About

Field Manual publishes practical guides for people who make things by looking closely: drawing and printing from observation, keeping tools and references in order, editing what you made, and writing notes that are still useful a year later.

Why it exists

Most advice about creative practice is either inspiration or equipment. This publication sits in between: small, repeatable methods that take an afternoon or a week, need little more than a notebook, a few pens and whatever camera you already carry, and leave you with something you can use again.

How a guide is made

1. The method is used on a real piece of work first, and notes are kept while doing it.
2. The steps are written in the order you would do them, with the materials listed before the first step.
3. Someone who has not seen the draft follows it without help. Anywhere they stop to ask a question gets rewritten.
4. Every later change is dated, so you can see when a guide was last revised.

Corrections

If a step does not work for you, please say so. Corrections are made in the guide itself and noted at the end, rather than hidden.