Graduates
Back to Projects

Katie Murphy

BFA in Illustration - Entertainment Arts — Illustration
Course:
Portfolio Development Lab
Faculty:
Dawn Yamazi & Dorothea Schoentag
Term:
2026 Spring

Sketchbook

Take a peek inside my sketchbook! I never leave the house without my sketchbook, and you can often find me sketching the world around me while waiting for coffee, getting gas, or standing in line at the pharmacy. I am eager to improve my observational skills!

Process:

Most of my sketchbook pages are 30 second to three minute doodles capturing the world around me. I like to focus on people in interesting poses and emphasize gesture and comedy.

Learning Outcomes:

I am always trying to improve my observational skills and speed at which I can capture gesture. I focus on line of action and clarity of pose.

Project Website:
https://www.katiermurphy.com/portfolio-collections/storyboards/sketchbook
Tags:
2D Design,
Design Thinking,
Drawing,
Illustration
One perk of living in L.A. county is the ability to travel to very cool places not too far away from home. I have loved taking the metro to the Natural History Museum and getting my sketches out.
I am incredibly inspired by the beach, and whenever I’m home in Ventura I make sure to get in some time sketching and painting, especially when the surf conditions aren’t great!
Whenever I have to wait, the first thing I grab isn’t my phone, but my sketchbook. While waiting for my name to be called at Jones Coffee, I’ll grab my sketchbook and draw other patrons.
When drawing in downtime, I try to find gestures and actions that speak to me. Those are the moments I try to exaggerate and capture.