Though I’ve kept sketchbooks regularly since 1982, I began the work that inspired this site in 2000. Originally, it was an effort to save my career and keep my sanity.

At that time I was working for Cartoon Network as an art director. It was the most playful work environment and densest concentration of brilliant people I’ve seen, before or since. Eight-foot carrots and inflatable wooden mallets littered the hallways. It was fun, sexy work and an incredible learning opportunity for any young(ish) designer.

Then there were the long hours, punishing workload, and the unending pressure to innovate. We were not expected merely to produce work at the leading edge of popular culture; we were expected to help define that leading edge.

Two years of that intensity left me burned out. My thinking became sluggish. My designs were mediocre. I lacked the energy to do what needed to be done. Unfortunately, my employer could not wait for me to get creatively unstuck; if I wanted to keep my job, I had to find something to reinvigorate my work.

In desperation, I turned to the most basic, process-oriented tool I knew: sketchbooks.

I committed to keeping a book with me always, just as I’d done throughout my life earlier as an artist. I decided to limit my creative endeavors to what I did at work and in my sketchbooks. I was determined make my books the place where I could collect sources of inspiration, record all my ideas (good or bad), and feel free to experiment (and fail) without judgement.

I also knew that the more I understood my creative process, the more I could make sure my creative ability was there when I needed it.

At first it was difficult, and I struggled against the same demons of creative fatigue and self-criticism that undermined my creativity at my job. Gradually, those demons began to die off, and I began to love what I was doing. I felt creatively alive again. I knew at that point I’d found a lifelong habit.

Though I’d always thought the sketchbooks had value only to me, people seemed interested in them. In July 2003 I launched sketchbob.com so that anyone who cared to could see the work. Every page in this series is here, so you can see every step I’ve taken if you wish. I hope you enjoy what you find.