Hi, friends!
Thank you to everyone who came to the livestream, and apologies for the delay in posting the replay.1 It’s always a lot of fun, and, well, hummingbirds! When I was a child, a hummingbird made her nest in my mother’s hanging plants on the patio. I loved spending time watching her build her nest, incubate her eggs, feed, and fledge her young. She was so meticulous in everything she did. She was also a fierce defender of the nest, and we knew not to venture too close when we played in the backyard.
I wish I could remember more details, like what she used to make her nest. That is what I always wish when I think of my childhood nature adventures. It’s one of the reasons why nature journaling is so important to me now, and possibly why I’m obsessed with creating detailed, realistic watercolor paintings. I want to burn the images in my mind, take in all the colors and textures the world has on offer.
Livestream Notes
No notes this week since everyone can view the video. Use the time stamps below to jump around sections. Enjoy!
How I decide on a layout. (Time Stamp 00:56)
I start with the information I want to convey or remember, then choose a layout that accomplishes this goal.
Inking And Painting A Bumble Bee (Time Stamp 06:20)
A time lapse of my process.
Inking And Painting The Bee Hummingbird (Time Stamp 08:57)
This is in real time.
Layout Resources (Time Stamp 85:32)
Old brochures, postcards, magazine layouts, etc.
Pinterest boards (thanks for the suggestion,
!)
Nature Journal Time Lapse (Time Stamp 01:29:17)
I hope you enjoyed this, and will join me next week for another livestream.
xoSusannah
P.S. Keep scrolling for this week’s prompt.
P.P.S. Join this episode’s chat to share your journal pages, your thoughts, and cheer on others!
Wonder-Filled Wednesday
Every Wednesday at 1:30pm Eastern US time (Time Converter), we marvel in our nature journals together — draw along with me or just watch, ask questions, etc. Livestreams are hosted on Notes for everyone, and recorded/archived for supporting subscribers.
Download the app to join me live:
Prompt And Extra References For Practice
Weekly Prompt
Since I need more practice designing my nature journal layouts, let’s all spend some time researching inspiration and making a mini-guide that can be tucked into the back of our journals.
Think about how you want to convey information. This will change depending on your subject. If you worked alongside me in the livestream (or replay), perhaps you would have presented the information differently. Or use a subject you are currently observing. What do you want your future self to remember? Choose a layout that serves that purpose.
Look at magazines, books, postcards, brochures, etc, for inspiration.
Use a pencil to block in your layout. Pencil gives you the ability to easily move things around. As you can see in the replay, I changed my text layout because as I was working I realized that my focus is the hummingbird, not the bee. The bee was to illustrate the hummingbird’s relative size.
Take a sheet of paper or dedicate a couple pages at the back of your journal to sketch out some layouts that you might want to use in the future. This way you don’t have to think about it. Just pull one out, use it as is or modify it as necessary.
Resources
Birds Of The World — Bee Hummingbird
What a saga! I won’t bore you with it, but you should know I had to quickly learn a new video editing software in 12 hours! There’s a bit of some sound interference, but I wanted to get this out. I’ll troubleshoot that for the next time. Fortunately, I think the change is going to be good for the video quality going forward! Lemon tarts out of lemons, my friends! xo
Share this post