standard,” and have only come up with two people, i’d say you haven’t looked hard enough or maybe broaden your inspirations…to take nothing away from yo, i think many pros could churn out a high quality sketch-a-day if they were so inclined, having the discipline, motivation, and/or time to complete it is prolly the limiting factor…

The question that was asked was concerning quality, progression and being worthy of a book. Personally I think the question was ridiculous.

I would love to see any other works of industrial designers who have a large catalogue of these less than 1 hour sketch concepts to draw inspiration from. I’m not so interested in the laboured 8 hour renders, just the designers and artists who can throw down a loose sketch quickly, to a high standard and with a unique style. So if you have any names I can check out, i would be very appreciative if you could drop them in my thread or or in the ‘good sketching sites’ thread for reference. Cheers

And with that said, keep up the good work Michael!

i don’t go on the hunt or really care to look into the who for sketches much anymore, but i used to frequent the conceptart.org forums where there would regularly be artists posting amazing quick doodles & sketches of daily challenges; it was really cool to see how fast some people could churn out cool stuff! looking at the various portfolio sites, there is almost an inexhaustible resource for auto design, furniture (even though i kinda hate furniture!) and product design sketches

just saying there are tons of resources, if you are open to them…even those labored 8 hour joints might have something that you can distill into something useful for a quick sketch…and i have worked with quite a few people that would throwdown some dopeness right before a meeting, i kinda found the “2 people” thing somewhat weird given that the ability to do a hot sketch isn’t that unheard of though i take your point that there may not be many designers posting stuff regularly…

it just seems like there is more than enough content in the aggregate of designers posting things online to get/satisfy one’s inspiration? however, maybe my standards just aren’t as high as yours

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I can see where Dan is coming from - if I’m not mistaken, it seems he’s just wondering what other value Michael’s book provides besides hot sketches. Will there be any context in regards to what design/sketching decisions are made and why, new techniques tried, etc etc? Kind of like the instagram descriptions you supplement with your sketches. After watching your instagram for the entirety of 2017, what can I reflect on when I go through this journey again with you in book form? Are you 365ing again next year, and will there be anything different about that journey, any themes you’d like to explore more?

That’s just my thought, from someone who’s already familiar with your work. :slight_smile:

Btw, I’m not feeling any arrogance from your jacket cover… This is a cool line: “What began as a focus on discipline evolves into an exploration of craft and clarity of thought.” Wondering if you could reflect this more on your cover imagery.

I think you forgot to read the part where yo talks about designing “iconic products and brand experiences for the best brands in the world” focusing on “industry leading halo projects”, while talking about himself in the third person :smiley:

Workshopong today with the Design Forward Alliance

Lychee, I’m working on some different ways to cut the content. The bulk of it will be chronological with some short descriptions. Then I’m thinking there will be some cuts by medium, subject matter, maybe even by color or background. My first book, Analog Dreams, covered more of the philosophy and some my notes on rapid visualization thought process, so I won’t be retreading that ground… will I be doing a 365 next year? Definitely not! It has been a lot harder than I thought it would be, especially with starting my studio this year. After working on client concepts for 10 hours, then having to throw down an extra sketch some days feels really hard. I’m sure I’ll still do some ‘for fun’ practice sketches, but not one a day.

Yeah 365’s are challenging especially when you want to have a lot of diversity in subject matter and medium exploration. I definitely understand the benefit of putting in some time every day, but some days I just do the same trick to get it over with. Your work has a lot of energy that I have been trying to communicate in my own sketching and your attitude reminds me to have fun! Some of your quick 5 minute doodles are a good motivator.

Had this little doodle in my notebook for a wall mounted router that is loosely inspired by a stuff game head, albeit it would be small, but just as a fun notion. Rendered it up this afternoon.



Like others have posted, the question (although blunt) is valid - And the answer is extremely subjective as there are so many individual opinions and none are absolute. For me i look at it as a book that will be used within my house (i still love print vs digital)

  1. Sketch ref material (i have 2 shelves devoted to this)(and 1/2 a Terra byte drive) and am always looking for different styles that i can use / teach / ref
  2. An example not only for me but my sons’s of dedication and effort to a goal - even though on some days im sure you really don’t want to do it
  3. Just the fun of turning it into a book and the enjoyment
  4. A chance to make some money for doing something that was fun

Im sure there are many more points other may have - some positive and some negative - This is one of those situation where some on says “why do it?” and my immediate response would be “Why not?”

Thinking about integrated vanities for 1/2 baths.

If you want to be picky, what about the time Michael misspells his own name?

As for a reason to publish this book, what exactly is wrong with self-promotion? (not necessarily directly at you Mrog, just a general thought) Coming from a consulting background, it is a constant hustle. If yo can leverage it, good on him. Maybe it isn’t for an industrial designer, but an industrial designer is not hiring Michael either.

thanks for the catch iab… apparently I crowd source my spellcheck… :blush:

sketch demo down at New School of Architecture and Design today

Simple chair for furniture Friday

Evening doodle