The best urban sketching bag for me is small enough to carry all day, but organized well enough that I can pull out my sketchbook and start drawing almost immediately. After trying backpacks, overpacked art bags, and extremely minimal setups, I’ve settled on a small crossbody or sling-style bag as the best balance.
I don’t want a bag that can carry every art supply I own. I want one that holds the tools I actually use, stays out of the way while I’m walking, and lets me reach a pen or sketchbook without unloading everything onto a bench.
This guide is about the bag itself: the size, shape, organization, access, weather resistance, and packing system I’ve found most useful for urban sketching.
If you’re more interested in the actual drawing tools inside it, see my urban sketching kit or my broader guide to urban sketching supplies.
What I Want in an Urban Sketching Bag
I judge a sketching bag less by how much it can carry and more by how quickly I can use what’s inside.
The features that matter most to me are:
- Lightweight construction: I don’t want the empty bag itself adding much weight.
- Quick access: I should be able to reach my sketchbook and pen without taking everything apart.
- Comfort while walking: the bag needs to stay close to my body instead of bouncing around.
- Enough organization: pens, brushes, paint, and wet items shouldn’t become one pile.
- Some weather resistance: especially when carrying paper, ink, and watercolor.
- A secure closure: I prefer zippers or a covered opening when I’m walking through crowded areas.
- Room for one sketchbook: without encouraging me to pack several more.
Crossbody Bag vs. Sling vs. Backpack
I’ve used all three approaches, but they feel very different once I’m actually moving around a city.
| Bag type | What I like | What I don’t like |
|---|---|---|
| Crossbody | Easy access, stays close, can open while standing | Limited capacity, uncomfortable if overloaded |
| Sling | Compact, easy to rotate to the front, good for walking | Organization varies widely between designs |
| Backpack | Comfortable with heavier loads and extra clothing | Usually has to come off before I can reach drawing tools |
For ordinary urban sketching, I prefer a crossbody or compact sling.
A backpack makes more sense when the sketching outing overlaps with hiking, travel, carrying a jacket, food, camera gear, or other things that have nothing to do with drawing.
But if the goal is simply walking through a city and stopping whenever I see something worth drawing, the smaller bag wins for me.
What Size Urban Sketching Bag Works Best?
I size the bag around the sketchbook, not around the maximum amount of art supplies I could potentially carry.
If I’m carrying an A5 sketchbook, I want a bag that fits it comfortably with a little room around it for my drawing tools.
I don’t want so much extra space that I start filling it with:
- Three sketchbooks
- Multiple watercolor sets
- Every pen size I own
- Extra brushes I rarely use
- Large pencil cases
- Supplies packed only because there’s room
Extra capacity tends to become extra weight.
For my setup, the ideal bag is only slightly larger than the sketchbook itself.
The Most Important Feature: Quick Access
My favorite test for an urban sketching bag is simple:
Can I begin drawing in about 10 seconds?
If I have to put the bag on the ground, unzip three compartments, remove a large pencil case, search for a pen, and then dig the sketchbook out from underneath everything else, that’s too much friction.
Sometimes I only have five or ten minutes available. If getting ready takes part of that time, I’m more likely to skip the drawing entirely.
I want the sequence to be:
- Move the bag to the front of my body.
- Open one compartment.
- Pull out the sketchbook.
- Grab a pen.
- Start drawing.
How I Organize My Urban Sketching Bag
I give the things I use most often the easiest positions to reach.
Sketchbook
The sketchbook gets its own main compartment or sleeve so the pages stay protected and I don’t have to pull other tools out first.
Main Pen
My most-used pen stays in an easily accessible slot or pocket, not buried inside a large pencil case.
Watercolor and Brushes
If I’m carrying color, the palette and brushes stay together so I can pull out the watercolor portion of the kit as one group.
Rag or Paper Towel
I keep this somewhere easy to reach because once I’m painting, I don’t want to search through the bag with a wet brush.
Occasional Tools
Pencil, eraser, clips, backup pen, and similar items can sit deeper in the bag because I don’t need them every time I stop.
What I Actually Carry in the Bag
The contents change depending on the day, but a typical setup might include:
- One A5 sketchbook
- One waterproof pen
- A small mechanical pencil and eraser
- A compact watercolor palette
- A water brush or travel brush
- A small rag or folded paper towel
- One or two clips if it’s windy
That’s enough for the way I normally draw.
I go into the individual tools and why I use them in my urban sketching kit. I intentionally keep the detailed supply discussion there rather than turning the bag itself into another materials list.
Keep Wet and Dry Supplies Separate
Watercolor introduces one extra problem: moisture.
I don’t want a damp rag or wet brush sitting directly against the sketchbook.
