{"id":792,"date":"2020-09-01T01:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-09-01T01:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/urbansketchingworld.com\/?p=792"},"modified":"2023-06-12T17:57:51","modified_gmt":"2023-06-12T17:57:51","slug":"get-started-with-illustrated-journaling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/urbansketchingworld.com\/get-started-with-illustrated-journaling\/","title":{"rendered":"Record Your Life: Get Started with Illustrated Journaling"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In this post, we are going to talk about illustrating your life in a sketchbook or journal, why it is such a worthwhile pursuit and how to go about it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This post is for anyone, whether you are new to sketching or already have a sketching habit but are looking for other ideas or a new perspective on what you can use your sketchbook for or how you may fit a daily sketch habit into your life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Journaling, in general, has made a major comeback. Nearly all self-improvement and personal growth gurus talk about journaling as a key technique to reflect and work through things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The concept of a written journal is nothing new to most of us, however, a journal does not need to be written, you can draw instead (or do both).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is illustrated journaling?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Have you ever seen any old sketchbooks from adventurers in the 16th and 17th centuries? They would explore new lands, documenting their journey and sketching new people, wildlife and objects they came across in order to bring their discoveries back home and show everyone. There\u2019s a fantastic book by Huw Lewis-Jones (which you can find on Amazon) called \u2018Explorers Sketchbooks<\/a>\u2019 that collects examples from the sketchbooks and journals of intrepid explorers throughout history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Can you imagine having a collection of sketchbooks, containing a record of your life over the years? Recording all those moments from daily life through to trips of a lifetime, saving ticket stubs and scribbling little notes…things a photograph could never do. Remembering the sights, sounds and smells of exactly where you were when you were sketching. Those kinds of memories are only recalled when looking at a sketch, something that may have taken you 30 minutes, an hour, 2 hours to produce. Think about how far your sketching will have come from when you first started and how you have improved, not only in your technical skills but also in how to catch a moment or a story, frame it and record it for prosperity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An illustrated journal is basically a diary where you can record anything at all from your life. Instead of just writing, the predominant content is drawn, although many people supplement their drawings with notes, annotations or even some fancy lettering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You don\u2019t need to be an explorer to keep an illustrated journal. Anyone with a sketchbook and a mark-making tool (such as a pencil or pen) can keep one. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anyone can keep an illustrated journal<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

First and foremost your illustrated journal is for you. It\u2019s a safe place for you to be you, to play and experiment, to develop and reflect, to analyse and to dream. If you decide to share some or all of those pages with other people, that that\u2019s totally up to you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can draw anything you like in your journal<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

By the nature of the term \u2018journal\u2019, recording your day to day life springs to mind as the obvious thing to start with. But what happens from there\u2026? You still don\u2019t really know what to draw do you? Well, make sure you check out the sections below which will give you loads of ideas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You may want to make a daily log of your life, maybe you want to keep a food journal, perhaps you want to journal about a specific project you\u2019re working on such a house renovation or school project. You can use your journal to log anything at all. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Do you want to learn how to sketch your own adventures in ink & watercolour?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

GET 50% OFF FOR A LIMITED TIME ONLY!!<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I will show you my exact sketching process in ink and watercolour<\/strong>. I have travelled around the world in the last 3 years and this is my go-to system of creating beautiful yet quirky illustrations to capture the magic of my discoveries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We will work through 3 projects, step by step<\/strong> (pictured below), all of which are real-life examples of things I have sketched along my travels. I provide the photo references you can work from.
We will start by choosing a composition, laying in the initial pencil sketch, adding ink lines, layering watercolour and adding the final touches.
This and much more are included in my course, Sketch Your Adventures<\/a><\/strong>, click the button under the image to find out more!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Sketch<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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FIND OUT MORE<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Deirdre Love<\/a> used the format of an illustrated journal to help the work through issues and absorb life lessons while her mother was in the last year of her life. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The benefits of keeping an illustrated journal<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Unlike a written journal, illustrated journals tend to be a little more lighthearted, however, some of the deeper mental health benefits (as well as creative ones) remain the same, such as:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n