Art Log #3: Bookbinding

You guys might not know because I never mentioned it before but apart from digital art, I also do some (basic) bookbinding! When I was 10, my dad caught me trying to make a handmade journal and failing at it so I got scolded for wasting stacks of paper LOL

He then showed me how to do it, I was pretty young at the time and tools weren't very accessible back then so I had to make do with what we had. Years later, and with the help of plenty of YouTube tutorials, I was able to learn to make the process easier. 

Of course, by no means I'm a professional. I still find myself making a lot of mistakes even with the simple steps. So when I realize where I went wrong I make a new project in an attempt to apply what I learned but I end up messing up something else... that's why I ended up with so many of these journals. Most of them are just sitting inside a box remaining unused, so I gave some of them away to my mom's friends and relatives.

Anyway, here is a list all of the tools and supplies I used in case anyone is interested in getting into book binding as well so you can easily look them up!

Here are the tools I used:

For those who are curious what's inside the container:

• PVA (Polyvinyl Acetate) Glue + a squeeze bottle for easy use
• Bone folder
• A retractable utility knife
• Satin ribbons
• Decorative book end bands
• Mull + Paper liner
• Sewing kit containing needles and cotton thread

There are several supplies and tools that I used that are not included in the picture above like:

• Paper (I used regular copy paper, but it's usually recommended to get short grain paper)
• Decorated wrapping paper or bookcloth to cover the book/journal with
• Stack paper cutter, also known as a "guillotine" paper cutter (this is REALLY heavy!)
• A book press (used to keep the book block flat and prevent the pages/covers from warping)

Some of the work I made last year:

This is the very first few projects I made when I started getting back into the hobby! The one on the bottom pile (with the macaron pattern) is a time diary that I made to keep track of my activities throughout the day. It's also the very first work that I have done and I failed so badly on this one because I cut the covers too short that the hinge ended up too small. And because of so much tension on the spine, the book doesn't open very well. 

The photos following the "Once Upon a Time" one are the last of the journals I have made and then I started trying to print out physical copies of my digital game manuals (only for personal use of course!). I haven't really worked on anything new for this year, though.

I also compiled the in-game books from Genshin Impact into a physical one so I can read it anytime I want without opening the game!

I hope you enjoyed reading/looking through my work, and even if you didn't, I still give you my thanks! If anyone has questions, or thoughts about it, feel free to share it in the comments section. I love reading everyone's comments ^^