My trip to Japan was an exhilarating experience. Amidst the hustle and bustle of exploring this vibrant country, I maintained a sketchbook journal as a daily practice as I love to do. This activity is not only a means of documenting my adventures but also a way to immerse myself more deeply in the rich tapestry of a place.
As I explored the busy streets of Tokyo, wandered through old temples in Kyoto, and enjoyed art museums and the street food of Osaka, my sketchbook served as a companion. I sketched during transit, and in the evenings mostly, about 10-20 minutes a day. Each page was a space waiting to be filled with my impressions of the world around me. Whether I was capturing the details of the streetscape or sketching a pattern inspired by some fabric I bought, my sketchbook became a visual diary of my adventure.
For those looking to embark on their own journey of sketchbook journaling while traveling, here are some tips to help you document your adventures visually:
Take Advantage of Transit Time: Utilize the moments spent commuting on trains, busses or even planes to create entries in your sketchbook. These transient moments offer a unique opportunity to capture snapshots of daily life and scenes.
Experiment with Color: Invest in 3-6 contrasting colored markers and incorporate them into your compositions. A limited palette can add depth, continuity, and visual interest to your illustrations, transforming simple line drawings into dynamic scenes.
Embrace Adhesives and Ephemera: Bring along or buy adhesives such as washi tape or glue sticks to incorporate mementos from your journey. Whether it's ticket stubs from museums or receipts from local eateries, these tactile elements add texture and authenticity to your journal pages.
Forget About Chronology: Don't feel constrained by the need to document your experiences in chronological order. Embrace the freedom to work on multiple pages simultaneously or create collages that capture the essence of your journey in a nonlinear fashion.
Use Prompts to Spark Creativity: If you're unsure where to begin, try using these prompts to kickstart your creative process when you don’t know what to draw.
- • Document your culinary experiences.
- • Draw the world outside a window, or a scene from a photo on your phone.
- • Create diagrams of your surroundings, a birds eye view of an environment you experienced.
- • Recount something you learned that day, and draw one vignette that stands out in your mind about that.
- • Embrace patterns: create your own repeating motifs with elements you see from your adventures.
- • Experiment with different art media: A little watercolor set like this one is fun to use to illuminate spaces.
- • Sketch the faces of the people you meet.
- • Make a border first, then fill it with a memory.
- • Create a composition where there’s more blank space than not, taking into account that negative space is just as important as positive space.
- • Draw a small object as larger than life, commanding the entire page. i.e. a feather, piece of candy, a leaf, or a piece of jewelry.
By incorporating these tips into your sketchbook journaling practice, you'll not only preserve special memories of your travels but also unlock new ways of seeing and experiencing the world around you. So grab your sketchbook, pack your bags, and embark on a journey of creativity the next time you travel!