Hi friends, it's Liz from @thegraytergood here with a fun tutorial + cover page idea to kick off a creative new year for all of us. I'll be going over adding drop shade to your letters, which is one of my most frequently asked questions, and show you how you can use this technique to add dimension and style to your bullet journal.

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:

• Your Archer + Olive Dot Grid Notebook (I have the A5 size)
• A silver paint pen
• A black gel pen or other black pens like a Sakura Graphic One
• A pencil, eraser, and a ruler

 1. Start by drawing in your numbers in pencil. I overlapped mine for added dimension but you don't have to for this tutorial. Usually, I'll map mine out by lightly sketching a box around them which is easy to do with the dot grid pages in our A + O notebooks. 

2. Using the dots, count out the dimensions of your box and draw in a second box with the same dimensions but shift it slightly in any direction. In this example, I've shifted it two dots to the left and two dots down. 

 3. Using your pencil, lightly sketch in a second set of numbers in the secondary box. (You don't have to fill them in like I did here)

4. You can do one of two things at this point. You can fill in the secondary set of numbers and leave it like that for a shadow, or you can continue on and create a drop shade. To do that, connect the furthest points of each number with the secondary number below it. (See example) 

5. Now for the finishing touches - you can ink in everything, let it dry, erase the pencil Iines, and fill in your numbers and drop shade with whatever markers you like. 

You can use this technique to add shadow and shade in any direction. You can also split up the boxes and secondary numbers to add shade in multiple directions at once, like I did in my cover page. 

I hope y'all enjoyed this tutorial, and be sure to tag me on Instagram @thgraytergood if you recreate this spread or try this drop shade technique. :)