A map of the book showing what is where2 pages. Draw a strip of tiny page shapes and shade them by what they hold: paint, pen or pencil.
The earliest tree, eye or hand beside today's1 page. Find the first one in the book, copy it at the left, and draw today's version at the right.
Figures from earlier pages meeting at one table2 pages. Pick five people or animals from different pages and seat them together across the fold.
The mark this book made most, one last time1 page. Look for the curve or shape that keeps turning up and fill the whole page with it.
One thing borrowed from every tenth page1 page. Rule three shelves. Flip in tens and set one object from each page you land on along a shelf.
Page one drawn again beside a small copy of the first try2 pages. Copy the old drawing small on the left without fixing it. Draw the same subject fresh on the right.
Page one drawn from memory, then checked1 page. Do not look back. Draw what you think is on the first page, then check and note the gaps.
The page you skip past, redrawn as it should have been1 page. Find the one you flip past fastest. Draw its subject again, slower, and say what changed.
The self-portrait from the start, drawn again at the end1 page. Use the same mirror, pencil and pose as the first one. Write both dates underneath.
Six corners copied from six pages1 page. Copy the bottom right corner of six pages into a grid, each at its true size.
The three colours this book used most1 page. Shade three fat stripes and draw one remembered page inside each of them.
Thumbnails of the ten pages you like best1 page. Rule ten small boxes. Mark the pages with sticky notes first, then shrink each one into a box.
The view from where most of these pages began1 page. Go back to the seat or step where you drew most often and draw what faces it.
Sign off 13
A certificate of completion, awarded to you1 page. Double border, ribbon rosette, a dotted line for the name. Fill it in with your best lettering.
A footpath leading off the page with one word beside it1 page. Two lines that narrow toward the top edge and leave it. Letter the word along its edge.
A library slip showing who borrowed this book1 page. Rule the columns and stamp it with invented dates. The only name on it is yours.
A note on how the book was made1 page. Three short lines set low on the page: where it was drawn, with what, and in which months.
A receipt for everything the book cost1 page. A narrow column: paper, graphite, erasers, hours. Total it in something other than money.
A signature and a thumbprint1 page. Sign across the middle, press a penciled thumb beside it, and turn the print into a creature.
A small figure walking away with the book under one arm1 page. Small and low on the page, with a long shadow. Everything above it stays empty.
A stage curtain coming down on the book1 page. Two swags of cloth meeting at the bottom, with one drawn object left in the gap.
A wax seal in the corner of an empty page1 page. One disc with a wobbly edge and your initial pressed into it. Leave the rest blank.
The dates the book ran from and to1 page. Letter both dates large, one above the other, joined by a line of small tally marks.
The End, lettered as closing credits1 page. Centre narrow capitals down the page: drawn by, pencils by, paper by. End with a made-up studio mark.
One period big enough to fill the page1 page. Draw a circle that nearly touches the edges and fill it solid, or with the smallest pattern you can.
Your initials designed as a maker's stamp1 page. Draw the stamp once large with its guidelines, then once small in the corner.
The book in lists 13
A bar chart of how the pages felt1 page. Four columns. Flip through and add a block each time for calm, fast, stuck or pleased.
A contents list written at the very end1 page. Number the pages now if you have not, then list the ten worth finding again.
A map of the places this book was carried2 pages. A dot for each place, joined in the order you went. Start with the bag it traveled in.
A tally of pens used up1 page. Draw each dead pen lying in a row, capped, with tally marks above it for the pages it lasted.
The book in three numbers1 page. Pages, months and pencils as three large numerals with a small drawing leaning on each. Count for real.
Every tool that touched these pages1 page. Lay them out and draw them at true size, in the order you picked them up.
Stains and accidents kept as specimens1 page. Redraw each coffee ring, smudge and torn corner in its own box, with a label and a date.
The subjects drawn most, ranked on a podium1 page. A podium of three with the winners standing on it and the runners-up lined up behind.
Subjects this book avoided1 page. List five in small letters at the top, then draw the least scary one below them.
Ten things to try in the next book1 page. Ten boxes with a tiny drawing and three words in each. Check them off from the next cover.
Three lessons of six words each1 page. Three lines lettered in three sizes. One of them has to be about erasing.
The weather on drawing days1 page. A row of small symbols, one for each session you can remember: sun, rain, lamplight.
What people said when they looked inside1 page. Each remark in its own speech bubble, hand lettered. Leave out who said it.
Hand over 13
A baton passed between two hands1 page. One hand reaching in from each side. Letter this book's dates along the baton.
A door left ajar with light behind it1 page. Door at the right edge, opening away from you. Leave the light as bare paper.
A drawing that runs off the edge, to finish in the next book1 page. Start a branch, a road or a tail at the left and let it leave the right edge unfinished.
A drawn corner torn off to tape into the new book1 page. Draw a small picture across a corner, tear the corner off, and tape it inside the next cover.
A key whose lock gets drawn in the next book1 page. One ornate key, large. Its lock will be the first thing you draw on the new first page.
A letter to the next sketchbook1 page. Write it as a letter with a drawn stamp and postmark. Tell it three things to expect.
A message in a bottle for whoever finds this book1 page. Bottle floating low on the page, a rolled note inside with one line you can read.
A seed packet for the next book1 page. Draw the packet front: what will grow, when to sow, and a picture of the hoped-for crop.
A suitcase packed for the next book1 page. An open case seen from above. Pack the tools, habits and subjects you are taking with you.
A to-be-continued panel1 page. One comic frame with a cliffhanger and an arrow in the corner pointing off the page.
The opening mark of the next book, practiced here1 page. Draw ten versions of the mark you will start with. Circle one to copy onto the new first page.
This book, worn, beside the next one, still wrapped1 page. Draw this one shut with its bent corners, and the new one next to it, flat and square.
Two bookends with space between for books to come1 page. This book at the left, a blank outline at the right, and room left between them.
How it works
Last page of sketchbook ideas for a book that is nearly full. Look back at what is in it, sign it off, sum it up in a list, or hand over to the next one. Quick holds the fast ones.
Read the full guide
Look back before you close it
Look back sends you through the book once more: thumbnails of the ten pages you like best, page one drawn from memory and then checked, the earliest tree, eye or hand beside today's. Flip through with sticky notes first and choose after.
End it or pass it on
Sign off closes the book with a mark: the dates the book ran from and to, a wax seal in the corner of an empty page. Hand over points at the next one, such as a key whose lock gets drawn in the next book.
Date the last page. Later it is the first thing you will look for.
If the final page faces the inside back cover, use both as one spread.
Do not save the last page for something perfect. It is allowed to be a list.
Questions and answers
What should I draw on the last page of a sketchbook?
Something that closes the book: a look back at the best pages, a signature and date, a list of what it held, or a letter to the next sketchbook. One page is enough.
What if the book is not full?
Finish it anyway if you have stopped using it. A contents list written at the very end or the book in three numbers works however many pages are left blank.
How is this different from first page ideas?
First page sketchbook ideas are for page one and the covers of a new book. These are for the far end: looking back, signing off and handing over.