Hey, Masha here from Masha Plans! Today we’re talking about my favorite thing - doodles!

But with a twist! We’re doing doodles in the blackout book!

SUPPLIES

First, let’s go over some supplies you can use in your Blackout book. We’ll go over some of my favorites here, but you can check my post on 5 Materials To Use In Your Blackout Book if you want to learn more.

And if you want to buy anything from Archer and Olive, be sure to use my code MASHA10 for 10% off your order.

Sakura Gelly Roll Pens - these are my absolute favorites when it comes to the blackout book. There are three kinds that work the best - Moonlight, Metallic and simple white. They’re very smooth and look very bright on the black pages.

Karin Metallic Markers - when it comes to brush pens and thicker lines, these are my absolute favorites. They look amazing on black pages and are very rich in color.

Staedtler Metallic Markers - these are great for larger doodles since they have a much thicker tip.

For this post, however, I’m going classic black and white, so all I’ll be using is the Blackout Book and White Sakura Gelly Roll pens. Which works beautifully, since today’s doodling theme is winter doodles.

HOW TO DOODLE

Doodling is actually much easier than you think. Anyone can doodle!

There are two secrets to doodling like a boss. And I’ll share them now here with you, so you can impress your friends and family with your skills, like a modern day Picasso

First - everything consists of simple basic shapes. As long as you can draw a square, a circle, and all the other basic shapes - you can absolutely doodle.

Next time you wanna try your skills at doodling, divide what you want to doodle into basic shapes and start that way. Then put the shapes together to form the thing you’re trying to doodle. Finally - add curves and other details to your doodle.

The second step is … practice! Doodling and creativity isn’t a talent some people have and others don’t. It’s a muscle, and like any other muscle in your body, all you need is to train it.

Spare some time every day to just doodle away! I advise to also get a separate notebook just for doodling, it will be so satisfying to look back and see your progress later.

You don’t know what to doodle or how? No worries, there are many places that can help you.

First, try doing a Pinterest search - it will reveal so many step by step tutorials. The more you follow those, the more you’ll train your eye to see doodles as a set of simple shapes.

Secondly, you can easily find tons of tutorials on Instagram. Check hashtags like #howtodoodle or #learntodoodle. Or go and check directly accounts that post lots of doodle tutorials: @bonjournal_, @bujoandcookies, @lifeinabujo.

Finally, a great way to practice your doodles is by participating in doodling challenges. This will give you a prompt a day, so you already know what to doodle. Plus challenges help you to push your creativity and try new things.

Check the account @bujochallenges for information on different doodling (and lettering if you need them) challenges.

WINTER DOODLES IN THE BLACKOUT BOOK

I hope now you’re ready to jump in and doodle some winter-themed beauties in your blackout journal.

When doodling in the blackout book there are a few things you should consider:

• Don’t use too many pencils. Most of the time, I pre-draw my doodles in pencil and it works fairly well in the usual journal. However, in the blackout book erasing the pencil might also erase a part of your ink. So, if you pre-draw, make sure you don’t push the pencil too hard, so you end up with just a few barely seen lines.
• Be careful not to smudge. Since you’re using gel pens here and you most likely put a lot of ink to make the color look better, you need to have extra time to let the ink dry. 
• If you DO smudge, use the black pen. The beauty of the Blackout Book is that you can fix anything with a black pen. My tip here is to make sure it’s not a glossy one. My top recommendation is Tombow Fude pens.

Let’s get into doodling!

Now the fun part! Here’s me actually doodling, in my Doodle With Me video. You’ll see how simple all these are and you’ll be able to use them in your Bullet Journal right away.

Ready to start doodling in your blackout book? Be sure to tag me and @archerandolive to show us your beautiful pages!

And remember: Keep Bullet Journaling and Don’t Be A Blob!