Note: to see my favorite sketch from Art-A-Whirl visit Urban Sketchers—Twin Cities.
Friday and Saturday of last week I spent some time as a vendor of paintings at Art-A-Whirl. You can read a bit more about that in the post at the link above.
My point for today's post, however, is page layout. Someone asked me about this last week in the comments section, and I talk about it alot off and on, and it seemed to me this weekend's adventure plays right into the topic, so why not jump right in. Once you start thinking this way of course EVERYTHING, jumps into the topic, so there will be more posts on this in the next 10 days or so.
First, this scan of a journal spread (not quite 8 x 8 inches square) is turned on its side because that's how I could best glue in the small pages I'd sketched on. I elected to use a small gridded pad (4 x 4 inches) from Quattro and two of these don't fit on a page of the journal and I only wanted to use one spread, so there you have it. I turned the journal on its side.
The other thing you need to know, but which is obvious, is that I scanned the journal spread before I wrote my notes on it! Oops. Well this is all the better for talking about page layout.
I have lots of thoughts on this, and of course, knowing me, I have a lot of reasons why I do things. Well let me just give you some recommendations.
If you want to glue things on your page without overlap, and some order, allow a margin around them—unless they are so large that they will bleed off the edges of your pages and be trimmed flush with the page edges. Allowing the margins gives a nice tidy look (take a bit more time to be tidy than I did if you want to be tidy).
Staggering items as I have done, left, then right, then left, allows for a column of space, also staggering from side to side, in which you can write more about what you glued down (and which I did). Alternately you can write in one large column at the base. That's what that space was left for. So: Glue things down with an idea of where you want to write!
Don't worry about turning your book on its side if you want to fit things on a spread. (That goes without saying.)
Of course you can go an alternate route: you can first prepaint the background in some decorative way (muted if you want to write over it; crazy if you aren't going to write anything), and then glue your pieces down. And you can tilt your pieces, even allowing the corners to bleed off the page, to be trimmed later—as long as there is nothing critical that would be cut off in that endeavor.
By now you have the idea. Think for a moment about whether or not you are going to write on your page, where you want that writing to go, whether you need your images to bleed and be cropped or be full. Do you like orderly columns? Do you like things a bit wonky? You decide. A few seconds of thought will move you on to a lot of useful options.
More about how I included the other sketches from this event in my journal in future posts. I think I might actually have to take a short video!
I like wonky.
Posted by: Christina Trevino. | May 17, 2010 at 09:33 PM
Christina—I thought you did!
Posted by: Roz Stendahl | May 18, 2010 at 03:02 PM
Roz,I had written last week on one of your comments and had asked to have more on journaling page layouts and alot more. I cant remember which peice that Idid write in at this moment mind must be going:) anyways thank you so for these last few pages here on journaling. You have taken my comments and are answering them and explanning and for this I thank you again. Living where there are no journaling classes or someone Ican go to so having you do this it means the world to me. Thetime you put in these I know is alot.
Have a wonderful day,
Linda
Posted by: Linda | May 20, 2010 at 03:07 PM
Linda, I'm glad that you have found this helpful. I'm glad you asked your question because I know other folks are enjoying these too. I've just finished the journal this spread is in and will be taking a video of it, so be sure to check in next week (I'm not sure when I'll post it but it won't be until next week). It won't be the greatest video quality but it will give you an idea of how things flow in the journal (or don't flow, as the case may be).
Posted by: Roz Stendahl | May 20, 2010 at 03:58 PM
Roz, Thank you so again. You must know how this helps all of us who want to do art but dont have the means or class to go to. A teacher can either make you or break your spirit but my coming here you have incouraged me so to not tear out my "bad" pages and just learn from them. With all this teco stuff these days I wish there were at home classes for us who can not go our no classes at all. I wished I lived in your area and be able to go to your classes. But with you doing this I can benifit so. Again this means so much you have no idea.
Have a great day,
Linda
Posted by: Linda | May 20, 2010 at 05:43 PM
Linda, I'm glad to hear you aren't tearing out your "bad" pages! Glad the blog helps. Good luck.
Posted by: Roz Stendahl | May 20, 2010 at 05:59 PM