October 2025 Sketchnote Lab Dispatch
Five cool things, Reflective Travel Sketchnote Workshop Video for sale, Sketchnote Basics Workshop on Saturday, Sketchnote Army Podcast Season 17, and September Daily Plan Bar video replay.
Welcome to the October edition of the Sketchnote Lab Dispatch.
School is back in session, which also means fall, my favorite time of year, is here! I love the cool temperatures, falling leaves, and the chance to break out my comfy sweatshirts.
What’s in this issue?
5 Cool Things to share with you.
Permission to Suck at Drawing Certificate is available for free!
Sketchnote Basics with Art Toolkit is coming on October 18th, tickets on sale now.
The Reflective Travel Sketchnote Workshop is on sale!
Sketchnote Army Podcast season 17 kicks off with the amazing Dan Roam!
Five Cool Things
Here are five cool things I thought you would enjoy:
❥ 1. Sketch Your Mind Conference, running Monday, October 13th, to Friday, October 17th, 2025, is an intensive, week-long masterclass in visual thinking. Join note-takers, PKM enthusiasts, and visual thinkers to explore ideas, creativity, and storytelling. Thanks, Zsolt!
❥ 2. How to draw characters (and turn yourself into an illustrated alter ego) - I love Zsofi Lang’s simple instructional article for drawing simple characters! Thanks, Zsofi!
❥ 3. One Trick to Draw Everyday with Ease - This video from JeyRamm offers a simple post-it drawing exercise over seven days to get your practice started and keep it going. Thanks, JeyRamm!
❥ 4. How to Draw When You Don’t Have Time - I love this simple approach to finding time to draw from Javi, which helps you build a habit of drawing with the time you do have! Thanks, Javi!
❥ 5. Using tonal value contrast to control where people look - My friend Drewscape shares a unique way to draw attention to areas of your drawings by using tonal values. Thanks, Drew!
Permission to Suck at Drawing Certificate
Want to draw, but you’re afraid to make a mistake because you suck at drawing? Got ya covered!
Get a PDF printable and downloadable version for free!
Sketchnoting Workshop in partnership with Art Toolkit: Learn the basics of sketchnoting this Saturday, October 18!
Join me online on Saturday, October 18th, from 10 am to 12:30 pm Pacific for my live workshop — Sketchnoting: Capture Information Visually with Mike Rohde!
In this workshop, you’ll learn the basics of sketchnoting: a visual note-taking method that blends handwritten text, drawings, and layout to capture the information you are learning and want to remember.
Tickets include live access and a recorded video replay, details here:
Reflective Travel Sketchnote Workshop Video is on sale!
In September, I shared my process for creating travel sketchnotes in a workshop. We had a great time together as I shared samples, my process, and I built a page in my sketchbook.
If you missed the workshop, you can now purchase the video and PDF templates for just $20, allowing you to prepare for your next trip and create your own reflective travel sketchnotes.
The $20 workshop includes both the video and PDF templates to get you started:
Sketchnote Army Podcast Season 17 has begun!
I can’t believe we’re into the 17th season of Sketchnote Army Podcast! It began in 2016 and is still ongoing 11 years later. Watch for episodes to release each Tuesday in October and November.
In the kickoff episode, Dan Roam shares how his childhood love for drawing led him to discover surprising parallels between visual thinking, biology, and organic chemistry.
Listen to Episode 1 with Dan Roam
Previous Month’s Sketchnote Lab Posts
Here’s what’s been happening at Sketchnote Lab:
Become a Paid Lab Member and you’ll support my work and have access to all Live Labs and recorded replays to help build your sketchnoting practice!
Custom Sketchnote Workshops
I love teaching teams like yours how to think visually and sketch simply with Custom Sketchnote Workshops.
I've presented workshops at schools: Drexel University, Marquette University, and The University of Michigan; Anne Arundel, New York City, and Fresno school districts.
I’ve also presented workshops for teams at SmugMug/Flickr, Hubspot, Northwestern Mutual, Johnson Controls, Dentsu Creative, and Sibley Memorial Hospital.
I’d love to teach your team as well. Let’s talk!
The Sketchnote Live Workshop Video Set: Lettering, Layout, and Icons together for just $50.
The Sketchnote Live Workshop Set is a collection of all three in-depth workshop recordings on lettering, layout, and icons, available at a great price! Includes three videos and PDF templates to download to help build your sketchnoting practice.
Thanks again for the chance to share something fun in your inbox!
— Mike
Sketchnote Lab is Mike Rohde’s space designed to bridge the gap between sketchnote theory and practice. The goal is to guide you in integrating sketchnoting into your everyday life. Learn more about Sketchnote Lab.
Mike is the author of The Sketchnote Handbook and The Sketchnote Workbook, bestselling books that teach regular people how to start and keep sketchnoting.
He founded the Sketchnote Army and hosts the Sketchnote Army Podcast, where he interviews visual thinkers to understand what makes them tick.
Mike offers recorded, live, and in-person workshops to help accelerate your sketchnoting practice and coaching for personalized, 1:1 sketchnoting guidance.
Become a paid Lab Member to support Mike’s work.