How To Start A Video Art Drawing Journal

I've recently started doing a drawing journal over on YouTube and thought the process was really rewarding for my own way of working as an Artist. So I thought about detailing the process here and why I think that they aid your own creativity and the production of new creative ideas.

A drawing journal consists of a sketchbook that you fill with spur of the moment ideas and ways of getting them ideas drawn, sketched or created by any other means as quickly as possible within that sketchbook, so that you can later develop those ideas and concepts further at a later date. Some Artists focus on art techniques and using media they haven't used much before such as Oil Pastels, Paints or chalk to name a few.

The valuable thing for an Artist to consider is that creating art quickly can save you time in the long run with quick ideas that help facilitate the creative spark in your mind and really gets you thinking about the development of your sketches or art contained within the journal pages.

Over on YouTube I have started a drawing journal in which I sketched or painted or just did whatever in the pages of that A5 sketchbook just to see what ideas would come about. At first I was keen on creating some art with new ways of working, but that idea seemed a bit short lived as I mainly sketched and drew stuff. There was however some small ideas I painted with Watercolors or Oil Pastels and wax crayons.

Now with that Drawing Journal video series nearing it's end I am planning a second video series that will expand on all of the ideas I created and flesh them out in a more longer more developed illustration per concept.

Planning is the key with any project and an Art project such as this is no different. I for instance like to have everything to hand and set up for the drawing process. You may have this set up already, something like a desk to draw or paint. For my drawing Journal I decided to use an A5 sketch pad which was a spiral flip pad type and it was small, so I could come up with tiny thumb nail ideas a bit quicker in each video.

When deciding on doing a Drawing Journal you need to understand the reasons why you are doing so.

• Do you want to improve with different art techniques or just use other mediums?
• Do you want to work on similar themed ideas throughout the journal or lots of different stuff?
• Are you going to do one video journal entry a day or one a week? Scheduling the video entries is key to making sure you follow through with the project.
• Is this a hobby project or for your Artistic career?
• Are you going to develop the ideas contained in this journal?

Once you understand what your journal is about, you can simply focus on sketching and drawing or whatever you want to do in it.

For my drawing journal attempt I just started to draw whatever came into my head for each video entry and that was my way of working. You however might want to seriously plan what you are going to do. Maybe you want to introduce yourself at the beginning of each video or you want to focus on a theme which is consistent throughout the Journal's duration.

I know however that the second video journal series of art development won't be that spontaneous, because I'll be working from ideas already set down from the first journal series.

My Drawing Journal consisted of random ideas all drawn out of order in this Thumbnail gallery below. If you want the direct order, here is my Drawing Journal Playlist

I wanted my journal to show simple ideas that I could develop in a second video series. I used a range of different pencils, pens and sometimes used watercolors and oil pastels occasionally. It started out as me wanting to use different materials and then turned into me just creating ideas with mainly pencils or ink pens throughout.

I picked this video journal entry over all the other 59 because I can see the potential and the possibilities to draw lots of variations and begin to paint some nice textures of the red spiky Wyrm creature.

My least favorite of the series would be the shooting star ideas as I didn't really connect well with the ideas that I had in my head.