Creative Prompt | Illustrated Journaling

July 29, 2024

With this prompt, we’ll make an illustrated journal entry in your sketchbook or on your iPad!

This activity offers a preview of my Illustrated Journaling class, which is included in all Mimochai Studio memberships! Learn more about our Studio and classes here.

What is Illustrated Journaling?

Illustrated journaling is a fun and meaningful creative practice that anyone can do, regardless of your drawing experience. You can make “Illogs” (illustrated logs”) with any combination of drawing and writing. They’re a fun way to remember things, chronicle events, reflect on issues, and keep memories. As with Daily Pages, I also love using them to practice new styles and creative skills.

Create Your Illustrated Journal Entry

Pick a time period to cover in your entry. A day, a weekend, or a week is a good place to start.
Choose 3-5 subjects to draw or write about. You can get ideas from your camera roll, snippets from everyday life, or events from the news.
Plan a layout to arrange your drawings and writing on the page. You can take inspiration from a magazine layout, a single page, a double-page spread, etc. There are no rules. If you’re using digital tools like Procreate, you can easily experiment with moving things around. I also provide some templates you can use in the class.
Fill in your writing + illustrations! If you’re a beginner at drawing, consider the following tips:

Try simple interpretive representations rather than trying to draw realistically. Even stick figures can be some of the most expressive and charming drawings!

If you can draw basic shapes, you can draw almost anything. A tree is triangles + line, a house is square + triangle, etc! You can do so much with very simple symbols.

Optional final touches: Depending on how much time you have, there are a few ways to polish your entry! You can add a pop of color, go over your sketches in pen and erase the pencil (or make a new layer if you are working digitally), etc.