Brownie, Watercolour on paper, Emelia, 2021
Celebrating every mental dump, however it may be unimpressive, record milestones that may be underwhelming for others but most precious for you, because who cares? Your journal, your rules!
Even better! Journal with your siblings, mum, dad, grandparent, or best friend. Set 10-15 minutes every few days or once a week and go crazy on just boring lines, silly shapes, or blind-your-eye kind of embellishments. You'll be surprised how satisfying you'll feel when flipping through the pages in a few months.
So, what king of journal?
50% Off! It's a great time to go all-out shopping in the name of journals, especially at this time of the Year, when boxing day sales are lingering and new year sales are waving at your wallet. But to start a journal, you don't need anything fancy but blank, inviting pages! However, depending on your skill level and the mediums you plan to use, there are a few options to choose from.
Sketchbooks
These pages are generally tough enough for pencils to tread over and over again to create beautiful shadings. They are usually not thick enough for painting, nor permanent makers, as colours might go through the next page.
However, it's perfect for pencil lovers who want to doodle with the confidence of being able to make changes to the drawings with rubber. Highly recommended for new starters and passionate sketching gurus.
Watercolour Books
Choices, choices, there are several types of watercolour pages. For the simple purpose of journaling, it's safe to go for anything over 300gsm. It means your paper will be thick enough to hold the paint and water you'll be using. Keep in mind that it's more challenging to bind many pages without making them as heavy as a brick when the pages are thicker. So don't be surprised that most watercolour journals only contain around 20 pages.
General Rules
Tired of diving into the specifics? Hold on to these golden rules of choosing the perfect journal then you'll be on your way! Make sure the pages are blank, not ruled. Some come with half-ruled and half-blank, which is perfect if you want to jot down any notes. Spiral bound! Instead of drawing into the valley, spiral bound allows you to open the spread completely flat or fold pages on the back easily. Size matters. It's easy to go for a grand gesture with all your incredible vision. But if it's new to you, we suggest you go for a nice A5 or A4 size, so you can take it anywhere you go!
What to begin with? Well, anything!
Be kind to yourself. Whether you are the creative type or not, there’s a bit of perfectionism in every one of us. Journaling is a journey with yourself. So be kind to yourself and keep that judgy voice at bay when you doodle through the pages, especially if you give it a go for the first time.
Give it time. It's easy to look at your new shy and squiggly lines and announce their destiny to the wastebasket, but have you thought about giving it some time to grow? Keep adding lines and shapes to your page, give it time and watch it evolve. Some days you'll have late nights or extra practice, rehearsals or exams, so be prepared to start a page and come back to finish it over the following few days or weeks. It's okay to pause, just don't give up!
Ideas, ideas, ideas. To get your car going, you'll need to start the ignition. Wherever you plan to go, you'll need to start going first. Ideas don't like to park around. Instead, it wants to give its owners surprise visits. So if you just sit around and wait for ideas to come, you'll be greatly disappointment! Grab your pencil, and start scribbling. Then shapes will come, and ideas will emerge and smile at you. Great ideas are often like the mysterious tribal chiefs. They only appear once in a while. Get ready to work hard with lots of ordinary ideas, small ideas, simple ideas, and ideas you don't even want to qualify as 'ideas'. Then the chief will appear at an appointed time!
Concrete ideas. Alright, you'd like some concrete ideas to start with. Look around; what's the nearest thing to you? A watch on your wrist? Okay, that's too complicated, and you are just starting to manage simple shapes. How about the nearest plant? A salt shaker? A lamp? Or simply, what you had for breakfast. Try to use drawings instead of writing down any words, and put that 'great picture that's worth a thousand words' to the test!
Is it worth it? We'd tell you it's worth it. But you'll have to find out for yourself! Send us a picture of your first journal, and tell us what you think! We can't wait to see it! As always, keep creating!
