Watercolor Travel Journal
A course by Alicia Aradilla, Travel illustrator and watercolorist
Illustrate your travel experiences in an artistic and personal way
Delving into experiences and expressing them on paper with watercolors has become the primary means of creative expression for artist Alicia Aradilla. Now a renowned contributor to the urban sketching community, Alicia started her artistic journey by leaving her graphic design job to travel the world and document her adventures. She now has over 110k followers on Instagram who admire her sketches full of color and originality.
In this course, learn the basic watercolor painting techniques for illustrating the first page of a travel diary. Work on composing a landscape, exploring colors, and creating elements like shadows, pencil sketches, and text to add personality and style to your work.
What will you learn in this online course?
17 lessons & 13 downloads
What's included in this course?
Discover Alicia’s journey as an artist and learn how she left her graphic design job at an advertising agency to travel the world and devote her time to watercolor painting. She shares her artistic influences, and goes through what you will learn in the course.
In the second unit, Alicia tells you about her experience with travel diaries. See her creative process and some essential materials (that are easy to transport). Learn the basic watercolor painting techniques and discover how to create your own color palette and special effects.
Time to start painting! Draw some sketches in your diary, select a reference image, and learn how to organize your elements into a composition that tells a story. Then, draw your final piece with a pencil.
Start with your first watercolor strokes and add color to your illustration. Then, Alicia teaches you how to retouch your art with a fountain pen, a white marker, and gouache paint. See how to add even more style to your piece with other artistic tricks.
Finally, learn how to find your own style and express it through your travel journal. Finish the course with Alicia’s tips on how to take photos of your work and the best practices for sharing it on social media.
- 99% positive reviews (2.5K)
- 57,890 students
- 17 lessons (2h 26m)
- 13 additional resources (7 files)
- Online and at your own pace
- Available on the app
- Audio: Spanish, German, English, French, Indonesian, Italian, Dutch, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Turkish
- Spanish · English · Portuguese · German · French · Italian · Polish · Dutch · Turkish · Indonesian · Romanian
- Level: Beginner
- Unlimited access forever
What is this course's project?
Paint a page in your travel diary with watercolor using a landscape as your main subject.
Projects by course students
Who is this online course for?
For anyone interested in starting a travel diary or learning about watercolor.
Requirements and materials
No previous experience is required to take the course.
As for materials, you’ll need a sketchbook in A4 or A5 format, a pencil, a fountain pen, white gouache paint, watercolors, and paint brushes.
Reviews
Alicia Aradilla
A course by Alicia Aradilla
Alicia Aradilla is a Spanish illustrator who studied Fine Arts and Graphic Design in Madrid. She worked in advertising agencies and was an art director at Samsung for more than 3 years.
In 2016 he entered the world of urban sketch, becoming a benchmark in the sector by working for different international brands. In 2017, she quit her job as a designer to travel the world and document her experiences in her watercolor notebook. This adventure was shared with his thousands of followers on social networks, who were delighted with his drawings and stories.
She currently works as a freelance illustrator, taking this new creative trend to different projects.
Content
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U1
Introduction
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Presentation
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Influences
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What will we do in the course?
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U2
Basics before you start
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About travel notebooks
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Materials
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Basic watercolor techniques
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The color
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Framing and depth
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U3
Production: designing the page and first strokes
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Choose the reference image
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Page composition
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Pencil drawing
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U4
Production: watercolor and ink
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First spots
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Entering details
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Final touches
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Ideas to complete your page
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U5
Your personal touch and the jump to the screen
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Your personal style
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The jump to social networks
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FP
Final project
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Watercolor travel notebook
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What to expect from a Domestika course
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Learn at your own pace
Enjoy learning from home without a set schedule and with an easy-to-follow method. You set your own pace.
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Learn from the best professionals
Learn valuable methods and techniques explained by top experts in the creative sector.
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Meet expert teachers
Each expert teaches what they do best, with clear guidelines, true passion, and professional insight in every lesson.
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Certificates
PlusIf you're a Plus member, get a custom certificate signed by your teacher for every course. Share it on your portfolio, social media, or wherever you like.
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Get front-row seats
Videos of the highest quality, so you don't miss a single detail. With unlimited access, you can watch them as many times as you need to perfect your technique.
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Share knowledge and ideas
Ask questions, request feedback, or offer solutions. Share your learning experience with other students in the community who are as passionate about creativity as you are.
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Connect with a global creative community
The community is home to millions of people from around the world who are curious and passionate about exploring and expressing their creativity.
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Watch professionally produced courses
Domestika curates its teacher roster and produces every course in-house to ensure a high-quality online learning experience.
FAQs
A watercolor travel journal is a visual diary where you capture experiences and landscapes through mainly watercolor illustrations, allowing you to tell stories, record impressions, and nurture your artistic creativity while traveling.
You don’t need advanced prior experience, but it’s helpful to be familiar with drawing and painting materials. This is an intermediate-level course that will guide you step-by-step through the main watercolor techniques for travel journals.
You’ll need a watercolor notebook, a portable palette, travel brushes, watercolors, a pencil, a fountain pen, a white acrylic marker, a water bottle, and clips. It’s also recommended to have good textured paper and access to a smartphone to digitize your illustrations.
You’ll learn watercolor techniques, composition, color mixing, using light and shadow, quick sketching, integrating text and personal details, digitizing and sharing your work on social media, and developing an authentic visual narrative.
Choose notebooks with good-weight watercolor paper, portable palettes, and travel brushes. Consider portability, ease of cleaning, and accessories like clips or water bottles to make outdoor painting easier.
The course covers techniques like wet-on-wet, wet-on-dry, dry-on-dry, glazing, mixing colors on wet paper, using Payne’s gray for shadows, and creating textures and volume in natural landscapes.
Yes, the course offers strategies for picking the perfect spot, organizing your materials, managing your time, making the most of natural light, and adapting to unexpected situations when painting outdoors.
Me ha gustado mucho el curso de Alicia Aradilla. Explica muy bien todos los pasos y está muy claro y bien estructurado.
Ottimo corso! Docente veramente brava
Świetny kurs. Właśnie tworzę swoje bujo i żałuję, że nie trafiłam na to nagranie prędzej. Widzę, że przede mną długa droga, ale przynajmniej wiem, co należy poprawić. Jedyne co mi przeszkadzało to fakt, że czytając tłumaczenie, nie mogłam się w pełni skupić na obrazie. Prace prowadzącej zachwycające, dopracowane i przemyślane w najmniejszych szczegółach, podobnie jak sam kurs. Gorąco polecam.
Inspirational with practical tips!
I'm learning a lot. I have been painting for a couple of years but in this course i have learned some basic skills that are so helpful. The explanation is very clear and the projects are fun.