12 Creative Ways to Repurpose Your Old Sketchbooks and Unused Sketches

Transform forgotten pages into new art, new opportunities, and new income.

If you're an artist, you probably have a stack (or a closet) full of old sketchbooks: unfinished drawings, abandoned characters, concept art you didn’t finish, or random doodles you barely remember making.

Before you toss them out or leave them to collect dust, here’s the truth:

Old sketches are not wasted work. They’re a goldmine.

Inside those pages are ideas, characters, textures, worlds, and memories you can revive, repurpose, or even monetize.

I’ll show you 12 powerful ways to transform your old sketchbooks into something new — whether you want to build a portfolio, create merch, start passive income, or simply reconnect with your artistic roots.

Make a Printed Artbook — Turn Old Pages into a Professional Collection

One of the most meaningful ways to repurpose old sketches is by turning them into a printed artbook or sketch collection.

Your early or unfinished drawings become a physical archive of your growth — something fans and collectors love.

A printed artbook also builds authority. It shows you take your craft seriously.

How to do it:

• Pick your strongest or most interesting 30–60 sketches

• Scan or photograph them in high quality

• Create a layout using Canva, Affinity Publisher, or InDesign

• Add commentary, artist notes, or behind-the-scenes stories

• Print using Blurb, Lulu, or Mixam

Why it works: People love tangible art. A book turns loose sketches into a timeless product.

Build a Digital Portfolio or Website Gallery

Your old sketches can help fill out a professional online portfolio — especially if you’re trying to showcase style, concept work, character design, or progression.

Ideas for categories:

• Early character concepts

• Environment thumbnails

• Anatomy practice

• Digital vs. traditional growth

• “Before & Now” redraw comparisons

If your website is an art hub like Anitoku, building a gallery keeps visitors exploring longer.

Redraw Old Concepts to Show Your Artistic Glow-Up

This is one of the BEST uses of old sketches.

Find a drawing you made 3, 5, or 10 years ago… and redraw it with your current skill level.

Why this works:

• It visually shows your improvement

• It creates great social media content

• It builds trust with your audience

• It can go viral (“before/after” content always performs well)

Make it a series. People love watching growth in action.

Turn Pages into Prints, Stickers, or Posters

Even simple sketches can make great merch.

From loose doodles to concept art, you can repurpose pages into:

• Sticker sheets

• Mini prints

• Posters

• Bookmarks

• Postcard sets

This is perfect if you want low-pressure ways to start selling physical art.

Convert Sketches into Coloring Pages or Printables

If your style has clean linework (or even messy linework you can clean up digitally), old sketches can become coloring pages, printables, or even downloadable activity sheets.

These work especially well as:

• freebies for email sign-ups

• products on Etsy

• Patreon rewards

• giveaways for community events

• kids’ coloring book pages

You can even bundle 20–30 pages into a full printable coloring book.

Sell or Gift Original Signed Sketches

Collectors LOVE original art. Even unfinished sketches hold huge sentimental and collectible value.

You can:

• Sell them as “mystery grab bags”

• Use them as convention freebies

• Add them as bonus gifts for merch orders

• Frame and sell them as minimalist art

• Give them away during art challenges or contests

Don't underestimate how much people appreciate your authentic work — even the imperfect stuff.

Create a Zine or Mini Sketch Collection

Zines are lightweight, low-cost artbooks — perfect for repurposing old sketches in a fun way.

A sketch zine can include:

• your raw drawings

• notes and scribbles

• character ideas

• commentary

• experiments

• doodle spreads

They’re affordable to print and extremely popular in indie art communities.

Turn Sketches into Storyboards or Animatics

If you animate, old sketches can be turned into:

• short animatics

• motion tests

• character expression reels

• storyboard sequences

• fight-scene thumbnails

• lip-sync practice

You already have the poses, energy, or movement concepts — now animate them.

This is also great content for YouTube, TikTok, or portfolio reels.

Use Old Work for Tutorials, Classes, or YouTube Videos

Your old sketchbooks are the perfect source material for bite-sized educational content.

Ideas:

• “What I would fix today” critique videos

• “How I would complete this old drawing” tutorials

• “Mistakes I used to make” lessons

• “My improvement over 5 years” breakdowns

• Live redraws

• Anatomy correction guides

Artists LOVE seeing real growth — even your imperfect early drawings will teach someone something.

Adapt Drawings into Tattoo Designs or Flash Sheets

Tattoo flash is extremely popular — and your old sketches may already be halfway there.

Perfect candidates for flash pages:

• stylized creatures

• bold silhouettes

• flowers

• symbols

• geometric patterns

• anime-inspired poses

• character headshots

Even if you aren’t a tattoo artist, you can sell flash sheets as digital products.

Upcycle Pages into Mixed-Media Art or Scrapbook-Style Collages

Turn your old sketchbook pages into:

• collage backgrounds

• cut-out shapes

• scrapbook textures

• layered mixed-media pieces

• acrylic/ink overlays

• physical art journaling spreads

This is especially fun with “ugly” or abandoned sketches — the ones you thought were useless become texture gold.

Use Old Ideas for New Characters, Worlds, and Projects

Sometimes your old sketchbooks hold ideas you weren’t skilled enough to execute before.

Now? You can bring them to life.

You might rediscover:

• characters worth redesigning

• plot ideas you never finished

• worldbuilding thumbnails

• storyboards you can expand into comics

• unused manga or animation concepts

Past you left you creative gifts. Don’t let them go to waste.

How I Turned My Own Sketches Into DIZZY! Sketch Collections

When I created my artbook DIZZY! Sketch Collections, it started with nothing but old pages — nature drawings, character concepts, comic ideas, and freestyle sketches.

I scanned them, organized them, added commentary, and turned them into a polished physical book.

The result?

• People connected with the rawness

• Fans loved seeing behind the scenes

• It built credibility for my brand

• It became a passive-income product

• It inspired me to create more books

If I can turn forgotten sketches into something powerful, so can you.

Final Thoughts + What to Do Next

Your old sketchbooks are more than abandoned ideas — they’re a treasure chest of inspiration waiting to be revived.

Whether your goal is growth, creativity, or income, those pages can open new opportunities.

👉 If you want another way to monetize old sketches, check out my blog “How to Sell Sketches Online” next — it breaks down every method an artist can use to earn from their art.

👉 Or, if you want to share your work, join the next Anitoku Free Online Art Contest and show the community what you’ve created.

Don’t let your art fade away. Transform it, repurpose it, and keep creating.