Lets Talk - Journaling Supplies

When starting out with journaling, it can be overwhelming to see all the different items people are using in their journals. So many pretty coloured pens and paints and stickers and argh... before you know it you have an Amazon wishlist as long as a roll of washi tape.

Here, I am sharing with you the items that I use, and I mean really use. Not the items I have bought because I sooo needed them. These are the things I use on a day to day basis and that I would not be without. This is by no means a list that you have to have, it is simply my personal favourite tools, that may help you decide what things you would like to use in your journal.

Pencils & Blending Stumps

Probably the most important, and the most used items in my arsenal, are my Staedtler Mars Lumograph Pencils. I use a range of these from 4H - 6B. 4H is the hardest lead which gives the lightest marks and 6B is the softest lead which gives the blackest marks. HB is right in the middle and is my worker pencil. I use HB for outlining drawings and spreads and also for shading. The other pencils are used just for shading. I use them not only in my journals but also in my artworks, they are without a doubt my favourite graphites.

The other items shown here are blending stumps. They are tightly wound rolls of paper with a point at each end and are used to blend graphite to achieve great pencil gradients and shading results. Blending Stumps are a rather cheap tool and can also be sanded with sanding paper, when too saturated with graphite, to give a nice clean point again.

Erasers

Next are my erasers, I keep three with me all the time. The Staedtler Mars plastic eraser is what I use for large areas and, for erasing an undrawing once I have gone over it in pen. The Papermate Tuff Stuff eraser is a fabulous hard working eraser that gets in small spaces and removes pencil marks with ease. It has now changed manufacturer and is known as the Factis Mechanical Eraser BM2, but I have not yet needed to purchase a new holder so still have the old model. Lastly, the Tombow Mono Zero eraser is very similar to the Tuff Stuff eraser but it has a sharp, square head which I love for cleaning up lines.

Tools

Moving on to tools, one of the best purchases I have made is the Jakar Automatic Pencil sharpener. It retails for around £8.00. This powerhouse sharpener has lasted me for the last eight years and is still going strong. It requires four AA batteries and sharpens quickly and beautifully. I can even sharpen Faber Castell coloured pencils with this sharpener.

Next is my trusty ruler. I use a 30cm stainless steel ruler with a corked back that doesn't mark my pages. There is nothing worse than drawing a line in ink, to then move the ruler and watch the ink spread across the page and ruin what you have drawn. It has happened to many times but not with this ruler.

For drawing perfect circles I use two tools. I use a standard compass when drawing pencil circles or very large circles and, the Helix Angle and Circle Maker when drawing circles in ink. I haven't yet found a compass that can fit my fine liners so the Circle maker is a genius idea.

Fine Liners

I only use one brand of fine liner and that is the Sakura Pigma Micron. The ink inside these pens is archival pigment ink, and is waterproof and fade proof. They come in a range of sizes, starting with the tiny 005 liner which gives a 0.20mm line up to the 08 liner that draws a 0.50mm line. There is also the Pigma Brush which is a fine brush-tipped pen and the Pigma Graphic One, shown above. They come in a range of pack sizes also.

I use these pens for everything. For drawing in my journals, for outlining my spreads, for my artworks and also for writing. The 01 is one of my favourite writing pens.

Highlighters

Getting into some colour now we have the Zebra Mildliners. They are a collection of highlighters that come in a vast array of colours. They are dual tip and have both a broad tip and a fine tip. I think they are the best highlighters and leave the most minimal amount of bleeding or ghosting on paper. I use them to highlight and to colour and they are a complete joy to use.

Gel Pens

Following on for that here are my everyday gel pens. First are the Zebra Sarasa pens. The pack shown is the pastel colours but, they do a wide range of other colours too. I enjoy the fine nibs on these and the flow of ink is very consistant. I use them for writing and for adding small accents in coloured works. 

The two white gel pens I use are the Uni-Ball Signo Angelic colour, which has the finest nib on a white pen I have found - a 0.7mm nib, and the Sakura Gelly Roll in white. Both have a great ink flow, with the Gelly Roll being ever so slightly more opaque.

Coloured Pencils

Lastly are my coloured pencils. The Faber Castell Polychromos pencils are lightfast and blend superbly on the page with a smooth waxy lead that is not too hard nor too soft. They do not smudge and, do not leave residue on the page. They come in tins of varying sizes from 12 up to 120. These pencils are a true pleasure to draw with.


And that is the end of my everyday supplies list. I hope you have found this useful and informative.
What are your favourite supplies? Let me know in the comments, who knows, I may find something that becomes a new favourite.

Emma x