Inside the sketchbook of Leo animator Jason Chan P.L.

Jason Chan P.L., also known as onlyparkland on social media, is a freelance animator and illustrator from Malaysia. He has illustrated Hilda's Book of Beasts and Spirits and Hilda's World: A guide to Trollberg, the Wilderness, and Beyond. These two gorgeous bestiaries are filled with watercolour illustrations.

Jason actually loves painting in his sketchbooks and lately has been dabbling into urban sketching (read our best sketchbooks guide if you're looking for one). It's interesting how his traditional approach and practice has taken him to a new stage in his art career, especially for someone surrounded by the best digital art software in his role as an animator – Jason worked on the Adam Sandler movie Leo.

"I started drawing a lot at the age of seven after discovering Dragon Ball. I wanted to work on comics, but I didn’t know if there were any schools in Malaysia for that," begins Jason, adding: "Instead, I learned to animate traditionally with pencil and paper in college. One of the principles of animation is solid drawing, and it’s something I truly believe in. Therefore, practicing to improve my drawing skills is something I try my best to prioritise in my career as an animator."

I ask Jason when did you start painting with watercolours and how did you build a sketchbook routine?

"I tried my hand at watercolours around 2015, but I was stuck with using only Payne's grey. Mixing colours was daunting at the time. I started using more shades around 2017 after learning from Mateusz Urbanowicz and Parka Blogs videos," he says.

Jason continues: "Drawing is a vital skill for me as an animator. However, I was so busy with my work that I neglected my daily drawing practice. It was in 2012 that I realised I needed to get out of this rut. I learned about the sketchbook routine from artist Yon Hui Lee. I started with one sketch a day."

He adds: "Increased it to a couple of pages every weekend, drawing people outdoors with my wife (then girlfriend). Eventually it became a daily routine and every morning I spend about an hour drawing patrons while having coffee at my favourite coffee shop. Cafes are always the best place to draw people!"

I ask him to point out his favourite pages so far, "There are so many, but I look fondly at these ones because they represent various improvements and changes in the way I draw and paint".

Among Jason's favourite pages are his project to sketch 100 people in a week, which you can find more of on his Instagram page. He tells me: "Here the caricature of shapes and the looseness of gestures are among my best."

"I was inspired by how artist Alvin Lee frames his sketches," says Jason about his sketches set inside comic book panels.

Of the Menya-Shishido watercolour above, he notes: "This was a period when I was very comfortable with my colour palette. It felt like this sketch painted itself while my mind was on cruise control," says the artist.

"An example of a scene that was overloaded with objects but I managed to convey an impression without drawing too much," says Jason (see the art from his sketchbook below).

I ask Jason if he sets goals for his sketchbook art, and he tells me: "I always carry two sketchbooks with me: one with better paper for painting, and another one for looser and quicker sketches. Between these two books, pages are for practicing gesture drawing, urban sketching, master studies, watercolour studies, and occasional fanart illustration."

He then laughs and says, "Sometimes I would allocate a few pages to a series of studies: painting cars, drawing hands, or painting guitar pedals that I can't afford".

So how does urban sketching differ from painting based on reference photos? I ask Jason if he changes his approach, and he says: "I usually have only an hour or two for an urban sketch. So the goal is to keep it loose and not overwork the details. I have to make quick decisions about what colours to use from my palette. It's always a matter of impression rather than accuracy. When I work with reference photos, I get carried away with working on the finer details and being as realistic as I want to. I love the results of both approaches though."

Some artists have unique setups and kit for drawing outdoors, but Jason says he doesn't have any "fancy tools" when urban sketching, but does detail what he uses: "I have a paint box filled with 20 colours- some of my favourites are Indian Red, Cadmium Scarlet Red, Peacock Blue, Ultramarine Blue, Moonglow, and Amazonite Genuine. Then I carry a small and a medium-sized brush, and a water bottle. Sometimes a small foldable chair, if I haven't forgotten to bring it."

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Many artists struggle with having too many unfinished sketchbooks, so I need to know if Jason suffers from our condition; does he stick with a sketchbook until it's full?

"I always promise myself to complete one sketchbook a year, and I still struggle with that," laughs the artist. "I have a few active sketchbooks at the same time. Some of them may take a few years to complete. I will cycle through these once in a while until they are fully completed. I also like to mark the start / end dates on my sketchbooks. So you'll see that they don't end in chronological order."

"My sketchbooks are always for practicing first, and notes / journaling second. They are not for perfect, polished illustrations. This helps me focus on filling the pages with studies instead of making perfect artwork," says the artist.

Jason's background in animation has an influence on his art style and what he sketches, as he explains: "As an animator, I aim to instil life into people's sketches as much as I can. Pushing gestures and exaggerating shapes to caricature their features. So I’m always drawing to convey motion. My interest in manga and anime has also influenced my watercolour pieces, which look more like an illustration than a painting."

For his illustrated Hilda books, Jason choose watercolours, so how did he handle the editing requirements from the publisher?

"It was the only medium I was comfortable with, and also the reason why the publisher approached me after they came across some fan sketches I made of Hilda," details Jason. "Sometimes colours and watercolour texture may not come out right. I would need to edit them digitally in Photoshop - adjusting the hue or saturation, using stamp tool to correct splotchy textures, and reworking the line art."

I ask Jason what skills he feels have improved the most through sketchbook practice?

"When drawing digitally, there’s a habit of constantly using the undo feature that makes me get caught up in unnecessary details and forget the ‘big picture’. Drawing in a sketchbook allows me to keep my drawings loose and every ‘bad’ drawing is just a step towards further improvement. I wouldn’t have discovered my love for watercolours if I hadn't used sketchbooks. It's a medium I’ve always been afraid of since I tried to use it when I was 7."

Find more inspirational art in our collection of the best digital art. If you are looking to get into digital art, read our guide to the best drawing tablets.