How to Begin an Illustrated Journal Practice
Want to switch from writing your journal to illustrating it?
In this post, I walk through my simple three-step process—pencil sketch, ink, and add color—so you can turn everyday moments into visual stories. I’m also sharing favorite journal pages from recent adventures and a free supplies & layout guide to help you get started.
Before you get started, download my free supply and layout guide!
Step 1: Create a pencil sketch
Once you get your supplies, decide on a topic, and select a layout (download my free supply and layout guide here), you are ready to create a pencil sketch.
I always recommend drawing your journal in pencil first. Why? Because you may:
Change your mind about something you want to include
Make a mistake you want to correct
Sketch some of your journal one day and finish it the next
Once you have your sketch done, it will look kind of messy. That’s great! Here’s an example from my own sketchbook.
Pencil sketch of an illustrated journal in progress of a recent trip to Maui withy my mom.
Step 2: Ink your sketch
Using your pigment monoline drawing pen, go over your pencil sketch to create your journal drawing. Personally, I like the look of chunky, bold, dark linework in my journal. Yours may be lighter, or more subtle.
I also include lots of hand-lettering in my illustrated journals. This is up to you. If you want to learn modern calligraphy to include in your journal, you can find my calligraphy learning resources here.
Once your ink drawing is complete, erase your pencil marks with a dust-free plastic eraser.
Here’s an example of the linework from a food-relate sketch I did of my trip to Japan’s Ise-Shima coastal area. I added colored pencil later.
Inked linework of my illustrated journal of all the delicious foods I ate while on a trip to Japan’s Ise-Shima coast.
Step 3: Add color to your illustrated journal
I always finish my illustrated journal drawings with color. I use different mediums depending on my mood and whether I am traveling while creating the drawing. My favorite ways to color my journals are colored pencils, water-based brush pen markers, or sometimes watercolor.
Here is a time-lapse video of me coloring in my illustrated travel journal of a trip to Boulder, Colorado. I used Tombow Dual-Tip brush pen markers for this illustration.
An illustrated travel journal drawing in black and white is colored in with Tombow brush pen parkers in this sped-up art process video.
The end result: a fun illustrated journal to preserve your memories
Here are some of my favorite illustrated journal sketches from the past year!
Download my free illustrated journal guide
I am sharing my illustrated journal layout guide with my subscribers!
Download yours at the link below and get started on your own illustrated journal today.
