Hello guys! Today, let's make a visual journal.
If writing thoughts and feelings in a journal is a little too intimidating, why not consider a combination of sketching and short-form note taking? These elements make up a visual journal.
I learned a few tips from Emily Mills at Workshop Week and I'm going to share them with you.
The virtual class started with a hike in Oregon where she gathered inspiration. This is the finished page of her visual journal. It's very eye-catching because of the cute drawings, use of color, and she describes the highlights in bullet points and phrases. They are easy to read and convey the overall mood of the hike.
Emily's Tip Number 1: Because you are using your own handwriting, remember: recognizable, not perfection. Your writing doesn't have to be exact or complicated. You can experiment with different font sizes and styles to add variety or if you want to emphasize certain phrases or to make the title stand out.
Emily's Tip Number 2: Use basic shapes to make your drawings: circle, square, triangle, line, wave, and zigzags.
Combine these shapes to make a bird (two circles + two triangles + lines) or trees (triangles + lines or circle + lines).
Emily's Tip Number 3: To draw something more complicated such as a mink, use a pencil to combine different shapes (ex. circles and oblongs) to draw the basic form. Then fill in the details. Once satisfied, trace with permanent ink, add color using markers, and erase the pencil marks.
Emily's Tip Number 4: Use smaller sketchbooks or journals so it's not as daunting to fill a whole page. The sketchbooks on the right fit right in the palm of her hand.
Emily's Tip Number 5: Enjoy the moment in the moment -- really immerse yourself in the experience. You can take quick notes during the trip but do the journaling at the end of the day. She taught us to really pay attention (ex. know the names of the animals that we see, remember the sights and sounds of the day).
Based on Emily's guidelines, here are some pages from my visual journal:
The Hudson River is so close to where I live, I come here all the time to take walks and be one with nature. "Down by the Hudson River" shows the birds and flowers that I see all year round. This exercise helped me identify their names. I also got to practice shadows and how to paint water (representing the river)...TADA!
Trips centered around food are my jam! It's a fun way to learn about a culture or neighborhood. There's a Chinatown in Queens, New York and this page, "Food Tripping in Flushing, Queens" was inspired by that afternoon...TADA!
This is another food-centric page in my visual journal. "Beach Eats" are some of the yummy things my family and I tried at the Jersey Shore...TADA!
Making a visual journal is one of the ways I turn blank pages of my sketchbook from blah to TADA!
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