Small zip pouches or separate interior sections make it easier to keep wet and dry tools apart.
I also avoid making the organization too complicated. A separate pouch for every object would create the same rummaging problem I’m trying to avoid.
Weather Resistance Matters More Than Waterproofing
I don’t need my everyday sketching bag to survive being submerged.
I do want enough protection that a short rain shower, wet bench, or accidental splash isn’t immediately threatening the sketchbook inside.
For me, useful features include:
- A water-resistant exterior
- A flap covering the main zipper
- A base that doesn’t immediately soak through
- Zippers rather than completely open pockets for important tools
That kind of protection has been much more useful to me than carrying a heavier outdoor bag simply because it has a higher waterproof rating.
Why I Don’t Usually Use a Backpack
Backpacks are excellent for carrying weight. That’s also part of the problem.
When I take one urban sketching, I’m tempted to fill the available space.
They also make spontaneous sketching slower for me because I generally have to stop and take the backpack off before reaching the sketchbook.
I still use a backpack when I have a reason for one, especially longer walks or outings where I’m also carrying water, clothing, camera equipment, or food.
But for a normal city sketching day, I prefer the constraint of a smaller bag.
When a Backpack Does Make Sense
I would choose a backpack over a crossbody bag when:
- I’m hiking to a sketching location.
- I’m carrying a folding stool.
- I need extra layers or rain gear.
- I’m bringing significant camera equipment.
- The outing will last most of the day.
- Comfort under a heavier load matters more than immediate access.
In that case, I would still keep the frequently used drawing tools together in one smaller pouch so I’m not searching through the entire pack every time I stop.
What I Would Pack in a Beginner Sketching Bag
If you’re new to urban sketching, I would deliberately leave most of the bag empty.
Start with:
- One small sketchbook
- One pen or pencil
That’s enough.
If you repeatedly wish you had color, add a compact watercolor setup. If you keep wishing you had a pencil for architecture, add one. If you never use the extra pens you’ve been carrying, take them back out.
My urban sketching for beginners guide explains how little equipment you actually need for your first outings.
What I Leave Out of My Everyday Bag
What I don’t pack is almost as important as what I do.
I generally avoid carrying things without a specific reason, including:
- Several sketchbooks
- A full collection of fineliner sizes
- Large paint sets
- Multiple pencil cases
- Several brushes that do almost the same thing
- Materials I haven’t used on recent outings
I used to pack around hypothetical problems. Now I pack around what I’ve actually used.
How I Change the Bag for Travel
Travel usually makes me simplify the setup even further.
If I’m already carrying a camera, phone, water, and the normal things I need for the day, I don’t want the drawing gear becoming another separate load.
I start with the sketchbook and pen and only add paint when I know I’m likely to use it.
I’ve particularly appreciated a small setup while urban sketching in New York, where moving through crowds and transit favors quick access, and while urban sketching in Seattle, where I pay more attention to protecting the sketchbook from changing weather.
How I Know a Bag Is Too Big
There are a few warning signs I’ve learned to notice:
- I’m carrying materials I haven’t used in weeks.
- I hesitate to bring the bag because it feels heavy.
- Tools disappear into the bottom.
- I need several cases inside the bag just to organize it.
- Setting up takes longer than the sketch deserves.
- The bag is determining how I draw instead of supporting it.
At that point, I remove things before looking for a better organizer.
How I Test a New Urban Sketching Bag
I can tell much more from one real sketch walk than from organizing a bag perfectly at home.
I pay attention to:
- Whether I can reach the sketchbook without looking
- Whether the strap becomes uncomfortable after an hour
- Whether the bag swings around while I walk
- Which supplies I actually remove from it
- Whether anything is difficult to put away while standing
- Whether the sketchbook stays protected
Then I change the packing system based on what happened instead of trying to predict every situation in advance.
Urban Sketching Bag vs. Urban Sketching Kit
I treat these as two separate questions.
The urban sketching bag is the carrying system. It determines access, comfort, organization, and how much I’m tempted to bring.
The urban sketching kit is what goes inside it. That’s the sketchbook, pen, watercolor, brushes, pencil, and other drawing tools.
If you’ve chosen a bag and now want to decide what deserves space inside it, see my complete urban sketching kit.
The Best Urban Sketching Bag Is the One You Don’t Mind Carrying
I don’t think there’s one bag design that works for every sketcher.
Someone carrying an A4 watercolor book, water bottle, stool, and large palette needs something different from someone using an A6 sketchbook and ballpoint pen.
But I would choose the smallest bag that comfortably fits the setup you actually use.
For me, that’s a compact crossbody or sling with fast access, basic weather resistance, and just enough organization that I don’t have to dig for anything.
The bag’s job isn’t to carry every possibility. It’s to make starting a drawing easier.