Does Anyone Keep a Color/Painting Journal?

[ignis-fatuus]

As I have been getting back into the hobby I continually find myself approaching it in ways I wouldn't have in years past. Normally I would simply reach for the paint colors that I thought would work for the task at hand and not think anything of it. These days I'm getting interested in color theory and wrestling with the fact that I'll likely forget important color pairings or ratios. I haven't taken any serious art classes but I understand that many painters keep color journals. I was wondering if anyone here keeps one and if they'd kind enough to share any tips, examples, etc..

[ignis-fatuus]

Decided to make my own. I will likely change it a bit over time, but I think it will work well just for the basics.

[diehard]

I have a degree in Graphic Design so shame on me cause I don't but find at times I wish I did. A long while ago I painted up a US platoon and command squad for Secrets of the Third Reich and recently I was thinking about adding some support to it. But have only a vague idea of the colors I used. So yeah, Pro Tip, keep a color log for your projects, there just might come a time you'll be really glad you did.

[bandit86]

No but I wish I did and have the discipline to do it

[tomrommel1]

I am into my 2nd painting book. I always write down which colors I used for the job I just did. Helps really good if you come back to a project after a while, to pick up were you left.

[Cacique Caribe]

I bought one specifically sold as a miniature painting journal.  I think it’s pretty cool!

Let me look up my purchase history on Amazon and see if they still have them.

Dan

[Vanvlak]

I started last year - not a journal, and nowhere as cool as including paint samples (good idea!), but at least I am documenting the paints I use for troops and vehicles - generally not on buildings, unless they are part of a collection which needs unity.

[fred]

No I don’t. Occasionally I remember to note the colours used if I post a photo on a forum. Then have to spend an age scrabbling back to find those notes.

I don’t think I would be disciplined enough to keep notes of key colours used on figures. But I envy those are do and do so in an artistic way too!

[Vis Bellica]

I keep a basic record of what colours I've used on each army I collect. Really helps with consistency when adding units later on. It's nothing special: just a spreadsheet with the armies across the top and things like "Skin", "Top", "Trousers", "Shoes", "Equipment" down the sides.

[Fitz]

I finally started keeping a painting journal a couple of years ago, after decades of swearing at myself for forgetting which colours I used when I started the project that I was coming back to after abandoning it for too long.

I had the usefulness of this sort of thing drummed into me when I was doing my design degree, so shame on me for being so slack for so long.

[Digits]

I keep a series of notes on my phone with paint schemes and colours for different uniforms I paint so I can always return to paint more if needs be.  Memory ain’t what it used to be!

[zemjw]

I use a database app on my Android tablet.

It's nothing complicated, but I have entries with base colour, shade colour and highlight colour. Each figure is listed and I note which parts were done with the colour. I can also make a note of things to fix etc.

It's very useful while I'm painting the figure, but it's not great for historical searching. Organising by colour means I have to look through each entry to find the body part I'm interested in.

I update it after finishing a colour, and it only takes a minute or so, so it's not a chore.

[Mick_in_Switzerland]

I have Excel lists of the paints that I used for WW2 and modern uniforms.
I used these to make the Painting Guides for Artizan, Crusader etc.

With Dark Ages and Medieval and Fantasy, I am a bit more freestyle to get an attractive army.

[Daeothar]

I've kept a journal for years now. In the beginning I did a lot of colour mixing, so I also did a lot of colour samples in the journal. But as my range of paints became larger, and I started to switch from project to project more often, I now rarely do this, ubnless there is no other way.

Because now I record which mixes I make in percentages, and this makes it really easy to pick up a certain project that has been lying dormant for years, with the exact same colours I used on the earlier miniatures.

I simply write down each step while it is drying; the journal has its own fixed place in my HobbyZone setup, within easy reach.

Also, I found that paints dry slightly different on paper than on undercoated surfaces anyway, which makes it difficult to recreate the exact colour. So the mix breakdown in percentages of the actual paints used has worked perfectly for many years already...

Here's some examples of projects/pages. The very first page, and my most recent project:

[Marlow]

Definitely keep a "Recipe Journal" - started 10 ish Years ago and wish I had done so sooner. 
As others have said, it's invaluable when going back to old Projects/ adding to units or just when you've hit on a particularly nice combination in the past that you want to replicate.

Very low tech, just a notebook with my own set of "shorthand" and easy to do -  the hard part is to maintain the discipline to fill it in during / at the end of each project.

In tandem with this I also keep a "Colour swatch" book of all the Paints I own. Again, low tech and organised by colour types, eg Greys / Blues / Flesh etc..
I find I use this more and more lately as sometimes it really helps to just look at say, the 30 or so "Greens" I possess when looking for inspiration or a particular uniform shade (even when colour mixing).
It also helps me remember some of the colours I have but had forgotten about...

Again, the only hard bit is remembering to keep it up to date when I buy a new Paint (which, strangely I don't seem to do as often these days - maybe be just a coincidence or maybe this tool is helping ?)

Hope this is of some interest.

Jason