Bullet Journaling: Illustrated Planning
A course by Manon PonsGraphic Designer and Illustrator
A course by Manon Pons, Graphic Designer and Illustrator
Learn how to plan and organize your schedule in a colorful way by creating an illustrated bullet journal step by step using playful painting techniques
“It is not just about being creative or just about being productive. It’s about having a creative outlet that makes your life easier.”
Manon Pons is a graphic designer and illustrator based in The Netherlands. She is the founder of her personal brand Dutch Dots where she specializes in creating watercolor-illustrated bullet journals which have led to her work with clients including Fitz and Huxley, Arteza, and Edding.
In this online course, Manon shows you how to start and develop your own bullet journal with original watercolor illustrations. Explore artistic themes, experiment with color, and create a journal that is unmistakably yours!
What will you learn in this online course?
16 lessons & 26 downloads
Materials
6 minutes, 26 seconds
Key Page, Grid Guide, and Future Log
17 minutes, 27 seconds
Watercolor Exercises
20 minutes, 21 seconds
Researching for Ideas
4 minutes, 58 seconds
Sketching and Creating the Cover
19 minutes, 18 seconds
The Tracker Page 1
12 minutes, 14 seconds
What's included in this course?
Meet Manon. Learn about her artistic journey, her previous projects and biggest influences, from Van Gogh to Izzy Burton. Discover why bullet journaling reawoke her love for illustration, and how she came up with the idea to use watercolor.
Learn the basics of the bullet journaling craft. Then fill your journal with essential spreads including grid guides, future logs, and key pages, before gathering your drawing materials and watercolors.
Develop your bullet journal by experimenting with themes, sketching and creating your cover, and illustrating your first monthly log. Then sketch and illustrate tracker pages and more weekly spreads.
Learn to use your journal as a planning tool. Manon shows you how to post your work online and clear your mind through journaling, along with ways to fix any errors you might make.
What is this course's project?
Develop a bullet journal and illustrate it using watercolors.
Projects by course students
Who is this online course for?
This course is for anyone who wants to start a bullet journal and develop their watercolor painting skills.
Requirements and materials
No previous exprience is required.
In terms of materials, you will need a notebook, a standard watercolor kit with brushes, and pens.
Reviews
- america_liraPLUS4 months ago
Excelente curso, ya había seguido el trabajo de Manon en otras redes y fue muy grato encontrar este curso aquí en domestika todo su trabajo es completamente inspirador!
- 8 months ago
Bardzo przyjemny, relaksujący i inspirujący kurs.
- asbajePLUS10 months ago
El curso es sumamente valioso! Manon es una extraordinaria ilustradora. Explica muy claro, da muchos trucos o tips y desde la sencillez hace que las ilustraciones luzcan hermosas. Me encanto la integración entre lo concreto y específico del journaling pero con arte y belleza. Integrando ambos hemisferios el lado creativo y racional. Gracias Manon, haré mi propio proyecto! Gracias Domestika por hacer accesibles estos cursos e invitar a artistas tan brillantes como MAnon!
Gabriela
- 11 months ago
Great beginner course to start a bullet journal
- 1 year ago
Un curso muy completo. Me gustó mucho.
Manon has worked with clients including Fitz and Huxley, Arteza, and Edding. She shares her work with over 60K followers on Instagram and Youtube, and she sells her own products through her brand Dutch Dots.
Content
- U1
Introduction
- About Me
- Influences
- U2
Bullet Journaling: How to Start
- Materials
- What Is Bullet Journaling?
- Key Page, Grid Guide, and Future Log
- Watercolor Exercises
- U3
The Creative Process
- Researching for Ideas
- Sketching and Creating the Cover
- The Monthly Log
- The Tracker Page 1
- The Tracker Page 2
- The Weekly Log 1
- The Weekly Log 2
- U4
Post-production
- Enjoying the Journal
- Sharing Your Work
- Fixing Mistakes
- FP
Final project
- Bullet Journaling: Illustrated Planning
What to expect from a Domestika course
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.
Learn from the best professionals
Learn valuable methods and techniques explained by top experts in the creative sector.
Meet expert teachers
Each expert teaches what they do best, with clear guidelines, true passion, and professional insight in every lesson.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Watch professionally produced courses
Domestika curates its teacher roster and produces every course in-house to ensure a high-quality online learning experience.
FAQs
Yes, this course is designed for beginners and covers foundational bullet journaling structures, basic watercolor, gouache, and hand lettering techniques, making it accessible to those with no prior experience.
You’ll need a dotted grid journal, watercolor paints, gouache, fineliner pens, brush markers, brushes, masking tape, binder clips, and basic stationery. A list of recommended brands and alternatives is provided in the course.
You’ll learn to set up a bullet journal, create custom layouts, use watercolors and gouache for illustrations, design trackers, master hand lettering, and apply various creative techniques to personalize your journal.
Absolutely! The course covers step-by-step instructions for basic art techniques, making it beginner-friendly even if you have never drawn or painted before.
You’ll practice flat and graded washes, wet-on-wet, wet-on-dry, blending, gradients, using painter’s tape for clean edges, and adding details with white gouache and metallic paints.
The course teaches you to create key pages, monthly and future logs, trackers, and personalized layouts, while applying mental inventory, task segmentation, and migration techniques for effective organization.
Yes, you’ll learn hand lettering with brush pens, create banners, draw nature motifs, and use various illustration techniques to make your bullet journal visually engaging and unique.