Draw Your World: How to Sketch and Paint Your Remarkable Life

by Samantha Dion Baker

See the world around you in a whole new way with this inspiring guide to nature drawing, urban sketching, travel drawing, drawing from memory or photos, and sketch journaling.

In Draw Your World , Samantha Dion Baker gives you everything you need to begin a new art practice or enliven an existing one. She shares her favorite tools and materials, simple technical lessons such as composition, shadows and light, symmetry, and perspective, plus fun motivational exercises like drawing from memory, urban sketching, travel journaling, and experimental art. With helpful step-by-steps and stunning visual examples from Baker's own work, Draw Your World will help you hone your skills and capture the details of your unique and remarkable life in a sketch journal or as finished artwork.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Drawing, How To, Reference, Journal

176 pages, Paperback

Published June 22, 2021

About the author

Samantha Dion Baker is originally from Philadelphia, where she grew up in a family of
artists. She graduated from The Cooper Union in New York City and spent over twenty years ' working as a graphic designer. Now a full-time author, illustrator, and artist, her favorite thing to do is wander the city streets and travel with her family, drawing all of the things she does, eats, and sees in the pages of her sketch journal. She is the author of Draw Your Day, Draw Your Day Sketchbook, Draw Your World, and forthcoming Draw Your Day For Kids! She lives and works in Brooklyn, New York with her husband and two sons.

Reviews

[Kathi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Samantha Dion Baker, in simple words, turned my world upside down. I bought her first book, Draw Your Day and started a daily journal that contained drawings from my 10 year old ability. Today I am selling art and all due to this brilliant encouraging easy to read creative soul (whom I have yet to meet). Bless the world and your family by buying her book and starting on your journey. I can’t say enough about her creativity sparks that have set this girl’s forest on fire!

[Rhea Abramson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best drawing guide. Samantha’s art is a total inspiration every day on Instagram but this book is her amazing work in my hands which urges me to draw. The skills I have gained to document my life are priceless.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Draw Your World goes several steps beyond Draw Your Day by providing helpful teaching of key elements of sketch journaling such as perspective, symmetry, and shading. I especially loved the twelve sample designs for journal pages/spreads. I look forward to practicing Dion Baker’s suggestions on an upcoming trip.

[Pixie Unger · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was OK. Not what I was after, but that doesn't mean it was a bad book, it just wasn't what I needed at the time.

Maybe I should have read her first book first, but I asked for both of them from my local library and this one came first.

[Mompi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks to the brilliant platform instagram, I came across artist and writer Samantha Dion Baker. I love her work and was thrilled when her first book was released ' Draw your day'. I was even more thrilled when she announced she was coming up with the second book 'Draw your world' and just recently landed my copy. This book is bigger, thicker and more detailed. It is divided into two parts. In part 1 she deals with materials, perspective, symmetry, composition etc. I found it very helpful because she explains them in simple steps. Part 2 is inspirational, she talks about her visual tracking process , urban sketching, nature etc, basically all the little big things in life worth penning to paper. I enjoy her art process, it is therapeutic and her style of writing, it is simple, as though I am in conversation with a friend. This book is a must buy for an art lover or otherwise. I am going to collect her books for as long as she continues to write!

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like Paint your Day, this book offers many suggestions on how to go and create many journals reflecting your day. In taking the everyday mundane and making it extraordinary. To look at the small details of life around you. To open your eyes to see the world around you and share it in journal and memory form. There were many quotes from the book that I have taken to heart. One is a reminder that we, as artists, are not perfect and will make many mistakes, but those “mistakes” might become our art. A quote from the book by Alice Walker stated, “In nature, nothing is perfect and everything is perfect. Trees can be contorted, bent in weird way, and they’re still beautiful.” Things around us do not need to be beautiful for us to capture them in our journals, they just have to exist and be seen by our eyes and “captured” on paper to remember once again when we gaze upon them once more.

[Ren Morton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cannot express in words how much I enjoy her art. While many of the principles of this book will be old hats to experienced artists, I also found it refreshing to remind me of art principles I learned once upon a time. Sometimes you’ve done art for so long you do stop seeing again, and this renewed my perspective. Most valuable to me was the section on contour drawing and composition, working from life/reference/memory, and how to preserve your memories. One of the best features of this book are the exercises. They are short and small, easy to integrate into ones daily art practice. The one I’m going to try is pick 5 things in a day and arrange them in a composition, since it’s my composition skills I’m seeking to strengthen. But I also hear her point about feeling the emotion of it, and finding one’s own energetic expression.

[Jill Bowers · Rating 5 out of 5]

I curled up on the couch with “Draw your World” over the weekend and had a hard time pulling myself away from it to do my household chores! I have been following Samantha Dion Baker on Instagram for a few years and I absolutely love her work. I’ve been excitedly waiting to read this book and it did not disappoint. I enjoyed her beautiful artwork practical tips, warm up exercises, & her lists of favorite tools & supplies. I plan to re-read this book at a slower pace and take the time to do the drawing assignments that are included in each chapter. This is a book that I could see myself referring to many times over the years. I highly recommend adding this to your collection of art books or buy it to start your collection!

[Tiffany Chen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Draw Your World really takes from SDB's personal experiences and inspirations as she provides guidance to artists with a variety of backgrounds. Her practices and recommendations on how to build on one's personal foundation challenges her readers in different ways. It also simultaneously provides a deeper guidance on building one's artistic ability. Her other book Draw your day holds similar content but this one is more targeted at solidifying the skills. It is definitely my new favorite book providing me ideas on how I can better sketch and also what are some recommendations on exploring and finding my own art tools as well.

