Note: I realize that many of you are experienced book makers and art journalers. However, this tutorial will make no assumptions about where you are at in your path. It is written for anyone, even those with little or no experience. You are welcome to follow exactly, or adapt it to your own skill level and needs.
For this tutorial you are going to make a colored background across a two-page spread in your art journal.
Simple Background 3
The materials you will need are:
- Your Art Journal, dashboards and clips or washi tape
- Inexpensive, water-based markers
- Pencil
- Kneaded eraser
- Water
- Paper towel
- Plastic food wrap
- Washi tape
The tools you will need are:
- Large round or flat paint brush
- Small Mister
- Small C-thru ruler
- A plastic mat or other plastic item to protect your work area
Optional things you may want:
- Apron so you don’t get ink on your clothing
Here are the steps for creating this simple background.
Open your journal to the first blank page spread. This will be the one that was skipped over in the Simple Background #2 Tutorial.
Using the ruler and pencil, lightly draw a border, 1/16-inch from the edge all around the outside of the spread.
Us the washi tape to stick your journal, along the border of the spread, to your protective plastic. If you are worried about peeling the tape back off, stick the tape to your clothing once or twice before sticking it on the edge of the page.
Use the black, darkest blue and darkest purple markers from your set. Scribble on the pages until it is mostly covered with ink. You don’t have to do this carefully, just scribble away using light pressure so you don’t rough up the paper.
Make sure you have a couple of sheets of paper towel at hand. Use the mister to spray water on the pages.
Use the brush to pick up any puddled water along the fold in the center and wipe it onto the paper towel. If color puddles across the tape and onto the plastic, you can use the paper towel to clean that up, also.
Wrinkle the plastic wrap and place it on top of the layout, pressing it into place. Let it sit for 1/2 hour.
After 1/2 hour, carefully peel the plastic wrap off the layout. There should not be any puddles, although the pages will probably be damp. You can use your paper towel to clean up any water on the plastic or washi tape.
Carefully peel the washi tape off of the book and the background.
Allow the layout to dry completely. When the pages are completely dry, you can use the kneaded eraser to remove any excess pencil lines.
Note: You may discover that some ink bled through the fold or the staple holes onto some other part of the book. Don’t worry, we’ll deal with it in a different tutorial.
Congratulations! You should now have 3 different layouts with the first background layer in your art journal!
If you would like to join a group of fellow art journalists, follow along with these and other tutorials, and show off your work, you can find this and more in the Micro Art Journal group on Facebook!
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