Submission Guidelines and FAQs
MoleskineLovers was created in Tumblr's early days as a place to appreciate the simple but elegant design of a moleskine journal and the art that people created within its pages. Tumblr and the art world has changed a bit since this blog started but the look of a moleskine remains timeless and the joy making something just with a blank page, a pencil and imagination remains unmatched. MoleskineLovers wants to be the place to share that and can do so more easily with your submissions!
A couple key points before the cut:
While the classic submission form is available, you can also send in posts to be reblogged in a variety of ways
Art in any moleskine-like journal or sketchbook is fine
Read on for the full Submission Guidelines and FAQs
More about the Key Points:
First, Submissions options: the classic submission form is still open here. But this form is not mobile friendly among other issues so you also have the option of sending posts for reblog by either mentioning @moleskinelovers in your post or sending a direct link to the post via Messenger. Finally you can tag your post #moleskinelovers , the mod will check out the tag occasionally and reblog new posts.
Second, Moleskine-lookalikes: While this blog is called "moleskinelovers", art absolutely does NOT have to be in a Moleskine-brand journal. There are dozens if not hundreds of lookalikes that are as good of quality as Moleskine-brand journals if not better and very often at a lower prices. Submissions in these kind of journals are welcome. And if you usually work in a spiral bound journal or even on loose leaf paper, just crop the photo!
*THE MOST COMMON FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS*
“How do I submit my art?”
You can used the classic submission form to directly submit a photo of your moleskine art: moleskinelovers.tumblr.com/submit
You can also post to your own blog and send it to MoleskineLovers for reblogging one of several ways:
use the classic submission form to send a link to the post
mention @moleskinelovers in your post (either in the post itself or in the Replies)
send a direct link to the post via Messenger*
Finally, you can tag your art #moleskinelovers and I’ll go through periodically and reblog what I find there. (but the other methods will result in your art being posted here quicker)
*remember you can’t send links in Asks
“I draw lots of art in moleskines, will you check out my blog and reblog what you like?”
While I’ll occasionally reblog art I find browsing around tumblr, if you want your art featured here please use one of the methods detailed above to submit your art.
*SUBMISSION RULES PLEASE READ BEFORE YOUR FIRST SUBMISSION*
(While a lot of this pertains to the Submission Form, any post submitted for reblogging should more or less follow these rules)
“Art should be in a Moleskine or a Moleskine-like journal"
This blog is called “moleskinelovers” but it’s more about the *aesthetic* of moleskines than the brand. There are many journals and sketchbooks with similar elements that mark the classic moleskine look, namely the case binding and rounded corners, also the ribbon bookmark, elastic closing band and back pocket. Art pieces you make in these lookalike journals are perfectly fine to submit.
Art that is not in a Moleskine or Moleskine-like journal can still be submitted, I just ask that you crop it so I can’t tell! The only things I’m a real stickler about are spiral-bound and (to a lesser degree) square corners and 99.9% of the time a simple photo crop will get rid of those.
“Include your name and a link to your website in the caption area”
When using the submission form, links back to your tumblr or other art account are not only allowed but encouraged! However please keep the number of links reasonable (3 or less) and only link to your own social media/portfolio site.
“You may promote your online shop/commissions services but posts that read like a detailed product listing may be edited/rejected.”
MoleskineLovers is a place to promote your work, and you are welcome to link to commission info, your online shop, etc in the catption. That said, please don't include detailed product/commission info (prices, dimensions, shipping, etc), links to multiple listings, or the like. Your submission may be edited to exclude such info or outright rejected.
Reproductions and Collage
Recreating work from artists you admire can be great practice and these pieces are allowed, however please include the name of the work/artist you are referencing (it’s just a good habit to have as an artist!)
Collage is also allowed, but please include the source of your materials in the caption (it doesn’t have to be a full bibliography, just the name of whatever magazine/book/etc you pulled materials from is fine).
Art and Content Standards
I will not judge the “quality” of your art or show preference to any submission. But I do ask you submit good, clear photos/scans of your art. And of course, submit art you are proud of.
Art Mediums/Digital Content: Any and all traditional mediums are welcome. Pieces drawn traditionally then scanned and colored digitally are also allowed, but please state digital tools were used somewhere in the post (if you used digital tools only for light photo touch-ups or adjustments you don't need to state it). Pieces that started out as sketches in a journal but then are fully redrawn and rendered digitally are not allowed unless you include a photo of the original sketches in the post. Anything submitted that's a product of Generative AI programs such as DALL-E or Midjourney will be deleted.
Mature content: artistic nudity is allowed as is profanity/explicit language, but visual depictions of sexual act and hate speech is not allowed (and go against Tumblr's guidelines).
Submitters are requested to select the “mature” tag if their art contains any nudity or other explicit content. This will not affect your submission in any way, it is simply so I can apply the proper tags and community labels.
Re-submissions of previously approved posts will be deleted
If you submit a piece of art that the mod recognizes as being posted on moleskinelovers previously, it will be deleted. I will make exceptions to the rules in the following cases:
The previously approved submission was a work-in-progress (ex: the previous submission was a sketch and the new submission is now inked and/or colored)
The previously approved art is submitted as part of a compilation set (ex: you submit a photoset of your favorite sketches of the month)
The mod specifically requested the resubmission
MoleskineLovers reserves the right to edit submissions so they comply to the Submission Guidelines.
This included cropping any photos, deleting superfluous/spammy links, adding or deleted tags, deleting “product listing” information, adding missing sources or references (any content that is added will be prefaced with “mod note”).
*SOME MORE FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS*
Frequency of Posts, Submission Limits
The queue is set to post up to 12 times a day and generally submissions are published within 48 hours, please wait until then before inquiring about or resubmitting your post.
There isn’t a daily submission limit, but posts may be staggered so it’s not several posts in a row from the same person. If you submit 3 or 4 posts at once, know it may take more than a day to see them all on the blog
Submitting other things beside personal sketches
While this blog mostly features peoples’ art and sketches, you are free to submit things like journal spreads, pictures of your journal that you’ve customized with stickers or decals, your desk/art station setup (make sure your journal is visible), your journal out and about (from your local cafe to the other side of the world), or some kind of Moleskine related story.
Ask Box
The ask box is open and I welcome any questions. If you want your question answered privately, please say so. If you want to ask me something not related to Moleskines or this blog for whatever reason, I’d prefer you ask at my personal tumblr.
Please don’t sent messages asking for a follow or to check out your blog, they will go ignored. If you want followers, submit your awesome art, you’ll get followers.
Question not answered here? Send it in via Messenger or the Ask box.