[Trish J · Rating 5 out of 5]

After I started following the author, Samantha Dion Baker on Instagram years ago I would always marvel at her beautiful illustrated journals. Her first book helped me start making my own drawings in my journals and I loved the book so much that I bought it for friends too.

When I heard that she would be making another book I was thrilled. Draw Your World provides even more inspiration and instruction on capturing the big and little moments in your life. The book is full of fantastic examples of how to draw, how to illustrate quotes that are important to you, and so much more! I keep this book on my desk and use it frequently- it’s worth every penny!

[Deborah · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is the equivalent of stuffing your face with candy hoping to be nourished.

It is not a very good instructional resource and serves as promotional content for the artist's various social media platforms and personal artistic style.

One part of the book that really irked me was where she said she took a photo of a nude child on a beach in Spain to later sketch in her journal, which just seemed immoral. Urban sketching should be done keeping in mind we still live in a society with laws.

Overall, this book just irritated me without deepening any skills I hoped to strengthen by reading this book

[Shirley Kern · Rating 5 out of 5]

Samantha Dion Baker's new book "Draw Your World" is a lovely work of art in itself. With its' beautiful illustrations, it is well-written, flows easily and understandably from one topic to the next. Samantha teaches you how to think about what to draw and paint and also the skills you'll need to reach your artistic goals. This book opens your eyes to the world around you. Samantha makes you aware of tools and materials that may be useful to you in your creative journey. Also, Samantha teaches you many technical art techniques and methods to use for drawing and painting. Then, she gives you a practice challenge to develop these skills further. But, most of all, Samantha tells you to put your own spin on your process of making art. Breaking the rules is a good thing, she says. "Draw Your World" is very inspirational and is written for all levels of artists. This book is a companion sequel to Samantha's first book "Draw Your Day", also an excellent book. I would strongly suggest purchasing both books. I really loved this book. It is truly a great resource for art information and inspiration.

[Christina Vourcos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Recommended Reading for Inspiration!

I’m thankful to Samantha Dion Baker for inspiring me to get back to drawing. This is the second book I’ve read of hers. I’ve been doing more drawing lately because of her books. I can’t wait for her next book, Draw Your Adventures. I’ve pre-ordered my copy already. I’ll be receiving her Draw Your Day sketchbook today for extra inspiration. Thank you for inspiring me to draw more, Samantha.

[Denise · Rating 5 out of 5]

Samantha’s gentle guidance to “Draw Your World” is a testament to her faithful practice as an artist and illustrator. This book is not only encouraging but a wealth of inspiration in the meditative practice of daily journaling and sketches. If you’re an art enthusiast, don’t stop with this one book. Take the time to read and savor all of her works.

[Vicki · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a more technical book than the author's lovely, Draw Your Day: An inspiring guide to keeping a sketch journal. This book has exercises and prompts to motivate you to try different approaches and techniques. My favorite quote is the author's closing statement, "...draw your world in a way that lifts your soul and enhances your creative spirit."

[Annie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I adore Samantha’s work after discovering her on Instagram. Her first book was a true inspiration and her new book is wonderful helping those of us without an art school background to understand and master drawing our world.

[Suzanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful book. Samantha motivates me to be more observant and improve my drawing ability. She is truly a wonderful artist. Her first book “Draw Your Day” is also wonderful. You won’t be disappointed in “Draw Your World”.

[Cindy Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

I took my time with this one, enjoying the illustrations and advice on how to keep illustrated journals. I’ve been working on creating fictional illustrated journals set in the 1920s so this book gave me some great ideas for content and layout.

[Stephanie Shee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read Samantha's first book Draw Your Day not long ago and really love that, so I bought this book too. And I'm not disappointed. This book is inspiring and in my opinion, it is a bit more advance than the first book, but still a very lovely inspiring book.

[Ramarie · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5-the book’s design is lovely with the artist/author’s ink and wash artwork. It’s written in an encouraging tone, to jump into drawing and sketching anything you see with a few tips included but definitely not a how-to-draw book…more of an artistic motivation book.

[Charles · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is perfect for making an art practice simple and accessible. I think it's mist perfect for those of us who already create using mostly ink, pens, and watercolor, but has good exercises and tips that have nothing to do with the medium.

[Robbin Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love how Samantha advises to just start drawing the everyday items and things in your life. She gives exercises in her book to help you begin. Sketching and drawing are only learned by doing, just like learning to write.

[Brooke Robinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I want to check this book out from the library again because I did not read the entire thing. I really liked the whole concept of the book though and the inspiration that I got from it. Really inspires me to take a closer look at my world and capture it through drawing.

[Terrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully illustrated - has many great insights for beginner and seasoned artists alike. Can’t help but devour it.

[Cecille Gagne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is exactly what I needed. I’m finding myself in a creative funk, but this book has given me some ideas and inspiration which will get me out of there. I highly recommend this book.

[Chris Grizzle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book. Lots of good info!

[C · Rating 5 out of 5]

Samantha Baker is one of my favorite art teachers, and this book is excellent. I love the drawing challenges and the resources page included.

[Darlene Ivy · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's lots of information here about materials and techniques. For me, the strength of the book was in the numerous examples in various states of completion and the drawing challenges.

[Nathalie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Goed beginnersboek

[Dan Meier · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really helpful introduction to drawing techniques.